CYCLING.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XX, Issue XXII, 28 May 1898, Page 667

CYCLING.

The average rider, when he purchases a wheel, very much prefers to buy it from a local firm or agent whom he knows, from whom parts may be obtained to replace broken or lost ones; who can be held responsible for defects, etc., says an exchange. Nobody appreciates how much is involved in this as do those who remember the long, exasperating delays which were formerly encountered before the general establishment of local agneies when missing parts had to be replaced.

WHAT IS WANTED. I don’t think cycle makers generally fully appreciate what an enormous demand exists for a reliable bicycle not to exceed £ 10 net,including necessary accessories, and sent, carriage [mid, to any part of the United Kingdom. A ten pound note is a popular price, and it is just about the sum which most middle-elass people are prepared to spend on a bicycle. That it is quite possible to produce a Really niee machine for this money is, or ought to be, an accepted fact'by now. I don't say that this £lO bicycle would be finished in absolutely the same way as a Beeston-Humber, or a similar machine of the highest possible class, but it would meet the requirements of two-thirds of the people who want to ride bicycles. It is time, too, that the fancy ‘list’ price was dropped, and actual net figures quoted. By having a list price system, with varying discounts, the good class makers play into the hands of the cheapjack fraternity,who list their machines equally high and allow fabulous discounts. which naturally tempt the novice, who gets hold of a bad machine, and is soon disgusted with cycling. DRESS FOR LADY CYCLISTS. We do not hear much nowadays of the. vexed question of dress for wheelwomen. Even those who are most enthusiastic supporters of the bloomer style of costume have accepted the Inevitable; and if they have not actually taken to the ordinary style of skirt, have adopted a compromise in the divided skirt. A great many lady riders are at present to be seen in this sensible style of costume. It combines the advantages of both skirt and bloomers, and the disadvantages of both these styles are absent. By its use. a lady can use a man’s bicycle, which is an enormous advantage, the machines built for women being always heavier and less rigid than those with the top bar. and the divided skirt looks equally well on or off the machine. The chief objection to the bloomer costume is its unsuitability for walking; the objection to the ordinary skirt is its unsuitability for cycling. Thus in the divided skirt a happy medium seems to have been reached, and I am sure if all wheelwoineu were to adopt it they would get a great deal more enjoyment out of their cycling. Mr 11. L. Jefferson has started for his daring ride across Turkestan to Khiva. He left London on April 16. It was doubtful whether the Russian Government would allow him to make tiiis journey, but nt last permission was secured. A friend of mine, says Sisler, the cyclist writer, who is in the Riviera just now has sent me some further particulars about the Prince of Wales ami his cycling lessons. He thinks that the fact of His Royal Highnesz

having now taken to bicycling’ will have an excellent effect on the minds of the ‘smart’ division who might have doubted that they were really doing the very thing by going in for cycling He tells me that the Prince is_ being taught by one of the best English instructors of the day, Mr Stanton, of the Inner Circle. Regent's Park, who went out specially to Cannes for the pur|>ose. The machine which the Prince is riding was also specially despatched there for his use, and is built specially low so that the rider is near the ground, and has less difficulty in mounting and dismounting than with the ordinary type. Apropos of the Prince of Wales having taken up bicycling, it may not be generally known that about eighteen months ago he ordered a tricycle from a prominent London firm, and while riding it up hill in the neighbourhood of Sandringham, pulled rather heavily on his handle bar, causing his machine to capsize backwards, the consequence being that the Prince had a rather severe fall, and narrowly escaped being run over by Sir Francis Knollys, who was following closely behind him. An acquaintance of inline—a cycle expert—was called in to ascertain the reason for this singular mishap, and on inspecting the machine he found that the Royal rider had been sitting with his saddle much too far back, so that when he pulled energetically on the handle bar, nothing could save him from overbalancing backward. As the Prince weighs between thirteen and fourteen stone, to have a cropper from his machine is no light matter. Road riding cyclists like a tyre that gives no trouble to the owner, and one that may be always relied upon to run satisfactorily. Thus it is that the famous Dunlop tyre has gained such a firm hold on the great majority of cyclists. There is uo doubt that it is only years of experience, combined with the perfection with which every little detail is designed and manufactured, that can bring about such a good result, hence the popularity of the first and foremost tyre—the Dunlop.