CYCLING.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XVII, Issue XXII, 28 November 1896, Page 110

CYCLING.

THERE is one thing that the bicycle is doing that has not as yet been suspected or taken special notice of, it is coming about so gradually, while vet surely. It is having a distinct and marked influence upon the dress of men. and before a year more has gone bv this influence will be plainly seen. Already it is visible in manv ways. The stiff, starched, precisely-dressed man of the past few years is no more, save in exceptional instances. His place is taken by the man who, having while a wheel learned what comfort is, proposes to have that comfort at every moment of his life. Lounging suits. loosely made and not to be creased or pulled out of shape bv bard wear, have begun to come into use to a very large extent in place of the more formal clothes that fashion used to demand. Not only may a man dress about as he pleases on his bicycle, he may dress in practically the same way when off it, and no one will say a word, nor will he attract any particular attention. Another great effect of bicycle costumes has been to open the wav to more colour in men’s clothing. It may not be long before men are dressed almost as gaily as women.

A social reforming lady has arisen who sees in the bicvcle a source of danger and demoralisation to her sex. She sais bicycling is immoral in its tendencies, and has already caused the ruin of thousands of young girls. It has entirely revolutionised the manner and demeanour of young girls. The bicycle has. she declares. introduced a new and immodest style of dressing Girls now go about in bloomers who would have been arrested for wearing such a costume had they appeared in it ten years ago. The road inns and the free and easy manners that obtain among cyclists help along, she says, the Devil's work, and that from a glass of lemonade, it is but a step to a refreshing glass of beer, and

that ‘ when one glass has been taken the descent is short and swift.*

The French bicycle manufacturers propose to test each wheel and mark upon it the weight of the rider which it will bear without injury. This is an excellent sugges tion, and could be adopted with profit in the United States.

A young couple who were married in England the other day, rode together to the church on a tandem cycle, and after the marriage went off to spend their honeymoon on a cycling tour. The latest development in cycle frames consists of soring or elastic bars, bent or returned upon themselves, having connections at their extremities with the stem or front wheel fork. The saddle post extends from one end of the frame to the other, and consequently a seat is provided which is as soft as a cushion. The spring bars of the frame respond to every movement of the rider and the wheel, and aid greatly in reducing the effects of jars and bolts.

A new bicycle alarm, which can be attached to any wheel with clips at the fork and the handle bar, was recently placed on sale. It consists of a rod with a roller at the lower end and a clapper at the upper end. In operation the rod is pushed down, bringing the roller in contact with the tire of the front wheel. This causes the clapper to strike against the stationary piece of wood, producing, it is claimed, any degree of noise. It can equal the terrific racket of the Mexican locust, keeping up a continuous alarm as long as desired. The point is made that this is a distinctively bicycle alarm, as the sound is not heard on street cars or on vehicles.

To the many means by which aristocratic ladies seek to augment their incomes must now be added that of cycle agent. Manufacturers now glean profit by making it worth the while of ladies of society to use and recommend their machines.

At one or two of the chief blocks of flats in London arrangements are now being made for regular bicycle stables.

The nickel-in-the-slot bicycle lock is intended to place difficulties in the way of the bicycle-thief that will drive him out of the business and give every wheelman who leaves his wheel at a public place for a few moments a sense of security that he has heretofore not enjoyed. The lock is a handsome and neat affair. It operates by dropping a nickel in the slot, when upon pressing a button an arm swings into place securely locking the machine on the removal of the key, which remains in the possession of the wheelman. When the box is unlocked and the bicj cle removed it fastens the key in the lock until it is operated again. It is intended to place these locks at such places as parks, roadside resorts depots, and ferry landings ; in fact, wherever bicyclists most do congregate, and in bicycle repositories, or any place where wheels are in danger of being stolen or used by parties without the consent of the owner. Steps are being taken toward organizing a stock company to manufacture and operate these locks in America. It is proposed to put them in on the same terms as nickel telephones and other nickel-in-the-slot machines, the company

putting them in gratis and the proprietor of the place where they are put sharing in the proceeds. Another American device is much more. It is named the ‘ bicycle stop thief, * and if the apparatus actually works as the young inventor contends that it can be made to do will do away almost entirely with bicycle thefts. The young man has affixed a miniature phonograph to his bicycle, directly under the saddle. The phonograph is enclosed in a square box, and the apparatus only weighs two pounds and a half. In the centre of the box is the tin foil cell, upon which he has imprinted the words * Stop thief!’ many times. A wire connects with the rear wheel of the bicycle, and with that the apparatus is complete. When the young man enters a building he presses a button and his thiefcatcher is set. When the thief, who is always near by to take advantage of any careless person leaving a bicycle on the sidewalk, jumps into the saddle and starts to ride away, he is stopped by a voice which shouts, apparently behind him, ‘Stop thief! Stop thief!' The faster he rides the wheel the louder the voice pursues him, until finally the thief in disgust vaults off the wheel and leaves it to its fate. A pressure of the button by the owner and the mechanism is detached and the wheel runs smoothly.

Surely there must be some new things in the world. Who, before, ever heard of the girl that rubs a luminous powder on her face at night and then rides safely in the dark without a lantern ? And yet this is a fact, strange and absurd as it may appear. Of course, the girl who does this rides her wheel in the boulevards of Paris. She has not yet been heard from in America, but doubtless she is here and will yet shed her beautiful radiance on the darkness of a moonless night in the park. It hasn't reached the fad stage yet, even in gay Paris, but it has been testedjby more than one of even the ultra fashionable set in Paris, the French journals say, and has worked so successfully that it will doubtless soon become a fad. The luminous preparation is scented, of course, and it gives the fair face it shines on not only a strong and penetrating radiance, but it softens the countenance that without it has a hard, yellowish cast in the light of an ordinary bicycle lamp Rice powder and sulphate of zinc is the secret, with almost any perfume added, that gives this startling yet altogether pleasing effect. And, of course, it was a French scientist who made the discovery. Sulphate of zinc has been found by M. Charles Henry, a distinguished modern French to have a wonderful power of absorbing sunlight and giving it back in the dark. Rice powder, very finely ground and bolted to which a small quantity of this mineral is added, gives an exquisitely soft luminosity to a fair young face. On a pitch dark night on the boulevards the lady cyclist dusted over with this powder is in herself a lamp.