Cycling art, energy, and locomotion

by Robert P. Scott

THE RATIONAL ORDINARY.

As the above term seems to be indigenous to England, and emanates indirectly from the fertile brain of the distinguished editor of the Cyclist, I append below a quotation from that journal by way of introduction to this subject.

“THE FUTURE OF THE ORDINARY.

“‘The Ordinary is doomed,’ we very frequently hear people say, but we are not of that opinion. True, it has ‘had its nose put out of joint’ by the Safety lately, but this only shows us the correctness of the opinions we have always held, and proves to us that, if the makers will only look after the safety and comfort of Ordinary riders a little more, the old love for the high wheel will return, and good business will result. In the introduction to the ‘Indispensable Bicyclists’ Hand-Book’ this year we say; ‘The Ordinary bicycle, for the young and active, is the most delightful form of cycle to possess, and the youth of England and other active nations will ever select it in preference to its perhaps safer, yet more cumbrous rival. To retain its hold as a touring machine, however, I feel certain that more attention must be paid to the comfort and comparative safety of the rider, and I hope to see in the near future a gradual inclination towards larger back wheels, more rake, longer cranks, and the addition of foot-rests, when the ordinary and original machine will, with common care, be equal in safety to any form of cycle extant.’...

“This being so, we ask makers, in their own interests and in the interests of the Ordinary as a type, to deal with the matter and give attention to the points enumerated above. We are sure it would pay any maker, who has the proper facilities for doing so, to place a machine built as described vigorously on the market, and we hope next season to see it done, when we feel assured the rationally-built Ordinary will gradually work its way back into the public estimation.”

In spite of the laudatory notices of subsequent writers in the Cyclist, I am not disposed to treat this subject seriously. If not already consigned to oblivion, no doubt the ideas advanced in the foregoing quotation will be by the time this book reaches the reader; something must be said about it, however, since the importance of the question is now quite generally felt. To long cranks little objection can be made, but as to increased rake and large rear wheels, this is a thrust at the heart of all we have to admire in the Ordinary. We are willing to take the old mount with all its dangers, for the sake of its neat appearance and ease of running, but when we get back nearly off the large wheel; when we reach out to the end of a longer crank; when we get over and drag along after us a great ungainly rear wheel to wag about over the road; and lastly, when we strike at the life of easy steering, pray what have we left? Why not go back to the old bone-shaker, curl up like a sleeping chimpanzee and kick up in the air as we used to do, and be done with it? No! If we propose to stick to the old high perch, let us be men and take it as it has been perfected, neat and comfortable, with the rider upon the front wheel and within a reasonable distance of the point over his work. If not that, then let us gracefully accept our place down among the dogs, and take the Safety, depending upon having so little else to attend to that we can kick off the festive canines and take up the time we would otherwise spend in patching up our skin with sticking plaster, in wiping off the accumulated dust from our machines.

No man can edit a journal without making mistakes, and I shall probably find that books cannot be written without incurring the same liability, but for all this we cannot excuse the Rational. The more generally correct an editor is the more keenly we feel his freaks; so let this be my defence in noticing this little idiosyncratic perturbation of Mr. Sturmey’s otherwise infallible intellect.

CHAPTER XVIII.

WORKMANSHIP IN CYCLES—ENGLISH AND AMERICAN MAKERS.

Unfortunately, it is next to impossible to practically test the durability and general excellence of a wheel before purchasing. The buyer therefore has to depend upon his skill in judging of workmanship. It is impossible to give many set rules that would be of much assistance to a prospective buyer, but of one thing he can be reasonably certain,—if he finds a single poorly made or undeniably botched part, it is a valid cause for a rigid examination into all others. A first-class manufacturer is not liable to botch a single part, but if you find that he has done so, it is well to be very cautious in patronizing him. It is generally a safe plan to examine a machine that has been in use in order to judge of the durability of a maker’s work, though durability will generally accompany good workmanship and finish when new. A cheap quality of nickel-plating often gives the appearance of a good job, but it will peel and rust; and to prevent this good platers put on a coat of copper under the nickel as a base upon which to plate. It is difficult to determine in a new machine the amount of the nickel deposit, or whether it is upon a copper base; hence it will be seen that the maker’s work in the past is the only standard from which such matters can be judged. With enamel and paint it is much more easy to determine the quality, though a glossy surface is not necessarily a true gauge of good work. It is the finish of the under surfaces that takes the labor. A good job of painting is to my mind superior to enamel or japan, but it is attended with considerable labor. In olden times, when paint was more common, a maker could be identified by the finish and striping of his machines; there was such a difference in the quality of the work. Now, however, since the dead-black japan rules the day, it is more difficult to judge between makers by the outward finish of their wares. There cannot be much difference in the amount of labor put upon the work by the various manufacturers, for the reason that a certain process has to be gone through before it can be done at all. À propos of striping, it may be considered gaudy, but an artistic job sets off a machine as compared with a plain black now in vogue.

The quality of rubber in the tire of a bicycle affords a splendid field for an expert; only those who have to use rubber in other connections realize the great differences in its quality. Rubber can be made absolutely useless by adulteration; and when we see how easily some tires cut, we cannot doubt that makers often sacrifice quality for the sake of price. Buyers should notice carefully the old tires of different makers, and see how they have stood the test.

In the matter of quality of tubing of which machines are made there is little difficulty at present, as nearly all of the firms buy from one or the other of two great English factories, but when the industry of weldless tube-making becomes more disseminated, and small concerns with inadequate facilities enter the field, we can expect more trouble. About the brazing of the tubes it is utterly impossible to tell anything except from the way it stands.