Abstract
THE present time is opportune to notice some points in cycle riding which have received our attention during the last three years. Every intelligent rider of a cycle must have at some time compared his powers as a human motor with the motors that drive the motor-cars which he now so frequently meets in the streets. He naturally wishes to study the question of most efficient propulsion, including that of his own mechanical efficiency as a motor driving his cycle. The design of the modern cycle was so far developed by 1896 that a standard type then became the rule, most cycles having a 45-inch wheel base, two wheels of equal diameter 28 inches, cranks 6½ inches long, and a ratio of gear varying between 59 to 80 inches, the sole difference made between cycles intended for tall riders and those for short ones consisting in varying the height of the frame. In 1896 the writers, being urged thereto by Mr. Otto Blathy, the well-known engineer of Budapesth, had their attention called to the necessity of varying the crank length to suit the varying length of leg of the rider. A series of experiments was carried out for cranks up to 9½ inches long, and the results obtained were very remarkable. It may now be taken as admitted that a very large proportion of the riders who have tried cranks of increased length have found great benefit from their use, but although they feel strongly how tangible these advantages are, some difficulty has been felt in satisfactorily explaining them.
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The Fitting of the Cycle to its Rider 1 . Nature 61, 87–91 (1899). https://doi.org/10.1038/061087b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/061087b0