BY DEMON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2417, 12 July 1900, Page 49

BY DEMON.

It is stated that it is possible to soften tyres by wiping' them occasionally with a cloth clipped in water containing a little common soda. ' Many riders have an idea that if the chain is reversible its term of effectiveness will -be lengthened. This practice may make it wear more evenly, but it is difficult t to see how it will extend its life. .The following is the latest list of world's records: Quarfcer-mile, flying start, 20eec, by M. Taylor, at Chicago. Quartermile, 'standing start, 27 2-ssec, by J. Green, at London. Half-mile, standing start, 51 l-seec, by J. Green; at London. Threequarter mile, standing .start; 'lniin 15sec, by 'J. Green, at' London. One mile, flying start, lmin 22.2-ssec, .by M. Tayi° r . at Chicago, i One mile, standing start, lmin 40 2-ssec, by j J. Green, at London. Ten miles, 17min 4 3-ssecj by Tom Linton, at Philadelphia. One hour, 38 miles 1144 yds, by E. Taylore, at Paris. Fifty miles, lhr 23min 45 2-ssec, by ] B. Bouh'ours, at Paris. ' Twelve hours, 341 j miles 638 yds, by A. E. "Walters, at Paris. 1 Twenty-four hours, 634 miles 774 yds, by A. E. j Walters, at Paris. , | It is admitted that the great motor j trial run of 1000 milea just completed in E^o-- j land has fully served the purpose for which it was instituted. Tho course was from London, west to Bristol, north to Edinburgh, via Birmingham and Lancaster, thence &outh to 1 London, through Newcastle, and Leicoster. Included also in the itinerary were two or three divergences, consisting of side runs to cortain hills, upon which were tested the climbing capabilities of the various motors. It must be understood that _ this run was not a time trial, but simply a test j ijj which the fittest survived. One of the | trade papers states that in the first place it j served the indubitably valuable purpose of I showing motor engineers wherein the motor ! as at present constructed" fails ; and,, equally i important; how far their efforts may be said J to be crowned with sucees=. All things con- 1 sidered, it is not unreasonable to 'look for a | certain influx of valuable _ improvements, some afrecling the actual design of the cars, others, in matters of detail, buc all introduced" with good' cause, and tending to re- j lease the motor car from the stigma of being • still in the experimental stage. This "trial | -has been tho first real attempt to educate a rather incredulous public up to the proper " understanding of the value' of these vehicles. At the "finish of the trip some 50 of the" motors wore exhibited at the Crystal Palace, and appeared in all stages of, dirt, mud, and dust. It was evident that some of -the cars had had a very rough time, judging by, the cut tyres, twisted frameß, and damaged steering gear. >• Cesare Lombroso, aii'ltalian criminolo?* . gist and mental specialist, has been studying the .effects of the bicycle upon this generation. There is a' little a'ci verse criticism, after which comes some measured praise. With reference to the drinking habit, he says: — "A. remedy is everywhere being vainly^rought for alcoholism, a disease which is based on an ever-increasing craving for cerebral excitement. Now, it seems to me that a passion for cycling, which is incompatible with the degrading uf-e of alcohol, so common amongst the lower classes, offers the finest of all remedies for this terrible "evil. In our rides along the country roads my son and I have observed that the publichouses have quite 1 changed their character, and now sell all sorts of mineral waters and syrups, as well as tea and' coffee." The New South "Wales Cyclists' Union has passed the following resolution with regard to records: "That the union recognise paced and unpaced performances for flying and standing starts for the following distances — quarter, half, three-quarter, one. five, ten, and 25 miles, and also for tho hour. For^ unpaced performances no pacing up to the mark will be allowed."

Good calcium carbide for acetylene gas lamps can, be told by its residue.' That of very impure and "inferior carbide is of a dark slate colour, while that of the best is perfectly while. The more nearly, it approaches either, 1 the more or less pure is 1 the carbide

France is admittedly the home of the motor car, and up to the present its votaries have had the fullest liberty upon . the magnificent French highways with regard to speed. This year, however, tho pace attained rivalled <ho locomotive iteslf. and the police authorities have, been impelled to frame a set of laws regulating- the pace to 20 kilometres per hour.' W. Ernest Archdeacon, a. well-known motorist, was arrested for exceeding the pace allowed by law, and seemingly was very wroth over the matter. He claims that the new regulations will ruin tho lv.otov car industry, and challenges the prefecb of polios to a competition. He offers to forfeit 3 0.000 florins if hi? performance in. stopping and turnine in an autocar docs not lieat that of a cabdriver at the same rale of soeeel, for he claims that the eass wiHi which motors are handled entitles them to be allowed- greater latitude in speed than horse carriage. Should the prefect of police ignore the challenge, M. Archdeacon states that he will carry out the experiment himself, and give it wide publicity. The immediate effect of the reptricbions imposed by the police authorities is to cause all motor road racep to cease, as well as to prevent all motor-pacing in cycle road races. The paco attained by motor cars on tho highways, has exceeded 40 miles per hour.

The number of machines imported into New Zealand for 1897-8-9 were respectively 11,496, fOO9. and 6~06— a reduction of over 40 per cent, in two years. The importations of jnaierials, however, are maintained, the yoirs 1:93-9 showing; an average of £60.015, as against £53,214 in 1697. The proportion of materials to complete macairie3 s'tovts a great change — that of 1897 being less than one-half — namely. £58,214, against £128,493 ; whilst in 1899 the figures approach pretty clopelv. being £5^,743 for materials, against £57.303 for machine?. On this-show-ing it ip Gvidenl that the locally -built machine is supplanting the imported article.

The Leisue of American Wheelmen, throucrh tho chairman of its National Highway Improvement Committee, is to make an effort to accomplish the insertion of good roads planks in the platform of the two great

political parties. This' is acting on the -suggestion of one of the cycling papers, and it serves to show what good citizens wheelmen may make of themselves, although any country should look to its people, no matter- what class, for every effort in their power to advance the land in which they live. The recorder of London recently, at the Central Criminal Court, in his charge to the grand jury, uttered a word of warning to cyclists in general. His remarks were made when referring to the man-slaughter charge in which a lad named Buso is accused of fatally injuring a middle-aged woman by knocking her down with a bicycle, the allegation being that he was riding at an excessive pace. Unfortunately .(said the recorder) there w^s an idea that if persons would walk in the road _and an accident occurred they alone were responsible. This was not the law. The Queen's highway did not belong only to those riding and driving along it, but to all, and people had just as much right to walk on it as others had to drive along it, and the latter were bound to exercise all ■ reasonable and proper care. Whilst Platl-Bette has shown up well in England in securing records, the latest mail convG3'& the intelligence that he has been defeated by Tom Linton in an hour's race. A. A. Chase also competed. "Betts held,command for a long time, but Linton became prominent towards the end of the' race, .and eventually won, and covered t3O miles 1355 yds in the hour. This is a good performance, yet i it pales when compared with Frenchman ! Taylore's great ride of 36 miles 16S0yds in the ! 60 minutes. Taylor was paced by a motor cycle. - -•"''-'. Certain students of the mind and its phenomena hold that there is a distinct psyj chological side to cycling, inasmuch as the 1 vise of the wheel necessarily develops in the i rider powers of concentration, quick" perception, and prompt adjustment tc new conditions. As an instance of the popularity of the free wheel in America, and elsewhere for that matter, the development of the resources of the Eclipse Bicycle Company will be ample. 1 This firni manufactures the Morrow hub and free wheel-, and when the output of this article had exceeded 100 per day, they decided to cease building -biey.eles, ,atid confino themselves to the hub. The product of the work? ! has increased, until the present (May) oi\tput is POO per day, and still the orders continue to flow in an undiminished volume. At the ! 'beginning of last month the company had j orders for immediate shipmenc for 9coo hubs, I and in view of the rapidly increasing demand. 1 have decided to enlarge the works and install ! additional machinery, so that the capacity of the factory, within two, months will exceed 1000 per day. " . j W.. A. Edmonds, the Bristol (Eng.) crack, who competed in five races at Easter . and won first prize in each event, ,is riding 88in gear, with Bin cranks. Fifty-five out of 65 motors which star- | ted on a 1000 miles' journey from Londofi arj. rived safely at Edinburgh, half waj-. I One of the most important features of the Gatford gathering was the fact that records fell thick and fast when the pros, were

[at work (says the Cyclist).- Platt-Betts, for instance, estalilished^new times for &ix, seven, and eight miJes in hi 3 onslaught -upon the 10 miles' record, while' Gascoyne and Jenkins

in their -series of three races, both effaced pre-, vious bests; " Gascoyne ""made new time for the "flying quarter" — namely^ 25 2-Sseo,- while Jenkins also beat the record by 2-ssec. Betts

previously held the record for this -distance — ..namely, 2? 2-sssc, made at the Crystal Palace, May 24, 1898. Again, in the mile pursuit,' Ga.scoyne did 2min 5 3-'ssec for tho distance, eclipsing the previous best, Also of Platt-Betts, of 2min 6 4-sscc, ridden at the Palace, May 31, 1897.