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02-22-10, 02:14 PM

#26

MaxSta

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of course this bike wasn't made for practical use!
it's just a project by college students to mess around with. The frame looks heavy enough to support a 250cc or 125cc dirt bike engine LOL

02-22-10, 06:24 PM

#27

davidad

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Cannondale had something like this 15 years ago. There is nothing new under the bike sun.

02-23-10, 02:24 PM

#28

DArthurBrown

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Quote:

Originally Posted by FBinNY

One problem with engineering students and bicycle design is that many come from the automotive world, and aren't used to the constraints of a vehicle whose engine produces less power than that used in a typical car's audio system. The reality is that it isn't the bicycle that needs to be re-engineered, but almost everything else. Imagine the potential savings if all products could be brought to the bicycle's energy efficiency where 97% of input energy produces useful work.

True dat. My brother is a gifted mechanical engineer and cyclist. He was always at intellectual odds with his coworkers about designing things from a cyclist's standpoint rather than an automotive one. The other engineers are always trying to find ways to make bicycles more like motorcycles. His ideas were more like "why do they use motorcycle-style suspensions on bikes?" He had one idea to put a pivot point just in front of the bottom bracket and spring in line with the top tube, having the top tube slanted down instead of up. It would offer most of the same suspension benefit as a rear suspension bike, but at a much lower weight and simpler design.