THE MECHANISM OF BICYCLES. 
411 
With regard to the cyclometers I must express my admiration for the way in 
which Major von Donop attached, without formulae, and without a blackboard, 
and without even a diagram, that double epicyclic mechanism which drives the 
first motion wheel of the Veeder cyclometer. Any epicyclic contrivance is diffi¬ 
cult enough to explain at any time, but where there is a double epicyclic mechan¬ 
ism like this it becomes still more difficult to explain. I certainly did not think 
when he began he would succeed in the absolutely clear and lucid manner that 
he did (applause). 
Speaking of cyclometers I thought that perhaps the members of this Institu¬ 
tion might be interested to see a little French cyclometer that was sent to me as 
a present by a friend a short time ago; I have brought it with me, and it is here 
for anyone who likes to look at it afterwards. It is purely and typically French 
in this respect, that it is far more scientific than anything that would ordinarily 
meet with favour in this country—the English people are not a scientific race— 
I am speaking of the general public—they do not like anything they do not 
understand. 
This (exhibiting the same) is the little machine; it is bigger certainly than the 
Veeder. It is made to be clamped upon the handle bar, and to be driven by a 
catgut band from a little pulley wheel clamped on the outside of the spokes 
of the front wheel of the machine. Inside this box there is a clock or 
watch which goes and the rider sees upon the dial facing him the hours and 
minutes marked on two drums visible through an opening on the face so that 
he can see the time. That same clock draws a ribbon of paper over a toothed 
drum under the lid, the ribbon of paper is drawn along and a small pencil is 
kept in contact with the ribbon. Every hectometre or tenth of a kilometre—call 
them miles if you like—every tenth of a mile this pencil moves a small step on 
the horizontal scale and keeps quiet. Meanwhile the ribbon of paper passes 
along in front of the pencil and draws a straight line. It does not take more 
than a few seconds or minutes to go another tenth of a mile when the thing 
makes another step, and so this pencil makes a notched mark with ten little steps 
every mile. At the end of each mile it suddenly jumps up and starts again; so 
that when the rider gets home and looks at the ribbon he finds a series of little 
zig-zag saw teeth drawn upon it, each one representing a mile. The ribbon has 
the hours and minutes already printed upon it so that he can see the time at 
which he was at any distance from the starting point to the nearest tenth of a 
mile. In addition to that if he stops the pencil stops, and a long straight line is 
drawn, and when he goes on again the saw-teeth begin to be drawn again. Then 
in addition, on the face, where the time is seen, there are three openings such as 
you have in the upper one of those cyclometer diagrams on the wall, and there 
are three figures which shew the total number of miles that the machine has gone. 
And finally there is a hand working over an arc which, according to the speed at 
which the machine is moving at the time takes some position. It points at 0 
when the machine is at rest and at 5, 10, &c. when the machine is at the time 
travelling at 5, 10, &c. miles an hour. It might be useful in case of arrest for 
furious riding to enable the rider to know what speed he really did attain. I 
have not been out with this instrument at present, so I cannot say from my own 
experience how it works, blit it is evidently suited for auto-cars and machines 
like Major Holden’s petroleum bicycle with speeds perhaps of fifty to sixty miles 
an hour, or at anyrate at what a policeman would call dangerous speeds which 
are more than likely to be developed by such machines than by an ordinary 
bicycle. 
I will ask Major von Donop to correct any errors that any of us may have 
fallen into. 
