CYCLING In 1888 a veterinary surgeon of Belfast, J. B. Dunlop, •substituted for the solid, or cushion tyre,—the latter a much enlarged rubber tyre with a hollow core, both of them cemented to the rim,—a bandage composed of a rubber tube, about two inches in diameter, vulcanized or solutioned to a canvas cover, which encircled the whole rim and was then inflated by an air pump. The idea was not new; in 1846 Mr William Thompson had taken out a patent for a pneumatic tyre, for carriages, little used at the time and afterwards completely forgotten. Upon a machine fitted with the Dunlop tyre, races were won by Messrs Ducros in Ireland in the spring of 1888, and also at an autumn meeting of the Surrey Bicycle Club at the Kennington Oval in the same year, while a few tourists made experiments with the new tyre on the road. It was at once seen that
Pig. 7.—Humber’s “Spider,” 1872. not only had vibration been greatly lessened, but speed wonderfully increased, and this invention of the veterinary surgeon, who did not even ride a bicycle, when applied to the safety, gave cycling its universal popularity. Within a few years the ordinary or tall front-driven bicycle and the tricycle almost disappeared. The former has gone almost entirely save as a dwarf, and the latter only survives as the carrier, though a certain number are still manufactured of the Humber Gripper type. The safety also solved the problem of women cycling without being compelled to adopt male attire. There was an attempt to change women’s costume, and for safety and ease such a radical change might be an improvement. But the general feeling, warranted by the general result, when the experiment was made, was against it. Women had for years ridden the tricycle. But tricycles weighed ordinarily from
Fig. 8.—The “Facile,” 1879-84. 60 to 100 lb or more, and were therefore unsuitable for them, unless in the form of tandems and sociables, on which the greater part of the work was usually done by a male rider. Still, as far back as 1883 or 1884 the whole
325
of Europe had been covered by women on tricycles. Bicycles for women were introduced about 1887 or 1888 by Starley Brothers, the makers of the “ Psycho,” and by 1890 or 1891 they had been generally adopted. The first machine of this sort is said to have been made by J. M‘Gammon of Belfast in 1884. Tandem bicycles first became practical about 1889 or 1890, and in a few years
they virtually superseded the tandem tricycle. Save that they are strengthened and simplified in construction there is little change in them. Certain makers of cycles deserve to be remembered. A few names will always stand out prominently. Among them are D. Budge, Thomas Humber, James Starley, for his balance gear, W. Bown, the inventor of ball-bearings, and J. K. Starley— men who more than any others impressed their inventive genius on the industry and the trade, though the present mechanical position of the cycle industry is the result of the untiring labour of multitudes of inventors everywhere. J. K. Starley, practically and commercially, made the safety bicycle in 1885. But nine years before this, in 1876, Messrs Henry Bate and George Shergold were working at the safety idea, Bate by gearing up, Shergold by means of a small front wheel. In the same year, too, Mr H. J. Lawson patented a lever-driven safety, but the rear wheel was from 50 to 84 inches, and, in 1879, he produced Lawson’s bicyclette. This, however, was, in many details, very like the bone-shaker of a few years before, though it had a small back wheel which was geared up and chain-driven.
By 1895 so universal had become the popularity of cycling that the makers were unable to cope with the demand. Hew factories were started, small shops grew into large companies, and where the capital invested in them before had been reckoned by hundreds it speedily became millions. Nor was the new activity confined to cycles alone or to Great Britain. Tyres, component parts, lamps, saddles, every sort of accessory, acquired enormous financial importance. The Dunlop Co., started in 1889 with a capital of £25,000, was floated in 1894 for £5,000,000.
