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DRIVING GEAR OF

ACATENE CHAINLESS.

The French Acatene is the only European bevel-gear chainless which has made any stir abroad as yet, and it was on a bicycle of this make that Rivierre, the long-distance French crack, rode 533 miles within twenty-four hours, in Paris, in June of 1896, making the world’s record which is now cited as evidence of the suitability of such gears for driving bicycles. Soon after that date an English trade journal said of it that “for military purposes we think the Acatene is especially suited, and while we do not think it is destined to revolutionize the cycling world, as some Americans seem to think, we feel fully confident that there is a future for it if well handled.”

It is said that at least one reason for putting the transmitting shaft outside instead of within the back fork in the Sager gear—now on exhibition on the Monarch chainless—was in order to avoid an existing patent which claims a shaft carried through that fork. This outside position of the hollow shaft was used on the Acatene, and we give a cut of it, mainly for that reason, since in other respects it is not unlike other bevel-gear models. In this cut, taken from an English journal published in November of 1896, the relative positions of the shaft and the fork are seen; the accompanying description also says that “undoubtedly the chief point of success in the Acatene gear is the utilization of the ball bearing principle to take up the end-thrust on the cog shaft connecting the crank axle and the driving-hub cogs, as well as fitting that shaft outside the usual bottom fork in such a way as affords a very considerable support against the disaligning action of the cogs themselves.”

We also recall having seen a specimen of the Acatene in New York, about a year ago, and having noted the peculiar appearance of the shaft. If the Sager claim covers putting the shaft outside the fork this apparent anticipation may have a bearing on the value of such claim.