The Bearings, Vol 9, No 2
Articles in this issue
- Mr. Bradstreet, owner of the Waltham track near Boston, plans to resurface it with a metalithic compound of white sand, cement, and pulverized stone at a cost exceeding $20,000, aiming to create the fastest track in the world with paid pacemakers and a novel prize scheme adding $5 per second under target time.
- Wisconsin division L.A.W. officers meet in Milwaukee; Ripon is chosen for the state meet, delegates are instructed to vote for Denver for the 1894 national meet, and the question of a salaried L.A.W. presidency is referred back opposed.
- California division officers meeting at San Francisco's Palace Hotel resolve to instruct delegates to oppose the proposed reclassification of wheelmen into Classes A and B at the National Assembly, arguing it is suicidal to honest bicycle racing.
- Correspondent C.W. Hartung reports from London: at the London County Club dinner George Lacy Hillier announced the club will not encourage the new cash-prize professionalism; a separate Stanley Clubhouse debate on N.C.U. control of professionalism featured F.T. Bidlake, A.F. Ilsley, and F.J. Glynn.
- The Cleveland Wheel Club's imminent election pits "youngsters" backing B.J. Hamm for president against the "old heads" supporting Geo. L. Ralston, with W.K. Myers reportedly carrying forty proxies for captain.
- Inspired by the Christmas Bearings, leaders of the Birmingham, AL Cycle Club have organized a burlesque fraternal order, "The Illustrious Order of Princes of the Bicycle Realm," to amuse members and raise club revenues through weekly "meets" and novelty initiation ceremonies.
- The Owensboro, KY Wheel Club holds a well-attended meeting, appoints seven committees for the Kentucky division meet, and elects B.B. Clarke as vice-president to replace the resigned W.R. Stout.
- A Boston correspondent reports that Chief Consul George A. Perkins led successful opposition to a restrictive Massachusetts cycling bill, with the committee agreeing to draft a fairer ten-mile-per-hour ordinance; Perkins flatly denies pledging the Massachusetts delegation to Asbury Park for the national meet.
- Chicago's Minnette Club will hold a cycle show at its Monroe Street and Campbell Avenue clubhouse during the week ending February 24, with all major manufacturers promised to exhibit under Capt. F.D. McGuire.
- Editorial charging that Springfield, MA cycling boosters display unjust jealousy over record-breaking at western tracks, spreading unfounded rumors about Johnson, Bliss, and Dirnberger, despite Johnson having beaten every one of Zimmerman, Sanger, Tyler, and Windle.
- Tribute editorial to Willie Windle of Milbury, MA, who has ridden his last race after seven years as champion; he held the mile record, brought it to America, and gave Zimmerman some of his hardest fights despite the crushing defeat at Peoria.
- Regular editorial department: American city street-paving will cost over $1 billion in ten years; John Sprocket Johnson's reported challenge to race any amateur is dismissed as unlike him; Windle's claimed $10,000 in prizes calls his amateur status into question; Jack Prince's Florida times of a standing half in :59 and a mile in 2:07 are met with open scepticism.
- Feature translated from a French contemporary advising that healthy children may begin cycling at eight, teenagers should avoid long-distance races, the peak for endurance is thirty to thirty-five, and riding with moderation can continue into old age, with examples from Allard, Mills, and youthful French record-holders.
- The Bearings introduces a letter from Major Taylor, an Indianapolis Black cyclist, who argues that Black wheelmen do not desire L.A.W. membership, that politicians exploit them for votes rather than genuine inclusion, and that Black cyclists will form their own cycling organization.
- Humorous listicle of the tiresome habits of a typical cycling club man: boasting about his mount, scorching to exhaustion, spoiling the club joker's jokes, affecting intimacy with Zimmerman and McDermott, and retailing a four-year-old ride with Francis Wilson.
- Sardonic column warning northern L.A.W. delegates planning to vote against Black membership at the Louisville convention to insist on a secret ballot, citing the reportedly razor-armed Black hotel waiter in Colonel Watts's city.
- Humorous anecdote: Tommy earns a threatened thrashing for street fighting but wins a quarter from his father Smith after revealing the Jones boy had claimed Smith was scorched on the last century run and only rode with girls.
- Brief editorial observing that the English N.C.U., having failed to resolve the amateur question, is now seeking to regulate professionals—an endeavor the L.A.W. has similarly failed at in America, amounting to piling Pelion on Ossa.
- Extensive report on the Philadelphia bicycle show: Gormully & Jeffery sold 125 retail machines and gave away $700 in bronze Rambler souvenirs; Palmer, Morgan & Wright, Penn Bicycle Co., Stearns, and dozens more report strong local business; Gormully advocates Buffalo for the next show; the Tillinghast adjustable tire, Simplicity tire (Frank Waller rode 402 miles in 24 hours on it), and the Shelby Steel dummy "Gus Tubeman" are the season's main talking points.
- The committee awards Morgan & Wright's annual prizes: A.A. Hansen of St. Paul wins greatest mileage (8,114 miles on a Fowler in 1893), W.R. Englemire of Rockford second (7,957 miles on an Ormonde), and H.H. Wylie wins most meritorious single ride for his New York-to-Chicago trip on a Sterling.
- Milwaukee's Telegram Cycle Mfg. Co. elects W.H. Wolf president and K.R. Pingree secretary-treasurer-manager; Casper M. Sanger is expected to become a stockholder and W.C. Sanger to ride the Telegram wheel again next season.
- Weekly bulletin of trade changes across Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Washington, including the dissolution of Cameron, Blaney & Draper of Springfield and the appointment of a receiver for Goodyear Mechanical Rubber Co. of New York.
- E.H. Wilcox, secretary of the Ariel Cycle Mfg. Co., resigns due to illness, while reporting the company is in exceedingly prosperous condition with bright prospects.
- Lists velocipede and vehicle wheel patents that expired in January 1894, including Walter Katon and Paul Bonfils's 1877 velocipede patent and G.F. Almy's vehicle wheel patent, now available for free use by the trade.
- Owensboro, KY dealers anticipate a prosperous 1894 season as ladies increasingly take to cycling; W.A. Guenther & Sons sell their wheel business to R.L. Corley and H.L. Bowlds, who will lead with Columbia; E.L. Wimp, a local racing man, enters the trade at 216 Fredrica Street.
- The patent office rules in favor of Thomas B. Jeffery over A.L. Garford in an interference case covering the beaded-edge pneumatic tire held in a recessed rim by an air tube and rib—a key clincher tire design patent.
- Chicago inventors Werner and Avery introduce the Eureka pump brace, which clips to the hose coupling and braces against a spoke nipple so riders can inflate tires without knuckle-skinning; Rouse, Hazard & Co. have ordered several hundred, and H.A. Lozier & Co. are negotiating.
- Hill Cycle Mfg. Co. of South Framingham, MA describes its seven 1894 Fowler models, from the 25-pound semi-racer at $135 to a 19–22-pound racer at $150 and a 31-pound ladies' wheel, all fitted with Palmer tires.
- Brown Sprocket Wheel Co. of St. Louis introduces a rear sprocket whose small peripheral rollers rotate slightly on chain contact and push mud up through the chain rather than clogging, maintaining equal friction on hills and level ground.
- N.Y. Belting & Packing Co.'s new New York Key tire uses a keyed wooden strip inside a specially rolled rim; a quarter-turn of the key locks the beaded edges so firmly that no reasonable pressure can displace them, while the full inner-tube circumference remains above the rim for cushioning.
- Clarence Smith at Overman Wheel Co.'s Detroit branch attracts crowds by hanging a valveless 1894 Victor bicycle in the window placarded "What makes it go?"—the low-friction wheel revolves continuously for fifteen minutes after a single sharp whirl.
- Arthur Hockin, a stamp clerk at Rouse, Hazard & Co.'s Peoria office, embezzled enough over two years to open one of the city's finest restaurants; given a second chance, he was caught rifling letters again and disappeared before arrest.
- Morgan & Wright's 1894 catalogue argues cemented tires outperform clinchers because inflation provides constriction sufficient to resist four men's pulling, clinchers risk rim punctures and blowoff when under-inflated, and a detailed primer explains rubber chemistry, vulcanization, and compounding for cyclists.
- The Bearings reviews 1894 bicycle catalogues of Gormully & Jeffery (Rambler), Rochester Cycle Mfg. Co. (new 26-pound Humber-frame roadster at $125), Derby Cycle Co., Wilson-Myers Co. (Liberty Bogie Man racer at 19½ lbs.), Yost Mfg. Co., Schoverling/Daly & Gales (Eagle, Humber, Gales, Gotham lines), Puritan at $100–$115, and Kingman & Co. wholesale at $20–$105.
- E.C. Stearns & Co.'s ladies' Model C weighs 27 pounds, finished in black enamel with gold striping and orange rims at $125; the Bearings notes it is the first ladies' wheel seen with a forward-turned seat-post for a better riding position.
- Amusing anecdote: the American Ormonde Cycle Co. accidentally addressed a sample-and-pricing inquiry to the Ferris Wheel Co. in Chicago, which replied with a courteous quote of $2,000,000 per unit in gross lots.
- London correspondent Will o' the Wisp reports on the Quadrant Co.'s new tricycle with self-aligning swiveled hub bearings, Humber's Carter detachable gear case (three screws to remove), Coventry Machinists' new Swift tandem designed for a lady and gentleman, Starley Bros.' long-wheelbase high safety, and the Elswick Cycle Co.'s fully rebuilt Newcastle factory.
- Sterling Cycle Works' 1894 models earned praise at both New York and Philadelphia shows: the 19-pound racer at $160 uses drop-forged special steel with a 43½-inch wheel base; the 28-pound Lady Sterling with Mannesmann tubing lists at $135; the 31-pound Model E roadster uses needle-drawn Atlas steel piano-wire spokes tested to 950 lbs. breaking strain.