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Technology
How bikes work. Materials, techniques, insights, ideas: from a range of experts.
Ball bearings
The wheels go round and round but what is actually going on in the greasy bits of your bike? An expert explains.
Two wheels and some sticks.
JIM McGURN looks back down the highway of cycle technology, and finds that ideas and inventions of the past are still with us today.
The designer as craftsman
DAVID WRATH-SHARMAN makes bikes with a difference. In his retreat in rural Wales he designs and makes very special, utterly unique and entirely custom-built off-road bicyles Here he sets out his thinking and his ambitions.
A quick return: go faster with the right clothing
Cycling fashion says that to ride like the wind you need only open your wallet. Cycling science shakes its head and suggests that the rider has a rather more important role to play.
Materials and processes.
Steel and aluminium are the most commonly used cycle frame materials. In this extract from his book MIKE BURROWS explains what the numbers mean and how the tubes are joined together.
Beyond the Diamond. Composite monocoques.
The shape of cycle frames, constrained by the characteristics of available materials, has hardly changed in over 100 years. In this extract from his book MIKE BURROWS considers how developments in materials technology will shape the future.
Gears without Tears
Having lots of gears is very fashionable, but they add weight and complexity. In this extract from his book MIKE BURROWS asks: do we really need them?
The Wheel
In this extract from his book MIKE BURROWS asks; How much of wheel lore is science and how much myth? Do spoking patterns make a difference? And do disc wheels give a hard ride?
Lubrication
In this extract from his book, Bicycle Design, MIKE BURROWS looks at how we lubricate our bikes
Standing on one Leg
Cantilevered wheels may look odd, but they make sense for many bikes. In an extract from his book, Bicycle Design, MIKE BURROWS examines the monoblade alternative.
Family on Tricycles 1880s
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(on a bike) man outstrips the efficiency of not only all machines but all other animals as well.
Ivan Illich
Cartoons
From Phil Somerville
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