Vol 21, No 33
Cite this issue
Citation
The Cycle Age and Trade Review 21, no. 33 (1898). cyclearchive.com, https://cyclearchive.com/magazines/the-cycle-age-and-trade-review/vol21-33/
Page numbers are pages of the PDF, which can differ from the numbers printed on the page.
Articles in this issue
- The Cycle Age reported an unprecedented divide in the 1898 season, with some New England factories unable to fill orders and working overtime while others saw business almost at a standstill, creating a pattern impossible to explain by general trade conditions alone.
- A bill introduced in Congress sought to charter an international American bank with up to $25 million capital to facilitate trade with Central and South American countries, backed by prominent businessmen including P. D. Armour and Andrew Carnegie, with the aim of breaking European financial dominance of South American commerce.
- A Washington dealer manager reported that the guarantee obligations on cheap bicycles sold on thin margins had become so burdensome that dealers handling low-grade machines were actively looking to exit that segment of the trade.
- A series of testimonials and cases in which credit managers at parts suppliers and manufacturers assessed the reliability of different classes of bicycle dealers and assemblers, offering guidance on extending terms safely.
- The issue offered advice on how dealers should maintain advertising presence during the slow midsummer period, arguing that consistent visibility would capture late-season buyers and establish position for the following spring.
- The Fruits of War argues that the cycle trade, preoccupied with the Spanish war, should look to a settlement spreading American schooling and English in Spain's colonies; Desires of Dealers prints a Georgia dealer's complaint against jobbers supplying parts to riders who pose as repairmen.
- Explains how pattern makers lay out cores and make wooden patterns for malleable-iron and steel frame fittings (steering heads, seat clusters, crank hangers, bracket lugs), illustrated by Figs. 1 to 3 and continued with Fig. 4 on the next page.
- Argues that unchecked credit is bankrupting nations and weakening commercial foundations, citing John A. Price's 1888 plea to abolish debt-collection laws, the size of national and railroad debts, and the collapse of E. T. Hooley's enterprises.
- Advice to repairmen on judging costs: re-drilling broken hub flanges, turning replacement sprockets from blanks, fitting wood rims to old steel-rim wheels, and the simple jigs (Fig. 1) needed for wheel building and truing.
- The sixth installment of the Cycle Age's acetylene lamp series presented additional performance data, comparing brands under standardized conditions and advising dealers which models offered the best combination of light output and fuel economy.
- A continuing technical series on motor vehicle engineering described current advances in engine design, transmission arrangements, and steering systems relevant both to motocycle makers and to bicycle manufacturers exploring motorized vehicles.
- Reports from trials of steam-powered commercial trucks described their load-carrying capacity, fuel consumption, and road behavior, with trade commentary on whether steam or petroleum propulsion was likely to dominate commercial vehicle use.
- Trade novelties for the 1899 season, including the Riehemann flag carrier, Mossberg wrenches, Thames roller block chain, Indiana chains, Sunbeam twisted spokes, Armstrong hangers, a hollow forged fork-crown and the Pope motor carriage pamphlet.
- Under The Pastime and Sport, Tom Linton's match-race win over Edouard Taylore and his hour record, with cartoons of Michael, McDuffee, Taylore, Cordang and Bald, and notes on George Banker and Cordang.
- East Surfeited with Stars: racing associations shift their plans west as the National Circuit trip to Pueblo and Denver nears, Gardiner's championship lead is threatened by Cooper, and Linton's match with Michael is previewed.
- At Charles River Park, Boston, Jimmy Michael lost his fifteen-mile match to E. A. McDuffee when his handlebar broke, with mile-by-mile times; also Bedell downs Schofield at Berkeley Oval and the Rochester meeting.
- At Willow Grove, Philadelphia, Tom Cooper won the two-mile national championship from Taylor and Stevens while Gardiner failed to qualify; also Titus's unpaced records, Point Breeze re-opening, and Church's pursuit-race win over Cissac, Walthour, McCurdy, Starbuck and Butler.