A CURIOUS BICYLCE CLOCK

Evening Star, Issue 10398, 20 August 1897, Page 3

A CURIOUS BICYLCE CLOCK

Among the curiosities that figured in the recent Cycle Exhibition in Paris, the one that attracted tho greatest attention was a curious bicycle clock. This immense clock was constructed entirely of parts of bicycles. It is the largest clock in the world. All the movements are apparent, and all the parts are employed, just as if they had been detached from bicycles. The idea, in fact, is original. It was a question of taking from a certain number of bicycles their principal parts—frames, handle bars, forks, cranks, and wheels—and of using them to form a colossal timepiece. The clock struck the hours, the half - hours, and the quarters upon three tuned bells. All the wheels, encased in pneumatic tyres and properly balanced, entered into the construction and constituted wheelwork of precision. The transmission was assured by chains, with double rollers. The axles were mounted in ball-bearings, and the whole ran with smoothness and remarkable regularity. Twelve intermediate parts transmitted motion into the hands. ..By means of this ingenious arrangement an error fn fastness or slowness in the pendulum was compensated for when the revolution was communicated to the hands. This explains the fact that the general running ol the instrument could be compared to that of the best clocks. The movement was produced by a 4401b weight. The pendulum consisted of a bicycle fork, from the extremiy of which was suspended a bicycle wheel, to take the place of a “ bob.” The hands were formed of crank arms, and their extremities of oil-cans.