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Wooden bikes

materiabikes.com

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171–180 of 238 posts

Re: Wooden bikes

#171

Post by meroje »

geoka9 wrote: post #157
ashtonbaker wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As we all know, stiffer tires (higher pressure) is faster. We're living in interesting times for this "conventional" wisdom! One school of thought argues that while there might be a theoretical relationship between high pressure and low rolling resistance, but the real-world effect has been exaggerated by poor testing methodology, which usually involves a circular drum as a substitute for a flat road. And that the…

Just curious, with the same set of tires, didn't you ever notice how much easier it is biking uphill when you don't neglect to inflate the tires before the ride? I'm not a competitive cyclist, but I'm on a bike every day and I notice it on my bikes (mountain, thick heavy tires and road, slick tires).

I do, the difference is "woah this thing powers itself" kind of noticeable. Sure I could get the same average speed on my ride, but at the cost of so much more effort on low pressure tires.

Re: Wooden bikes

#172

Post by tonyedgecombe »

mr_overalls wrote: post #114

Engineered wood is truly an amazing material. While touring a newly-constructed home a few weeks ago, I saw what appeared to be floor joists constructed out of thin, cheap particle-board. It turns out that they're made of engineered wood, and are actually stronger than an equivalent sawed wood beam. https://imgur.com/a/3AkZblF

Glulam is getting quite popular here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glued_laminated_timber

Re: Wooden bikes

#173

Post by tonyedgecombe »

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?

Like anything there are diminishing returns, the difference between a £250 and £500 bike is greater than between a £500 and £5000 bike.

Re: Wooden bikes

#174

Post by tonyedgecombe »

SonOfLilit wrote: post #66
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.

Mobike bikes have thin tires filled with more rubber

Yes, and they are horrible to ride on.

Re: Wooden bikes

#175

Post by Joeri »

grogenaut wrote: post #161
Overtonwindow wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is oversimplifying how changes in material and aerodynamics can improve performance. A person such as yourself might not be impressed by a “new bottom bracket” with 30% increased stiffness, but someone who races might. Every ounce and second counts.

The problem is like 0.2% of cyclists actually race but it's about 95% of marketing.

And arguably, if the goal is to get a workout, an easier ride just means you’ll have to cycle longer to reach your goal.

Re: Wooden bikes

#176

Post by TomVDB »

Joeri wrote: post #175
grogenaut wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is like 0.2% of cyclists actually race but it's about 95% of marketing.

And arguably, if the goal is to get a workout, an easier ride just means you’ll have to cycle longer to reach your goal.

Counterpoint: for me, buying an easier (in my case: much lighter) bike, was the difference between deciding to ride or to not ride at all.

I don't think I'm alone in that.

Re: Wooden bikes

#177

Post by TomVDB »

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?

> Which seems rare.

I don't think you've spent a lot of time around bikers!

Re: Wooden bikes

#178

Post by CydeWeys »

TomVDB wrote: post #176
Joeri wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And arguably, if the goal is to get a workout, an easier ride just means you’ll have to cycle longer to reach your goal.

Counterpoint: for me, buying an easier (in my case: much lighter) bike, was the difference between deciding to ride or to not ride at all. I don't think I'm alone in that.

You're definitely not wrong. I can (and have) ridden my cyclocross bike for hours, which I have no desire of attempting on a Citibike, what I was using before I bought my own bike.

Re: Wooden bikes

#179

Post by canhascodez »

gameswithgo wrote: post #151
ubermonkey wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You have to blind yourself when testing. The human mind just can't handle perception!

> The human mind just can't handle perception!

"If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is: Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern."

More to the point, however, I think that human minds often handle perception in general, but the problem of objectively observing the subjective is somewhat less tractable.

Re: Wooden bikes

#180

Post by CydeWeys »

sergiosgc wrote: post #14

I don't understand the market for bicycles in the thousands of euro price range. Bikes get stolen often enough for me to never be relaxed leaving such a bike outside a shop or caffe or such. If you can't leave the bike anywhere, it's almost useless, except perhaps as a virtue signalling device.

I have secured access bike rooms available to me at work and I have room in my elevator building apartment for a bike. Plus, I can easily go do a long fitness ride without having to leave the bike anywhere.

For everything else, there's Citibike.

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