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Wooden bikes

materiabikes.com

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101–110 of 238 posts

Re: Wooden bikes

#101

Post by [deleted] »

danburbridge wrote: post #73
Yetanfou wrote: post #48

Earlier 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…

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…

[deleted]

Re: Wooden bikes

#102

Post by MrMid »

gameswithgo wrote: post #84
mymythisisthis wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you do a road trip more than 80km, you feel the vibration. I find aluminum is worse than steel. With short, daily trips, I don't think people notice vibration.

>I find aluminum is worse than steel. Try to do a blind test on yourself sometime, with the same tires and tire pressures. I don't notice "vibration" at any distance unless its nasty chip seal at which point nothing will save you short of a mountain bike.

I don't think you want to do a blind test on a bike.

Re: Wooden bikes

#103

Post by gerry_shaw »

beerlord wrote: post #27

I think bikes will become a niche sports product, replaced by E-Scooters for basic transportation around town, and autonomous cars/minibuses for anything longer.

After a visit to SE Asia I'm in agreement. The transformation that will take place in those cities from IC motorbikes to eBikes will be a huge quality of life improvement in terms of pollution and noise.

Not sure about North America. So many fast moving heavy vehicles and poorer weather don't make eBikes for the masses as appealing.

Re: Wooden bikes

#104

Post by pbhjpbhj »

fabricexpert wrote: post #43
Emma_Goldman wrote: post #38

Interesting idea. Unconscionable price. I don't think you could justify spending that amount of money on a bike unless it is one of your life's deepest passions. Which seems rare. Does the quality of bikes really change that much when you go up the price range, for amateur users?

Plenty of people spend a LOT more than that on bikes

What proportion precisely, and in which locality?

Re: Wooden bikes

#105

Post by Xylakant »

collyw wrote: post #72
gonzo41 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Steel can be welded or bend back into shape, aluminum and carbon fiber cannot. Even slightly bent aluminum may break at the next stiff bump, steel is much more forgiving.

Re: Wooden bikes

#106

Post by mrob »

MrMid wrote: post #102
gameswithgo wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I find aluminum is worse than steel. Try to do a blind test on yourself sometime, with the same tires and tire pressures. I don't notice "vibration" at any distance unless its nasty chip seal at which point nothing will save you short of a mountain bike.

I don't think you want to do a blind test on a bike.

You could wrap the tubes in cardboard tubes so you couldn't see what they were made from.

Re: Wooden bikes

#107

Post by michaelmior »

fifnir wrote: post #87
michaelmior wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> not superior by any stretch of the imagination. I think it's safe to assume each rider has a different utility function, in some cases drastically different. "Extraordinarily impractical" bikes may very well have other upsides for a particular rider that outweigh the disadvantages for them.

It's also safe to point out that the vast majority of people for the vast majority of topics don't know and don't care. Don't tell me the people who go around cycling on tiny bikes with their heels on the pedal and their knees reaching their throat have found some kind of alternative definition of practicality...

I didn't say anything about an alternative definition of practicality. I said that practicality might not be as important for some people.

Re: Wooden bikes

#108

Post by jablan »

amelius wrote: post #57

I 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.

Is it really an issue? Have you tried tires with a decent puncture resistant layer? I am using the cheapest Schwalbe's Plus tires and commute year-round in very harsh urban conditions, when it comes to glass shards and whatnot.

Re: Wooden bikes

#109

Post by eitally »

gameswithgo wrote: post #82

The vibration dampening is a red herring. As a point of comparison, the differences in dampening between various frames/materials is on the order of ~1psi of tire pressure normally. In other words, if you found yourself with the harshest of frames, you could drop air pressure by 1 or 2psi and be at the same level as the "smoothest" frame.

But dampening happens differently in different parts of the frame. For example, thinner & curved seat stays vs a suspension fork, or round 853 steel tubing vs highly aero-optimized low profile carbon, or deep dish carbon wheels vs traditional aluminum. Your statement is technically accurate, but that doesn't mean the feel of the ride will be equivalent.

Re: Wooden bikes

#110

Post by ubermonkey »

gameswithgo wrote: post #82

The vibration dampening is a red herring. As a point of comparison, the differences in dampening between various frames/materials is on the order of ~1psi of tire pressure normally. In other words, if you found yourself with the harshest of frames, you could drop air pressure by 1 or 2psi and be at the same level as the "smoothest" frame.

Are you certain about this? Because I'm not sure it's true based on my own relatively recent experience test-riding a variety of fairly serious road-cycling frames.
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