the amazing new cog bicycle in San Francisco, circa 1895. Included are a few other ads for basically the original fixie bikes, or fixed gear. Gears weren’t invented until 1905
From the San Francisco Call, August 4, 1895
THE IMPROVED BICYCLE
Architect O’Connor Thinks He
Has Overcome All the
Difficulties.
FRICTION NEARLY DESTROYED.
The New Machine Said to Be Capa
ble of Climbing the Steepest
Hill With Ease.
Bicycles in bewildering variety are con
tinually appearing on the market these
days. There are over 300 makes of cycles,
differing only in style, cost and name.
Fully 90 per cent of these machines use
the chain and sprocket as a means of
transmitting the applied power, but owing
to the limited leverage and enormous fric
tion it has hitherto been impossible to
utilize more than 30 per cent of this force.
P. J. O’Connor claims to have overcome
all these difficulties in a bicycle which he
has just had patented. He has been ex
perimenting in this direction for several
months, and has at last perfected a ma
chine that does away with sprocket-wheels
and chains, makes hill-climbing an easy
matter and attains a rate of speed that is
only limited to the exertion of the rider,
instead of sprocket-wheels and chain Mr.
O’Connor employs a system of cogs, which
destroys all friction except at one point of
contact. The force is applied by means of
a swinging lever, with an adjustable foot
rest, which equally distributes the exertion
that must be applied by the rider. The
inventor thus describes his cycle:
The accompanying diagram represents my
idea for a bicycle that will give the best re
sults for the power employed. In my machine
I propose to substitute a swinging lever for
the chain and sprocket wheel of the bicycle
now used. The rise and fall of the lever does
not exceed 10 inches, though if great speed is
desired this can be given a fall of 11)$ inches.
The ankle of the rider passes through a flat
segment of a circle 20 inches, and it gives as a
result a stroke of nine-sixteenths of the diam
eter of the driving wheel. This result cannot
be accomplished by a stiff lever, fc the reason
that its motion does not give half a revolution,
and consequently it aoes not pass the dead
center. A stiff lever also requires the momen
tum of the wheel to carry it around.
The foot of the rider rests upon a pivoted
plate made to the shape of the foot, so that at
the commencement of the motion the full
leverage or power is present and so continues
for three-fifths of the down stroke. The other
two-fifths, which is the full depth, is four
inches less. The levers work in double slots to
prevent eide action, so that there is an alter
nate rise and fall, thus giving them full play
and receiving the entire weight of the body.
My driving levers have a rise and fall of
twenty inches, while by the present chain
bicycle the rider’s foot travels from thirty
eight to forty-two inches. The levers being
nearly double the length of the present pedal
crank’s, I am able to ootaiij about 80 per cent
of the applied power, and consequently a
higher rate of speed.
Mr. O’Connor has exhibited his model to
a number of bicycle experts, and they are
of the opinion that he has solved the
problem of securing the greatest amount
of force from the power employed. The
United States Government has its experts
at work endeavoring to overcome the force
lost by friction, but so far they have
thought of nothing better than the chain
and sprocket wheel. The Presidio officers
think Mr. O’Connor has not only done
this, but has invented a machine capable
of climbing any incline short of a precipice.
and a few other bikes for sale in San Francisco, circa 1895
