In bicycling, the word “adjustment” means much, for the movable parts of the bicycle must be adjusted to suit the requirements of the individual bicyclist, and the mechanical parts of the bicycle’s construction adjusted so that they will work together properly.

In a machine properly adjusted, the chain and other gear should run smoothly, the chain be neither too tight nor too loose, and the sprocket-wheels exactly in line. The bicycle wheels should run true and be exactly in line with the frame, and the rear wheel follow the identical plane of the front wheel when in place. The frame should be true and square at all points, and should be examined and tested always after the machine has been travelling by rail or has had a fall. The bearings in all parts of the machine should have their cone-caps in place and so screwed and keyed that the balls run easily without perceptible play. Nuts and washers should all be in place and screwed home. The handle-bar should be tight and square with the front wheel, but only tight enough to turn the wheel on a good surface, not so tight as to prevent it from turning easily if the wheel is caught or held. The proper adjustment for position has to do with the frame, wheel-base, length of crank, height and position of saddle; the curve, width, height, and general adjustment of the handle-bar; the size and number of teeth on the sprocket-wheels, which determines the gear; and the weight, construction, and inflation of the tire.

The saddle is one of the most important, if not the most important, part of the bicycle to study, as it should provide the fulcrum to work from. Any saddle may be adjusted to be comfortable, but saddles seldom remain comfortable after being adjusted. The saddle should be hard enough to act as a fulcrum and should not give or spring under work, for power is lost on each stroke that presses down on a soft saddle; it should also permit of change of position without readjustment, unless it is intended for racing purposes, for the bicyclist should be able to speed, climb, or coast on a saddle properly constructed for general purposes. Each of these different kinds of bicycle work requires a different application of muscular power, and the saddle should permit of a readjustment of position that will at least accommodate the altered tendency caused by a shifted centre of gravity in grade work.

Every individual is differently proportioned, with differing lever lengths and lever power. If people differently proportioned find the same adjustment possible, it would be for the reason, not that their different requirements average the same, but that the average of their different requirements is the same. A higher gear means greater resistance; a lengthened crank causes the foot to travel in a larger circle while gaining in increased leverage in the lengthened arm.

In determining the proper proportion of crank length and gear, it may be calculated that the same amount of resistance may be overcome by using a higher gear and longer crank as by using a lower gear and shorter crank, the difference being in the rapidity of the stroke necessary to cover a given distance in a certain length of time. This adjustment may be considered equivalent to length of pace and rapidity of pace in walking. It is well to have crank and gear selected by some one sufficiently experienced to make an intelligent choice.

In the lever action of the leg, working the bicycle crank, care should be taken to prevent waste of power in carrying the foot back and behind, rendering the lever movement useless behind the line where the power may be made to tell. This loss will occur when the saddle is placed too far forward. The foot in returning should supply the pull, and lift with a push-back. The power here gained cannot compensate for power lost on the forward and down thrust, and the saddle should be placed far enough back to permit of the full power of the forward push and downward thrust. The knee should never fully extend when the pedal is pushed to the point where it is furthest from you, for if it is, there is danger in hill-climbing of straining the knee as well as the tendons and muscles of the back of the leg.

The handle-bars should be adapted to the work to be done, whether racing, touring, or ordinary. They certainly should not be high enough to prevent them from taking part of the weight of the body, nor so low as to cramp any portion of the trunk.

Fatigue, with its various manifestations, cramp, stiffness, and numbness, comes from too long a period of work without change of position. For this reason different muscular combinations should be called to do the same work, or different work should be done with unused muscular combinations, permitting rest or partial rest to muscles that have been taxed.

A bicycle should be fitted with adjustable handle-bar and saddle-post, and in case of fatigue or cramp, a slight change in the adjustment will reduce the tendency at once. Travelling should be done with as little weight on the saddle as possible, working on the pedals and resting on the handles. But when it comes to climbing, the push must be located from a fulcrum, and that fulcrum must be the saddle. All weight must be removed from the handles, and the wheel ridden by balance.

A hill should be coasted with the weight all on the saddle, the feet supported, and the handles held firmly and lightly, a proper average position for continuous work being, however, maintained. To carry weight forward, the weight should be forward of the centre of gravity, and the hands dropped.

The question of handle-bars, with the reason of their many varying curves, may pertinently be discussed here. The bar is a pair of levers finding a common fulcrum in the head or centre bar, and the difference in curve has to do with the distribution of weight and the touch best suited to control the bicycle according to position and individual balance and lever power. A distribution of weight and leverage may be made without altering the wheel base by the use of a different pattern of bar that seems to suit the individual touch.

To analyze the curves in a handle-bar, and their different lever values, would be difficult. Preference has much to do with it, and this may be accounted for by the different steering touch of the differently adjusted bars. The forward drop should never be so great that the face cannot be lifted easily and the eyes always able to see up and ahead.

In the tire we look for elasticity, and the amount of air it contains has much to do with the comfort of the rider and the speed of the wheel. Soft tires are adapted for a rough or stony road. The soft tire may wear out a little sooner, but the extra wear is fully compensated by the gain in lessened shock and apparent improvement of wheeling surface. A very hard tire is not necessarily made of rubber. The advantage of the rubber tire is its elasticity, which should come between the fulcrum and the power.

To attain a proper position and its equivalent adjustment, first have the saddle as nearly right as possible so that you can work comfortably; then have the handles and the height of the bar tested, working on these until you can determine if the saddle is too far forward or too far back. Then change the height of the bars to suit the saddle.

Next attend to gear. Find if with comfort you could exert more pressure on the pedals. If so, have the gear increased. If there is cramp in the foot, or the foot feels strained, have the length of crank changed. If the foot is long in proportion to the other lever lengths, lengthen the crank to permit of freer instep play; or have it shortened to relieve a strained feeling in the foot. The crank length may be changed to relieve either cramp or strain in the leg and thigh until the pressure and length are arranged to suit the natural step or pace.

While these adjustments are in progress—and it may take months to determine them—the shoe may cause discomfort. The slightest pressure, a shoe too tight or ill-fitting, would be responsible for much more discomfort than could possibly be caused by either crank or gear. Waist-bands, or any pressure on the trunk, will cause numbness of the foot; and a saddle of imperfect construction or wrong adjustment would be responsible for the same evils—unequal pressure and unequal strains and overcharged blood-vessels, with their accompanying discomforts of cramp, fatigue, numbness, and more permanent disorders.