Page:The Cycle Industry (1921).djvu/35

Rh 18 ins. away from the big driving wheel. The side tube of the fore and aft frame had a small steering wheel at each end, carried in forks, and the two were interconnected by a rack and pinion, so that one steering handle of the spade type turned both wheels simultaneously to the correct degree to allow one to follow the path of the other when turning.

This machine had a big vogue and was fast and fairly light. It certainly made the reputation of the Rudge Co. in those days.

Another type of tricycle that was much favoured was the Humber front steerer. This was made with a backbone and trailing wheel like a bicycle, the axle was balance geared and ran in bearings connected to a frame that sprang upward to form the steering head and downward and rearward to carry the crank axle and its bearings. It was steered by moving the two driving wheels by a handlebar just like a bicycle. Its one disadvantage was that owing to the construction the machine had approximately to fit the rider’s length of reach.

Following this type of tricycle it was natural that the advent of the rear driving, front steering safety bicycle should have turned designers’ thoughts to make a tricycle like a safety, only with two rear wheels in place of one. Humbers were one of the first to make a tricycle with a front steering wheel in a fork like a safety, and they named it “The Cripper” after the name of a professional rider, Mr. Robert Cripps, who won many races on it on road and track. Bob Cripps, as he was known to track frequenters, is alive to-day and runs a motor garage business at Nottingham.

From the days of the Humber Cripper tricycle this type of machine has advanced along very similar lines to the safety bicycle. Gradually the size of steering