File:Cycling art, energy and locomotion- a series of remarks on the development of bicycles, tricycles, and man-motor carriages (1889) (14578079907).jpg

Identifier: cyclingartenergy00scot (find matches)
Title: Cycling art, energy and locomotion: a series of remarks on the development of bicycles, tricycles, and man-motor carriages
Year: 1889 (1880s)
Authors: Scott, Robert Pittis
Subjects: Cycling Bicycles
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott
Contributing Library: Boston Public Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston Public Library

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t so vital. The original Rover machine as put upon the markethas everything combined to giv^e it a full slant in theneck; that is to say, it has a large thirty-six-inchfront wheel and no curve to the fork, while in othermachines of the same general pattern a thirty-inchfront wheel is used with considerable curve to thefork, which taken together make the neck almost verti-cal ; riders, however, are equally satisfied with eitherstyle. It will be well to notice here that though I speak ofthe curve of the fork in relation to steering, it reallyhas necessarily nothing to do with it, since a perfectlystraight fork could have a more vertical head bearingthan one much curved. The slant of the pivotal line is the important feat- F 11 122 CYCLING ART, ENERGY, AND LOCOMOTION. ure, and this may be varied in either by bending thefork or, in the Stanley, by setting back the lower bear-ing. The fonr drawings below show necks of equal slantand considerable variation in the curve or shape of theforks.
Text Appearing After Image:
Rear-driver front forks. Any of the four patterns above work exactly thesame in the hands of the rider. So much for the manner of obtaining slant of thehead or pivotal connection, as we shall call it; but as CASTERING. 123 to the amount of this slaut it is desirable to obtainmuch more can be said. The great system of castering, so knowingly discussedby some expounders of cycling faith, has in it reallysomething of substantial importance. It is assertedthat if tlie machine is so constructed that the line ofpivotal connection strikes the ground in front of thepoint of contact of the wheel (see Fig. 1), a casteringelement comes into play which will cause the machineto retain its forward course, and enables the rider to gohands oflp. Note that the line ab strikes at c infront of d.

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