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More idiotic bicycle-of-the-future reportage



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 11th 09, 02:39 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
D.M. Procida
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Posts: 357
Default More idiotic bicycle-of-the-future reportage

From the Daily Mail, naturally. This time it has the imprimatur of Chris
"Very much so" Boardman.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...ke-future-stol
en-puncture-proof-tyres-play-music-ride.html

First-class morons.

Daniele
--
Wanted: TEAC A-2300SX, Akai GX-4000D
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  #2  
Old August 11th 09, 03:59 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Martin[_2_]
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Posts: 551
Default More idiotic bicycle-of-the-future reportage

D.M. Procida wrote:
From the Daily Mail, naturally. This time it has the imprimatur of Chris
"Very much so" Boardman.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...ke-future-stol
en-puncture-proof-tyres-play-music-ride.html


http://tinyurl.com/mwhssu

Hmm, the spokeless wheels will be more aerodynamic, but this will be
more than compensated by the extra weight of the batteries, solar
panels, motors and friction from the way the wheels are mounted.

The enclosed drivechain looks good, but again it looks like the exposed
wheel mounting system will be worse.
  #3  
Old August 11th 09, 06:13 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Simon Brooke[_2_]
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Posts: 671
Default More idiotic bicycle-of-the-future reportage

On Aug 11, 3:59*pm, Martin wrote:
D.M. Procida wrote:
From the Daily Mail, naturally. This time it has the imprimatur of Chris
"Very much so" Boardman.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...ke-future-stol
en-puncture-proof-tyres-play-music-ride.html


http://tinyurl.com/mwhssu

Hmm, the spokeless wheels will be more aerodynamic, but this will be
more than compensated by the extra weight of the batteries, solar
panels, motors and friction from the way the wheels are mounted.

The enclosed drivechain looks good, but again it looks like the exposed
wheel mounting system will be worse.


Actually, don't knock it too much.

There isn't room on that frame for sufficient solar panels to power
the beast in real time, other than as a very anaemic aid to pedalling,
and batteries sufficient to give you any useful boost are also going
to be heavy. But let's forget the 'electric power side of the equation
for a moment.

The wheels are feasible; and, combined with a bottom-bracket epicyclic
and belt drive, not actually that hard to do. Provided the 'forks' are
monoblade (i.e. the inner, static part of the wheel is attached to
the frame on only one side) changing tyres would be easier than one a
conventional bike. Furthermore, the rims could be modular, so that
under racing conditions you'd only have to change a rim, not a tyre,
and front and rear rim modules could be identical and
interchangeable.

Mind you, of course, the UCI would instantly ban it for not looking
like a bike.
  #4  
Old August 11th 09, 10:56 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
James[_5_]
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Posts: 221
Default More idiotic bicycle-of-the-future reportage

On Aug 12, 2:13*am, Simon Brooke wrote:
On Aug 11, 3:59*pm, Martin wrote:

D.M. Procida wrote:
From the Daily Mail, naturally. This time it has the imprimatur of Chris
"Very much so" Boardman.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...ke-future-stol
en-puncture-proof-tyres-play-music-ride.html


http://tinyurl.com/mwhssu


Hmm, the spokeless wheels will be more aerodynamic, but this will be
more than compensated by the extra weight of the batteries, solar
panels, motors and friction from the way the wheels are mounted.


The enclosed drivechain looks good, but again it looks like the exposed
wheel mounting system will be worse.


Actually, don't knock it too much.


Why not? Like so many of these gimmicks, it's a solution looking for a
problem (see C5, segway, recumbents...).

James
  #5  
Old August 11th 09, 11:12 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Just zis Guy, you know?[_2_]
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Posts: 4,166
Default More idiotic bicycle-of-the-future reportage

On Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:56:40 -0700 (PDT), James
wrote:

Why not? Like so many of these gimmicks, it's a solution looking for a
problem (see C5, segway, recumbents...).


Burn the heretic!

Guy
--
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk/urc | http://www.nohelmetlaw.org.uk/
"Nullius in Verba" - take no man's word for it.
- attr. Horace, chosen by John Evelyn for the Royal Society
  #6  
Old August 11th 09, 11:29 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
James[_5_]
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Posts: 221
Default More idiotic bicycle-of-the-future reportage

On Aug 12, 7:12*am, "Just zis Guy, you know?"
wrote:
On Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:56:40 -0700 (PDT), James

wrote:
Why not? Like so many of these gimmicks, it's a solution looking for a
problem (see C5, segway, recumbents...).


Burn the heretic!


....folders, unicycles, electric bikes, tandems...

:-)

James
  #7  
Old August 12th 09, 10:20 AM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Simon Brooke[_2_]
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Posts: 671
Default More idiotic bicycle-of-the-future reportage

On 11 Aug, 22:56, James wrote:
On Aug 12, 2:13*am, Simon Brooke wrote:



On Aug 11, 3:59*pm, Martin wrote:


D.M. Procida wrote:
From the Daily Mail, naturally. This time it has the imprimatur of Chris
"Very much so" Boardman.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...ke-future-stol
en-puncture-proof-tyres-play-music-ride.html


http://tinyurl.com/mwhssu


Hmm, the spokeless wheels will be more aerodynamic, but this will be
more than compensated by the extra weight of the batteries, solar
panels, motors and friction from the way the wheels are mounted.


The enclosed drivechain looks good, but again it looks like the exposed
wheel mounting system will be worse.


Actually, don't knock it too much.


Why not? Like so many of these gimmicks, it's a solution looking for a
problem (see C5, segway, recumbents...).


I agree that spokeless wheels aren't a necessary invention. However,
monoblades are so much more practical, and offer so many benefits over
conventional forks that their more widespread adoption would do
everyone a favour. Similarly, BB epicyclics (or epicyclics close to
the BB, e.g. the GBoxx system). Face it, we're still riding what is
essentially a Victorian design - and we're riding it not because it's
the optimal solution but because of TRADITION! and the ****ing UCI.

Exposed transmissions are a really poor solution on a commuting bike
or a mountain bike, and not an optimal solution even on a race bike.
Designs where you have to take a wheel right off the machine before
you can change a tyre are really crude. And designs where the front
wheel is different from the back wheel, so that a race support crew
has to have two types of wheels on hand for changes, is so the century
before last. None of this is necessary - we could do better.
  #8  
Old August 12th 09, 01:48 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
James[_5_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 221
Default More idiotic bicycle-of-the-future reportage

On Aug 12, 6:20*pm, Simon Brooke wrote:

I agree that spokeless wheels aren't a necessary invention. However,
monoblades are so much more practical, and offer so many benefits over
conventional forks that their more widespread adoption would do
everyone a favour. Similarly, BB epicyclics (or epicyclics close to
the BB, e.g. the GBoxx system). Face it, we're still riding what is
essentially a Victorian design - and we're riding it not because it's
the optimal solution but because of TRADITION! and the ****ing UCI.


I'd be surprised if the UCI really had much influence in the sort of
bikes that people ride in India, China or even Japan. In fact electric-
assist bikes are very popular here, I don't think the UCI allow them
in many competitions :-)

Exposed transmissions are a really poor solution on a commuting bike
or a mountain bike, and not an optimal solution even on a race bike.


Chain guards are decades old!

Perhaps I'm a bit cynical, having seen dozens (ok, several) attempts
at the "bike of the future" which promise to get everyone out of cars
and onto bikes, but which in fact are doomed to fail in this mission
through not even starting to address the real reasons why people don't
ride a bike already.

James
  #9  
Old August 12th 09, 01:51 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Dennis Davis
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Posts: 34
Default More idiotic bicycle-of-the-future reportage

In the referenced article, (D.M. Procida) writes:
From the Daily Mail, naturally. This time it has the imprimatur of Chris
"Very much so" Boardman.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...ke-future-stol
en-puncture-proof-tyres-play-music-ride.html

First-class morons.


Quite. The article contains the lines:

The new bike includes an inbuilt computer system incorporating an
'unbreakable' locking device that allows only the owner to open it
via fingerprint recognition

Hardly unbreakable if someone chops off your finger and uses it to
steal your bicycle. And that's the start of your problems. What
are you going to use for "secure" fingerprint recognition after
that?

The downside of using biometric data for identification, security
etc is discussed in one of Bruce Schneier's book on security. Can't
remember which one; they're not close at hand for me to investigate
further.
--
Dennis Davis, BUCS, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK

  #10  
Old August 12th 09, 02:34 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Martin[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 551
Default More idiotic bicycle-of-the-future reportage

Simon Brooke wrote:
On 11 Aug, 22:56, James wrote:
On Aug 12, 2:13 am, Simon Brooke wrote:



On Aug 11, 3:59 pm, Martin wrote:
D.M. Procida wrote:
From the Daily Mail, naturally. This time it has the imprimatur of Chris
"Very much so" Boardman.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...ke-future-stol
en-puncture-proof-tyres-play-music-ride.html
http://tinyurl.com/mwhssu
Hmm, the spokeless wheels will be more aerodynamic, but this will be
more than compensated by the extra weight of the batteries, solar
panels, motors and friction from the way the wheels are mounted.
The enclosed drivechain looks good, but again it looks like the exposed
wheel mounting system will be worse.
Actually, don't knock it too much.

Why not? Like so many of these gimmicks, it's a solution looking for a
problem (see C5, segway, recumbents...).


I agree that spokeless wheels aren't a necessary invention. However,
monoblades are so much more practical, and offer so many benefits over
conventional forks that their more widespread adoption would do
everyone a favour. Similarly, BB epicyclics (or epicyclics close to
the BB, e.g. the GBoxx system). Face it, we're still riding what is
essentially a Victorian design - and we're riding it not because it's
the optimal solution but because of TRADITION! and the ****ing UCI.


I think it is also because the traditional diamond frame is strong for
its weight, and cheap to produce. Whereas a lot of these fancy shaped
frames will probably want carbon fibre and/or extra reinforcing.

Exposed transmissions are a really poor solution on a commuting bike
or a mountain bike, and not an optimal solution even on a race bike.
Designs where you have to take a wheel right off the machine before
you can change a tyre are really crude.


What happened to the cannondale Jacknife that was shown around a couple
of years ago?

And designs where the front
wheel is different from the back wheel, so that a race support crew
has to have two types of wheels on hand for changes, is so the century
before last. None of this is necessary - we could do better.


I think it will be a while before this happens as racers are often
weight fanatics, and having a front wheel with some kind of drive system
will add too much weight.

Martin.
 




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