76 



The American Ans^ler 



easily upset, a reduction in weight of thirty or 

 forty pounds will greatly exaggerate his con- 

 dition. It is not unusual for both wheelmen 

 and wheelwomen in America to have more 

 brains than body. The best remedy for this 

 state of things is to make flesh by riding no 

 faster and no further than is consistent with 

 one's personal comfort and physique. 



Some New Ideas at Chicago Cycle Show. 



A careful canvas of the exhibits in the stands 

 showed the big tubing craze to be not quite so 

 universal as popularly supposed. Practically 

 none of the makers are going to extremes in 'it, 

 and a fair percentage are clinging to one-inch 

 or inch-and-a-sixteenth tubes, as used last year. 

 The adoption of larger balls in the bearings is 

 general, though, and few wheels are to be found 

 without barrel hubs and detachable sprockets. 

 An immense variety was shown in the various 

 designs of detaching sprockets, and much in- 

 genuity was displayed in some of the new 

 methods of fastening spokes in the hubs, so as 

 to minimize the liability of their breaking at 

 this point. The Pierce wheel has a small head 

 on its spokes, made at right angles, so that they 

 can be put into slots in the hub and made secure 

 by simply twisting around. The detachable 

 sprocket in the case of this machine has a 

 groove, into which is fitted a tongue on the 

 crank, and the whole is held by a copper pin. 



Rear forks of flattened tubing, the same in 

 style as that in common use for front forks, 

 was a novelty shown on the racing and special 

 wheels of the Stearns concern. The spokes in 

 this wheel go directly into the face of the hub, 

 and are made fast by turning the spoke in the 

 opposite direction from which it is inserted, a 

 double right angular shoulder in the end eff^ect- 

 ing it. 



A true mechanical principle, ingeniously util- 

 ized, was brought forward on the Davidson 

 cycle. It consists in having the crank axle 

 beveled in two places, with the beveled surfaces 

 closely adjoining, but being at an obtuse angle 

 because of the rounding surface of the axle. 

 The beveling is done on a taper. The crank is 

 secvired simply by a right-thread lock-nut. 

 Flush joints, with the brazing done on the in- 

 side, are used on this wheel. 



The tendency of bearings to wear more on 

 the chain side has been recognized by the Na- 

 tional people, who have cones and cups, which 

 are separate from the axle, and can be readily 

 transferred from one side to the other in order 



to counteract any unevenness of this kind. This 

 machine combines a number of new mechanical 

 \^-rinkles. Flush joints in which steel stamp- 

 ings are employed is one, while a seat-post 

 binder which leaves no opening behind, and a 

 chain adjustment in which the screw principle 

 is used in connection with a plate, are others.. 

 The latter is distinctly a departure in this direc- 

 tion. A set of teeth are knocked up on the 

 ends of the rear forks, and the plate, or washer, 

 which is also the adjuster, is provided on its 

 inner surface with a worm tongue, which en- 

 gages between these teeth and permits of ad- 

 justment to the thousandth part of an inch. 

 One nut binds all. As a worm is something 

 which never works backward, the idea is me- 

 chanically sound. The new trick in seat-post 

 fastening consists of a short extra piece of 

 tubing, wth an oval mouth milled out, being 

 brazed into corresponding jaws at the top of 

 the upright tube or seat-post mast. Into the- 

 extra piece of tubing is fitted a sleeve milled 

 with an opening that corresponds to the diam- 

 eter of the seat-post. By means of a binding 

 bolt at one end this sleeve is turned so that the 

 jaws of its recess grapple the seat-post. 



Ill the crank of the Warwick wheel the idea 

 of splitting it and keying it with a short pin, 

 which is secured by a binder bolt, is followed 

 up. The crank axle cone of this wheel is milled 

 with a ratchet on its outer surface, and a small 

 armature having three teeth engages the cogs, 

 the armature being held in place by a nut. 



A saddle-post having a side lock-nut, so ar- 

 ranged as to make the saddle readily adjusta- 

 ble to any angle while riding, is a thing of in- 

 terest shown at the Eclipse stand. 



We are indebted to the able Cycling Editor 

 of the New York Times for the above practical 

 notes, which journal is rapidly taking metro- 

 politan lead in cycling matters. 



When Frames are Sprung. 



Not infrequently one finds that his wheel 

 runs hard, without any apparent cause, when 

 the very obvious cause is that the frame is out 

 of true. Frames are often slightly sprung by 

 turning in sandy places, says an expert, by a 

 fall, or, in the case of a heavy rider, by the 

 strain on the sprockets of going up a heavy 

 hill. Sometimes the irregularity can be de- 

 tected by the eye. If it can not be seen, then 

 the wheels and sprockets should be tested to 

 see if they arc in line. 



The front and rear wheels should track. If 



