The Cycle Age and Trade Review, Vol 25, No 142
Articles in this issue
- Denver bicycle dealers and repairers organized to fight a city attempt to classify repair shops as second-hand dealers and charge a $50 annual license, winning two early court victories when judges dismissed cases against dealers who accepted trade-ins on new machine purchases, and tracking the reform to an 1884 ordinance they argued did not apply to the bicycle trade.
- The American Bicycle Company repudiated a London store lease that had been arranged by its own branch manager to protect the company against loss, then used the manager's name on the lease as grounds to sue him personally — an incident cited as evidence of the trust's willingness to use sharp dealing against its own former employees.
- Reports from Cleveland indicated the A.B.C. planned to close the entire Lozier establishment there, moving its department headquarters to Westfield or Chicago while shutting the Rambler and Lozier retail stores and transitioning to agent-based distribution.
- A contributor argued against a proposed Chicago wheel tax ordinance, contending that taxing bicycles would suppress production and employment in the same way that taxing dogs reduces their numbers, and that street improvements benefited landowners primarily and should be funded by a land tax rather than a tax on cyclists.
- Thousands of military cyclists from across Britain successfully held a simulated invading force in check over three days of maneuvers around London, demonstrating the superior mobility of bicycle-mounted troops over cavalry in suburban terrain while regular forces were committed to the Boer War.
- The editorial noted that despite enthusiastic predictions that motor bicycle manufacture would yield fortunes comparable to those reaped in the early days of the safety bicycle, most experienced manufacturers were proceeding cautiously, waiting to see which motor designs would prove reliable and commercially acceptable before committing to large-scale production.
- Brief trade items including G.D. Knights of Amesbury, Massachusetts filing for bankruptcy with $550 in assets against $1,485 in liabilities, the Hoffman Bicycle Co. preparing to manufacture motor carriages while ignoring motor bicycles, and other short notes from dealers and manufacturers across the trade.
- Jobbers in St. Paul and Minneapolis were actively seeking to enter the motor bicycle market ahead of the 1901 season, with progressive houses working to secure sample machines for display and sale while debating which American and European makes would best suit Northwestern consumer taste.
- The patent column described Eugene E. Henry's rotating bicycle lamp bracket that kept the light facing forward regardless of handlebar position, a novel wheel design using two concentric tires for cushioning, and an expanding saddle with adjustable width designed to accommodate riders of different builds.
- The paper praised a manufacturer's house organ as a model of how company publications could generate genuine trade interest rather than merely serving as vehicles for self-promotion, noting the distinction between house organs that provided useful technical and commercial information and those that simply flattered their publishers.
- The sport section led with condemnation of Jimmy Michael's decision to forfeit his scheduled match with Nelson at Bridgeport, calling it a 'yellow streak' that would cost him dearly in future bookings and public standing, and reviewed Michael's suspension proceedings by the N.C.A.
- John Nelson won his tenth consecutive professional victory at Boston, defeating Archie McEachern, William Stinson, and Frank Starbuck in a fifteen-mile motor-paced race at the Canobie Lake track, gradually pulling away from all pursuers after taking the lead in the sixth mile on a rough dirt surface.
- After Nelson appeared at the Pleasure Beach track in Bridgeport as contracted and rode ten miles with his pacers waiting, the referee officially awarded the match to Nelson, and the N.C.A. subsequently suspended the Welsh champion for failing to fulfill his contractual racing engagement despite various excuses offered by his management.
- Harry Elkes won a grueling hour match race at the Friedenau track in Berlin against German riders Robl and Koecher, receiving a sustained ovation from the large crowd after his margin of victory grew to a full lap — described by Elkes himself as the hardest race of his European tour.