CHAPTER XVII.
TANDEMS AND THE RATIONAL.
The Tandem is a cycle in which two riders are mounted, one in front of the other, upon the same machine. We have the tandem tricycle, which is a two- or three-track machine on the tricycle principle, and the tandem bicycle, or single-track machine with two wheels.
Of the tandem tricycle I shall have little to say, as my experience does not justify the attempt; also of the single tricycle I cannot give much of an account. This book does not pretend to treat of man-motor carriages so generally as to include all of the two- or three-track devices, nor of the three- or four-in-hand. Latterly remarkable records have been made on a “triplet,” and we hope this machine is all that is claimed for it. But there is too great a step from a single-track machine to the double or triple to treat of them all, so for the present I shall confine myself principally to that class in which the rider is maintained in an upright position by means of steering.
The only single-track tandem which now bids fair to attain any conspicuous position is that built upon the Rover Safety principle, where two low wheels support two saddles and the rear wheel is made the driver by means of a series of sprocket-chains and cranks. No lever-motion machine, for two, of any pattern, has as yet made an appearance in the market. It is quite probable that the rear-driving tandem will acquire an enviable place in the sphere of cycling, and it certainly deserves to be enthusiastically welcomed among us. Very few cyclers care to take a spin all alone, and ittakes two riders at least to make company: why not then mount them sociably upon one vehicle? Surely the tandem method must steadily gain favor, and when it is finally and securely launched in our midst, we shall derive much pleasure from its use, and for touring it must become invaluable. No doubt a very little increase of weight of parts and cost can and will finally serve two happy cyclists. When this is accomplished it will take but little palaver to sell to touring parties at once, since one machine, even if of double weight, can be handled, in many cases, by two men much more easily than each can handle a light one alone. The Tandem takes up less space in a railroad car than two separate machines, and any store-room can be made to accommodate an increased number of saddles. The machines will mostly be made for each to accommodate both a lady and gentleman or two gentlemen, as may be preferred, and on this account they will, at some not far distant time, partially supplant single mounts. Some will also be made convertible; that is, capable of being divided into two single cycles. It is hardly probable that machines for more than two will ever become general, at least not for social riding; no better reason can be given than the old saw, “two’s company and three’s a crowd.” We do not, however, venture to prophesy positively about multiple riding (that is, more than double), since it has a start now, and there is no telling where it will end.
In experimenting on tandem bicycles, I have found one difficulty which, so far, has been very serious; it is the tendency of switching between the riders; that is to say, the twist of the machine. It is difficult to make a frame strong enough to prevent this, since the rear end has to be kept perpendicular by means of a direct twist on a long backbone. Both riders cannot be uprighted as the same weight can be when it is all centred in one spot. It is the distribution of the weight more than the amount of it that causes thetrouble. It is well known that a man of two hundred and fifty pounds avoirdupois can ride without much trouble, but two men of one hundred and twenty-five pounds each, sitting two feet apart, will strain a single-track machine tremendously; this annoyance will not be finally escaped by means of mere strength of parts. Some novel arrangement of the wheels, saddles, or other mechanism will have to be called into play to modify the unsightly length of the present tandem bicycles, though it is not right to disparage them on account of it. Much objection has been raised to the “shape of the thing,” but since the advent of the Safety bicycles, appearance must take a second place to that which it held when we sat perched upon the noble old Ordinaries. If we must slip along the ground like beetles, let us not be too fastidious as to just how we look.
Let the Tandem come on; and be received with open arms. Those of us who are a little weak want to make a combination with some flyers, to make up our deficiencies in scorching runs. If we can get on the rear seat and eat doughnuts part of the time, so much the better.
As the above term seems to be indigenous to England, and emanates indirectly from the fertile brain of the distinguished editor of theCyclist, I append below a quotation from that journal by way of introduction to this subject.
“THE FUTURE OF THE ORDINARY.“‘The Ordinary is doomed,’ we very frequently hear people say, but we are not of that opinion. True, it has ‘had its nose put out of joint’ by the Safety lately, but this only shows us the correctness of the opinions we have always held, and proves to us that, if the makers will only look after the safety and comfort of Ordinary riders a little more, the old love for the high wheel will return, and good business will result. In the introduction to the ‘Indispensable Bicyclists’ Hand-Book’ this year we say; ‘The Ordinary bicycle, for the young and active, is the most delightful form of cycle to possess, and the youth of Englandand other active nations will ever select it in preference to its perhaps safer, yet more cumbrous rival. To retain its hold as a touring machine, however, I feel certain that more attention must be paid to the comfort and comparative safety of the rider, and I hope to see in the near future a gradual inclination towards larger back wheels, more rake, longer cranks, and the addition of foot-rests, when the ordinary and original machine will, with common care, be equal in safety to any form of cycle extant.’...“This being so, we ask makers, in their own interests and in the interests of the Ordinary as a type, to deal with the matter and give attention to the points enumerated above. We are sure it would pay any maker, who has the proper facilities for doing so, to place a machine built as described vigorously on the market, and we hope next season to see it done, when we feel assured the rationally-built Ordinary will gradually work its way back into the public estimation.”
“THE FUTURE OF THE ORDINARY.
“‘The Ordinary is doomed,’ we very frequently hear people say, but we are not of that opinion. True, it has ‘had its nose put out of joint’ by the Safety lately, but this only shows us the correctness of the opinions we have always held, and proves to us that, if the makers will only look after the safety and comfort of Ordinary riders a little more, the old love for the high wheel will return, and good business will result. In the introduction to the ‘Indispensable Bicyclists’ Hand-Book’ this year we say; ‘The Ordinary bicycle, for the young and active, is the most delightful form of cycle to possess, and the youth of Englandand other active nations will ever select it in preference to its perhaps safer, yet more cumbrous rival. To retain its hold as a touring machine, however, I feel certain that more attention must be paid to the comfort and comparative safety of the rider, and I hope to see in the near future a gradual inclination towards larger back wheels, more rake, longer cranks, and the addition of foot-rests, when the ordinary and original machine will, with common care, be equal in safety to any form of cycle extant.’...
“This being so, we ask makers, in their own interests and in the interests of the Ordinary as a type, to deal with the matter and give attention to the points enumerated above. We are sure it would pay any maker, who has the proper facilities for doing so, to place a machine built as described vigorously on the market, and we hope next season to see it done, when we feel assured the rationally-built Ordinary will gradually work its way back into the public estimation.”
In spite of the laudatory notices of subsequent writers in theCyclist, I am not disposed to treat this subject seriously. If not already consigned to oblivion, no doubt the ideas advanced in the foregoing quotation will be by the time this book reaches the reader; something must be said about it, however, since the importance of the question is now quite generally felt. To long cranks little objection can be made, but as to increased rake and large rear wheels, this is a thrust at the heart of all we have to admire in the Ordinary. We are willing to take the old mount with all its dangers, for the sake of its neat appearance and ease of running, but when we get back nearly off the large wheel; when we reach out to the end of a longer crank; when we get over and drag along after us a great ungainly rear wheel to wag about over the road; and lastly, when we strike at the life of easy steering, pray what have we left? Why not go back to the old bone-shaker, curl up like a sleeping chimpanzee and kick up in the air as we used to do, and be done with it? No! If we propose to stick to the old high perch, let us be men and take it as it has been perfected, neat and comfortable, with the rider upon the front wheel and within a reasonable distance of the point over his work. If not that, then let us gracefully accept our placedown among the dogs, and take the Safety, depending upon having so little else to attend to that we can kick off the festive canines and take up the time we would otherwise spend in patching up our skin with sticking plaster, in wiping off the accumulated dust from our machines.
No man can edit a journal without making mistakes, and I shall probably find that books cannot be written without incurring the same liability, but for all this we cannot excuse theRational. The more generally correct an editor is the more keenly we feel his freaks; so let this be my defence in noticing this little idiosyncratic perturbation of Mr. Sturmey’s otherwise infallible intellect.