CYCLING AND MOTORING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 246, 26 March 1915, Page 6

CYCLING AND MOTORING.

I A volunteer cyclist battalion is to be naugurated in England. The corps is to . be used for home defence, and will act !''n various capacities, such as recruit•:g work, scouting, despatch riding, and ! so mounted infantry operations. It ■■ estimated that some 50,000 will join .he new corps.

Some interesting comparisons between tlie conditions of the present war and those of the Napoleonic campaigns arc made in the official organ of .the British Acetylene Association. There h exhibited at Malmaison, near Paris, a travelling desk that Napoleon always carried with him in the field. Part of the equipment is a small reflector candlestick, in which still remains the unused portion of a tallow candle just as Napoleon left it; its dim light served as an illuminant for his despatch writing. To-day, thousands of acctylere apparatus are being sent to the front to be utilised in various ways—with lambs in innumerable tents, with headlights on transport vehicles, with searchlights to glial4 j against surprise attacks by night, with l cooking ranges or kichen cars, where t'ie' gas is supplied from a portable appara-] tus on the footboard, and moreover, for I surgical operations. i The factors affecting motor tyre wear! constitute a question of considerable importance to all motorists.' The subject was dealt with at a recent meeting of the Society of Automobile Engineers, Kt-w York. One of the most important is irregularities in the wheel. , In this case, the,wear is on the tread, located at the points where the wheel shifts most. Thi3 has the effect of wearing the tread at these points, though it does not affect the fabric until the tread it! worn through. Other factors consist of faulty alignment, due to a loose or worn hub c\U"., bent axle, or too long or too short tension rd. Uneven brake adjustment. s> v- , ere brake application, cr a fierce clutch 1 I are also fruitful causes of trouble. | Driving in the trai- lines sometimes ; 'causes damage, especially if "the lines I i are worn, for in this ease there may bo , sharp projections which will, cut the tread. Reinforcements also cause I trouble, due to chaffing.'Failures are I frequently the results of faults in the I manufacture, such as the irregular ten- ! sion of the various layers of fabric I which are liable to chafe each other and ! cause a blow-out. Cutting of the bonis ,■ is caused by dented r:ms, and the •separation of the tread is generally the icsult of under-inflation. It was recommended that powdered mica or flake graphite for rubbim,' the pores of the tube on the fabr.e inside the casing be used. It is more effective than chalk, and less likely to damp and cause trouble to the air tulw. Various of the members of the Society

took part in the discussion, during which: it was stated that vnereased pressure' owing to high temperature or fast tray-1 elling is about one pound for Mich in-1 create in temperature of five degrees. The cantilever type of motor car J spring suspension .i« becoming more I popular the better class of cars. The latest English firm to adopt this suspension is the Wolslcy Company.' The subject of ear springing presents an exceedingly wide and difficult problem, and is to receive attention. The periodicity of the spring is the most important, and it is largely owing to thci low periodicity of the cantilever spring combined with its structural arrangement and additional comfort, that it is now coming into vogue. As an cAperi-; ment, if a person, by jumping up and down in a car which Is carryi its full complement of passengers, endeivocs lo cause the body and the frame to vibrate upon the springs, it will be found that the number of times that complete "up-and-down" movement of the body is made per minute, in response to his efforts, either alone or assisted by the other occupants of the car, is constant. This number of vibrations per minute is termed the "periodicity" of the spring, and i? depondont for any given spring upon the initial deflection given to the springs by the load (the frame, body, passengers, etc.), when at rest, as wall as upon other factors, of which the friction between the leaves may be mentioned; and the difference in the feaaviour of the suspension when running ■with and without passengers, which is particularly noticeable on some cars, is attributable to the variation in the

periodicity of the body upon the springs. The longer the springs are and the more | elastic the material from which* they | are manufactured, the lower will be the | periodicity, because the deflection under load will be greater, and hence the time ( of one complete oscillation will be longer. The front springs have some bearing upon the periodicity of the complete car, but from the fact that their influence depends upon sundry other fantors which do not directly touch upon the matter under consideration, and it is the rear springing that directly affects the comfort of the passengers, they may be neglected here. • The danger of cranking up a motor car engine whilst the change gear lever is engaged in gear, instead of being :n "neutral" was exemplified in a startling and sad manner in Melbourne last' week, when a well-known motorist, Air H. G. Turton, met his death from this cause. Mr Turton cranked up his powerful car when it moved forward, knocked the unfortunate motorist down and pas- ■ sed over his prostrate body, before it could be stopped, the car crashing into an electric light post a few yards off. Whether the gear lever was accidentia left in gear, or was pushed in by some children playing around the car is not yet known, but the accident will serve as a timely warning to motorists who should always glance at the gear quadrant to see that the change lever is neutral. It is no uncommon sight to see boys playing around cars left unattended in the street, blowing the horn, handling the levers, etc., and" although a motorist leaves his gear in neutral when he leaves his car, there is no certainty that the lever will be in the same position when he return). The safr.st tiling is always to look and see that the gear lever is in its correct place.