The word “tandem” is of Latin derivation, and means at length, and, like a great deal of our cycle nomenclature, it was taken from the horse and carriage trade, where the word was intended to express a harnessing of horses one before another instead of side by side, but it was, however, not strictly limited to two horses, and meant any number that might be driven in this fashion. What is known as a tandem bicycle, however, is one carrying two persons only, one in front of the other, but if more than two persons are carried the vehicle is then classed as a multicycle. For instance, one carrying three people is called a triplet; four, a quadruplet; five, a quintuplet; six, a sextuplet; seven, a septuplet; eight, an octuplet; nine, a nontuplet, and the only ten-seater that has ever been built is called the “Oriten,” because it is built by the makers of the Orient cycles. Its proper name, however, would be decemtuple.

Multicycles, as they are called, are only made by a few of the makers. The makers of the Dayton, World and Andrae make triplets and “quads.” The makers of the Tribune and Wolff-American make triplets; the makers of the Stearns make a septuplet; the makers of the Orient make triplets, “quads,” “quints,” “sexes,” septuplets and the “Oriten” already referred to. Triplets are not very largely used for road riding and touring, and the few “quads” seen on the road are, as a rule, owned by clubs, and manned by crews of these clubs; and one of the most popular makers of multicycles for club use is Peter Berlo of Boston. Mass., who, in addition to being a builder of multicycles, is well known as a professional racing man. The development of paced races among the Michael-Starbuck class, paced by multicycles, has undoubtedly added largely to the popular interest taken in multicycles. They form a pretty picture indeed on a circular track, with their riders mounted in gay costumes, and the speed and skill with which they are handled arouses the spectators to greater enthusiasm than any other form of cycle racing ever introduced.

TANDEM CONSTRUCTION OF THE YEAR.

The trade authorities predict that 1898 will be a banner year for tandem riding, and there are a number of very good reasons in support of this view, the leading one being the question of price, prices now ranging from $75 to $100 and $125 for the best makes, prices which certainly cannot be called prohibitory for a tandem, because it was only a few years ago that the makers asked $125 and $150 for the best makes of single bicycles. About sixty or more of the best known makers in the country are this season making tandems, both in diamond and combination styles. Variations in these styles consist in what they call convertible, which are tandems provided with an extra top bar so as to convert a combination tandem into a double diamond, and three of our well-known makers, the Humber, the Dayton and the Oliver, make double drop tandems which are also convertible into double diamond tandems, and the makers of the Defender confine themselves to making a double diamond frame tandem only, while the makers of the Stokes, Lyndhurst, Clipper, Winton and Featherstone make a combination tandem only, but which are all convertible into double diamond tandems.

Right here, however, it might be well to explain the meaning of the terms used. A diamond frame tandem is one having both sections of the frame in diamond shape, and is built for two men to ride. A combination tandem is one having the rear part of the frame diamond shape and the front part dropped, so that a lady wearing skirts can readily mount; and a convertible tandem is one arranged so that a detachable main upper tube can be placed in between the head and front seat post of a combination tandem, and the tandem thereby converted into a double diamond. All the structural details heretofore noted in the course of these articles have been carried by the makers of tandems into their tandem construction. During 1896 and 1897 the popular fad seemed to be to carry the front chain through the lower part of the frame so as to produce what they call centre driving. All the makers, however, have abandoned this device excepting the makers of the Stearns, who still use it. The majority of the makers carry both chains on one side, usually the right hand side, directly from the front sprocket to the middle sprocket axle, variations in this consisting in carrying a chain on each side. The makers of the National, however, have three chains on their tandem. They run a chain from the front sprocket direct to a supplementary sprocket on a stud and from which another chain runs to the rear axle on the left side carrying, however, as is usual in construction, the regulation chain from the middle sprocket to the rear axle on the right hand side. The makers of the Keating carry their front chain directly to the rear axle hub, and take up the slack and back lash by an idler placed midway on the frame between the front and rear sprocket. Nearly all the makes of tandems shown are what is known as double steerers, being controlled by the front and rear handlebars, a number of them using a sprocket and chain to make the connection between the two steering heads, others using a pair of parallel rods running from the fork crown to the rear steering heads. The makers of the Wolff-American use a twisted wire cable running over two small grooved wheels, and the slack of this cable, which is practically nothing, is taken up by a pair of turnbuckles. This flexible wire cable is an improvement over the stiff unyielding rods and permits making a very short turn.

Tandem bicycles have been largely experimented with from the very earliest history of the sport, the most common method being to connect front forks and front wheels of an ordinary bicycle by a horizontal bar.

EVOLUTION OF THE TANDEM.

In 1868 Mrs. Grundy objected to the idea of a woman sitting astride a bicycle seat, and therefore the female rider of that period sat on one side of the saddle, as is usual in horseback riding, and pedalling with one foot. Just how she managed to handle her full skirts and a parasol, which was frequently carried, seems incomprehensible to the latter-day rider; this, indeed, is a feat that is usually only performed by one of our modern up-to-date trick riders. A number of early attempts were also made to make a successful type of tandem safety. The first one, however, to attain any success in that line is known as the Lightning, made by Hall & Phillips, and which was afterward produced by many of the English makers with modifications thereof, and at this period in the history of the sport we find that R. J. Mecredy and Gerald Stoney, in their work entitled The Art and Pastime of Cycling, say that “tandem safeties should theoretically be extremely fast, but the stresses are very great, and somehow no tandem bicycle records equal the records of single bicycles, although the tandem tricycle is faster than the single tricycle.” Since that time, however, the conditions have been reversed, and tandem and multicycle records are much better than the records of the single bicycle.

The Columbia tandems, which were among the first made in this country, were double steerers, and the two handlebars were connected by rods having a ball and socket or universal joint fastened to the end of the grips. The objections to this style of steering rod was that the bicycle could only be mounted or dismounted from on one side, and that in case of a fall the front rider was always hemmed in on the right hand side between the steering rods. The building of tandems in this country was evidently a difficult problem to the early makers, as is evidenced by the fact that the makers of the Columbia, after having made a tandem for a year or two, suspended making them for two or three years after that. A tandem bicycle must not only be strong, but must be light in weight, and as two riders are rarely matched as to ability, power and style of riding, there must be some universal harmonization of contradictory requirements in flexibility and stiffness.

CONSTRUCTION DETAILS OF TANDEMS.

Nearly all makes adjust the front chain by having the front crank-hanger bracket and bearings made eccentric, so as to take up the slack of the chain, and a few of the makers have adopted this same system at the second crank-hanger bracket, others varying this by adjusting the rear chain at the rear fork ends as usual. The makers who furnish their tandems with the chains both on one side claim that this type of construction is the best because in the event of the frame becoming bent or out of line the chains will more readily adapt themselves to the new conditions. Those who use a chain on both sides say that the power is transmitted more evenly by this method, and that therefore the frame is not so liable to be sprung out of line as where the pull is all on one side of the frame. However this may be, a majority of the makers put both chains on one side, and the makers of the National (who have a combination of both systems) claim that their three-chain system applies the power evenly through the frame instead of on one side, and that this system relieves the stress upon the bearings by making both sides do the work instead of allowing one side to run light, and that the use of three chains overcomes the stress of the usual long chain, and permits the riders to run the chains as loosely as on a single wheel without danger of either chain jumping the sprocket when riding fast. Racing men who have ridden the National say that there is no sway whatever in the wheel, and that it gives a more even and steadier pace than is usual in tandems and is easier to hold and follow. The idler used on the National is an ingenious piece of work, being a double ball bearing, the usual idler in ordinary construction being an open plain bearing on a stud. There is practically no strain on this idler, as the pull of one chain is offset by that of the other; it is not used to hold the chain down, but serves as a sort of loose pulley connection.

The only juvenile tandems made are those made by the makers of the Elfin. They are a part of their regular output, and are made in both diamond and combination styles, the heights of frame running from 16 to 22 inches, and the weight from 28 to 35 pounds. The little gears run from 50 to 67 inches. These little Elfin tandems are distinctively juvenile in all their parts, the head, saddles, pedals, handlebars, grips and tubing are all miniature in size, making its measurements as nicely proportioned as a regular adult’s wheel, and the name “Elfin” has been well selected for the product. These little tandems are sold for $50.

Tandem chains are very much lighter than in former years, some makers using as light as ³/₁₆ chain all over, but the majority of them use ³/₁₆ for the front chain and ¼-inch for the rear chain. The combination tandems on the market are furnished usually with 20 or 22-inch front frame and 24-inch rear. Diamond frames are furnished either in 22 or 24-inch frames, 22-inch frames being in line with the prevailing fad of low frames, and therefore the most popular. Gears run from 80 to 120, the popular stock gear usually furnished being about 84, with 7-inch cranks.

On the Wolff-American tandem the diagonal stay carrying the seat-posts are not raked at the same angle with front fork and head. The middle steering post, however, is raked at the same angle as the head, thus permitting the rider in front to have more room for a better position in pedalling. The Wolff-American tandem is fitted with a very powerful rear brake. It consists of a lug which is brazed in the centre and underneath the main upper tube in front of the rear rider. From this lug a lever is hinged; this lever carries an adjustable wire rod to the brake spoon which is hinged on the bridge between the rear forks. Pulling up on this lever draws a powerful spoon against the rear tire. One of the advantages of this brake is that it does not affect the steering as a handlebar brake does.

The “World” tandems have an extra lower chord running from the front diagonal stay to the rear diagonal stay, which is in turn braced by two braces running from it to the lower chord of the frame. On the Dayton tandem an extra tube is carried from the head underneath the main upper tube and which intersects the diagonal tube and runs from there to the rear crank-hanger bracket. This construction produces a very stiff and rigid frame. On the Stokes convertible tandem an extra tube runs from the upper part of the head intersecting the front diagonal stay and the rear steering tube and is then brazed to the lower main tube. The Eldridge diamond tandem carries an extra tube from the front diagonal tube to the rear crank-hanger, and this same method of construction is followed in the Clipper convertible tandem.

In the Niagara tandem the top tube is paralleled by a tube placed about six inches below it, running from the front diagonal tube to the rear diagonal tube, the rear steering post intersecting it. On the Winton tandem the upper main tube is not continuous, there being an open space between the front seat post and the second steering post, this being braced, however, by a tube which runs from the front seat pillar, bracing the middle steering post, and running to the crank-hanger bracket. The Geneva and the Demorest are of the same construction.

The Columbia combination and diamond frame tandems are of the same general design as the 1897 models, except that it has been deemed advisable to have the frame connections of the external joint style instead of making them flush joint, as last year. On the diamond frame they run an extra tube from the lower part of the head, and this is connected to the front diagonal tube at a point about eight inches above the crank-hanger. This tube then runs horizontally, intersecting the second steering head, and ends at the rear diagonal stay, from there, however, a second pair of rear forks running to the back stays. This same construction is followed out in their combination frame, with the exception that the front part of the frame is of the double loop pattern, as in their single wheel. The Iroquois tandem has the same open construction at its front diagonal and second steering post as the Winton, heretofore mentioned.

The Tribune tandem has an extra tube, which parallels the main upper tube. On the Pierce double diamond tandem an extra tube runs from the middle of the head and intersects the front diagonal, and is brazed to the rear crank-hanger. The Henley diamond tandem has the upper main tube paralleled by an additional tube, which runs from the lower part of the head to the rear diagonal stay. On the Andrae tandem the chain adjustment is effected by means of eccentrics in both hangers, thus doing away with the slot in the rear fork ends, which has a three-eighths-inch opening, in which the three-eighths-inch axle is fitted perfectly, so that the rear wheel is perfectly centred at all times, even under the greatest strain. The method of placing an extra tube running from the top, or near the top, of the front diagonal stay to the crank-hanger bracket is in almost universal use, so that it is easier to name those who do not employ this method than to name those who do. Among the notable exceptions to this method of construction are the Columbia, Niagara and World.

Very few of the makers of tandems have made any great changes in their ’98 construction, the majority of the tandems shown being their ’97 product, somewhat improved in detail only. Handle bar fastenings are about nearly divided between the old-fashioned pinch bolt and the newer idea of internal clamp fastening. Some difficulty has been experienced in previous years in holding handlebar stems and seat posts securely in place on tandems, many of the makers not having used connections heavy enough and stiff enough to withstand the double pull that a tandem gets at these points, and the purchaser of the 1898 tandem should look well to the construction at these points before purchasing.

The tires used on tandems differ somewhat from the ordinary tires in use, being somewhat thicker and heavier, and are usually stamped “Tandem” where they are branded. The average size in use is about 1¾ inches, but some of the makers furnish them as large as 2 inches. The dropped crank-hanger fad does not prevail to so large an extent in tandem construction as in the single construction. Sizes of tubing used show a slight increase in diameter over that used in making single bicycles. The majority of brakes fitted on tandems are of the lever and spoon pattern, working on the front tire. Hubs, rims and spokes are made heavier, and the three-plate crown seems to be a popular one among the makers who use the double-plate crown on their singles. The Adlake has a quadruple-arch fork crown.

On the World tandems and multicycles the crank-hangers are hung in a swinging bracket, which are held in place and adjusted forward or backward by a set screw having lock-nuts to hold it in place, and which is connected back of the hangers to the lower main tube of the frame.

On the Geneva tandem the front bracket is a special device of theirs which consists of a tubular bearing barrel sliding in an oblong hanger fastened with set screws in front, with caps over the ends secured to hanger with lock-nut.

The Demorest tandem has the rear seat and pedals very much higher than the front seat, so that the rear rider can look over the head of the front rider. It appears to be a revival of a similar type that was made last year by the Crescent people, although it is not carried to such an extreme height as it was on the Crescent. Wheel-bases run from 65½ to 75 inches, the average wheel-base being about 69 inches. Weights run from 40 to 50 pounds, the average being about 44½ pounds.

On the Defender Midget the seat post is inserted into the handlebar clamp, this doing away with the necessity of an extra fastening. The makers of the National, the Defender and the Dayton make single steering tandems. The Peerless is furnished with an automatic rear hub brake. At the Philadelphia Cycle Show was shown a chainless tandem, having on it a Hildick Spur Gear, which has already been described by us in the article on chainless bicycles for 1898. The great points in tandem construction are weight, rigidness, ease of draft, length of wheel base, steering and the proper position of the riders. Nearly all of these points have been conquered by the makers, so that the art of tandem cycle building has well-nigh reached perfection.

MULTICYCLES.

Triplets are made by the makers of the Dayton, World, Andrae, Tribune, Stearns and Wolff-American. The last named is shown in a cut, and when exhibited at the 1897 Cycle Show it attracted a great deal of attention, and was pronounced by the mechanical sharps to be one of the handsomest triplets ever shown. In its present construction it embodies all the features that have been heretofore described in their single and tandem construction. The Tribune triplet has a double top tube, and the immediate sprockets have 18 teeth in order to relieve the chain from unnecessary strain. The crank-hangers are dropped 1½ inches below the line of the wheel axles. The track racing model weighs only about 58 pounds, the wheel base being 86 inches. Cost, $200.

The World triplet has an extra lower main tube running form the head to the first diagonal, and has three lower main chords, the tubes one above the other, and between the first two of which the crank-hanger bearings are carried. These chords, after leaving the last diagonal stay, taper off to meet the rear braces and rear axle, thus giving this triplet three rear forks.

The makers of the Orient (who, by the way, make a greater variety of multicycles than any other American maker) make a triplet which has all the details of construction that are embodied in their tandems already described; hence any further description is unnecessary here, save to say that it is a single steerer. The Andrae triplet has eccentric adjustments throughout, and the chains are respectively ³/₁₆, ¼ and ⁵/₁₆ in. of a special pattern. It is fitted with 2 in. Morgan & Wright tires, and has a 2 in. drop in the crank-hanger, and its price is $200. The Dayton triplet costs $250, and is built on the same lines as their single steering tandem already described. The Dayton “quad” is also of the same construction, and costs $400. The World “quad” is listed at $350, and is of the same construction as their triplet already described. The wheel base, however, is 9 ft. 3 in. The makers of the Orient, in addition to the tandems and triplets already described, make a “quad,” a “quint,” a “sex” and a “septuplet.” None of these, however, differ very largely, excepting in their seating capacity, from their triplet already described.

At the 1896 cycle show held in New York a sextet shown by the Stearns people attracted a great amount of attention, and the big “yellow fellow” was easily the feature of the show. Since that time they have produced a septuplet, an excellent illustration of which is shown herewith. An alternative construction on the Orient multicycles of the larger sizes is to place the rear rider on a saddle overhung just back of the vertical line above the rear axle; this rear rider pedals on an independent axle within the rear hub and drives forward, by a separate chain on the left, to the crank-hanger sprocket next forward of him; the power of all the riders is carried to the large sprocket on this cramp axle and then back, on the right hand side, to the small driver sprocket on the rear wheel. The object of this is to keep the wheel base a little shorter, the method being also employed on the multicycles made by Berlo.

On account of its great length the Oriten is not adapted to a speed trial on any but a straightaway course, and as the proper conditions for a test could not be had the real capacity of it is not fully known, but accurate estimates of the road trials already made indicate a possible speed of 1.25 for one mile, with probably a lower average per mile on a suitable course, which, allowing for stopping and starting should be from six to eight miles in length. The Oriten has a carrying capacity of 2,500 pounds; it weighs 305 pounds, its length over all being 23 feet 9 inches, the wheels being 30 inches in diameter; its largest sprocket is 16 inches in diameter, and the smallest 6 inches; both tires are 2 inches in diameter, and it is geared to 120 inches.

TRICYCLES.

The first really practical tricycles were introduced in 1877. Previous to this, however, the old wooden boneshaker had sometimes been converted into a tricycle by substituting two trailing rear wheels on an axle instead of one wheel; the best example of this, of course, is in the little three-wheeled velocipede ridden by the small boy of the present day. This old style of tricycle, of course, did not need any teaching to learn the balance, but any acute grade, or any attempt to turn a corner rapidly caused it to upset, and as the Dublin and the Coventry were the first tricycles that were largely used they may therefore be considered as pioneer types of the modern bicycle.

The Dublin was patented by W. B. Blood in November, 1876, and was for a long time made by Carey Brothers of Dublin; the Coventry was patented by the Starley brothers in the same year, who were afterward succeeded by the Coventry Tangent Company, who were in turn succeeded by Rudge & Co. The Coventry was first made as a lever machine, but before it went out of use the rotary action was fitted to it, so that to Mr. Blood must be given the credit for inventing the modern tricycle, although Starley was the first to adopt the bevel-gear principle to the tricycle, producing a gear which was well known as Starley’s Differential Balance Gear. This gear is one which enables both wheels of a double-driven tricycle to be driven equally, and yet one may go faster than the other in turning a corner. The first tricycle to which Mr. Starley attached it was a four-wheeler known as the Salvo-quadricycle, the fourth wheel being carried clear of the ground in front to prevent its tipping forward, and the steering was effected by the rear wheel.

This method of construction was soon reversed, the front wheel then being placed on the ground and doing the steering, and the tilting wheel being carried clear of the ground in the rear. This tilting wheel was gradually reduced in size until it became a mere roller, on the numerous loop-frame tricycles, of which the Salvo-quadricycle was the pioneer.

The loop-frame, pedal-driven tricycle became very popular when Her Majesty the Queen of England purchased one and set the fashion to the upper classes, and caused them to pay attention to the sport of cycling. Some time before this, however, a ladies’ tricycle had been on the market with lever action driving one of the side wheels and front handle steering. Single driving rear steering tricycles became very plentiful, but they were in turn driven out of the market by rear drivers with clutches.

A great deal of racing was at that time done on tricycles, one of the fastest being a type known as the Humber. Great improvements were meanwhile made in tricycle construction, and the double drivers were also built with two tracks, the front wheel being on one side. Many of these were made with a very small front wheel, and consequently the vibration in the handlebar was excessive, and the Quadrant tricycle, which was then introduced, had a very large front wheel, and another type of tricycle that was popular in England was that known as the Cripper. It had two large side wheels and one small front wheel. In the first tricycles made the bearings were either plain or cone, afterward changed to roller, and finally to ball bearings. Tandem and sociable tricycles were for a while very popular in England. They were made like the singles, only double the width, and had two sets of cranks, so that the riders sat side by side. They were very heavy and fearfully slow, but they were superseded by tandem tricycles, in which the two riders sat one behind the other.

The makers of the Columbia and the Victor made bicycles during this period of tricycle activity. The Victor people made a single tricycle and in addition to a single tricycle the Columbia people made a front-steering tandem tricycle. Tricycles are still made very largely in England, and if the safety had not been introduced into this country they would have undoubtedly had a very large use here also.

Very few of our American makers devote any attention to producing a tricycle, the leading American makers of tricycles being the Tinkham Cycle Company of New York, who make a drop frame and a diamond frame tricycle, as shown in the illustration, and, as a matter of fact, these modern tricycles weigh less and run easier than some of the old heavy-weight bicycles of five years ago.

The tricycle can be used almost anywhere nowadays, side paths and cycle paths having been so largely built, and they afford all the pleasure and exercise of bicycles without any of the nervous strain and inseparable danger, and thus a great many persons can obtain a needed amount of outdoor exercise on a tricycle who could not under any possible conditions use a bicycle. The Tinkham Cycle Company also make in addition to their single tricycles a tandem tricycle, to which a chair seat may be fitted to either the front or rear for invalids. And for those who cannot use either foot they produce a type of lever hand-power tricycle, and also a crank hand-power tricycle. They are remarkably easy running, and the makers say that any one with ordinary strength in the arms can propel them easily for fifteen or twenty miles over fair roads. An invalid carriage that they make is fitted with a comfortable reclining chair, with sensitive springs, which, with pneumatic tires, prevent any jar. All the carriers in use in New York City are made by the Tinkham Cycle Company, one of the most popular ones being a postoffice tricycle which carries a large mail box fastened to the front behind the rider. They also make a number of special carriers designed to suit the requirements of various businesses, having cabinets of various sizes attached. A popular carrier of theirs has a carrier shaped like a hansom cab, and another is known as the children’s carry-all, in which three or four children can be seated behind the rider, who does the propelling. They are also engaged now in making what they call a double carrier, two men or boys doing the propelling, carrying behind them a large cabinet or box. The illustration shown gives an excellent idea of one of their double carriers.

The Wolff-American Duplex is certainly a tricycle of utility and fills a want which the bicycle cannot satisfy. It does not appeal to the scorching element, of course, but it does appeal to those who for various reasons will not or can not ride a bicycle. It requires no previous experience to ride a Duplex, two novices being as fully competent to propel it as a pair of experts. Infirmities are no preventative; one rider can do the steering, if necessary, and the other do the greater part or all of the propelling. A great many blind persons and cripples are numbered among the users of Wolff-American Duplexes. Timid persons who fear the bicycle will appreciate its stability, because it stands alone without upsetting. It is a strongly constructed vehicle, weighing about forty-two pounds, and is remarkably easy running. In its construction are embodied all the well-known Wolff-American features.