Cycling and Motor Notes

Otago Witness, Issue 2929, 4 May 1910, Page 59

Cycling and Motor Notes

BY DEMON.

The Christchurch motorist, A. Birch, who has been in the Hospital the past fortnight as a result of his • spill on the Kiimog Hill during his attempt on the Christchurch-Dunedin road record, is, I am glad to state, steadily recovering from, his bruises, and will probably leave for his home this week. D'r Cattan, of Outram, has placed an order with the Messrs Wimpenny for a 12 horse-power Vulcan single plaeton, and Mr D. Corrigan, of Gore, has also ordered a 12 Vulcan special touring model. The latter will be a handsome car, primrose in colour, and finished in russet brown. A popular annual competition, whose name explains its nature, "The Mud Plug," is held at San Francisco. This year it took place on February 13, the competitors numbering 15. The course was twice around San Francisco Bay., about 204- miles alto gether. Eleven cars finished with perfect scores, but unfortunately there was too much fine weather, which dried most of the mud. The Columbus Auto-mobile Club, of Columbus,, has started a crusade against snowballing on the part of school boys. The snowballing has been the cause of several accidents on the streets of Columbus. A letter was sent to the principals of all the Columbus schools requesting them to give the boys a talking to on the dangers of snowballing motorists. The new king of the Belgians is an enthusiastic motorist, and is unusually conversant with the automobile industry. During e recent visit to Brussels he was very interested in the Knight engine, and has purchased a 38 h.p. Minerva with this motor.

Some sporting men in Sydney, with a. view to reviving the Sydney Thousand meeting, have communicated with Major Taylor, Iver Lawson, and -Clark to ascertain whether they would revisit Australia and help in the revival —for a consideration, of course. If they agreed other promoters could then hire them from the importing syndicate, as in past years. A representative of this syndicate, and a well-known figure in sporting circles in Sydney, is now or his way to Europe, and will probably conduct negotiations in person. Lawton has been riding fairly well, but little has been heard of late of Taylor.

Motorists have frequently complained, and with a show of reason, that drivers of ! horse-drawn vehicles have not that regard ! for the traffic regulations which is required from, automobilists, and the latter almost as frequently declare that this negligence is a fruitful cause of accidents, for the car-driver has all he can do in the management of his vehicle and in the due observance of the traffic by-laws without | making so many counter-movements to j rectify the mistakes of other road-users, j The motorists in Leipzic, Germany, feeling : the unjustne'ss of the road laws, were the means of inducing the police authorities of ; that city to send out half of the force in I plain clothes on a special mission of noting drivers of horse-drawn vehicles who .might violate the traffic regulations, with the result that 342 offenders were brought to book. Two hundred and for.ty-two of these were summarily dealt with, while the remaining 100 were .remanded, owing to their offences being of a more aggravated nature. An indicate . of what may likely be expected in the .::..re type is to be seen ; in the wholesome widening of not a few I touring-car bodies this year by the simple

process of cutting into the sides in order to form pockets for the wheels, and so lengthening the rear seat. The limit in this direction, however, will not be reached until the total width of the body equals practically the total width of ths running gear from hub-cap to hub-cap. The possibilities involved appear to be such as .cannot readily be overlooked f or long, especially when the demand for commodious and oomfortabla bodies is increasing at its present rapid rate. All that is required (says "Fortis") in bringing about this and other possible improvements is a disposition to adopt the useful traditions of the carriage-makersi. their skill in construction, and art in delineation, without following those too slavishly which were bred in the older and more restricted conditions of their ancient craft. A Frisco paper states that New York doctors blame smoking motor cars for a new disease which thej call nazo-motor rhiintis. The disease, which is similar to hay fever, is said to be widely prevalent in New York. It affects the membrane of the nose and throat, causing inflammation thta is especially irritating to asthmatics and consumptives, and is likely to do great injury to invalids. Not a few would-be motor cyclists are deterred simply because of the high prices for machines, and they form a class who lay it down as an inviolable law that every year should bring about a material decrease in the price of any new article. They entirely overlook, however, the faet that when an invention is in the early or evolutionary stages it is impossible for manufacturers to reduce prices. They still have to defray costs of patents and new designs for every season's models. Thu has been, and to an extent is now, the case with the motor cycle. Although the public do not get, year after ' year, a motor cycle much reduced in price, the3' obtain better value for money now than because improvements are incorporated and extras added, and better materials and workmanship embodied. As time goes on and less and less constructional alterations are made, and the list of extras thrown in has reached the limit, then the price begins to fall. The -motor cycle may be said to be still in the evolutionary stage, and we may not expect to see any startling reductions in prices for a few years yet, unless, indeed, an unprecedented demand springs up in the meantime, w.hen greater production of a given model will reduce the prime cost.

The effect of wind resistance on a car's speed is frequently lost sight of, and perplexes amateurs who do not appreciate what it means. It is no uncommon thing to find a" motorist who thinks his car cannot be a good one because his neighbour's, of the same type exactly, performs very much better on the level. Yet one has only to experiment with various sizes and shapes of mudguards or wings, wind screens, and bodies to see what a difference they can make to a car's speed. As wind resistance increases in a greater proportion than speed a large surface, such as is offered by a wide screen and high body, is bound to slow a car very considerably One can occasionally get another 10 miles an hour from a car by removing the hood and screen alone, which shows fhe need of compelling all competitors in events for touring cars, which are now very popular, to run under the same conditions. If this is not done a very unfair handicap is put on the genuine cars, and the undiscriminating public are likely to receive an erroneous impression of a car's merits. At speeds below 15 miles an hour the effect of a head wind in more or less still air is inappreciable. At double the speed it is qtiite pronounced, while at 60 miles an hour it is per square foot, nore than most people can face. The figure rises to 301 b when a speed of 90 miles an hour is attained, this rapid increase showing why it is co difficult to exceed a speed of 60 miles or so an hour.

Few people realise how specialised the art of automobile construction has become. Quite apart from improvements .that are apparent to the eye and ear, such as engine form and balance, frame design, etc., there, is, for example, the quality of the metal employed. The various steels used in motor cars are very interesting, for the science of metallurgy has been hard at work for years in evolving a number of alloys which will be suitable for particular purposes. Tensile strength is the essential thins: in one quarter, lightness in another, elasticity in a third, and all the time the •metal must be durable and not too expensive. Hence manufacturers of high-class goods have to be very particular as to what alloys they use, for a slight change in the constitution of a metal may spell havoc to a firm. Not long ago a well-known Coventry motor car firm had extraordinary trouble with the back axle of three cars they had just designed. In ever-y case the axle gave out within a couple of hundred miles, and this in spite of the pattern being an. approved one. At last it was discovered that a workman who had run short of the particular steel he was using rather than trouble to obtain a further supply made up the deficiency with another quality. But this, simple though it appears, caused the firm great anxiety and a heavy pecuniary loss. Among the better-known steels are nickel steel, chromevanadium, and tungsten. The ingredients and their proportions have to be studied very carefully, for any inaccuracy in composition, etc., makes all the difference afterwards. The proposed world's road championship, mooted by the International CyclisK Union (the body that controls the worlds cycle track championships), is causing a bit of a stir in F.nglish cycling oirclns Opinions are divided as to ti.e uo-fjibilit;^

of such a sporting contest. On the Continent, where road racing has a bigger following, the proposal has been most favourably received. One English scribe who at times has expressed his doubt and astonishment at the fast times recorded in the great Australian Dunlop Road Race (Warrnambool- Melbourne) says: "It is appropriate that the question of a world's road championship should have been opened' just at the time when certain well-m.ean-ing, but misguided sportsmen in Australia, are making little tin gods of their crack riders and setting up all kinds of extrava-' gant claims to supremacy. It would be interesting to see whether the roadmen from the Commonwealth would fare any better in international competition than did the team of Australian path riders who came over for a racing season in England, and who returned with somewhat diminished reputations. Personally, ... I should expect them to make a good show, but I should be very much surprised if they showed any pronounced superiority over the leading European experts." ANOTHER SIX DAYS. Six days' races, on the 10-hours-a-day plan, are popular in America. One was in progress in Buffalo, N.Y.. when the last mail left, and, according to exchanges',, records for such events were suffering. An Australian in P. B. Hehir was amongst the competitors, being teamed with E. F. Root. On the conclusion of the secondday's racing the riders were said to be bunched and still reeling off the miles at a rate unprecedented in the history of races of its kind, having stretched behind them the phenomenal record of 473 miles 3. laps. Nine teams had reached this mark when the final gong came. Score: Kramev and Eogler, Luwson and Moran, Bedell and. Bedell, Kill and Drobach, Vanoni an£ West, Lawrence and Wiley, Root an<s Hehir, Cameron and Mitten, and Demartf and Stein, 473 miles 9 laps; Bardget an* Jones, 473 milet 8 laps. During the third day the most exciting; period and the boldest sprint occurred, when Moran and Hehir caught Joe Fogler napping, and came "within an ace of stealing a lap upon the celebrated Kramer--Fogler team. For fully 20 minutes field of riders sprinted like mad about thtf oval with the big crowd on foot and cheering like mad every second the ridery whirled around the saucer. Record at midday, thirtieth hour: Kra< mer and Fogler, Lawson and Moran, Bedell and Bedell, Hill and Dorbach, Vanon? and West, Lawrence and Wiley. Root and' Hehir, Cameron and Mitten, Dcmara and Stern; all tied at 703 miles 9 laps; Bardget and Jones, 703 mile.? P '"- ~*- : ■ 1 --de at Newark, 680 tv." THREE-PURI'O In an editorial on ''Engines : .. Purposes," the Autocar remarks: though the weights differ so widely, thera is considerable similarity in the work required from an aero engine or a boat engine, as for the greater part of the time they a.re running at full load, and the ability to stand up to continuous work is of paramount importance in each case. However, the conditions are most exacting for, the aero engine, as an involuntary stop ia much more likely to be serious than in the case of a motor boat engine. After all,' the motor boat is only occasionally in a. cross sea or other situation in wh ; .ch ant involuntary stop may be dangerous, but the aero engine is continually working: under conditions which make any lack oh reliability infinitely more vital, and this despite the fact that to save weight its strength has been cut down to the greatest possible extent. In the past marine practice has had a beneficial effect upon the car engine, and we have no doubt that de-' signers of motor car engines will obtain! useful hints from aerc engine practice, more particularly as in many respects the motor car engine has the easiest time. 06 the three types, as it very rarely suffers from overload, and is only occasionally called upon to develop its full power, andi that, as a rule, for comparatively shorfc periods." OLDFIELD'S WORLD'S RECORDS. Barney Oldfield broke the world's auto» mobile speed record at Daytona Beach, Florida (U.S.A.), on March i 7. He drove a 200-horse power Bern car one mile in 27 33-100 sec, from a flying start. This beats the old record made on the same course in 1906 by Fred. Marriott ia a specially-built cigar-shaped Stanley steam, racer. Mr Oldfield subsequentlv succeeded in lowering the record for the mile standing start. He covered the distance in 40 53-lOOsec. The former record was 41 23-lOQsec, made on the Brooklands track last autumn by Mr Hemery, with the same car Mr Oldfield drove in his successful attempt. It is rounded off in front and) rear to diminish the wind resistance. No locomotive on any rails has even equalled this speed. The best speed for a locomotive is five miles in 2£min over the Plant system, in 1901. That rate falls 11 miles per hour behind the record set up by Mr Oldfield. Daytona Beach was a? firm as a rook. The test looked like the firing of a shell from the mouth of a 16in gun. The time was_ taken by Mr Charles Warner, the official timer of the American Automobile Association, using a mechanical olectrio device now employed in nearly all motor, car races in America. AIRSHIP v. AEROPLANE. There is a tendency to believe that the* future lies altogether with the.' aeroplane, says the Field, and that the limits of development of the dirigible! balloon have already been reached. It is often proved-on paper—that the dirigibW balloon will never attain a greater soee<S

than about 35 mike per hour, and that no existing airsnip can go taster than about 'SO miles per nour in a eami. it is the opinion 01 some 01 tJae leading i rezich autnorities that wniie for the- present cue dirigible balloon s of more value hom the military paint of view than the aeroplane, the latter is oortain to supersede it in the course of a tow years. Whether «ik opinion is woli founded or not, the fact remains that at the present moment there is extraordinary activity in the designing and making of dirigible balloons, and in forming schemes for their practical use. Many of the now designs differ in important respects from the familiar airships of Franc© and Germany, and in the near future a number of interesting experiments ;will be made. For the greater part, however, the new features are not revolutionary changes, and the advantages that will be gained are likely, therefore, to be small, although not unimportant. But an entirely jiiew type of airship is one for which •patents have just been taken out in this country by a gentleman who has had the co-operation in the development of his plans of two well-known engineers, one of them being a marine engineer who has achieved noteworthy successes and has made a deep study of aeronautics. The inventor is Mr A. de Bajza. He intends co build the airship in England, entirely of British materials and with British capital. All is ready for practical work. The 'drawings have been made, and the quantities worked out to the last fraction; and it is a perfectly natural ambition of all ooncerned to complete the airship before the new rigid that is being made at ■Barrow for the Government is ready to .take the. air. The designs have been examined by two or three leading aeronautical authorities, and they have found that the scheme i 6 perfectly sound, while they warmly appfbve -of it on account of its great simplicity. The lowest estimate of the speed is 40 miles per hour, and this is the minimum of the inventor's desire, and is that dictated by caution. As -a matter of fact, in a later design he will introduce modifications which should show a speed of 60 miles per hour. There is good reason to hope, according to authoritative opinion, that the airship will prove superior to those of Germany and France. A PECULIAR JUDGMENT, A rather harsh conviction was recorded against a cyclist in Svdney la6t month ■when, after being brought before a magistrate, charged with having "propelled" — i.e., 'ed —a bicycle along the street after dark without a light, and discharged, ho was. convicted by a judge, on review, for having "propelled" a bicycle within the meaning of the act. Any cyclist is liable to be overtaken by darkness, and if he may not lead the machine instead of riding it, how can he regain his home unless he leaves his cycle by the roadside? Common Benec seems to indicate the meaning of the law to be that he shall not actually ride the machine after dark without a light.