CHAPTER XII.

HANDLEBARS, GRIPS AND BRAKES.

The old-time handlebar was almost invariably passed directly through projecting lugs on the “head,” made for the purpose of holding it. For a number of years it was straight and solid, varying from fifteen inches in length to the other extreme of even thirty or thirty-two. The usual handle or grip was pear-shaped, although in a few instances round; the common material was horn, but wood and rubber were sometimes used. The common mode of fastening was to work the end of the bar into a sort of “tang” like the end of a caseknife or similar tool and hold the grip on by a thin nut run on the bar and let down into a cavity in the end of the handle. This illustrates again adaptation of old devices to new uses.

As lightness came to be more considered, makers having also found it easier to manipulate hollow steel tubing, the hollow bar was introduced. The dropped and the cow-horn pattern were not long in coming. The present type of bicycle compelled the ends of the bar to be carried backward in order to bring the grips within reach of the rider; but the various curves upward and downward, with ramshorn and other twists which have sometimes seemed almost humorous, are of such recent date that they need not be referred to in detail. The straight pear-shaped grip became a T, then a spade, then a shape resembling the short and chunky pistol stock; then—on the rear driving safety—settled into the oblong shape, slipped upon the end of the hollow tube, which has become so familiar and has hardly changed except in the material used to make it.

Concerning the length of bar—more properly, width, since the point is the measurement in a direct line between the grips—the London _Cyclist_, in a long and ponderous article about three years ago, argued against the short bar, declaring that “its absurdity is apparent.” The reasons given were two: that a bar less than what the editor dictatorially pronounced the proper length (about 23½ inches) brings the grip around in the way of the thigh in making a short turn, and that a short bar is hygienically wrong. The hands should not be brought nearer than when they hang at the sides. “By measuring the distance between the shoulders, or between the seams of the coat, and then throwing the handle grips 1½ to 2 inches farther out on each side, or by measuring the distance between the shoulders over all from outside to outside of the shoulders, riders will obtain the proper length of bar for their own individual requirements.” The writer proceeded to say that men put their hands on the bar not because the grips are too far apart, but because the grips are set too low, and he found a supporter in a Coventry firm who said they had always adhered to 23½ inches and wished “manufacturers as a body would follow their own convictions more and not be so led by a few riders who think they are authorities on cycle construction.”

As to this, a maker may well take a stand and stick to it when impossibilities are demanded, as when the craze for lightness called for steady reduction in weight without impairment of strength, or when, as now, people seem to call for such excess of crank-hanger drop as involves risk of “drop” of a disagreeable nature; short of such positive folly, and in general, the maker will do well to keep in touch with the public and provide what is wanted, even if it be not the most rational and if he reserve the right of having his private judgment. As to length of handlebar, we count this, along with crank-throw and saddle, a matter for individual choice rather than for the dictum of any individual authority. A long bar is certainly a plague in passing through doors and in leaning a wheel safely; it is probable that women more or less err in having saddle too low and handles too high; it is certain that fashion (apparently set by the scorcher class) governs the bar and the grips; and yet the better course for “authority” is to let the rider do as he pleases, which he is pretty sure to do willy-nilly.

THE MODERN HANDLEBAR.

As above remarked, the plain straight bar of the high wheel could not be used on the modern type. The first bend was the simple one of pulling the grips back in the same plane with the bar, until they pointed straight back or nearly so; then the intermediate curving set in. Now, the commonest form is a simple bend, which brings the grips below the top tube, and whether the wheel will turn around on the steering or strikes on the bar seems to be the test that divides the true up-to-date pacer as a class from the unclassed “citizens and strangers.” But between the head and the grip the bar may wander variously in length consumed and in vagary of curve, the very latest being a downward-slanted reversed V form, which joins with the short head in showing that the rider “has a new ’98.”

In connection with the distinctive triple front fork already described, the Lyndhurst has a bar arranged to slide on the upper tubes of the fork, instead of inside the head; it is also reversible, thus giving several positions. Many forms of bar adjustable at the head are also in the market. That of the Kelly Company of Cleveland is hinged at the centre, and the grips may be moved up or down directly, with an extreme travel, each position being capable of being firmly locked, the stem being reversible for further variety in shape. In most cases the entire bar rotates at the centre. The Burt bar has a small toothed ring at the centre, engaged by a lever shaped like the hammer of a gun. This can be drawn back and the bar shifted, while riding, without need of tools. The Claus bar has a taper-toothed ring, held in a corresponding toothed band and fastened on the opposite side of the stem by a nut working on a tapered thread; no wrench is required. The Standard non-vibrating bar, made by the Rumbarger Company of Dayton, O., adjusts at the head in a similar manner and claims forty-two different positions. The Chicago Handle Bar Company, which makes a specialty of the “Schinneer” bar and uses that term as its trade mark, has also a bar borne on a “U” spring on top of the head as an “anti-vibration.” The Brennan Company of Syracuse has a bar adjustable by sliding a toothed ring into or out of engagement with a ring internally toothed, held in place by an internal expander.

THE WOOD BAR.

The wood bar is still in market. Louis Rastetter & Son of Fort Wayne make as their specialty a ferrule of steel tubing shrunk on the bar at the centre, the fastening being by a screw in a U-shaped clamp. The Wood Manufacturing Company of Toledo offer the La Fave bar, adjustable by means of serrations on one edge of the slip on the stem, the serrations engaging a fixed pin and fastened by a lock-nut. Yet the wood bar shows no distinct progress in use, and makers do not as generally as in 1897 include it among their options. It is not so easily marred as the steel bar; it is less disagreeable to the touch in cold weather, and it undeniably has the power of considerably absorbing vibration. Yet the last-named service is largely lost by the habit of not keeping the hands on the grips, and thus losing the leverage of the full length of the bar; even the writer, who still cleaves to the wood, has fallen, with the rest, into the habit of never touching the grips. Probably this very quality of springiness, which gives the wood its distinctive value, gives riders an unfounded suspicion of weakness in the wood bar, especially if of fashionable length and if held by its ends; thus held, it springs in a degree which possibly impairs certainty of steering control and makes it unfit for a heavy pull for driving power. Hence it must be admitted ill-suited for such pull; yet this should not be counted against the wood bar under ordinary road service, where the use of a bar is really rather more for its share in supporting the body than for actual pull. Justly or unjustly, however, the wood bar seems at present likely to go out.

Internal fastenings, usually on the principle of slightly expanding the stem of the bar, which is sawn open a short distance for the purpose, are much in vogue. The Ideal Plating Company of Boston has one which by one operation tightens the stem in its place and also tightens upon the bar itself the split ring which holds it. The Wolff-American has a peculiar one which works in connection with a slot to keep the bar in proper line and a serrated edge on the adjusting cone to hold the head adjustment. Others work on the expansion principle, sometimes by turning a nut under the fork crown, sometimes by a nut on top of the bar itself; others by a nut on top of the head; the tendency is thus quite general to do away with the split lug and pinch-bolt, and there can be no practical difficulty in so doing if the devices are constructed in a mechanical manner in detail.

GRIPS.

In grips, the corkaline composition still holds place as against the grip of actual cork in sections, and the composition tip, in colors to suit, retains place as against the metal tip. A new thing is a thin wood shell, covered with a narrow strip of leather, wound on spirally, and tipped in the usual manner. There is no apparent objection to this, unless it becomes unpleasant under perspiration from the hand. Spring grips can still be had, but do not seem to take. Rubber grips, having a slot along their length so as to be capable of opening, and similar to the clasps to be put on the top bar as buffers when the grip whirls about and bumps it, are made for the centre or other part of the bar, and can be shifted at pleasure. A very neat grip for this purpose is made of celluloid, slotted along part of its length, after the manner of a barrel, with thin openings between its staves, the object of the slotting being to allow some elasticity. The Rambler fits on one style of bar a grip of “unbreakable fibre,” made detachable on one side only, the other grip being cemented on. By pulling out a soft rubber plug from the end of the bar a tapered screw can be reached; this screw presses outwardly on three triangular flaps made by partly sawing through the bar in three cuts, and thus holds the grip by expansion.

The expansion principle is similarly applied to seat-posts, the L-top being also in some cases made to take out and reverse, for either forward or backward position, and in others being made to slide through the end of the stem of the post, where it can be locked at any point. One of the most peculiar adjusting posts is the Watson; the L-top of this is hinged to the lower part, which lower part is split in half and tapered. A tap of the hand underneath the saddle releases the “bite” of the tapered halves against the tube, and the saddle can be withdrawn; on replacing the saddle, a downward push slides the tapered halves outward again, gripping the tube on the inside by expansion.

EVOLUTION OF THE BRAKE.

The earliest form of brake was probably applied to the back wheel, and consisted of either a “spoon” or a roller, to be drawn against the tire and operated by a cord running back from the handlebar, which was in such cases not fixed in the head lugs, but capable of being rotated to wind up the cord. Other forms, semi-automatic in operation, soon followed. In one, two short arms carrying a roller between them were pivoted on the back fork just above the wheel axle; this brake was brought into contact with the tire by drawing upward with a cord, and in case the cord broke the brake dropped down by its own weight, and as the arms bearing the roller were shorter than the radius of the back wheel, the forward movement of the wheel immediately drew the roller into wedging contact with the tire, and the wheel dragged, thus producing maximum efficiency.

The ground or trailing brake was another class, a long, curved fork being attached, and being so worked by a cord as to bring a notched or roughened end into biting contact with the ground; this was not wholesome for the road surface, but it served fairly well for retarding, and if pressure enough were applied the back wheel (which bore only a small load) could even be lifted off the ground, the brake taking its place as carrier. The cord was made very thick and strong; yet as there was a chance of its snapping, other forms of brake were devised to meet that chance. In one, the cord was slackened instead of tightened, allowing the short arms to drop down in front of the back wheel, which forthwith ran up off the ground and directly upon a small flat shoe borne by these arms, so that the wheel stopped turning and rode on a “drag” instead. Another pattern made the brake arm long enough to go quite over the wheel; this was worked by drawing upward with the cord until the back extremity bore on the ground; if the cord broke, a spring pulled the arm in the other direction, and the forward end, carrying a shoe upon which the wheel ran up, dropped down before the wheel.

The front wheel brake was the common one, however. Sometimes it was in roller form, as sometimes now, and this was sometimes worked by a rack and pinion, the handlebar being rotated for the purpose. More generally the brake was a simple L-shaped lever with a spoon at its end, worked by a hand lever on the bar, as today. As old riders remember, the brake on the high wheel was very sensitive and hazardous, as an excess of pressure would lock the wheel in its bearings and send everything over headlong.

BRAKE OR NO BRAKE.

The modern type removes that danger and yet the modern wheel, the drop frame excepted, is brakeless to this day, all discussion about brakes in the press and before city governing boards, enforced by not a small number of cases of disastrous run-away mishaps, having failed to bring about the adoption of a brake as a regular part of construction. There are some mechanical reasons for this, and some reasons in custom and fashion. The head being longer than in the old days, it is impracticable to use the L spoon, and the direct “plunger” pattern is necessary. This requires a long connection down from the bar, and it has been difficult to keep the brake parts in smooth working order, especially as adjustability for height of the bar must be included. Later, makers have begun to put the downward connection within the head and work the brake directly under the fork crown; but even then the lever upon the bar is a clumsy fixture and constantly interferes with changing position of the bar. With the front wheel brake at its best, and however necessary some brake may be deemed to be, it is still an expensive and troublesome fixture.

The effect on the tire is also to be considered. The old solid tire could submit to anything, but the stress and wear on the pneumatic are so great that it really ought not to be subjected to brake friction. If it is urged that the back wheel is the proper and effective place for brake application it may justly be said that the back tire, having to carry most of the load and bear all the driving traction, ought to be kept free from further demands from a brake. On behalf of the front tire it should be said that when a brake spoon has cut into the rubber on the tire tread not only is there liability to leakage of air but moisture may reach the fabric and disintegration by rotting may set in. As women are the chief possessors of the front plunger brake, and, moreover, are most likely to use it, because generally more timid and also less practised and confident in back pedalling, it is fair to warn them against unnecessary use of the brake (which really ought to be reserved for emergencies), especially when on wet surfaces, since rubber cuts and tears more readily when wet.

The foot brake, attached to the forks and pressed by the heel, has the same objection as all other tire brakes as to effect on the tire. But every rider always has an emergency brake at command in the simple use of the foot itself. Place the toe on the front tire back of the fork crown, and the wheel itself will instantly carry it up against the crown, when it can be applied with any pressure required. It leaves only one foot for back pedalling, yet check enough can be had thus to enable the rider to tumble off without injury if a regular and orderly dismount cannot be managed. It is, therefore, not necessary, in case of the wheel’s escaping control on an unexpectedly sharp grade, to run into wreck at the bottom. All that is necessary, having previously tried the trick enough to get the knack of placing the foot, is to think of it—in other words, to keep presence of mind and not be “rattled.”

No brake should be expected to serve for a “short stop” or as a substitute for care in riding. An unexpected obstruction, such as another bicycle or a wagon suddenly stopping close in front or a pedestrian running in the way, cannot be escaped by brake action if at close range and high speed. The rider who persists in “rushing” street crossings where there is no clear view of the intersecting points and generally seems to expect all creation to clear the way, endangers himself and others, brake or no brake; and that mishaps are not more frequent is to the credit of the guardian angels or the carefulness of more rational persons, not to his. A simple way of avoiding grief on hills is that followed by the writer last season in going back and forth across the White Mountains, namely, not to start, in the saddle, down any hill which cannot be seen and its grade perceived all the way down. This compelled frequent dismounts; but it took a light and brakeless wheel through a rugged country without mishap.

VARIOUS TIRE BRAKES.

There are a variety of tire brakes, some for one wheel and some for the other, differing in the mode of application. One of the former is the Bell brake, combining a bell which rings by being pushed down into contact with the tire and a brake-shoe which comes on the front tire by a harder push and bears on the sides instead of the top of the tread. The device may also be tipped so that the brake may be used without the bell, for coasting. The Automatic Coaster and Brake is attached directly behind the crank bracket, and consists of a spoon which is brought in contact with the tire by the act of back pedalling, the lift of the chain slack being employed for that purpose. The Stuart brake is attached back of the crank bracket, but is put in operation by pressing the heel on a short lever; it applies a spoon to the back tire. An alternative form of this brake uses a cord running over three small pulleys and coming up within reach near the steering head. The Body Automatic brake, as the name suggests, is operated by bringing the body back upon the lever, and works on the rear tire. The Tourist Detachable is a small brake attached behind the crank bracket and readily removable, being worked by a long cord, which can be passed around the head, the grips, or the saddle itself. The Eureka and Bulldog are also applied to the rear tire; one is on the seat-post tube, and is worked by pushing down a small frame carrying the spoon, while the other is similarly placed, but worked by a cord.

Attempts are often made to avoid injury to the tire by covering the brake-shoe with rubber, or by using a roller instead, the intent being that the tire shall turn the roller without any sliding friction, while the operative resistance shall be in the roller itself. In a good degree these modes of saving the tire are or may be effective; yet wear on the tire cannot be wholly avoided.

AUTOMATIC REAR HUB BRAKES.

The old hand brake, common on the tricycle, was even used on the rear-driving bicycle, the Columbia and New Mail having once been made with it. The latest type, however, is the “automatic,” placed on the hub of the driving wheel, and put into action by back-pedalling. Of this type are the Doolittle, the New Departure, the Willits, and others. In back-pedalling, the sprockets and chain never actually run backward, but the forward movement is resisted, and thus there is a “tendency” for them to move a little more slowly than the wheel. This tendency is employed in this type of brake, and the principle is that the rear sprocket, being so mounted as to allow a very slight backward slip with relation to its axle (which is what occurs as soon as attempt is made to stop the sprocket by backing on the pedal) slips just enough to put the brake “on,” the friction being between either a cam disk or a split ring and a brake shoe which is held immovable by the frame. The first attempt to back-pedal sets the brake, its pressure depending on the force applied to the pedal. The brake remains set of itself until pressure forward comes on the pedal again, when it automatically releases. Under proper operation, as intended, the rider is hardly aware of this brake, noticing only that his back-pedalling is very effective.

THE SPENCER BRAKES.

The Spencer Brake Co. has two brakes on the market, the Spencer Concealed “Plunger” Brake and the Spencer “Coil” Brake. Both of these are worked from the handlebar by twisting the right grip; this draws on a small chain, which in the “Plunger” connects with mechanism acting on the front tire by means of a spoon, which forms a special feature of the brake, and in the “Coil” acts directly on the crank axle. The “Plunger” has been more in demand, and to meet the popular taste is the one now chiefly manufactured. It is practically invisible, the only noticeable features being a small button protruding slightly from the right grip and the spoon appearing under the fork crown. All the brake mechanism is contained in the handlebar and head post. The brake can be put on lightly or hard, as desired, and will remain exactly as put, so that the claim made for it—“the control of the wheel”—is well sustained. This brake is ingenious, really mechanical and excellent in every way. The brake spoon, which is also covered by patents, deserves special mention. Its contact with the tire is made with rubber blocks, one on each side of the under surface of the spoon. These blocks bear on the tire at the side of the tread, and not on the centre of it, so that not only is there no danger of a puncture from the brake itself, but if the tire should be otherwise punctured the brake is still efficient. Wear on the tire also is thus reduced to a minimum. The rubber blocks can be readily detached with the fingers and renewed. On the whole, this brake is steadily gaining in popular favor, and has made for itself many friends.