Velocipede

“ The speed attained by the swifter kind of velocipede on the roads, averages from twelve to thirteen miles an hour. On a smooth, level floor, such a speed can be maintained with but little effort on almost any machine. It is safe to say that a good velocipede rider can travel a hundred miles as quickly as an ordinary horse with an ordinary load. Of course, the more a person rides, the easier it becomes, and the less the fatigue. ”

“ In France, fashion writers and fashion leaders rack their brains for the contrivance of velocipede costumes; velocipede clubs are formed; velocipede championships contested for at velocipede tournaments. There are not less than ten thousand machines running in the streets of Paris. ”

“ Nothing should be cast about the metal works of a velocipede except the brasses.
A bad machine carefully kept, may, perhaps, last longer than a good machine very badly managed. It should be the ambition of a good rider, however, to have a good machine, kept in good order. There is danger to the velocipedist in pushing ahead with speed, when the slightest collision, or the giving way of some minute portion of the machine, may smash the whole affair. ”

“ We do not confine ourselves to propelling by the feet exclusively. The driving-wheels may be rotated by the hands, as in some descriptions of velocipede, or by the feet and the weight of the body combined, as in the rocking-saddle kind.
“Having thus described our invention,
“What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,—
2. A velocipede formed of a horizontal wheel or rim, when supported on vertical wheels adapted to be rotated by means of cranks, substantially as set forth. ”

“ It can be driven by almost any man, at the rate of a mile in four minutes, on almost any road, without greater exertion than is ordinarily used in walking. This velocipede, unlike all others, is seen to best advantage on the street. In Mr. Bradford’s tasteful little curricle, the rider can sit at ease as carelessly as in a carriage, giving himself up wholly to the exhilaration of the rapid movement, and the pleasurable exercise of the muscles, which is just enough to make the machine skim over the ground, and give an enjoyable sense of power. ”

“ In impelling a velocipede, the limbs are not constantly in motion; for on level ground, when the impetus is at the average rate, or when the machine is descending an incline, the feet may be removed from the pedals, and the legs be placed on the bar, fixed in front of the machine for that purpose. A slight impulsion to the vehicle from time to time suffices to keep up the speed. When a rider encounters a formidable hill, he can dismount and lead his bicycle by the hand. ”

“ With those who live in the cities and require a daily exercise, exhilarating, pleasant, healthful, and free from expense; with those who reside in the country and have long [Pg 19] distances to traverse daily in reaching the scene of their labors, or with those who have leisure and wealth at their command, but love such exercises as afford an opportunity for the display of grace, agility, and skill, the velocipede has already become as great a favorite in this country as it is in France and England. ”

“ In learning the velocipede, it is advisable to use a machine of only moderate height, so that the soles of the feet can readily touch the ground. At the best school we know, where the pupils graduate experts, six different sizes of machines are used. The beginner is put upon one with a guiding wheel of a diameter of only thirty-four inches, and is promoted from one to another, according to progress. ”

“ Of the various kinds of velocipedes, four, three, two, and one wheeled, the bicycle seems to be considered the most artistic, is altogether the most in favor, and steadily maintains its ground against all rivals. Whether it will be the model velocipede of the future remains to be seen. The various experiments now being tried will, no doubt, eventually result in a nearly perfect machine, but it will require [Pg 18] a season’s experience fully to develop the ingenuity of our American artisans. ”

“ We present an engraving of an English one-wheeled velocipede. The feet are placed on short stilts, connected with the cranks, one on either side of the rim, while the rider sits upon a steel spring saddle over the whole wheel. The inventor modestly limits the diameter of the wheel to twelve feet, and the number of revolutions to fifty per minute. Twenty-five miles per hour is the speed expected to be reached. The riders of this machine, without the [Pg 81] ability to overcome the laws of gravity, would be very likely to get broken bones and noses. ”

“ In the centre is a propelling wheel, covered by a house or drum, on the top of which the person using the vessel sits comfortably in a sort of saddle, with stirrups. By means of these stirrups and a hand crank upon each side, he gives the wheel its motion, precisely as it is given to a velocipede on shore. ”

“ The iron arms, between which the front wheel is held, are inclined back at an angle of forty-five degrees from the perpendicular, which inclination brings the seat in such a relative position to the fore wheel, that a man of medium height can, with his feet, reach the treadles of one of these velocipedes, the front wheel of which is forty-five inches in diameter, with as much ease as he can those of the ordinary velocipede, the fore wheel of which is of a diameter seven or eight inches smaller. ”

“ It is an inducement to young men who work in close apartments to spend more time in the open air, and furnishes them a means of healthful, invigorating, and, at the same time, pleasant exercise, such as nothing else can possibly afford.
Serious accidents on the velocipede are almost unheard of, and the predictions that these machines would prove dangerous have not been verified. It will fall down, but the rider need not fall with it [Pg 22] unless he chooses. It is no more dangerous than a horse and carriage, under any circumstances, and not nearly so much so, with ordinary caution. ”

“ Familiarity with the bicycle becomes a sort of second nature, and a velocipedean, after a fair amount of experience, finds himself almost as perfectly at home astride his two-wheeler, as he does on his feet.
When John Brent rode his horse across the plains in search of adventure, the era of the two-wheeled velocipede had not come upon us. We think the bicycle an animal, which will, in a great measure, supersede the horse. It does not cost as much; it will not eat, kick, bite, get sick, or die. ”

“ The generic tricycle, or three-wheeled velocipede, as used abroad, is not likely to meet with general favor in this country.
In its steering arrangements and mode of propulsion, its construction is similar to that of the bicycle. The rear wheels are large and light; the fore wheel is smaller, and serves to guide the machine, being acted upon by means of the steering bar or handle, which causes it to bend in the direction indicated by the rider. ”

“ The arms are the first to feel the effect of the exercise, for the pressure of the feet upon the stirrups must be met by a corresponding pressure of the hands on the tiller, necessary to prevent the front wheel from turning. This pressure of the tiller against the hands puts the rider in an upright position, with elbows well back and hands well extended, straightens the stooping shoulders, facilitates respiration, expands the lungs, and develops the chest. No position can be maintained upon the velocipede, inconsistent with ease and elegance of motion, or incompatible with the laws of health. ”

“ They will, doubtless, become popular. While young men have been dashing about on velocipedes, many young women have looked on with envy and emulation. They have not been satisfied with the tricycle designed for their especial use; and have felt it hard that they should be denied the exercise, amusement, risk, dash, and delightful independence, which the bicycle so abundantly affords.
It is possible that our young ladies will rush into velocipeding as they have into skating, and other athletic amusements. ”

“ The conception in the mind of man of road carriages which require an element of balancing was a recent event in the development of vehicles in general, and the similarity of the words bicycle and tricycle, together with the fact that both are included in the generic term velocipede, has led many to overlook a distinction of balancing, which should class them under very different heads. ”

“ Young America is pictured coming in on a velocipede. Henry Ward Beecher thinks the coming man will ride one, and we shall not be surprised to see his prediction fulfilled, and devout worshippers propelling themselves to church on Sunday with all due gravity and decorum.
[Pg 21] Velocipeding is a hopeful sign of progress. If that man is a benefactor who makes two blades of grass grow where but one grew before, he should come in for a share of praise, who teaches a man to go ten miles as easily and as quickly as he previously went one. “Time is money;” ”

“ The Dexter bicycle only differs from other two-wheeled machines in one respect. This, however, is quite important. By a simple and effective device, [Pg 62] it admits of an instantaneous connection and disconnection of the crank with the axle of the driving wheel, keeping the treadles stationary or in motion, at the will of the rider, while the wheel continues to revolve. Ordinarily, in obtaining a high rate of speed on a velocipede, the rapidity of the revolution of the crank becomes too great to be followed by the movement of the feet, except at the expenditure of too much exertion. ”

“ If we compare air with water we find it is nearly 1000 times lighter. To meet these peculiarities the insect, bird and bat are furnished with extensive flying surfaces in the shape of wings, which they apply with singular velocity and power to the air, as levers of the third order. In this form of lever the power is applied between the fulcrum and the weight to be raised. The power is represented by the wing, the fulcrum by the air, and the weight by the body of the flying animal. ”

“ And in the case of two birds of similar shape and specific gravity, but one eight times the weight of the other, the larger bird would ultimately attain a velocity roughly twice as great as the other, if both fell for a sufficient distance to attain their limiting velocities, i.e. the velocity at which the resistance offered by the air is equal to the attraction of gravity. Similarly if the one bird were four times the weight of the other, the velocity ultimately attained under the conditions mentioned would be roughly one and a half times as great as the other. ”

“ Finally I said I was ready to start the official demonstrations, and the official naval observers were called out to watch.
I did five speed dives first. These were to demonstrate that the ship would dive to terminal velocity. Contrary to popular opinion, a falling object will not go faster and faster and faster and faster. It will go faster and faster only up to a certain point. That point is reached when the object creates by its own passage through the air enough air resistance to that passage to equal in pounds the weight of the object. ”

“ The direction of the wind must necessarily be either along the line of flight of the bird, against it, or at an angle with it. In the first of these instances the speed of the bird over the ground is determined merely by adding the velocity of the wind to, and in the second by subtracting it from the air speed of the bird, in the same way as a swimmer’s speed is increased or reduced by the speed of the current. ”

“ Flywheels.—A flywheel is a rotating piece in a machine, generally shaped like a wheel (that is to say, consisting of a rim with spokes) , and suited to store and restore energy by the periodical variations in its angular velocity.
The principles according to which variations of angular velocity store and restore energy are the same as those of § 117, only substituting moment of inertia for mass, and angular for linear velocity.
Let W be the weight of a flywheel, R its radius of gyration, a2 its maximum, a1 its minimum, and A = 1⁄2 (α2 + α1) its mean angular velocity. ”

“ Velocity of Filaments issuing in a Jet.—A jet is composed of fluid filaments or elementary streams, which start into motion at some point in the interior of the vessel from which the fluid is discharged, and gradually acquire the velocity of the jet. Let Mm, fig. 40 be such a filament, the point M being taken where the velocity is insensibly small, and m at the most contracted section of the jet, where the filaments have become parallel and exercise uniform mutual pressure. Take the free surface AB for datum line, and let p1, v1, h1, be the pressure, velocity and depth below datum at M ”

“ The earth may be likened to a gigantic fly-wheel detached from the engine, though still connected with the machines in the mill. From its stupendous dimensions and from its rapid velocity, that great fly-wheel possesses an enormous store of energy, which must be expended before the fly-wheel comes to rest. Hence it is that, though the tides are caused by the moon, yet the energy they require is obtained by simply appropriating some of the vast supply available from the rotation of the earth. ”

“ In still air a bird, or whatever attempts to fly, must flap its wings energetically until it acquires initial velocity, when the flapping may be discontinued; or it must throw itself from a height, in which case the initial velocity is acquired by the weight of the body acting upon the inclined planes formed by the motionless wings. The flapping and gliding action of the wings constitute the difference between ordinary flight and that known as skimming or sailing flight. ”