bicycle component failures (w/pics)
 

- dunno if this has been posted before or not (if so, i apologize in advance)... but i ran across this interesting collection of component failures here.

And if you get bored there, try Bicycle Wrecks...

http://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/slaymake...cks/Wrecks.htm

Extremely interesting post. Many thanks.

Very interesting link and thanks for posting it (first time for me to see it).

Also interesting testing techniques.

I work with lasers and holography. Holographic interferemetry could be applied here as well -- although considered a non-destructive type of testing. Not usually used after-the-fact.

a lot of those bike parts looked like they had been poorly maintained

Those are horrible electron microscope images.
Look at all the charged surfaces. I mean, I expect that kind of quality if he were drunk, or was shot in the arm or something. But this is a metal piece.

I worked on some software that provided advanced warning of materials failures. With acoustical sensors, you can actually detect the microscopic cracking that occurs before a part fails from fatigue. Each material has a signature waveform when the cracking occurs... very interesting.. :)

Well with carbon, you pass ultrasound through it and see how it comes out the other side. They usually do that for large airplane composites.

Speaking of SEM images, I just found these images of this fly that I found in the cafeteria back at school, coated with gold, and stuck inside the SEM at 30x, 60x, 120x, 350x, and 30000x.
I'm surprised the thing didn't explode in the sputter coater under high vacuum.

Totally...I hate when this happens

interesting - I'm in middle mgt in a R&D center - IN ITS TIME - if internet was around - surfing these using company PC's would have been considered Risque emough to get you fired for inappropriate internet use. (porn) "My gosh - look at them ankles" :eek: :eek:

There was a broken parts thread on bikeforums before, was several pages long as well. Maybe someone can find it.