Looking at the test results: 4-6mm permanent deformation when dropping it from 18-20cm? That doesn't seem very good, especially for a city ride with frequent curbs, small steps, road gaps, and a heavy rider like myself (92kg).
Wooden bikes
71–80 of 238 posts
Re: Wooden bikes
#72I wonder if wooden bikes bring any safety concerns in the event of a crash, since when wood breaks it can become reasonably sharp, like a spear.
Aluminum framed bikes do that, old heavy steel would bend but aluminum tends to break all at once. Though it's worth pointing out that you really have to be doing something stupid to see this sort of rare effect.
Steel is still a popular material for BMX's and dirt jump bikes, where they are subject to more falls.
Re: Wooden bikes
#73Ride comfort (on a rigid bike) is primarily a function of the tyres (size/inflation/construction). A bike with cheap 23c tyres at 150psi will rattle the fillings out of your teeth. The same bike with decent 25c or 28c tyres at e.g. 50-70psi (depending on rider weight) can float along with a magic carpet like ride.
Why call those 23c tyres "cheap"? Why mention price at all? Ride comfort is a function of tyre size, not tyre price. You can buy very "exclusive" expensive 23c tyres, pump them up to 7 atm. and have just as hard a ride as the person who just overtook you on his "cheap" 23c tyres. That "magic carpet" ride does come at a price but it is not monetary: the softer the tyre, the more resistance and with that the slower the…
I am not suggesting that all 23c tyres are cheap, but that tyre quality (which comes at a cost) as well as size has an important part to play in comfort.
My 23c handmade FMB tubulars (definitely not cheap) are a much nicer ride than cheaper tyres.
Rolling resistance is far more complicated, on anything other than a wooden velodrome, the road surface actually means that there is a sweat-spot in terms of pressure - too low and rolling resistance will be high, as you say, this decreases up to a point at which the effects of the microbumps in the road start to cause energy losses through hysteresis and eventually the tyre bouncing over tiny bumps.
For a 23c tyre and a 70kg rider the optimum tyre pressure is actually typically in the 80-90psi range (5.5-6ATM) although again this is dependant on tyre quality, an expensive tubular tyre with very supple silk sidewalls can be run at higher pressure than a touring tyre with tough reinforced sidewalls.
Re: Wooden bikes
#74I use a bike as my primary transportation (I live in a very, very bike friendly city) and I don't think I have ever seen a wooden bike. Vibrations from the road is not something I've ever considered since it has not been a problem in any of the bikes that I've had. My primary considerations when considering a bike would be: * Price * Durability * Cargo support (like basket and rear hub)
We have quite a few wooden (I think mainly bamboo) bikes in Switzerland. I've never used one (they're quite bulky and expensive) but they are definitely common enough for people not to take notice of them when they cycle past.
Re: Wooden bikes
#75I wish someone invented and actually sold tires which can't go flat. I don't mind if it makes the bike somewhat harder to ride. For short-distance trips (intra-city) this should be no problem, and could perhaps even save me a visit to the gym.
Tubeless tyres have been a thing for a few years now.
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Re: Wooden bikes
#76How durable are wooden bikes?
For comparison, I ride two steel frames from 1982 and 1985, and own a Schwinn from 1963. All have shown signs of use and age, cosmetically, but are still fully functional and safe.
That's not to suggest a wooden frame is less durable, but just an anecdotal calibration of what my expectations are.
Re: Wooden bikes
#77I think bikes will become a niche sports product, replaced by E-Scooters for basic transportation around town, and autonomous cars/minibuses for anything longer.
You don't get any exercise with an e-scooter, and personally I go a fair bit faster than most of them on my bike. Cycling to the work saves me time on my commute and the need not to go to a gym. My commuting bike (a very basic mountain bike, cost I can't understand why so few people cycle.
Re: Wooden bikes
#78I think bikes will become a niche sports product, replaced by E-Scooters for basic transportation around town, and autonomous cars/minibuses for anything longer.
Batteries are still too inconvenient and costly. I still regularly ride a wonderful steel bike that's older than myself (a top of the line koga miyata). So with a battery lifetime of the order of ~1000 charge cycles, if you take into considerations the costs of regularly replacing the battery, then ebikes (and e-scooters) are in a different price segment altogether.
Yes, this is what makes me sceptical about the trend in electric mountain bikes. You can fix 90% of bike problems on a remote trail, with a small set of tools and a few spare parts. Electric bikes bring something that isn't going to be as easy to fix.
Re: Wooden bikes
#79They don't mention that wood is quite a bit heavier than other materials. Their road bike frames weight 2.5kg, where modern (and much cheaper) carbon fiber frames come in below 1kg.
Re: Wooden bikes
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why call those 23c tyres "cheap"? Why mention price at all? Ride comfort is a function of tyre size, not tyre price. You can buy very "exclusive" expensive 23c tyres, pump them up to 7 atm. and have just as hard a ride as the person who just overtook you on his "cheap" 23c tyres. That "magic carpet" ride does come at a price but it is not monetary: the softer the tyre, the more resistance and with that the slower the…
> That "magic carpet" ride does come at a price but it is not monetary: the softer the tyre, the more resistance and with that the slower the ride. Unless you're riding on a velodrome, pumping your tyres up to 120+psi doesn't decrease rolling resistance, infact the the opposite is true. If the tyre can deform around small bumps it rolls much more easily. This is why very expensive and fast tyres have casings with a h…
It makes a big difference if you ride on asphalt or similarly flat surfaces, which many bike commuters do.