Untitled

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 11 August 1909, Page 59

CYCLING AND MOTOR NOTES

BY DEMON. The advance in the price of rubber has brought a corresponding advance in the price of tyres. Dunlop prices are adI vanced 20 per cent, as from August 1. ! However, this item in car upkeep has been ! 30 to 40 per cent, higher than at present, I but a decrease in the price of rubber (and I therefore tyres) would be extremely welcome, though the owners of Dominion Rubber Company shares may think otherwise. However, " a stitch in time saves nine," and car-owners will probably have the cuts in covers vulcanised before the wet rots the fabric. ~T— .!* is possible that the next N.Z. Reliability trials may be for private owners only. The Auckland Fire Brigade havo just taken delivery of a 40-50 h.p. six-cylinder ThQme>croft motor fire engine.' The inaehino was specially constructed at Home by the Messrs Thorneyoroft for the northern brigade. At tho present lime both Wellington and Christohurch have taxi-cab services, and the question naturally arises as to when we shall sco tho taxi on our local streets. So far as Auckland is concerned, tho reason put forward as co why they ha\e no fetich service there is that the reads are too rough and steep. Though we. too. have steep streets in Dunedin our road surfaces should prove quite good enotigh for the taxi-cab. The true reason of their non-appearance, however, is perhaps owing to the excellent nervioes of our local tramways — both electric and cable. Theso leave very little of our districts unprovided with transit facilities, and at a elia-rgo, too, much below Hiat. which would bo necessary lo enable taxis to pay a fair interest on the capital expended. A recent cable message stated t hat JJeon Meredith, the long-distanc~ cvclfst, had established a new record at Birmingham by cohering 1 10 rui.'e^ in 16min 24soc. From the second mile, tho cable states, Meredith beat all previous lecords. Some error has apparently oocurred in transmission, as the American rider, R. A. "Wakhour, paced and from a flying start, did ths 10 miles in lOmin 22sec as fer back ac 1904. — — The Sportsman (Eng.) yays : — "Dick Arnst is a powerful man, who first gainod prominence as a cyclist. Indeed, in 1906, at Sydney, he won a long-distance race over 500 miles, in which the first prize was £1000, tho most valuable race in thf* world." The Engli&h paper is a littie astray. The distance of the race was one mile, and first .prize £750, and none other than tho Sidney Thou.'jand. The championship carnival at which ths inter-State amateur cycling- championships will be held is announced to take place at BrisKine on October 2. Major Taylor will have to improve to achieve his ambition of winning the Grand Prix de Paris. If he were riding in his old form the great event would be a certainty for the coloured champion, but he has given j no signs yet of a return to hie one-time best I ep;-ed. Afc fireeent Friol, the Frenchman,

seems fo be as much superior to Taylor as ths American once was to tho best of the other cracks, and he is regarded as a certain v inner of tho big-gast sprint raea in the world. The annual Goulburn- Sydney Road Race, promoted by the Dunlop Rubber Company, will take pkes oil Scpt-cmler 18. A record entry has alrsady b=en received. Tho prisie-nioney for tha oontest totak £160. of which the winner sets £35 from the promoters Tho fastest N-aw South Wales rider will get £10, to compote in Warrnam-bool-Melbourn-e raco on October 2. Tho Federal Government of Australia has decided to offer a prize of £5000 — conditional on £5000 being raised by publio subscript'on — for the inventor of an aeroplane capable of being mad© use of in war. Tho decision was arrived at after a consultation ■between tho Minister of Defenoe and the Piimi Minister. Tho Aerial heaguo of Sydney had written to the Minister of Defer.o3 asking 1 for assistance in carrying out its object, which is to encourage the invention and manufacture of airships in Australia. It is stated that the present scarcity of rubber has been occasioned by the enormous demand for Tubber by the big European and American motor tyro manufacturers. The price of crude Pera rubber . has Tisen to over £800 per ton (about 7s 3d , j per "lb)— -the highest price record'&d, — as I against £560 per ton a few months ago. Very nearly half of the world's rubber supply is absorbed by tyre manufacturers, and certainly a larger proportion will be required when the commercial vehicle, now in its infancy, is developed. Lest year the product of rubber was about 75,000 tons, and of this quantity it is estimated that 30,000 tons ■wera required for motor tyres alone, exclusive of those for commercial vehicles. A splendid entry was received for the Melbourne Cycle Traders' 100 miles ' road race, which is to take place on August 28. Cloae uipon 350 nominations were registered, being an advance of nearly 100 on last year's fig-urea. It shows the great popularity of long-distance road-racing in Victoria, and from present indications theclassic Warrnambool to Melbourne contest will attract an entry for in excess of the limit fixed by bhe promoters — viz., 500. It is stated that to date nearly 1000 nomination forms for this race have been applied for from all paTte of the Commonwealth end New Zealand. -A novelty in track-racing in the States was a match between Frank Kramer, the famous sprinter, and tandems an-d triplets, o\er a distanoa of three miles. Kramer was conceded a start of 100 yards, the first time he lias had a handicap eince becoming a professional. It was not much of a race ; Kmmer won easily, though not by racing the multicycles. Practically Ik allowed them to race each other until the fastest caught him, when he let it pass, and accepted its pace until the last half-lap, when, with tint famous jump of his, he went by, and won as stated. • ••..• j. Franco has issued an invitation to Germany for a conference to decide on rules fo- governing airship traffic. Engksh and Continental writers have several times pointed out that it vriU. be necessary _to nay« clearly defined rules for governing traffic in tho ak. -The Kai*er has accepted the position of patron of an airship exjpedrti<> n > headed by Count Zeppelin and Professor Hereesell, which proposes to explore the North Polar regions in 1910, using the west coost of Spitzbergen, at its base. Ahe expedition hopes to reach the Pole. ■ Amongst the passengers to arrive by the Ulimaroa last week" from New Zealand (*ajs Sydney Referee) was Mr Ernest Mayee, once well known on the racing track both in England and Aiistraha. by the same boat came Mr J. H. Parker, who some 20 years ago was captain ©i the Pioneer Club, at Christchurch. Mr Parker is now, perhaps, beet known m the world of sport as a patron of rowinsr — it was Mr Parker who induced Dick Arnst to go in for sculling, and ho ie now one of the champion's chief supporters. The motor industry to-day is in a more healthy state thai- this time last year (says Motor Finance). Tho recent slump, passing of dividends, and hesitancy of the public to come in even at present levels is due to the fact that the greater part of tho shareholders' money has gone in building extensions, profligate expenditure in t'xpenmeuts, ignoring cosh i wserves, and dividing profits up to the hilt. The Manx Automobile Club recently passed the following resolution a* their annual general meeting :—" That the Kojal Automobile Club be invited to organise further races during the current year in th~ Isle of Man, where the inhabitants appreciate the spovt an<? give the Royal Automobile Club a hearty welcome. In the opinion of this club the Manx people do not consider the motor races, as hitherto , conducted, to be too dangerous .or th^ £3l£ the competitors. There were more accidents in the few minutes of the Giand Nwional than thero *«re in the practices, and >-aces-e*tendin<r over several weeks, and comparing many thousands of mile,"L^T^Britw! 8 " Chancellor of the Ex- \ chetiucr Mr I-lojd George, has given the j *csc of the no, English motor taxation as follows: — Under 6i h.p * " f *»«•■ Y"T ir hf; " ' •• 4 guineas K&r'ShT - • ••• sax Tl>1"T l >1" S in' " ' '' 10^ =8 iK:£si:?':;::::SSs= Doctor' <ar-. uill be charged at half these ! rate?, while motor cycles will be taxed at a uniform sum of £1. . Tho Americans are making more rapid pi-ogress with the electricaUy-pro- , Polled motor vehicles than are the Bntieh and it ;s; s stated in the Electrical U orld *£v York) that out of the 4000 motor car-, in use in Cleveland, U.S.A., over ICOO are driven by electricity, and that the number is constantly increasing. CANTERBURY AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION. The Canterbury Automobile Association ha o just issued its annual report, and it niake^ interesting reading. It states that tho membr-rship of the association now stands at 175. the number of new members elected during last season being 27. The receipt- for the past year amounted to £623 16s, and tho expenditure to £527 14s 2d. The sum of £100 was placed on deposit, making the total on fixed deposit £200. A four days' trial, covering 634- > miles, wae held ia December lost. The '

1 entries numbered 37, and the contest, combining reliability, petrol consumption, and hill climbing, proved a most exhaustiv* one. The ommittee, with the object o! ascertaining the feeling of those interested in the motor trade as to holding a similar trial in the coming season, invited repre' eentatives of the trade in Christchurch t< a meeting to discuss the matter, but ai there was only a • \ery small attendanc* it was resolved to hold the matte* ovei until the annual meeting, when the committeo trusted that members would fully dis> cuss the idvisability of holding a length' ened trial, oi holding one or more oneday trials, and as to whether the entriej should be limited to private owners oi otherwise. A STRANGE HAUL. A peculiar find was made by a British battleship recently off St. Anne's Head, England. The battleship was towing etarget when the wire hawser parted. It became fast to something while being hauled in, and the stean? winch was gor to work. The find proved to be a 2i>ft motor launch, which had beer sunk in a. collision. The motor was apparently in perfect order, although the name of thrf boat was undecipherable. OFF TO THE NORTH POLE. The gient WeUmann's dirigible balloon, the America, which has been- designed and constructed with a view to flying .to th« North Pole, is undergoing ite final fitting out It is due to leave Paris at an early date for Spitzbergen.' Some aiost interesting experiments haA'e been carried out with hydrogen gas as fuel fot the 80 h.p. Dietrich engine with which thi America U fitted, with a view to -ascertaining if it were posaibla to use the surplus hydrogen gas (with which .the balloon" is filled) as a supplementary fuel supply for tha motor. The experiments proved successful, and it was found that the petrol engine ran faster and gave off more power thar when the motor ran on petrol gaa. Two carburetters were fitted to th< engine, one for hydrogen and one for».petrol. One of the problems in connection witb_ the experiment was to piPavemt the possibility of a 'backfire from the carburetters running "back into the balloon. A eeries of safety , valves was devised to prevent this. Tha ; tanks of this huge dirigible will hold ' 1200 gal of petrol The crew of the airship will consist of Mir Walter Wellman, Mr Melvin "Vanimen, and a third member* who had not yet been selected. THE TRIUMPH OF THE MOTOR CAB. — London Leads the Automobile World.— The opinion ia expressed that the reason why the automobile becamo co quickly popular in France, as against England, ia to be found in the temperament of the Frenchman. The early types of motor ears were, as we know, , faulty in many respects, and the Britisher, being the most practical, would not tolerate uncertainties; hence the horse, being tbf more reliable motive "power, was retained until the automobile had attained' something approachingthe reliability of the animal. The temperament of the average Frenchman enabled him to look at the hwnorous side of troubles, and to take* delays and inconveniences, and even • disappointments, in a philosophical spirit. . Meanwhile -the Britisher was taunted for his slowness In taking up the new idea— that he wastaT too conservative ; " but this is scarcely accurate or fair. He may be deliberate in his adoption of new notion* or practiicee, but he is much slower in relinquishing good ones that haveeerved him well in the past; and that is why the change from carriages and horees to motor vehicles has been more gradual in Great Britain than in France. But to-day London is the riches' city, ir the world lor automobiles. The automobile gradually but surely proved that it was tho 1 equal in all respects (superior in the matter ,of speed) to the horsed vehicle. Th« , mechanism was improvec point by Rpmt ■ in the light of experience «amed by the ' use of touring cars and . from the class* speed contests on the Gontinent. Reliability and efficiency were seouired in thtf way and silenco in operatior was easily, oltfa'ined by the sacrifice of a fractional portion of the greatly enhanced efficiency tha* had been secured. And it cannot be said that the motor carriag* was a long timo ,ir attaining this position ; the work effected :in the last fecade hae been enormous. '• Motor braffic hat effected the complete revolution which was predicted by the en- ' t.husia*ts 10 years ago- In Great Britain 1 it has changed life in the ~^ r y recognition, and it has entered co full* ■ into life in town that Londoners, for in, sSnce, would tremble at the thought of going 'back to the comparative- jog-trot and : limitations of the carriage and pair.