BICYCLE 



712 



BICYCLE 



probably never again be as popular as the 

 motorcycle (which see), because of the speed 

 of the latter and the fact that it can take 

 the rider long distances without causing him 

 undue fatigue. 



The essential features of the bicycle of lat- 

 est construction are as follows: It consists of 

 two wheels, arranged tandem and attached to 

 a frame upon which the rider's seat is 

 mounted. The vehicle is propelled by the 

 rider's feet, which act upon pedals connected 

 with the axle of the rear wheel. A handle bar, 

 guiding the direction of the front wheel, is the 

 steering apparatus. The mechanism for driv- 

 ing the vehicle is usually a chain whose links 



In the older type of machine the brake was 

 attached to the handle bar. 



In the early stages of the bicycle's vogue 

 a high grade .machine, more than twice as 

 heavy as the present-day vehicle, cost from 

 $100 to $150. An excellent bicycle, with the 

 latest appliances, can be purchased to-day for 

 twenty-five or thirty dollars. About 169,000 

 machines, valued at approximately $2,437,000, 

 are manufactured in a year in the United 

 States. The province of Ontario is the cen- 

 ter of the Canadian industry, the yearly out- 

 put of the entire Dominion being valued at 

 about $445,000. 



Evolution of the Bicycle. A crude, two- 



THIRTY YEARS OF BICYCLE DEVELOPMENT 



(a) Modern bicycle; (&) the so-called "ordinary," the immediate predecessor of (/), the first 

 "safety"; (c) the "Star" bicycle, with small wheel in front; (d) the "safety" adapted for the 

 use of women; (e) the "tandem," for two, which could be developed on the same principle for 

 three, four or even six people. 



fit over a sprocket wheel turned by the crank 

 shaft and running over another sprocket on 

 the rear wheel; but some chainless bicycles 

 are made, having levers with bevel gear which 

 transmit the motion of the crank shaft to the 

 rear wheel. 



The wheels are of equal size and have steel 

 wire spokes, ball bearings, wooden rims and 

 pneumatic tires. The latter may be single- 

 tube or double-tube, but the double-tube are 

 generally regarded as the more satisfactory. 

 The frame consists of hollow steel tubing, and 

 the weight of the vehicle is from twenty-three 

 to thirty pounds. A recent appliance is the 

 coaster brake, attached to the rear wheel, 

 which enables the rider to check the speed 

 of the bicycle by pressing back on the pedals. 



wheeled vehicle propelled by the feet was 

 known to the ancients, and machines of this 

 character were in use in England, France and 

 Germany many years before the real fore- 

 runner of the modern bicycle was devised. 

 This machine, invented in 1816 by Baron von 

 Drais, chief forester to the Grand Duke of 

 Baden, and called draisine in honor of him, 

 consisted of two wheels of equal size, arranged 

 tandem and connected by a perch. The rider, 

 who rested part of his weight on the perch, 

 propelled the machine by striking the ground 

 with his feet. A padded arm-rest on a bar 

 attached to the front wheel served as a handle 

 bar, and the whole formed a steering appar- 

 atus. 

 A machine modeled on the draisine was 



