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Rh of the cycle industry, it is a trade quite separate from cycle making.

For many years the motor cycle laboured under a disadvantage, in so much that it possessed no change speed gear or clutch. To start the engine the whole machine had to be pushed along at a smart trot until the engine began to work, when the rider had to make a “running mount” and put one foot on the left pedal



of the crank axle and swing the other leg over the back wheel. This required some agility to perform with success.

Gradually, the trade brought out change speed gears and clutches. The latter enabled the engine to be started with the bicycle at rest, the change speed gear enabled steep hills to be climbed without hard pedalling or dismounting and running alongside. The change speed gears are dealt with separately in Chapter VIII.