Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1900-02-24

as a sport. Already there are evil
dences Of its making bids TO regain the
prestige II has lost In the past two
years. Not even automobiles are sue
ceedlng IN pushing the bicycle 70 the
background again. The existence Of
good roads everywhere throughout the
United States, many thousands Of miles
Of which we're built last year, has i'm
proved the prospect for this healthtul
sport. There are several drawbacks to
the automobile fad. among them the
scarcity OF the product, the high price
asked and the wholesome fear In the
public mind as to the reliability Of the
new vehicle.
The bicycle IL free from these draw
backs With the promise Of an output
OF 1000. 900 wheels a scarcity is rendered
unlikely at least until late in the sea
son, and the bicycle Is now well out Of
the experimental era. As means OF
exercise the bicycle lies away over Its
rival In popular favor. All Of which
goes to indicate that there VIII be a
great business done In bicycles this
year.
Mr.. Theodore F. Merselos, third vice
president and general manager OF the
American Bicycle company the combi'
nation Of manufacturers often spoken
Of as the Trust" said in the course Of
an interview that 1900 would be a
boon" year In bicycles When asked
whether new features would be found
In the 1900 models, he said
"There are more changes than In any
models since 1896. To begin with all
the wheels are lighter this year, and
in the case OF the chainless there has
been decrease in some cases OF FIVE
pounds. A narrower tread Is another
feature that shows itself In the 1902
models and less drop in the crank hang
er. Besides there are a great many i'm
proyements In different points Of the hi
cycle. Thefront forks and the fork crown
are made lighter this year, because II
has become a recognized fact that
light, sprngy forks stand hard knocks
better than heavy, rigid ones A gauge
Of tubing slightly reduced has rendered
possible an economy In weight. Flush
joints have been adopted on practical
~ oil the bicycles built by the Amer
lean Bicycle company, and this adds
materially to the appearance Of the
wheel without IN any way detracting
from It's strength.
There is a wide variance In the man
ner Of fastening spokes, because this Is
point upon which the public diners
widely in Its opinion. Some remarkably
fine and novel ideas will be found in the
manner Of fastening spokes to the hub.
One wheel hub has a hange at either
end. Every two spoke holes on sprocket
or gear side are united by a slot form
ing an opening sufficiently large to adj
nit Of the spoke head. Through this
hole the spoke head is easily inserted
and the spoke drawn into place without
removing sprocket or gear, or even TAX
ing the wheel from the frame. A well
known wheel has another means OF fas-
tening the spoke In this case the but
ton on the end Is sunk in the hub itself.
In seat, post and handle bar fastenlngs
choice IL offered between the new ex-
ternal expander and the cried and
trusty exterior fastener. Some people
still have a lingering doubt Of the in
ternal expander, although It has been
proved thoroughly reliable.
There Is plenty Of range left for
choice In other points about the wheels
as we'll The different sales depart
ments still retain in the wheels they
control those distinctive points which
marked them in other years. The only
increased similarity Is that the high
grade wheels are more nearly uniform
than IN other years, because the public
know more about bicycles than they
used to and demand certain improve
ments.
zone thing Of which I am certain Is
that the bevel gear chainless Is going
10 be the wheel Of the year. believe
that there viii be 100000 bevel gear
chainless bicycles sold this year Ev-
erybody who wishes 10 be up to the
times will want a chainless, and now
that their durability and easy running
qualities have been proved by two
years trial, the disadvantage Of new
ness has been thoroughly worn OF this
type OF wheel. There are stlll some
people who maintain that the chain
wheel Is easier running, but the ma