The Wheelmen's Gazette, Vol 3, No 8
Articles in this issue
- Gormully and Jeffery announce that the American Rambler safety bicycle attracted the largest crowds at the L.A.W. meet, arguing its rear-acting spring between rider and rear wheel eliminates the need for a front-fork spring and its erratic steering.
- A prominently placed announcement promises the Warwick Perfection cycle will arrive soon, teasing its many genuine improvements over any wheel on either side of the Atlantic.
- A letter from F. N. Klaine of Topeka recounts riding 200 miles through rough central Kansas on a 1888 Victor without once using a tool or adjusting a bearing, praising the machine's build quality.
- George W. Rouse and Co. of Peoria, Illinois offer a wide range of cycles including Victor, Springfield Roadster, New Rapid, American Champion, Star, and Otto on easy instalment terms at 8 percent interest with no extra charge.
- Coons and Graham of Indianapolis again advertise special accident insurance rates for Gazette subscribers through the Equitable Accident Insurance Co., noting it has now paid over $200,000 to sufferers.
- Clark Cycle Co. promotes the full Quadrant Tricycle range, emphasising the large steering wheel, extended bridge over the main axle, three or more axle bearings, and rigid frame as features no competitor has matched.
- The King Wheel Co. of New York explains that its lever drive provides constant power application, that placing the treadles behind the hub prevents headers, and that the wheel glides through mud, sand, and hills without tiring the rider.
- The Club Liar tells how he ordered a new 48-inch light roadster from Boston, chased its disappearance through an escalating chain of railroad freight agents for weeks, and finally received the wheel only to find it was a 55-inch machine — leaving the mystery of which 55-inch man got his 48-inch wheel.
- A lecture by Lieut.-Col. A. R. Savile of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, surveying military cycling experiments in Italy, Austria, Germany, France and England, and arguing the rear-driving safety bicycle is best suited as a scouting and despatch-bearing mount for mobile infantry.
- Reports the fifth annual Indiana Wheelmen's tour of about twenty-five riders from Indianapolis through Rushville, Cincinnati, Blue Lick Springs, Lexington, Danville and Bardstown to Louisville, delayed a day by heavy rain.
- Announces an October 23–24 bicycle meet at the Virginia Agricultural, Mechanical and Tobacco Exposition with $1,000 in medals and cash prizes, including Virginia Division L.A.W. championships.
- An editorial urges English race-track managers to fence off crowds from the track after spectators rushed onto it during Whittaker's serious accident, and offers practical advice on freeing bent rear forks that cause a bicycle's wheels not to track.
- A list of United States patents issued on bicycles, tricycles, velocipedes and attachments from June 26 to July 10, 1888, compiled by solicitor Jos. A. Minturn of Indianapolis.
- A list of English cycle patents granted from late May through late June 1888, covering lamp brackets, driving mechanisms, tricycle saddles, and a photographic-apparatus mount for bicycles.
- A state-by-state and foreign roundup of club news, races and tours from July 15 to August 15, 1888, a list of coming events, and the death notice of Philadelphia tricycle racer Samuel M. Gideon.
- A captioned cartoon series following wheelmen's journey to the Buffalo tournament — "On the Road," "The Arrival at Buffalo," "The Parade," "Sight-Seeing" and "The Races" — urging readers to bring their wheels on the September excursion trains.
- By "Velos": reports W. S. Doane's wheel journey from Denver to Boston escorted partway by the Denver Ramblers, a stalled team-race challenge between the Ramblers and the Social Wheel Club, and a heavy hail storm disrupting local roads.
- Reports that Hal Greenwood rode Eagle Rock Hill alone in 7m. 37½s. after John A. Wells missed his train for their rescheduled hill-climbing contest, and that Greenwood now offers Wells a final chance to beat that time or concede the championship.
- Describes a novel wooden-wheeled quadricycle built by the Sterling Cycle Co. of Newton, Mass., featuring independently driven wheels without a balance gear, a wood frame, and double steering.
- A Los Angeles correspondent's detailed report on the California Division's July 4 race meet at Stockton, where four coast records fell, including Elwell's win in the one-mile state championship and Ireland's record three-mile handicap.
- An exchange of letters correcting a July Gazette claim that the Rock Island route refuses to carry bicycles, with correspondent "Phoenix" retracting the error.
- By Joseph J. Bliss, the third day's account: leaving Monterey along the beach, being driven back by heavy surf and soft sand dunes, and a rough cross-country detour via the railroad and adobe roads toward Castroville.
- By Thomas Stevens: a survey of professional beggary encountered on his round-the-world bicycle journey, comparing mendicants in Hungary, Turkey, Persia, India, China and Japan, with vivid portraits of Gypsy children, Persian dervishes, and Indian faquirs.
- A captioned six-photograph comic sequence — "Grand Entree," "The Contest Opens," "It Grows Interesting," "The Plot Thickens," "Thrilling in the Extreme" and "The Encore" — spoofing trick-riding exhibitions.