CYCLING AND MOTOR NOTES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XV, Issue 882, 31 January 1907, Page 11

CYCLING AND MOTOR NOTES.

The advance and development of automobilism during the past ten years has been phenomenal, and will, I think, stand out as a triumph of progress over prejudice. All through that period the latter had to be faced but the industry, instead of being killed, is now in a most flourishing condition, and far beyond the most sanguine anticipations. As a matter of fact, motoring, instead of being stayed or repressed by prejudice, has fed on it, been nurtured by it. The opposition brought against the new method of locomotion has given it strength; all its weak points were picked out and magnified, and these have been taken up one by one and perfected, which otherwise may have taken years longer to improve. Compared with the car of to-day the motor of 1896 is a sorry-looking vehicle. The designers were unable to get away from the horse-drawn type of carriage—a brougham, for instance —and the comparatively large wheels and high box-seat on the 1896 motor look ludicrous alongside the low, rakish, yet comfortable automobile that we are now accustomed to see. Writing of the early days, one enthusiast says:—“All was experiment, and the steam men were all in the throes of trial and tribulation, and full of excitement if they got their contraptions to run ten miles without a breakdown!” A very good point has been made in the comparison of the records made by the mere man and the 100 (or

greater) horse-power motor. It is .pointed out that when the racer (be. hind pace, of course), on a simple, silent 20-pound bicycle, is able to pedal close upon 60 miles in the hour, and over 105 miles in. two hours, “the world-wide clatter created by the performances of the big thundering, highpowered monsters that compete on the Florida Beach in such races as that for the Vanderbilt Cup, seems gross exaggeration indeed.” The human mechanism is the most wonderful.j3.nd most flexible motor extant. * * * » One of the novelties of the year has been brought out by the Bowden Brake Co., England. The well-known wire mechanism and rim-brake manufactured by this company has made its name a familiar term in the world of wheels. The novelty consists af a hub-brake, and has been adopted in order to meet the desires of those who prefer a brake which is independent of the rim, and also independent of the pedals. It is operated from the handle-bar by the usual Bowden mechanism, and can be fitted to either a back or front hub. It is said to be an extremely sweet and smoothacting brake, and very powerful in operation, while the pressure required to actuate it is particularly light. That motorists generally are paying more scientific regard to the care of their tyres than was formerly the case is apparent from the number of tyre gauges that have lately been introduced with a view of guiding them towards the correct inflation. A tyre that is maintained at a correct pressure will last considerably longer than one allowed to run insufficiently inflated, and in their catalogues the makers of tyres are now giving use. ful advice on this subject. The minimum pressure which one leading firm recommends are as follow: —601 b for 3in tyres, 701 b for 801 b for 4in, and 901 b for 4% in and sin tyres. Where non-skids are employed, the tyres should be inflated to a slightly higher pressure than plain covers. ♦ * 0 • It is estimated that close upon 20,000 cars were manufactured in the United Kingdom last year, and as £3OO is regarded as a fair average price, it would seem that the value of the vehicles will approach £6,000,000 —an enormous amount considering the youth of the motor industry. • « « • The Dunlop Rubber Co., who have had under consideration the question

of holding a big military cycle despatch race between. Melbourne and Sydney next Easter, state that tne probabilities are that such an event will be held late next spring (writes “Auto.”) The Dunlop Co. would probably have carried out a Mel-bourne-Sydney despatch race on elaborate lines during the Easter holidays if it had not been for the splitup in the Sydney cycling world, and, as both the N.S.W. League and the N.S.W. Association are at present at loggerheads, and only one section would be able to be represented in the overland race, the Dunlop Co. thought it advisable to hold the proposed event in abeyance until the latter end of the year. Although baulked as regards an open cycle race at Easter time, the Dunlop Co. have under consideration a somewhat novel competition, which would take the form of an inter-State military relay motor match. The idea is that two teams of six crack motor cyclists be selected to represent New South Wales and Victoria, each team to be pitted against the other in the carrying of a military despatch between Sydney and Melbourne, and vice versa —i.e., each team to travel in the opposite direction. The modus operandi would be for two motor cyclists to leave Sydney, and the same number Melbourne, simultaneously. The first two riders to carry the despatch, roughly, about 200 miles, when a fresh pair of motor cyclists would take up the running and connect 200 miles further on with two more riders, who would carry the despatch to its destination. By travelling in pairs riders would not only have company on their long journey—a big consideration when night travelling on bush tracks has to be done —but would, in the event of tyre troubles, ensure the despatch being carried on by the remaining rider with as little delay as possible. An inter-State match between N.S.W. and Victorian motor cyclists over the overland route, on the I’nes mapped out, ■would afford a keen and spirited contest, and at the same time demonstrate to the military authorities what could be done in despatch-carrying should our ordinary lines of communication be held by the enemy in time of warfare. The proposed contest is being brought brought under the notice of the leading motor cycle clubs of Sydney and Melbourne by the Dunlop Co., who are prepared to organise the race, supply petrol, etc., along the 572 miles’ route, and donate six fiveguinea gold medals to the team establishing fastest time between the two capitals.