The Cycle Age and Trade Review, Vol 23, No 79
Articles in this issue
- Report that August 1 is now given as the date when the fate of the American Bicycle Company will be decided, with capitalists needing time to examine deeds, Coleman still reluctant to extend his option, Buffalo factory options detailed, Indiana Bicycle Company confirmed in the combine, small Philadelphia factories staying independent, and makers in various cities telling Cycle Age correspondents of their intentions.
- Fearing exclusion from parts supply by the Spalding trust, Arthur Hirsch's Calumet Cycle Co. of Chicago secures options on eight parts factories (including a tube mill and wood-rim and chain plants, plus a saddle plant already bought) and plans an immense new factory to build a full line of bicycles and parts under one roof, aiming for 100,000 machines in its first year and selling surplus parts to the trade.
- Telegraphed dealer reports from San Francisco, Denver, Springfield and elsewhere describe the best bicycle season in years, with $40-$50 wheels most popular and selling seasons expected to run into August or later, while Camden, N.J. carriage maker Charles S. Caffrey Co. sells off its entire bicycle stock after quitting the business.
- Three linked pieces: "Dealers Need Not Worry" reassures dealers that the forming Spalding combine will not shut them out of agencies since many major makers will remain independent and parts remain plentiful; a second item argues chain and sprocket manufacture should be united under one roof for precision; and a third, citing Sir Robert Giffen, notes that foreign ships carry 75-80 percent of U.S. imports and exports, so America pays foreigners a large share of the freight on its own bicycle exports.
- Advice on window displays aimed at the "scorching" set, describing a three-tiered platform display suited to multiplets, tandems and singles, plus notes on using linoleum versus heavy carpet for showroom floor coverings depending on the store's decor.
- Illustrated survey of chain-adjuster mechanisms tracing the decline of the simple draw-bolt adjuster and comparing eccentric designs used in Europe and America, including the Rathbun pattern and a device fitted to one model of Thomas bicycles.
- Racing results and club news from cycling associations across North America, including William Martin's serious injury on an Australian track while riding in winning form, race results from Victoria, and European racing news featuring Edouard Taylor's performances in Paris.
- Traces the history and rapid growth of the cycle-path movement as the newest phase of the good-roads campaign, opening with a Michigan wheelman's satirical account of how American roads evolved from cow-paths.
- Describes the latest Ramsey pedal (Model D, built for extremely low hangers) and notes the Bridgeport Gun Implement Co.'s policy of keeping its pedal design unchanged for four straight years rather than restyling for its own sake.
- A state-by-state roundup of dealer openings, closings and changes around the country, from M. J. Higgins & Co.'s relocation in Albany, N.Y. to new shops in Areola, Ill. and Arkport, N.Y.
- Opening piece of the Motor Vehicle Supplement arguing that capital is holding back from the motor-vehicle industry only because no maker has yet proven superiority through public performance trials, and urging repeated speed and road contests to build investor and public confidence, as has worked in France.
- Dr. Zabriskie of Flatbush, Brooklyn reports on seven months and roughly 25 miles a day of hard use of his Winton wagon, burning about 3.5 barrels of gasoline at $5 apiece, with tires creeping loose on the steel rims as the chief mechanical trouble.
- A Scientific American explainer by E. Bernard of Paris, reprinted here, walks through the carburetor, valve and cooling arrangement of the De Dion motor tricycle's four-cycle gasoline engine as a model of the "Otto cycle" principle underlying most single-cylinder motors.
- The Electric Vehicle Company of New York incorporates seventeen new state-level subsidiaries under New Jersey law, mostly capitalized at $100,000 apiece, to prepare for local stock sales, while independents such as the Riker Electric Motor Co. and the Indiana Bicycle Company's Waverley electric line stay outside the combination.