Chapter IV: Part 4

If a short trip is planned, as the wind is not likely to change during the run, start out against the wind; that is, plan to do the hardest work first, and let the wind help on the return. Avoid hard work whenever possible. Hill-climbing against the wind is the hardest kind of work; with the wind to assist, even quite steep hills may often be coasted part of the way up, and all easy grades taken with the feet off the pedals. Coasting should be indulged in with discretion, or the bicycle may run away with you. Check speed at the first indication that the wheel is escaping control by applying the brake and catching the pedal, back pedaling at the same time. On a public road, the bicycle should never be beyond control.

To thoroughly enjoy an outing, road, direction, and atmospheric conditions should be studied. If you are out for several hours’ spin in chilly weather, there is little pleasure to be had in exploring; but in weather when the temperature permits of stops without danger to health, frequent dismounts and short-distance trips across country are enjoyable. One of the pleasures of bicyclists is the good fellowship existing between them, which is rarely disturbed. On the bicycle conversation is interrupted by long pauses, by intervals of silence, when each rider is alone, with opportunity for reflection and mental expansion.

On long trips note first the general direction of the road, the wind, and the sun; try to have the wind with you and the sun behind you for the better part of the day. Be able to change your plans quickly to meet changed conditions, and have a reserve of grit to fall back on if things do not go quite to your liking. Dressed for bicycling, it matters little whether it rains or shines; but wind, sand, and stones make impossible conditions for the bicyclist. When wind has reached a certain velocity, wheeling becomes unsafe. Mud causes the wheels to slip and prevents them from turning; sand does the same. A surface offering little or no resistance is impossible. Stones are dangerously liable to cause spills, while ruts and bumps twist the bicycle and are apt to throw the rider.

In the autumn months, when the sun sets early, a lantern should be provided even when it seems an absurdly unnecessary encumbrance; for a town or village where the ordinances are strict may lie on the route, and the unlucky bicyclist without a light must go afoot.

Of course, speeding cannot be attempted with the bicycle encumbered; but with all the extras, a good average speed may be maintained. The bicyclist wishing for freedom from all encumbrance is apt to forget unpleasant possibilities. A punctured tire thirty miles from anything is such a possibility; so, though the tool-kit weighs something, it can never prudently be dispensed with.

Have the bicycle all ready, and start free from care and with a quiet mind, after a last careful and reassuring inspection of the machine. Starting from a town with a perfectly running machine, the attention is first directed to getting into the country easily, either by train or by wheeling. In wheeling, streets free from traffic and with the best possible surfaces should be chosen.

Country wheeling is often good when city work is impossible. The dangers of city wheeling are traffic, car tracks, and mud. City mud is usually of a greasy nature, very difficult to wheel over. Even pedaling is very necessary, and uneven pressure on the pedals means a side spill.

In wheeling over mud, never attempt to control the machine by the front wheel; it must be controlled by the pedals. If too much pressure is used, there is nothing left but to step off. Do not try to recover by means of the front wheel; the attempt will be useless, and a fall can be avoided only by stepping off. Keep the front wheel steady, and rely on the weight-carrying wheel to take you clear of the mud. Keep a sharp lookout, and travel slowly. Any one can make a bicycle go.

Get out of town, and then be ready to pedal up to time on the first clear stretch of good road. Make time, but never hurry. Never work hard over hill-work or try to go fast against the wind. When using side-paths, always recollect they may be protected by local ordinances. Keep posted on the law of the road, taking to the highway on approaching towns and villages. If the work is hard, travel slowly, and look ahead. Two good rules are--To travel fast, look well ahead; and watch the ground when there is a hard bit of road to pass over.

A good stiff pull against the wind can be accomplished easily, really easily, if you take your time, giving full attention to pedaling, and keeping the eyes a short distance ahead of the wheel. It is much easier to rest on the bicycle by slowing than to dismount. In cold weather, never stop without seeking shelter, at least the lee of bank or wall; and keep away from a fire, as it renders one liable to take cold. Nothing is so dangerous in frosty weather as a pause of even a few minutes dismounted.

In warm weather, it is permissible to drink water when wheeling; but it should be remembered that the bicyclist passes through all sorts of country, and the water may sometimes be anything but drinkable from a sanitary point of view, even causing typhoid and other fevers. Water that has been boiled is unpalatable, but it is safe; boiled and cooled, it may be rendered more palatable by shaking it or pouring it from one pitcher to another to mix air with it. Ice in water is another source of danger. The water, after being boiled or filtered, should be placed in bottles with absorbent cotton for stoppers, and cooled by being placed on ice. Muddy water may be cleansed with a piece of alum. If a lump of alum is stirred about for a second or two in a pail or pitcher of muddy water, and then the water allowed to settle, it will be found fit to boil for drinking. Bottled waters are safest when the country is unknown or when there is doubt as to the purity of the local supply; but failing these, the precautions mentioned will ensure safety.

Never prolong bicycle exercise without eating, and never work after a hearty meal; but the consumption of a couple of sandwiches at noon cannot be regarded as a serious meal; and it is often better to push on after a short halt, moving slowly, than to sit around on rocks or stumps to wait for a proper digestive period to elapse. It is well to have a small reserve supply of food, such as chocolate or beef tablets, to tide one over a prolonged period between meals. Milk and bread and cheese are good to take as an extra meal. Never work hungry if it can be avoided; the bicycle will lag, and the cyclist wonder at being weary. Keep up the food supply by all means, for fatigue sets in quickly with the desire for food, and the system quickly becomes enfeebled.

The cyclometer registers each revolution of the wheel, and by an ingenious mechanism the dial gives the record in miles. There is a great temptation to roll up miles, that the cyclometer may make a good showing; indeed, this striving after mileage often becomes a ruling passion, interfering with the real pleasures of the sport.

The pedestrian, accustomed to noting distances, can usually judge the rate or pace travelled, and decide very accurately upon the distance traversed, with only the time as a guide; for the pace, so many miles an hour, multiplied by the number of hours, gives the distance.

On the bicycle the pace is very easily estimated in a similar manner. Count the strokes per minute as each knee rises, divide that by two, and you have the number of revolutions of the crank. The gear gives the diameter of the wheel larger than the one on the bicycle; sixty-four gear, for instance, means that the crank revolution covers a distance equal to a wheel with a diameter of sixty-four inches. The circumference of a wheel is three times its diameter; and 64 multiplied by 3 equals 192 inches measured on the ground for one revolution of the crank. Multiply the distance measured on the ground by the crank revolution by the number of strokes made per minute, divide by twelve to give the number of feet the crank has covered in one revolution, and you have the distance in feet travelled per minute. To find the rate of miles per hour, multiply that result by 60 to find the number of feet travelled per hour, and divide the result by 5280, the number of feet in a mile. The watch should have a second hand for bicycle work. The cyclometer taken for five minutes, then multiplied by twelve, gives the rate of mileage per hour, a very convenient way of ascertaining the rate of speed per hour.

It is well to know the rhythm of stroke of a certain rate per hour, for it is often of assistance in determining distance, and will frequently prevent a hurry when train connections are to be made, by assuring you that you are easily travelling a pace that will take you to your destination on time.

The alertness and quickness of perception that bicycling cultivates seem marvellous. A road, previously accepted as ordinarily good, becomes full of pitfalls that the wary learn to avoid. Slippery or uneven surfaces, tacks and broken glass, are to be noted and avoided, inequalities allowed for, and preparation made to overcome the tendency of the machine on unexpected hard bits of road.

One of the dangers of sidepath wheeling often encountered is a slippery spot or a place where the surface may give way, such as the edge of a bank along which the path runs, with a fence on the other side. Here, if the bicycle slips, the bicyclist is pretty sure to be thrown against the fence. In sidepath wheeling a sharp lookout must be kept for these slippery spots and weak edges, and also for stones or stumps that run through the uneven surface.

A first coast on a hill whose pitch has been miscalculated, and which proves steeper than was anticipated, is a terrible surprise. To find one’s self clinging desperately to a runaway machine, with no hope save in the ascending grade that seems so far away, is anything but a pleasant experience. In such case sit still, hold fast, keep straight, and if nothing is in the way to collide with, there is hope, barring unexpected surface obstacles. The coaster’s safety in steering lies in swaying; the pedals are out of the question, and the front wheel is better undisturbed. A slight inclination to either side will alter the course of the bicycle without interfering with balance or momentum, and the hands can be ready, gripping hard, to keep the wheel steady.

In coasting, sit well in the saddle, letting that take the whole weight, and do not push too hard with the feet on the coasters. The feet should not be braced against the coasters, but should rest easily against them with an even pressure.

To learn to coast, practise at first either on a slight or a small grade; another way is to get up speed on the level, and take one foot off at the time. The most marvellous experience of bicycling is to have a wind carry you coasting up hill--a wind, too, that is seemingly adverse, or at least not directly favorable.

Trust to the map, the watch, and the cyclometer to locate your whereabouts, and do not place too much faith in answers to inquiries, unless you are speaking to a bicyclist; for people unaccustomed to accurate judgment differ greatly in their estimation of a given distance or a general direction. You need only stop three or four times in a mile or two, and inquire the way to a town say five or six miles distant, to be convinced of this fact.

_CHAPTER XIII._

_Women and Tools._

Most women can sew on a button or run up a seam; sewing, in fact, is regarded rather as a feminine instinct than an art. There are many capable people in the world, both men and women, who can comprehend at a glance the use or the application of an article or an idea--people who instinctively use their eyes and hands with ease and accuracy; there are others who learn more slowly to use their mechanical senses; and there are also those whose attention has never been called to certain simple mechanical facts and details that they are quite capable of understanding. To all the mastery of these facts means an expenditure of more or less time, and in this busy world of ours, there is nothing so much appreciated or so carelessly wasted. It is my intention to place before my readers a few simple mechanical explanations.

I hold that any woman who is able to use a needle or scissors can use other tools equally well. It is a very important matter for a bicyclist to be acquainted with all parts of the bicycle, their uses and adjustment. Many a weary hour would be spared were a little proper attention given at the right time to your machine.

Ask any carriage maker or coachman, and he will tell you that everything on wheels needs attention. Any owner or lover of horses will say that horses require constant care. The bicyclist is the motor, the horse; the bicycle, the vehicle. These ideas should remain distinct. When you mount a wheel, you do not mount an iron horse; you are a human propelling power, and the bicycle is a carriage.

It is all important to work without unnecessary effort, and for this you must have a knowledge of bicycle construction, how to make the machine run smoothly, and how not to injure the human motor or the mechanism. The human body is so beautifully self-adjustable that it may be safely attributed to ignorance or neglect if anything goes wrong with it. Attention should always be paid at the right time to nature’s warnings; they are danger-signals, and if disregarded, unpleasant results are sure to follow. A little common-sense goes far; and with that and a right knowledge--not necessarily an extensive knowledge--of the working of the human machine, there need be little to fear from injuries resulting from athletic exercise.

The amount of work different individuals can perform, of course, varies. Find out how much work you ought to do, and do it. A physician is the only competent judge of your limitations. Never attempt any new form of exercise without being examined for it. Sensible people when they purchase a horse require a veterinary certificate to accompany the guarantee; and the work the horse is to do is planned according to the ascertained amount the animal is capable of performing. If it is right for you to wheel but five miles every other day, and at a certain hour only, it does not follow that that is always to be your limit. Practice accomplishes great results; and the strength and endurance that come of exercise taken regularly, under proper conditions, seems marvellous to those who, after a course of proper preparation, attempt and accomplish with pleasure and ease what at first seemed impossible. It is hard, of course, to see some one else do what you would like to do and cannot; but it is weak not to be able to say, “I have done enough, and I must stop.” There are many other people similarly placed.

The bicycle may be so adapted and adjusted as to enable bicyclists of different powers to work together and enjoy a fair amount of sociability; for if one has wheeled around the world, why should that spoil one’s pleasure in wheeling around a block? To wheel alone is not much pleasure. Find some one to wheel around the block with you, and you have the beginning of a club.

Many people do not understand what is best for them. The experienced athlete knows the amount of work he can do, and what must be done and avoided to enable him to do his work well. Women and girls are able to do good work, but they should not expect to accomplish such a result through ignorance or neglect. They must be willing to study and to give proper attention to important details, and their knowledge of the subject must be sufficient to enable them to use judgment and discrimination. Almost any form of athletics will aid in cultivating these qualities; and bicycling has besides valuable educational features of its own. A certain familiarity with mechanics is assured by a course of bicycling, for it is impossible to handle a bicycle without taking some degree of interest in its construction.

Women must expect ridicule and little sympathy from experienced cyclists if they essay feats they should not attempt. Many decide that a thing must be easy of accomplishment because they have seen some one do it easily. Easy muscular work, however, is the result of strength, confidence, and precision of movement, which come only from practice. All new muscular movements and combinations of movements must be learned; they cannot be acquired hurriedly with good results. People who can work well are usually patient with a beginner who is doing his best, knowing themselves what it means to work hard and to face disappointment and failure and what is involved in repeated effort. The ambitious are liable to over-exertion, the timid not to practice enough.

There is much prejudice against athletic exercise for women and girls, many believing that nothing of the kind can be done without over-doing; but there is a right way of going about athletics as everything else. Prejudice can be removed only by showing good results, and good results can be accomplished only by work done under proper restrictions. To do a thing easily is to do it gracefully; and grace, without properly balanced muscular action, is impossible; grace is the embodiment of balance, strength, and intelligence. Jerky movement indicates lack of muscular development and training.

The human machine is capable of a seemingly unlimited series of muscular movements and combined muscular motions. Any training or practice of mind or muscles assists to fit them for new combinations. But little time is necessary to learn to know how to do and what to do, though the subjects to be considered, mechanics and physiology, are exhaustive and extensive in their range.

It is always a pleasure to do a thing well, whether it is handling a needle or using a screw-driver; and the art of using either successfully is not difficult to acquire. With the bicycle it is necessary to know what to do; the human motor, unless pushed beyond reasonable limits, is self-adjusting. Over-taxing is the result often of too great ambition, of failure to keep in view the proper aim of exercise, and sacrificing health and ultimate success for passing vanity. The bicycle is but the means to the end, first of all, of health--health of mind and body. The human mechanism is far more difficult to adjust when out of order than the mechanism of the bicycle. In bicycling, the two machines are one and interdependent. The foot on the pedal pushing the crank is but one point of application of power conveyed by a series of levers, actuated by muscles, controlled by nerves, supplied and directed by accumulated power.

We hear of horse-power as a unit; we have also human power--the amount of power the average individual can exercise. Food supplies material to be converted into power, stored and transmuted in the human system either for use or waste, as the case may be. Energy or power, unless applied within a specified time, is given off as heat, etc. Less food is needed, loss of appetite follows, if too little work is done. The muscular tissues become almost useless, it is an effort to do any kind of work; the power is not there. By gradual and persistent practice, strength is acquired, and power stored in reserve. Exercise tends to strengthen, not to weaken; over-exercise uses up stored power and newly acquired power as well; longer periods of rest are needed to renew the wasted tissues than is necessary when exercise is not carried to excess. It must be kept in mind when bicycling that rider and wheel are a complete, compound, combined mechanism, and mechanically inseparable. The wheeler’s weight, when shifted or inclined, affects his equilibrium, and wheeler and bicycle are as much one as a skater and his skates.

Levers and their application; power, stored, distributed, or wasted; how to prevent waste and acquire reserve; proper adjustment to mechanical environment, translated to mean the use of a few common tools, and their application to the adjustment of the bicycle; and the care, adjustment, and proper preparation of the machine for work, are points of such importance that too much stress cannot be laid on them. A little thought, a little attention at the right time, prepares for emergencies, for cheerful work, and for the enjoyment of the exercise, and the health and accumulated benefits sure to follow.

_CHAPTER XIV._

_Tools and How to Use Them._

“A nut is a piece of metal adapted to screw on the end of a bolt.” “A bolt is a stout metallic pin adapted for holding objects together.” The nut is to the bolt what the knot is to the thread, to keep it from slipping through. Iron and steel are fibrous materials, and very hard; though strong, they are also brittle. Indeed, these metals, and metals generally, resemble molasses candy in their nature more than any other familiar substance that will serve for illustration. When heated, they become soft and liquid; when cold, they are tough, hard, and even brittle. A few powerful, sharp blows with a heavy object are enough to fracture a piece of metal. Direct, heavy blows or tapping on the end of a bolt will flatten and alter its shape sufficiently to cause the edges to project, a very little seemingly, but enough to render it useless.

If you wish to remove a bolt that seems to fit too tight and resists ordinary methods, place the nut on the bolt, and screw it on level, so that the end of the bolt will be flush or even with the top of the nut. Then lay your piece of wood, quite smooth and flat, on the nut and bolt, covering both, and hammer gently on that with a heavy hammer, with gentle, short, sharp, even strokes. The most obstinate bolt will usually yield to this method of persuasion. Should a burr have formed on the end of a bolt, a file is necessary to remove it; and filing off a burr is a somewhat lengthy and tedious operation.

Unscrew a nut gently and examine it. On the inside will be found a spiral groove and a spiral ridge or thread. Examine the bolt, and observe a similar spiral groove and thread. These, when screwed together, prevent slipping, and the nut cannot be pulled or pushed off. To remove the nut, it is necessary to turn it; and always turn one way, from left to right, if the nut lies uppermost.

To keep a nut from unscrewing by jarring, etc., screw it down until it jams, as it is called, firmly against the surface it rests on. If screwed too tight, it will burst or break the thread, or if enough force is applied the bolt may break. This hardly seems possible until we realize that in the wrench we possess a very powerful lever, capable of destroying quite a large bolt and its accompanying nut. If pains be taken always to start a nut on square and to turn gently and firmly and not too fast, the previous instructions may prove unnecessary.

There are usually two kinds of wrench in a bicycle outfit--an adjustable wrench with sliding jaw, and one or more key-wrenches, so called because made to fit particular parts of the machine, and to be used for them only. The adjustable wrench with sliding jaw should be used with the pressure or pull coming on the angle of the head, and the sliding jaw so placed as to hold its position, the wrench applied so that the greatest strain is taken at the strongest part; then the faces of the jaw keep smooth and true, and will not deface the plating or polish of the machine.

There is another point to note--that a properly adjusted wrench starts a nut easily, while if the strain is taken on the movable jaw of the wrench, there is give enough in the wrench itself to prevent the nut from starting, and the wrench slips off the nut without effecting its object. The handle of the wrench acts as a lever, and the head of the wrench forms a right angle with the handle; it is here that the power is centred, not at the angle made by the movable jaw. Of course, this position seems the reverse of proper until it is analyzed; but once understood and adopted, it will prove most effective.

There are various screws in and about the machine. A screw is defined as a bolt or bar having a thread cut upon it spirally, so that it will enter a hole in which a corresponding spiral groove and thread have been cut, or on which they will be formed by the screw entering the hole. The thread and screw interwind and prevent the screw from being withdrawn unless it is turned. To turn the screw, a notch is cut on one end, which is made flat for that purpose, and the other end of the screw is pointed, to enable it to enter the hole easily. After a screw is placed and started in its proper hole, it is only necessary to turn it until it is driven home. To turn the screw, a short bar is flattened thin to enter the notch on the end of the screw.

The screw-driver should be held and turned with one hand, and steadied and guided with the other. Metal is not so hard but that the leverage of the screw-driver is enough to bend the notches on the end of a screw, and thus render it useless. The question may be raised, Why are not screws made harder? If metal is tempered too hard, it becomes brittle, and flies. A well-tempered screw should be neither too hard nor too soft, but adapted for its particular use or position.

A screw should always be made clean before it is screwed home, any particle of dust or rust being liable to injure the thread and spoil the screw. If the screw is oily or greasy, it will work loose. All screws, bolts, etc., therefore, should be carefully wiped, and never placed where there is any chance for even a little dust to settle upon them. A nut with a small grain of sand inside will burst or break the thread of the bolt.

Bolts and screws are used to hold different parts together or in place and to give strength and firmness.

There is usually an oil-can belonging to every machine, and a bicycle should be provided with a good one, small, light, and easily carried; and special care should be taken that it does not leak. A greasy oil-can is unpleasant to handle and almost useless, as it cannot be handled properly. The least possible amount of oil that can be used is the proper quantity. Greasy bearings only collect dust, and the dust follows the oil back into the friction surfaces, where its presence is always undesirable.

Two kinds of lubricant are used on a bicycle--oil and graphite. A lubricant is used to diminish friction where two or more surfaces move over each other. If these surfaces are of the same material and the same degree of hardness, they do not slip; but the unevennesses of the surfaces engage each other and cause resistance, which produces friction, and friction causes heat, and the parts move more and more slowly, until at last they stop. Now, if a substance of a different character, like oil or graphite, is introduced between the moving surfaces, it forms little cushions, which prevent the two surfaces from coming into close contact; and, as the oil or graphite splits up readily into minute particles, the surfaces slip upon that, instead of holding fast. A smooth surface of metal is full of inequalities, perceptible when magnified, and slipping past each other with as much difficulty as would surfaces of sand paper. Only oil of the best quality and pure graphite should be used. Nothing sticky or gritty in its nature should be allowed near bearing surfaces.

The pump is an all-important and indispensable adjunct of the pneumatic tire. Each tire is fitted with a valve, and accompanied by a pump with which to inflate it. A valve is a lifting, sliding cover, connected with an aperture to prevent the passage of air or other fluids, and so constructed that the pump forces the cover down, and the air pushes past. The cover is held in place by a spring and air pressure, and, fitting tightly against a washer of some soft, impervious material, makes an air-tight joint, and will not move unless displaced. The pump itself is fitted with a valve to fill its cylinder or barrel with air, and to hold the air after the cylinder is full and when the plunger of the pump is forcing the air out of it again. A flexible tube coupling is used to connect the pump-barrel with the valve of the tire.

The valves are of many patterns and sizes, and there are pumps made to fit special tires, and pumps that will in a manner suit almost any ordinary valve. It is most important to note that all the washers about the pump and valves are in place. Deflated tires are often caused by a misplaced washer; and though valves are so constructed that it is not easy to disturb the washers, still it is well to know where they are and when they require attention. Washers wear out and require renewing, and sometimes a defective washer should be replaced; they are usually made of rubber or leather, but metal washers are sometimes used where there is much pressure or friction.

The metal used in bicycle construction must be finished, smoothed, and prepared to resist the corroding effects of the atmosphere and to present an attractive and durable exterior. The metal used for the different parts must be smoothed and polished; all foreign substances, like grease, removed from their surface by a chemical process; and lastly a coating of nickel deposited on the surface by means of electricity. The nickel in this way becomes a part of the original metal, and protects its surface from rust and corrosion. A well-nickeled piece of metal, beautifully polished, and kept free from finger marks, loses its lustre only when neglected. Of course, there are other ways of finishing the surface of the metal parts of the bicycle; other plating metal may be substituted for the nickel, and other finish than polish used.

Light wheels cannot be recommended for rough country or for very fast work over only moderately good roads. A certain weight of material has been taken from the bicycle to make it light; the machine begins to lose its rigidity and consequently its accuracy, and cannot maintain its direction, but wavers, and really travels further to attain a given distance. The weight of a bicycle should depend on the roads it is to cover and the purposes it is to serve. Very light wheels wear out quickly; they cannot stand the strain of practice. Beginners, therefore, should choose a wheel that can endure the handling they will give it.

A very light, well-made, and delicately adjusted bicycle can carry a skilled cyclist anywhere; but a light wheel sooner loses its accuracy, and is then more difficult to work than a heavier wheel that runs true. Heavy wheels are not to be endured; light wheels, too light wheels, not to be encouraged.

_CHAPTER XV._

_Solving a Problem._

When choosing a wheel, you should know what you want and why you want it. Machines are built for special purposes, and any reliable dealer can help you in selecting a machine and will guarantee satisfaction. Bicycles wear out, of course, but with proper care they may be made to last a long time.

Careful examination of your wheel should always be made before starting for even a short ride; and on returning it is well to test gear and pedals, to look at spokes and tires. Any needed repair can be noted, and attended to at convenience. Always examine your bicycle thoroughly after a collision, for shocks are dangerous even to the toughest metal, and such precaution may prevent a serious accident.

On returning from a ride the wheel should have a thorough going over, the enamel dusted, and any mud washed off with a wet sponge. The chain, if your machine has one, should be taken off every two or three hundred miles of dusty road, and soaked in kerosene over night; the nickel or metal well dusted, rubbed with a chamois, and polished; and all the bearings, axles, and gear carefully wiped, and dust and grit removed. Then the chain should be replaced, oiled, graphited, and the bearings oiled.

The chain is a complicated mechanism, consisting of many repetitions of parts; it should be kept clean and well lubricated. To apply graphite, turn the wheel upside down, hold the graphite still against the chain, and turn the wheel. The oil is needed in the joints of the chain; the graphite where the chain engages the cogs. The other parts used for applying power need the usual care given to the best machines--absolute cleanliness, freedom from grit, and thorough lubrication.

The chain is at present a mechanical detail only, and the application of power to the wheel capable of a great variety of forms. The principle remains the same, the application of power; the mechanical contrivance for transmitting it is a detail of construction. The difference of individuality can be compensated for in the length of the lever, size and number of gear, size of wheel, diameter of wheel, and width of tread.

The ideal machine requires little adjustment. The less the screws, the nuts, and the bearings are wrenched, the more perfect is the machine, the more free from wear and dents and scratches. To apply a wrench is a serious responsibility that should not be undertaken lightly. It seems easy, and yet skilled men are employed just for that kind of work, for it is work requiring the precision of the trained mechanic.

After purchasing a watch, the owner does not at once investigate the machinery; yet many, because the tools are at hand, are tempted to experiment on a bicycle. A bicycle, like a watch, should be ready to run, and only require winding up to keep it going. It should be adjusted; and if it needs regulating, this should be done by people who understand the machine and have the requisite knowledge and responsibility to do well what is to be done. Two rules may be laid down for one who does not study mechanical details--never to touch the bicycle except to ride it; and never to let any one else touch it who has not skill and experience.

This practice will prove satisfactory until some day, miles from home, the bicycle will not go; you carry it more miles to the nearest conveyance, and send it home. There you have it examined, and find that a touch sets it free; just as sometimes, when your watch will not go, you take it to a watchmaker, and he examines it, winds it up, and hands it back, telling you there is no charge. After learning to wheel a bicycle, therefore, the next step should be to learn to care for it. Unless somewhat familiar with machinery, it is bewildering to contemplate taking the thing apart and putting all those parts together again; even more bewildering is it, having taken the thing apart, not to be able to put it together. In such case, there is nothing to do but to gather the pieces of the puzzle, and send them to be set up. If in this extremity a friend who knows all about a bicycle should offer assistance, it is well to hear what he has to say before he undertakes the work. “I do not think your wheel is just like mine,” perhaps, or “Where do these things belong?” is enough for the wise. Better send to the shop for a machinist at once. All the parts of the bicycle are made to go together in one way, and any attempt at experiment may injure the mechanism.

When you undertake to investigate a bicycle for the first time, take an old one as a subject, and endeavor to put it in perfect running order. If an old bicycle cannot be had, proceed with much circumspection. Go where you will be undisturbed, where there is plenty of room, and where a key may be turned if there is possibility of interruption. There is sure to be some oil and grease spattered about, in spite of the utmost care, and it is well to remember this while making preparations. Have ready a pile of old newspapers, some cups, plates, and boxes, and a painting apron if you possess one; if not an old skirt and apron, and sleeves well rolled up. For tools, a monkey-wrench, two or three screw-drivers, large as well as small, a hammer, one or two pieces of wood, the bicycle kit, oil, graphite, a can of kerosene, some cheesecloth and canton flannel, and a large wooden box.

Take two newspapers folded in half, and put them on the floor for the saddle and handle-bars; then turn the bicycle upside down, and arrange the newspapers under the saddle and handles. If there is a bell, take it off, or place a block under the opposite end of the bar to balance it. Before turning the bicycle over, remove the lantern, if there is one on the bicycle, as the oil will be spilled out if the lamp is turned upside down.

Begin by carefully removing all mud and grit from the bicycle. Wear old gloves, and remove mud with the hand when possible, finishing with a cheese-cloth duster and an old oily cloth. Go over all the joints where the wheels turn, and remove every particle of grit, then remove mud and dust.

An experienced worker, to save labor, cleans each piece as it comes off, but the beginner must work more slowly. Have ready a shallow box or tray to receive the parts as they are removed. Lay each part, as it is taken off, in the tray, with the oily side up, for a guide. First, remove the chain, turn it until the nut of the little screw-bolt is found. This little bolt forms one of the link-pins, and can be found quite readily. One end of the bolt has a screw-head notch, and the other a nut and thread. Use the small bicycle screw-wrench for this, a large screw-driver, and a small screw-driver to fit the screw. Turn the chain until the bolt is in a convenient position, then take the large screw-driver or a rod, and place through the spokes of the rear wheel, letting the bar rest on the frame. This will prevent the wheel from turning, and keep the pedals and sprocket-wheel in position; your fingers may be caught and badly cut if this precaution is not taken. Fasten the small wrench on the little nut, and hold it there with one hand, with the other unscrewing the little screw with a small screw-driver. Should the screw fail to yield easily, a drop or two of kerosene will soften the rust and grit, and help to start it.

Return the nut to the screw end, and place it on the tray. Take hold of one end of the chain, and remove the bar that steadies the rear wheel, then turn one of the pedal cranks, and the chain will come off in your hand. The chain should be placed in kerosene and left to soak.

The enamel of the frame should then be carefully rubbed and polished with canton flannel. A clean piece should be kept for the purpose, for if greasy it gives a dull look to the enamel. The plating should be first polished with a cloth, and then if dull with whiting. Nickel plating takes a beautiful polish with electro-silicon used on canton flannel.

Go carefully over each oil-cup, and be sure it is cleaned, and work around the ends of the axles. Ascertain if either wheel needs adjusting, and look carefully to see that the rims are true. A good way to do this is to hold a pencil-top on the frame against the rim of the wheel, and spin the wheel. If it touches evenly all around, the wheel is true; if uneven, take the bicycle to a repair shop and have the wheels trued as soon as possible.

After cleaning all the bearings, put oil in the oil-cups and replace the chain. It is well to leave the chain soaking in kerosene, and later hang it up to drip, and when dry, it will be found bright and clean; or keep a can of lubricating oil in which to soak the chain, and after draining it thoroughly, wipe clean before replacing on the machine. Take an oil-can, and oil each separate rivet. Start the chain on the sprocket, and pull it over the rear sprocket by turning a pedal crank, bringing the ends on the lower side. Place the bar across as before, to keep the sprocket from moving, and then replace the little screw-bolt, using a small wrench, and a screw-driver that fits the screw. Remove the bar, see that the chain is not too tight, and note if it requires any taking up, an adjustment that is done in the rear wheel.

Hold the stick of graphite on a convenient surface of the chain, and turn the cranks; then dust the chain to take off any small lumps of the lubricant, and the wheel is ready to be run. Examine the tires and valves, see that the tires are not too soft, and inflate them. See that the valves are in order, then set the wheel right side up. Replace bell and lantern, rub off any finger-marks, and the bicycle is ready.

If the bicycle has been running for some time, and in spite of the care bestowed on it, the chain runs a little heavy, the pedals don’t spin as they should, or the cranks revolve as often as they might, and the wheels are sluggish, there is no remedy but to take down the bicycle, clean it thoroughly, set it up and adjust it. It will require several hours’ hard work to do this, combined with a knowledge of machinery and a knowledge of bicycle working, or else enterprise, care, and common sense.

Begin work on a wheel perfectly free, as far as the outside can be made so, from sand, mud, and grit. Remove the chain and put it to soak. Have a pan of kerosene, and place each small part in that to soak, and any part that has friction surface or is notably oily or greasy.

Begin serious work on a pedal, which is small and easily handled. If the pedal is a removable one, take it off. If the spindle is stationary, take off the movable parts, first the nuts or screws, then loosen the cones, having a box placed underneath to catch the balls if any should fall out. Support the box well up under the pedal, as the balls bounce and jump about. Even if you have had the pedals off before, and know how it is done, it is well to have something to catch the balls, as otherwise you must atone for any mistake by a scramble. Place the balls in a separate dish of kerosene, and carefully count them. Wipe the movable parts of the pedals with a cloth wet in kerosene, and finish with a dry cloth.

In taking a pedal down, the place of each part should be carefully noted, so that it may be a simple matter to replace the parts. If, the first pedal being now apart, the novice is confused, there is the other pedal to afford comparison. Study that, then return the parts of the dismembered pedal to their proper places, and adjust them. The balls may prove troublesome; but a screw-driver dipped in vaseline will pick up any very small balls, and pliers can manage the larger ones. See that cones and washers are replaced, then add a few drops of oil, adjusting the pedal to spin easily without lateral play, and tighten cones and nuts. Spin the pedal for a final test, and then begin on the other pedal.

If after several hours’ work, but one pedal is finished, if that one pedal is in perfect order, there is much cause for congratulation. The other pedal may be done very much more easily and rapidly. Of course, it takes time to wipe all the balls and cones, and nuts and screws, and washers and spindles, and when the pedal is in your hand, a little time may be spent to give it an extra rub to brighten its polish. Wipe off any oil that may have shown in the joints of the bearings, and the pedals are finished.

The front wheel should next engage attention. Take a large wrench, and start the bearing cones, and take off the nuts at opposite sides of the ends of the forks. These nuts are screwed on the ends of the axle, and perhaps have metal washers under them. Place them in a box by themselves, and if the forks are notched, there will be nothing to do but to lift out the wheel. If the ends of the forks have only eyes, the forks must be sprung to take the wheel out.

When the wheel is in your hand, avoid letting any grease or oil touch the tire, for it will injure the rubber. Now proceed to work on the axles. Support the wheel on a large, empty wooden box. The axle is a spindle, and has cones to hold the balls in against the bearings. The cones must be removed and cleaned, and the socket of the hub made clean with an oily cloth followed by a clean one. The axle’s spindle should be replaced, and the balls and cones restored to their proper relative positions. Drop in a little oil, adjust and tighten the cones, then spring the wheel back between the forks, and true it; see that it runs even between the forks and that the cones are keyed up firm and even. Replace the nuts, and screw up firm. Wipe off any oil that may have worked out, and spin the wheel to try it. If it runs long and steadily, and has no lateral play, and everything is keyed up tight and true, this part of the work may be considered finished.

Some prefer to use a little pure graphite for the balls, and no oil; and again some bicycles are made without oil-cups. For the first work, oil is safer to handle; but remember that two or three drops are enough. Too much is worse than useless, for oil spreads over a large surface, and will cover all the surface of the bicycle with a thin film, which will need to be constantly wiped off.

The rear wheel may be removed without springing the frame. Unscrew the adjustment attachment, and the wheel will come out. Clean the rear wheel bearings in the same way you have cleaned those of the front wheel; replace the rear wheel, and put back the adjusting attachment.

Give the crank axle the same care and attention that the wheel axles have received. The pedal cranks are fastened on either end of the crank axle in such a way that the dead centre is avoided as much as possible. The large sprocket-wheel is on the crank axles, and sometimes not movable. The cranks are screwed or fastened with pins to the ends of the axles, and should not be disturbed. Take the large key-wrench from the kit, and start the bearing cones. If the crank must come off, see that the nut on the end of the crank-pin is flush with the end, and place a piece of wood on it before striking it with a hammer, as already explained, to start the bolt or pin. Or if you have some one to help, let a heavy hammer-head be held under the crank beside the bolt, at the other end; and the double shock and recoil from the heavy hammer as the blow is struck will jar the bolt loose.

Remove and clean the cones and balls, then replace and oil them, and adjust the cones tight, ready for adjustment when the cranks are in place. The only bearings left to attend to are those in the head of the frame. Take out the handle-bars, and wipe them and their socket very carefully; never allow any oil to remain there. The handles should never be immovably tight; yet grease, if any were introduced, would perhaps cause them to slip when they should remain in place. The crank axle-key usually fits the cone of the head of the frame, and that may be treated as any other set of ball bearings--loosened, removed, cleaned, replaced, oiled, adjusted, and tightened. Any dust may be removed from inside the frame-head while the bearings are off.

When the head bearings have been restored and the handle-bar replaced, put on the chain and adjust it. The rear wheel is arranged to move forward or back on the frame by the adjusting attachment. This allows the two sprocket-wheels to be placed nearer together or farther apart, and the chain may be stretched and held between them to any desired degree of rigidity or of slackness.

When the bicycle has been set up, the parts correctly replaced, before turning it right side up, go over the entire adjustment of the machine, to see that nothing has been forgotten. Have wrench and screw-driver at hand and a clean cloth. Begin with the bearings of the front wheel. See that the oil is not working out, and wipe them again. Take the key, and see that they are true and tight. Apply the screw-wrench to the nuts of the fork, and see that they are screwed home. Treat the rear wheel in the same way, and look that both wheels travel on the same line or plane; if they do not, it is because the bearings are out or the frame is bent. Go over the axle bearing, feel the chain, spin the pedals and wheels. A well-adjusted wheel will carry the weight of the valve around quickly and then swing back, showing how sensitive it is to so small a weight. If you are satisfied that everything is right, turn the bicycle right side up, and square the handle-bars. The only way to do this is to stand in front of the bicycle, and take the wheel between the knees while the handles are pulled into place.

The saddle-post and screw-nuts that hold it should be examined and removed and carefully wiped, as well as the socket where they belong. The screw that holds the saddle-post in place does its work by friction, and any oil would prevent it from acting properly, and the saddle would slip. Keep the oil-can carefully wiped, and see that the little spout has a clean round hole at the end that will allow only a drop at a time to escape; for oil travels and spreads in a marvellous manner, appearing where least expected or wanted. If there is a hand-brake on the bicycle, adjusted to alter with the handle-bars, examine it carefully, and wipe the rods. Oil here will allow the coupling to slip and the action of the brake to be impaired.

There are so many things to be carefully observed and accurately done in this kind of work that mistakes and omissions may be easily made by the inexperienced; but there need not be so many blunders, after all, if one works slowly and observingly, taking notes, in writing if necessary, as for instance how far the bearing cones are keyed in when in place, which is the reverse side of the crank and pedal pins, if they are interchangeable, or rights and lefts.