Sheldon Brown has passed away...
 

This is sad news indeed. His passion for and knowledge of cycling, and his willingness to share it with the rest of us was inspiring.

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/

He will be missed big time. He helped a lot of unknowledgeable cyclist learn about, and understand, their cycles.
PCG

Hmm, funny ... I wasn't that aware of him, but just this morning I was listening to a podcast of him. I found it very interesting.

It must have been sudden. He was still posting to usenet groups a few hours ago.

He will be with us every time we calculate "gear inches".

Very sad - he was a younger than I, too.

That is TERRIBLE news.

What a blow that is.

He was one of the greats in life - a true gentleman, and such a talented cycle engineer. I never had the privilege of meeting him, but he has helped me many, many times through his fantastic website and even some individual email answers to questions.

My sincere condolences to his family. They must be devastated.


Tony

Wow, I am really saddened by this news. Sheldon Brown was the reason I got turned onto folding bikes (especially the Raleigh Twenty) several years ago. My thoughts go out to his family and friends. RIP.

What a sad blow. My thoughts are with those he left behind.

Ahhhh gutted - a top bloke !

I just read this very sad news and can't help but feel just how much less rich a place the world will be without his enthusiasm, immense knowledge and selfless, friendly advice.

His other bicycle projects notwithstanding, no-one did more for the promotion of tinkering the Raleigh Twenty, and he helped me out in person on several occasions when I pulled mine out of the gene-pool in an attempt to try make and something inspired by his own little red rocket.

http://sheldonbrown.org/images/r20f.jpeg
I will miss him and his magnificent homebrewed website contributions immensely, not least the Harris Cyclery april-fools component advertisements.

Here's hoping his legacy of priceless contributions to bicycling, tinkering, humour and the web prevail on the internet, and in people's memories for many years.

A truly gentle man who loved his wife and family and through his passion not just for cycling, but life indeed, has touched many lives. He will be sorely missed by the cycling world, but the legacy he leaves will inspire many to begin, renew and continue our wonderful joy of cycling.

His help by private email on things bicycling were enlightening and most welcome...and the occassional scolding did not fall on deaf ears.

May his family find comfort in the fact that he was a man well loved, by many.

He certainly was an inspiration. May He Rest In Peace.

Sheldon both inspired and directly helped me with my Raleigh Twenty. The world is definitely a darker place without him. He will be missed,

Juan

Without him, I don't think any of us would be tinkering with 20's. It was always fantastic to have him turn up in a thread, and impart a word of wisdom that straightened out a problem for you. RIP.

Wow, what a shock. Sheldon was the Guru of bicycle repair and he will be missed by all of the very many people he has helped through the years. I hope his legacy continues on with his excellent website.

What a loss. This is a sad day.

Mara

As I'm sure Mr Brown's family has much to say about him as a husband and a father, I don't want to insult them by over-exalting his professional and recreational life.

Still, I think it goes without saying that Sheldon Brown had a prolific influence on the worldwide cycling community and will be sorely missed. For me personally, the fact that he was posting on the newsnet mere hours before his death about an issue I had raised with him a few weeks ago is just mindblowing. I heard he was ill and no doubt he knew the end was near. I'm glad he didn't shy away from persisting in what he loved to the very end (sometimes I wonder which he actually loved more: cycling or educating others about cycling).

I think that even Sheldon himself would be surprised at how well he was regarded by cyclists world wide.
He will be sadly missed. A truly great man.

I am wery sad
he will leave a pemanent hole in this industry .
Nobody will ever be able to fill his shoes.
dont know what to write to put his loss in perspective

RIP Sheldon
and thanks for all your help
Thor

Sad indeed!.... But aside from sad i'd like to rejoice and remember how he lived and what he did. He helped many thousands. But speaking just for myself:

He was the reason i got heavily into cycling again.
Sheldon was one of the two inspirations to become a bike mechanic.
His pages enlightened my and various friends dozens if not hundreds of times, his page on 20's made me get mine, then write my page on it in order to help out others as he helped me (albeit in a tiny way by comparison).

Though i hope his pages will be up forever i will miss his spirit on these boards and elsewhere. I am very serious when i say the man deserves a statue AND a memorial ride. But perhaps in due time that may become reality.

Thank you for all you did Sheldon!

Perhaps many specifically on the folders sub-forum owe their cycling passion to Sheldon Brown. I certainly do, through his R20 enthusiasm and web pages. Also, most of my mechanical knowledge comes from him. Through his wheel building pages, I got into wheelbuilding. The gear-inches page is visited perhaps several times a month by me.

He will be missed. I hope his web pages will "live on".

I was thinking the other day how much longer Sheldon was going to live. I was seaching how much influence MS has on heart attacks and there doen't appear to be much information. I do know that once he lost the use of legs, his life ended almost immediately. It goes to show you how much the bicycle had in keeping him alive.

I first encountered Sheldon back in the mid '90s on the tandem list. He was always a source of good advice and sound technical information.

I suspect his family has only a slight realization of the impact he had on the bicycling community. To say he will be missed is a major understatement. I hope there is a way for us to let his family know how much he meant to our community.

Ride to live, live to ride where ever you may be....

Sheldon "R.I.P." Brown

may he rest in peace in the big bike shop in the sky :) and tinker away.

WHOA! What happened?!

What a sad thing. I've never met the man, but I have seen his helpful webpages many times and he's been such a good source of advice on these forums.