The Bearings, Vol 11, No 3
Articles in this issue
- W. J. Edwards of California breaks the straightaway mile record at Livermore in 1:34 1-5, paced by the Rambler quad team despite a headwind; the piece also details Edwards' proposed electric pacemaker with wind-shield and track guide rail, and San Jose Road Club news including Floyd McFarland's ten-mile course record of 29:47.
- Wisconsin Division chief consul A. Cressy Morrison is put forward as a candidate for an L.A.W. vice-presidency; Milwaukee notes cover the North Side Club road race plans, the Wisconsin League for Good Roads, and the Milwaukee Wheelmen's new membership cap of 100.
- The exclusive Maryland Bicycle Club in Baltimore plans to add fifty new members and merge its city and country club memberships, with the country-annex owner proposing $5,000 in improvements including bowling alleys, swimming pools, and a new modern clubhouse.
- Buffalo's Ramblers B.C. holds a jovial 'German Night' entertainment, while the Press C.C. and Sixty-fifth Regiment A.A. plan an indoor cycle meet on March 9 featuring novelty water and obstacle races; the Ramblers also close their tenth-anniversary week with a banquet attended by Mayor Edgar B. Jewett and District Attorney Kenefick.
- An editorial credits the L.A.W. with sparking the wide-tire movement and notes that Peoria has passed an ordinance requiring minimum 2½-inch tires on all wheeled vehicles from January 1, 1896, with Cleveland preparing a similar measure.
- An editorial argues that the sub-1:40 straightaway mile has become commonplace since Johnny Johnson first showed how, and that W. J. Edwards's 1:34 4-5 at Livermore attracted little eastern interest; riders are urged to shift attention from straightaway novelties to legitimate record-breaking.
- Alderman Addison Ballard has introduced an ordinance taxing Chicago's 75,000 wheelmen $2 a year, and the editorial praises the Associated Cycling Clubs for reviving itself to defeat the measure as Chicago riders once disposed of Alderman Potthoff at the polls for a similar attempt.
- An editorial criticises the annual North Side versus South Side versus West Side fight over the Decoration Day road race course in Chicago, urging the A.C.C. to accept the North Side's victory for 1895 and fix the course permanently to end the divisive wrangling.
- The Bearings' Philadelphia representative reviews L.A.W. treasurer Brewster's accounts covering February 1894 to January 1895 and finds the treasury empty with unpaid bills, the Good Roads magazine having cost up to $600 a month as the chief drain.
- A wide-ranging column discusses the paradox of racing muscle (Sanger, Bald, Johnson, Ziegler) earning far more than brain work in 1895 cycling; touches on W. A. Fletcher's marriage, the Michaux Club's ignorance of the Pierre and Ernest Michaux monument unveiled at Bar-le-Duc, and concludes that Abbot Bassett's salary fully justifies itself.
- The Hot Springs Railroad Co. has funded a three-laps-to-the-mile natural cement cycle track in Salt Lake City with 40-foot home stretch and maximum 1-in-5 banking; the foundation is nearly complete with the surface to follow by March 20 and the full facility ready by May 1 at a total cost of $9,000.
- Alderman Ballard has secured passage of an order directing Chicago's corporation counsel to draft a $2-per-bicycle licensing ordinance; the A.C.C. committee led by President Fanning has already enlisted a dozen aldermen against it, and the ordinance is expected to stall in the judiciary committee.
- J. P. Bliss, the miniature record breaker, has signed to play 'Jack' in the stage play 'The Human Race' in Boston this summer, riding a race on stage in the manner of 'The County Fair' and marrying the heroine.
- Indiana Bicycle Co. (makers of the Waverley) has quietly opened three stores in New York City—at 67 Cortlandt Street, Broadway and 30th Street, and near Central Park on 59th Street—as part of a planned 25-city direct-to-consumer expansion under the management of Leon Johnson.
- London correspondent predicts a surge in long-distance path racing as road events decline, dissects the National Cyclists' Union manifesto threatening permanent license revocation for riders who withdraw after entering races, and previews the Southern C.C. six-hour open contest at Putney on February 16 and the reopening of Herne Hill on March 2.
- The Century Road Club has accepted A. A. Hansen's 1894 mileage record of 21,053 miles and Dr. Milton Keim Jr.'s record of 78 centuries in a single year as the American individual century record; all wheels used Morgan & Wright tires.
- Philadelphia cyclists argue strenuously for Asbury Park over Boston as the 1895 L.A.W. national meet site, with A. R. Parsons of the Asbury Park Wheelmen posing fifteen rhetorical questions; local hotel people have pledged $10,000 in support and the town has never previously hosted a League meet.
- At the A.C.C. annual meeting, Frank J. Fanning was re-elected president, Dr. Clark's investigation exposed the Myrtle Hopkins charity fraud (she had spent donated funds on herself while being evicted from boarding houses for misconduct), $312 was returned to contributors, and the North Side Lincoln Park course beat the old Pullman course 18–6 for the Decoration Day race.
- San Francisco news covers the Imperial Club's five-mile road race on the Oakland-Haywards course won on time by 15-year-old Peter Metcalf from the 1:30 mark and brisk track activity at the Bay City Wheelmen's cement track; Springfield, Mass., reports that Spalding team manager Shafer plans training at Birmingham and Louisville before the May 30 circuit opener, with Titus targeting the hour record at Springfield.
- H. E. Raymond of Brooklyn responds to Patterson's open letter about undelivered Wellsville prize money by reproducing the Wellsville Wheel Club's November 1894 letter confirming the prizes were held due to the club secretary's illness and would be forwarded promptly.
- The Irish Cyclist's editor logged 7,013 miles in 1894 on 307 riding days, with a longest single ride of 207 miles and a peak month of 1,003 miles in September; since taking up cycling in 1878 he estimates 75,000 miles ridden in Ireland alone.
- William Twinkle's humorous column recounts being tricked at the New York Cycle Show by a reporter who submitted a pre-written advertorial and then billed the exhibitor $200 for 2,000 unsolicited newspaper copies; it also describes a comic episode where a boastful stranger on the Chicago train claimed to have beaten Zimmerman—not knowing he was speaking to the champion himself.
- New York correspondent previews the February 17 L.A.W. National Assembly at the Grand Union Hotel, detailing Chief Consul Elliott's proposed constitutional amendments on track racing and rolling-membership dates; also covers new cycling clubs, the Bidwell-Tinkham riding school expansion to Berkeley Athletic Club, and W. B. Young's comic acquisition of a fake gold watch from a poolroom con man.
- At the Massachusetts Bicycle Club annual meeting the seventeen female members organised a rival ticket to resist an amendment—introduced by former ally Lon Peck—barring women from future membership; the regular ticket prevailed, and the amendment goes to a special meeting on February 15 where the women are seeking legal advice on proxy votes.
- Cleveland city council has introduced a detailed ordinance setting minimum tire widths by vehicle load weight, from 3¼ inches for loads over 1½ tons up to 5 inches for loads over 8 tons; F. Howard Tuttle also signed L. C. and E. C. Johnson to the Stearns team for 1895, and the C.W.C. elected B. J. Hamm as president in a harmonious annual meeting.
- The Associated Cycling Clubs' two-day St. Louis cycle show, opened by Mayor Waldridge, attracted exhibits from Shapleigh Hardware (Syracuse wheels), E. C. Meacham Arms (Czar, Cleveland, Tribune), Jordan & Sanders (Stearns and Johnson's record racer), and the New York Tire Co., with Spalding team member Cabanne the lone racing celebrity present.
- R. Philip Gormully of Gormully & Jeffery writes to The Bearings arguing that cycle shows should be held in late January to maximise selling-season enthusiasm, that two shows—one in New York and one in Chicago—are the right format, and that parts manufacturers should hold a separate trade-only exhibition.
- London correspondent 'Will o' the Wisp' surveys the proliferation of new English trade papers (Cycle Manufacturer, Cycle Trader), the threat to retail agents from private and ironmonger competitors undercutting prices, the troubled Preston-Davies Tire Co. shareholder meeting issuing 10,000 preference shares, and the Steyr Small Arms factory in Austria beginning Swift cycle production.
- Houston correspondent reports on the Waco cycle trade—Woodworth Cycle Co. adds the Sterling and Avery lines, Parker's Cycle Store rises from Parker Cycle Co.'s ashes with Stearns machines—and on San Antonio, where Ed Spooner's racing aggregation's two-day visit stimulated immediate wheel sales and promises a return for a major meet after their City of Mexico trip.
- J. J. Boucher & Co. of Chicago describe their patented hub design, which reverses the conventional cone-on-axle, cup-on-hub arrangement by placing the cone on the hub (where rotation ensures even wear) and the cup on the axle, bringing the ball race within one-eighth inch of the fork-sides and incorporating a dust-proof cap.
- The new Barnes Cycle Co. of Syracuse, incorporated with $100,000 capital and managed by A. R. Peck with design by William Van Wagoner (formerly of Stearns and Syracuse), employs a patented internal frame-connection system said to reduce weight by two pounds; models range from 14-lb racers to a 35-lb tandem and the ladies' Superba drop frame, all listed at $100.
- Judge Buffington rules in favour of American Dunlop Tire Co. against Erie Rubber Co., finding the Brown & Stillman patent's first claim—an exteriorly grooved rim with divergent flanges and a non-extensible circumferential shoe held in place by internal air pressure alone—valid and infringed by Erie's cord-binder Moomey-patent device.
- The National Cycle Board of Trade's executive committee circulates a seven-question survey to manufacturers and dealers asking whether they prefer one or two shows, which cities, what dates, and how many days each should run, with replies requested before the February 25 board meeting in New York.
- Brief trade notes from Hartford, Chicago, Brooklyn, Chattanooga, Springfield, Philadelphia, Washington, Grand Rapids, Syracuse, and Kalamazoo covering new incorporations, agency transfers, store openings, and business changes; includes Frank J. Jenny signing jointly with Waltham Cycle and Newton Rubber Works to enter Class B racing on an Orient fitted with new 15-ounce Straus elastic tires.