Dec. lo, 18S5] 



NA TURE 



133 



struction, pointing out the underlying principles, and 

 describing the various types at present made in order to 

 show how far these principles have been carried out, and 

 what degree of perfection has already been attained. 



Power. — The experiments of Messrs. S. J. and G. S. 

 Stone;- show that with a lever action bicycle the power 

 necessary to produce speeds of from six to fourteen miles 

 an hour on an average road ranges from one-seventh to 

 one-third of a horse-power ; but the author thinks that 

 less than this would be necessary with an ordinary rotary 

 action bicycle. 



Bicycle. — Gavin Dalzell, a cooper of Lesmahagovv, in 

 Lanarkshire, in 1836 first fixed a pair of cranks to one of 

 the wheels of a hobby horse, and may therefore be 

 considered the inventor of the bicycle. In 1868, Mr. 

 Cowper, a past President of the Institution, specified, 

 amongst other things, suspension wheels with wire spokes, 

 hollow felloes, rubber tyres, and anti-friction roller bear- 

 ings, and may thus be considered the inventor of the 

 suspension wheel. Without these features or some modifi- 

 cations of them no cycle at the present day is satisfactory. 



Tricycle. — Although the tricycle was invented contem- 

 poraneously with the bicycle it did not attract much 

 attention until six years later. 



Statistics. — Over one thousand patents were applied for 

 for improvements relating to velocipedes before the end 

 of 18S3, and during 1884 (under the new Act) 637 appli- 

 cations were filed. There are 170 firms who devote 

 themselves exclusively to cycle making, and turn out 

 over 500 different machines. The trade employs 3000 

 men in Coventry and at least 5000 in the United King- 

 dom. About 40,000 machines are sold annually, of the 

 gross value of about 800,000/. 



Performances. — The following "records" are given : — 



On a Racing Path 



Distance run. Duration of race, hoiiri; Mean speed, miles per hour 



miles Bicycle Tricycle Bicycle Tricycle 



I ... 0'044 ... 0-050 ... 226 ... 20'0 



5 ... 0-238 ... 0-272 ... 21-0 ... 18-4 



10 0'489 ... 0-543 ... 20-5 ... 18-4 



20 ... 0-985 ... I-I45 ... 20-3 ... 17-5 



25 ... 1-278 ... 1-442 I9'6 ... I7'3 



50 ... 2-733 •■- 3'054 ■■• 18-3 ... 16-4 



100 ... 5'835 ... 6-726 ... 17-1 ... 14-9 



On Ordinary Roads 



Bicycle Tricycle 



Journey Hours Days Hours Days 



Distance of 100 miles 7-19 — 7-58 — 



Land's End to John O'Groat's 1 ,, , ,.,, ,„_.,,_ o..,, 



/!,.., 11 J- 160 17 = 667 19733 = 8 22 



(about 900 miles) ) ' ' " ■'^ 



Land's End to John O'Groat's 1 



and back, and thence to > 456 = 19 



London, about 2050 miles ) 

 Greatest distance in 24 hours 266J miles 231 J miles 



Mean speed for the 24 hours, 1 , 



„•! u Mil ,, 96 ,, 



miles per hour j " ' " 



From these performances it appears that the bicycle 

 has an advantage of from 2 to 2i miles per hour. 

 Classification — 



Bicycles 



1. Bicycles of the ordinary type. 



2. Safety Bicycles, which may be subdivided into— 



a. Dwarf bicycles with geared rotary action. 



b. Dwarf bicycles with lever action. 



c. Safety bicycles with steering- wheel in front. 



3. Tandem bicycles. 



4. Otto bicycle. 



Tricycles 



1. Single drivers, which may be subdivided inlo — 



a. Rear steerers. 



b. Coventry rotary, side steerer. 



c. Double front steerers. 



2. Double drivers, which may be subdivided into — 



a. Those driving by clutch action. 



b. Those driving by differential gear. 



3. Humber tricycles. 



4. Hand power tricycles. 



5. Sociables. 



6. Tandems. 



7. Carriers. 



All these may be again subdivided as driven by 

 ' rotary " or " lever " action. 



Ordinary Bicycles. — The ordinary type of bicycle is so 

 f..imiliar that it need not be referred to at any length, 

 especially as the details of construction will be dealt with 

 later on. Being supported on only two points it is un- 

 stable, so it tends to fall one way or the other. Equi- 

 librium is maintained by steering to that side to which it 

 tends to fall. As the rider is seated only a little behind 

 the centre of the driving wheel he is able by his feet alone 

 to control the steering and so maintain his balance. 

 When working the rider must counteract the thrust of his 

 feet by pulling at the handle bar with his arms alternately 

 on either side. It is this combined action which renders 

 the riding of a bicycle so difficult to learn. The bicycle 

 cannot be driven along a perfectly straight line, hence 

 anything that interferes with the freedom of steering, as 

 the groove of a tram line, makes the balance impossible. 

 Weight. — The weight of an ordinary roadster bicycle 

 varies from as many pounds as its driving wheel is inches 

 in diameter down to from 15 to 20 lbs. less than this. A 

 racing bicycle weighs from 18 to 25 lbs , according to size. 

 The proportionate weights of the several parts were given. 

 Vibration, which is the chief source of discomfort in 

 most cycles, is mitigated by the use of india-rubber 

 cushions between the wheel bearings and the forks, 

 between the backbone and the spring, and between the 

 head and the handle. 



A spring fork was shown which serves to diminish the 

 vibration produced by the small wheel of a machine. 



Dwarf Bicycles with Geared Rotary Action. — Machines 

 of this class have a smaller driving wheel connected with 

 the pedals by chains and chain wheels. This makes it 

 possible to " gear up " the driving wheel so as to be 

 equivalent to one of any size. The high gearing thus 

 introduced is the cause, in the author's opinion, of their 

 ease of propulsion and speed. 



Dwarf Bicycles with Lever Action. — The "Facile" 

 bicycle is a prominent e.xample of this type of machine. 

 The motion of the feet is simply reciprocating, and as the 

 wheel IS not " geared up " the feet keep time with the 

 driving wheel. 



The 'Xtraordinary is another example of a lever action 

 machine. In this machine the fork rakes back to a great 

 extent so that the rider is far behind the centre of the 

 driving wheel, but the pedal levers bring the pedals to a 

 convenient position. Their path is oval. These machines 

 are made of the full size. 



Safctv Bicycles with Steering Wheel in Front. — In 

 machines of this class the rider sits well over the driving 

 wheel, which is behind. A single chain is sufficient, as 

 in this kind of machine there is a "through" crank-axle. 

 In a modification of this pattern a divided crank-axle is 

 employed, which allows the rider to be still more over 

 the driving wheel. The frame, moreover, is made capable 

 of swinging and of being locked in various positions, so 

 that the rider can place himself in the best position under 

 all conditions. 



Machines of this type are rather sensitive in the steer- 

 ing, but as automatic contrivances to keep the steering 

 wheel running straight are apt to interfere with that free- 

 dom which is necessary for the balance, such devices are 

 not altogether desirable. 



In these machines the feet cannot be used to control 

 the steering as in an ordinary bicycle, but the author of 

 the paper has contrived a means for effecting this. On 



