Democratic Sentinel, Volume 21, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 July 1897 — BICYCLE FIGURES. [ARTICLE]

BICYCLE FIGURES.

Some Interesting Facta Regarding the Ontpot of Crescent Bicycles in 1800 by the Western Wheel Works, of Chicago, 111. The idea of this article is to convey to the reader a conception of the euormoua amount ot raw material consumed duriug a season in supplying the demand lotone of the most popular bicycles made. The Western Wheel Works, Chicago, makers of the Crescent wheel, have the largest, and without doubt the most complete bicycle factory in the world, and can turn out, when running to fullest capacity, 725 finished Crescents in twelve hours, or a complete “up to date” bicycle per minute. The following figures are based on the actual amount of the principal parts of material used by them during 18SK1 in the manufacture of Crescent bicycles, during which season they made more highgrade bicycles than any other two factories in the country. They used 350 miles of tubing, or enough to nearly reach from Chicago, to St. Ibtul if placed in a straight line. The sjiokes were made in their own factory, and required 780 miles of wire, or enough to reach from Chicago to Lincoln, Neb.; 50 miles of brass rod was required for spoke nipples. If the spokes, spoke nipfiles and tubing were placed in a straight ine they would reach from Chicago to the Rocky Mountains at Denver. The cranks, if placed end to end, would cover a distance of 22 miles. They used 35 miles of steel for crank axles, wheel axles and pedal axles, and 10 miles of steel for seat posts. If the rims that were used in the manufacture of Crescents in ’96 were placed one upon the other they would make a pile 111,800 feet high, 0,000 feet higher than Pike’s Peak and about the height of Mount Elias iu Alaska, whose summit has never yet beeu reached by mau. If placed in a straight line, side byside, these rims would reach a distance of 72*6 miles, and if the tires were littesl they would make a line 77*6 miles longer. The steel forgings used for the erank hangers on the TO wheels weighed, in the rough, 113 8-10 tons, and when finished, 21 jf-10 tons, showing a complete waste of 91 9-10 tons in drilling and finishing. It required 32,084 square feet of sheet steel to make the Crescent hollow tooth sprockets, and 21,870 square feet for the steel stampings of the head and seat post clamits, or in all enough Hat steel to cover an area of I*4 acres. There were used 10 miles of cork grips, ]OVk miles of finished hubs, and 28 miles of steel wire to pin frames together before brazing. The finished chains, end to end, would reach 70 miles, and the different pieces of which they are composed would reach 237*6 miles, or in all 307*6 miles, the distance from Chicago to Cincinnati. The bearings of 1896 Crescents required 13,997,300 steel balls, which, if placed in a straight line, side by side, would reach a distance of 45% miles. To lace the chain and dress guards on the ladies' Crescents manufactured iu 1890 required 434,150 yards of cord, or 246’6 miles, enough to allow a small boy to stand on the top of the Auditorium tower In Chicago and fly his kite where the people in Des Moines, lown, could see it. To supply Crescents sold in 1890 required 1,600,742 bolts, and 1.488,075 nuts, having an aggregate weight of 23 tons. Sixteen and one-quarter miles of spring steel were used in the manufacture of saddle springs, and the saddle and tool bags together used up 177,883 square feet, or over 4 acres of leather. The total weight of the complete bicycles was 2,382,842 pounds, or 1.191 tons. To crate these bicycles required 1,235,740 square feet of lumber made up in pieces, which would make n distance of 1.139 miles, or more than the distance from Now York to Chicago; 72.718,668 separate nnd distinct pieces entered into the construction of '96 Crescents, and if all were placed in a straight line, end to end, they would reach from New .York to some distance In the Pacific Ocean west of San Francisco.—Crescent Bulletin, July 1, 1897.