Headline : Cycling notes: speeding machines and rim damage – archive, May 1899

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No. of Paragraph 7

1 May 1899: The Guardian’s weekly cycling column questions a police officer’s evidence in a speeding cyclist case and reassures riders that brake blocks cause little damage to rims

Perhaps the most audacious piece of evidence ever adduced by a police constable in proof of the speed of cyclists charged with furious driving was that sworn to by an officer last week at Kingston upon Thames. He testified that he caught hold of the backs of two machines simultaneously, and brought them to a standstill, while they were going 14mph. Such evidence, if it proves anything, proves that the riders’ speed was nothing like 14mph. It would be impossible to stop one such cyclist in this way, to say nothing of two.

The Dean of Hereford has expressed himself in favour of Sunday closing for exactly the opposite reason to advanced by the Ruthin Rural Council in its memorial to the licensing authorities. They argued that closing of inns would diminish the volume of Sunday cycling traffic. The Dean of Hereford desires public houses to be closed because he would like to see the publicans enjoying the fresh air and the country on their bicycles on the Sabbath-day instead of being compelled to remain in the atmosphere of the public house. The reason is not very convincing, as it presupposes that all innkeepers are necessarily busy all day on Sunday, instead of at certain hours only, and also implies that the only alternatives are bar-tending and cycling.

There still seems to be an impression in many quarters that a rim brake is prejudicial to the rim. Even if this were so, it is better to have the rim damaged than the tyre. But an ordinary first-class rim will not be injured by the brake-blocks acting upon it. These will gradually wear away and require renewal, but the rim will not suffer in the least. The wear of the rims is so infinitesimally small that after several thousands of miles it is not apparent to the eye.

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