BICYCLING. 



THE BEST BICYCLE. 



Long Island City. 



I am not selling, praising or criticising 

 any bicycle. I have simply an idea that 

 after 6 years experience as a rider and hav- 

 ing owned 3 different mounts I can at last 

 conglomerate a strong, durable and per- 

 fect bicycle, for touring and general riding. 



My first wheel was a Crescent; my 

 second a Syracuse and my third a '96, 26 

 inch, truss frame Fowler. In my judg- 

 ment there is no " best " wheel on the 

 market; so I will take parts of several 

 wheels and construct my perfect bicycle. 

 All the bicycles from which I take parts are 

 good. 



Now to the building. I take my '96 

 roadster, 26 inch Fowler, with an 11 inch 

 steering-head, the crank hanger having 

 about a 1 inch drop, the lines of which are 

 good and the rake of the fork as yet un- 

 surpassed. Instead of the present crank 

 hanger I have brazed in its place a '96 Co- 

 lumbia crank hanger and shafts. The rea- 

 son for this change is that the Columbia 

 does not have the troublesome cotter pins. 



In the place of my present fork I sub- 

 stitute, on the same lines and rake, a '97 

 Lyndhurst fork, which extends to the top 

 of the steering-head. This adds safety and 

 strength to what I believe to be the vital 

 point on a bicycle; but instead of the Lynd- 

 hurst fork crown I use one on the arch 

 principle, as at present employed in the '97 

 Fowler and Remington. 



Next come the wheels. I believe the 

 present number of spokes employed, 32 

 front and 36 rear, too small and so would 

 use, as I had on my Syracuse, 40 front and 

 rear. I never had, in 2 seasons riding, one 

 of these spokes snap or become loose or 

 get out of true. I next add Fowler sprock- 

 ets, '97 Columbia chain, and gear case. 



You can use whatever tire you like best. 

 I use Volt tires, made in New Brunswick, 

 and have never yet had a puncture. Their 

 diameter is i^i inches. 



Each rider must satisfy himself as to the 

 best saddle Record pedals, '96 pattern, 

 are my choice. Use metal handle bars, with 

 not more than 4 z / 2 inches drop, and as wide 

 as your shoulders, so as to permit the arms 

 to be parallel, in riding, which will prevent 

 your becoming round-shouldered and will 

 enable you to keep your chest inflated. 



The grips, on the bars, should be bisected 

 by the steering head. 



Have your saddle on a level with the 

 handle bars; the peak of the saddle to be 

 on a perpendicular line through the middle 

 of the crank axle, to the floor. The peak 

 of my saddle is 14 inches from the handle 

 bars. 



Such is my idea of the " best wheel," and 

 I will gladly answer any inquiries. 



Let us hear from others and thus we may 

 be able to get at what constitutes a perfect 

 bicycle. Harry S. New. 



P.S. Received Recreation (October) 

 to-day and it is something great. 



H. S. N. 



THE CHAINLESS BICYCLE. 



ORRIN D. BARTLETT. 



The coming of the chainless wheel is the 

 topic of the day, in cycling circles. Whether 

 the change in driving mechanism will be 

 successful remains to be seen, after the 

 numerous models shall have been tho- 

 roughly tested by many riders. It is to be 

 hoped the bevel gear can be constructed 

 and applied to wheels, in a satisfactory 

 manner; for if so it would have many ad- 

 vantages over the chain. 



Chief among these would be cleanliness. 

 The machine would look neater and the 

 danger from catching the clothing in 

 sprockets or chain would be entirely ob- 

 viated. I have seen 2 accidents, from this 

 cause, within the past week. 



We must await, patiently, the result of the 

 tests which are to be made, before growing 

 enthusiastic on the proposed change, for 

 there are many difficulties to overcome, 

 and the bevel gear may never be generally 

 used on bicycles. 



In all former attempts it has been found 

 that no bicycle frame could be built stiff 

 enough to hold the gear teeth in perfect 

 alignment. A bevel gear, no matter where 

 applied, must be firmly secured, in a per- 

 fectly rigid frame, else the gear teeth will 

 not mesh properly Any lack in this di- 

 rection would cause undue friction and the 

 teeth would break off. This would, of 

 course, ruin the gear Repairs in such a 

 case, of a temporary nature, would be im- 

 possible. New teeth could not be put in, 

 even by the best machinist, to say nothing 

 of the average repair man whom you run 

 across in the rural districts, and who usu- 

 ally knows about as much of fine mechanics 

 as a school boy does. 



An entirely new sprocket would be 

 necessary and you would probably be com- 

 pelled to walk home. Another serious 

 drawback would be the difficulty in adjust- 

 ing the gear, after having had the rear 

 wheel off to mend the tire, or for cleaning. 

 Even a difference of yno of an inch, in the 

 set of the cogs, would make the gear run 

 badly. 



It is also impossible to take up the slack, 

 or wear, on a bevel gear. There is abso- 

 lutely no way of remedying wear except to 



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