Dec. 28, 1883.] 



KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



387 



TRICYCLES IN 1883. 



By John Browning, 



Chairman of the London Tricycle Club. 



THE ROVEB-THE NEW RUCKER— THE COBWEB— THE 

 COVENTRY TANDEM— AND THE OARSMAN. 



SOME months since an article of mine appeared in 

 Knowledge, " On the Form of the Tricycle." In 

 this article I referred to the various good points of rear- 

 steering machines. The article was, I regret to say, greatly 

 misunderstood. Many of my readers jumped at the con- 

 clusion that I recommended rear-steering machines in 

 preference to front-steerers. This was far from my mean- 

 ing. What I strove to show was this : — That the faults of 

 rear-steerers were not due to their being rearsteerers, but 

 were due to details of construction. These faults were 

 mainly two. They were only single drivers, and the action 

 was not .sufficiently vertical — that is, the rider sat too far 

 behind the pedals and thrust at them, instead of sitting 

 more directly over them and using his weight upon them. 



I argued that, if these faults were corrected, the rear- 

 steering machine might, from the facility with which it can 

 be mounted and dismounted, from its smaller weight and 

 its more graceful appearance, regain the ground it had lost, 

 and again come into public favour. 



About a fortiiight ago, Mr. Leni, of West Kensington, 

 drew my attention to a new rear-steering tricycle, the 

 " Rover," made by Starley & Sutton. 



My tricycling I'eaders will understand, I believe, what 

 this tricycle is like when I tell them that it is a " Meteor," 

 in which the pedals are well behind the axle, which run.s 

 right across the machine, and that the rider's saddle is 

 supported on an Arab spring placed on the backbone, and 

 that the machine is a double-driver by a balance gear. 



The machine combines the advantages of a hind-steerer 

 with those of a front^steerer, and has some of the best 

 points of the " Humber. ' It can be mounted and dis- 

 mounted easily from behind, while it is just as easy to 

 dismount from the front should it be desirable to do so. 



The axle runs through a hollow casing, which does not 

 turn round. 



When running down hill, the feet are placed on this axle 

 as a foot-rest ; in the event of an accident, the hind-wheel 

 would tip-up, and the rider come down on his feet, instead 

 of falling mixed up with the machine, as he would were 

 he riding a front steerer. 



The makers are prepared to supply the " Rover " with 

 driving-wheels as small as 42 in. These should be geared-up 

 to from 40 in. to .56 in., according to the strength of the 

 intending rider. 



If the machine could be supplied with a two-speed gear 

 working down to 35 in. for hill-riding, and up to ^h in. for 

 good level roads, or slight downward inclines, it wciuld be 

 one of the best and fastest machines of the day. It appears 

 to be well made and finished, and lightness has been fairly 

 studied in its construction. I have driven it as fast as 

 I can ride over a good road, and also over the worst road 

 I could find — some inches of mud and new stones — nnd 

 it behaved well on both. Experience will, I do not 

 doubt, prove that this machine can with practice be ridden 

 down hill as fast as any front-steerer. If so, tiie hind- 

 steering machines must again be considered as equal to the 

 front-stecrers, and further improvements may be looked for 

 in thoir construction. 



I shall expect to hear of some good work being done on 

 the " Rover" next season. I should like to point out that 

 this is another case of a good and well-planned machine in 

 which a considerable amount of the weight of the rider is 



thrown on to the small steering - wheel, though the 

 opponents of small wheels declare that the necessity of 

 doing this in machines made with them is an insuperable 

 obstacle to their adoption. 



To Starley & Sutton belongs the credit of having 

 introduced the " Meteor " — the first hind-steerer which 

 achieved a great popularity. The credit is now due to 

 them of bringing out the improved hind-steerer, the 

 " Rover," as an advance upon any front-steering macliine 

 made. 



Mr. Rucker has kindly shown me a new front-steerer he 

 has just designed, which has some important advantages 

 over any other front-steering machine. 



Unlike most front-steerers, this machine can be mounted 

 and dismounted with equal facility, either from the back 

 or front. It is a vertical-geared double driver, with 

 bicycle pedals, adjustible in length of throw to suit the 

 rider, and will shortly be supplied with a two-speed gear- 

 ing when ordered. It is exceedingly light, and the work- 

 manship is admirable. 'Sir. Rucker has been so good as 

 to undertake a commission for me for one of these 

 machines, with a two-speed gearing, and the wheels to be 

 only 38 in. diameter, to my own specification. I expect 

 to find this a very fast, safe, and convenient mount, and I 

 will report on its performance as soon as I have done 

 some work on it. I am decidedly of opinion that it is the 

 best frout-steeriug machine I have yet seen. 



The new " Rucker " can in a few minutes, by only 

 reversing the position of the driving-wheels to the oppo- 

 site sides, be converted into a hind-steerer, when it 

 possesses many of the advantages of the " Humber." 



In the course of these articles I have frequently referred 

 to the excessive weight of tricycles. 



The first "Sociable" tricycle I had weighed 1861b.; 

 this was a first-class manufacturer's ordinary make. The 

 second weighed l.')01b., the third 1331b.; both these ma- 

 chines were made to my own specifications. I have just 

 had completed for me a new " Sociable," which one of my 

 cycling friends has christened the "Cobweb." This weighs 

 only 80 i| lb., and I believe it possesses surplus strength for 

 the work required of it. 



Mr. Hirst, of Oroydi m, in carrying out my designs for 

 this machine, has shown himself an artist in tricycles. 

 Every separate piece has been fashioned into the most 

 shapely form, with a minimum of weight and maximum of 

 strength. All the handle-rods, seat-rods, and brake-rods, 

 as well as the whole of the frame, are of weldless steel 

 tube. The wheels, which are 3f)-in. diameter, have hoUow 

 rims and laced spokes. The suspension saddles have 

 skeleton frames. Every piece of the work, besides those 

 mentioneH, is forged out of the finest Bessemer mild steel, 

 which will bend, but will not break. It is, perhaps, desir- 

 able to say that such work cannot possibly be supplied at 

 the price charged for machines in which many of the parts 

 are of malleable iron castings. On this machine I am able 

 to drive a heavy man, not working, over a rough road. 



I have just seen and tried a new single front-steering 

 tricycle invented by the Rev. J. i\I. Taylor, of Seer Green 

 Vicarage, near Beaconstield. This machine is known as 

 the "Oarsaian." It has a slidiugseat, and the action is 

 that of a rower sculling, though there are no oars to the 

 machine, but two handles that run parallel with the sides. 

 The rider can exert enormous force by reaching down 

 nearly to his feet, and then pulling up in a straight line, 

 bringing himself to his full length in an inclined position. 



The loads were in a shocking condition when I tried 

 the " Oarsman," but I can readily believe that, when the 

 conditions are favourable, great progress can be made with 

 this machine. The driving wheels run with a new clutch, 



