Wide Rim Weight Reduction Experiment. For Acceleration Improvement. by Brian Miller, citizen scientist. CONCLUSION: Worthwhile. For the environment of paved city street riding, improved deceleration, acceleration, and steering speed are rather beneficial; lighter rim is better. ABSTRACT: An unusually wide bicycle rim is needed for a high performance urban bicycle project. To improve [more…]
I hope these pictures help you figure out this air fork a little better. Thanks for looking.
Which has less mass, steel or air? On most planets, an air bladder is much lighter than a steel spring. There are other performance parameters, but air springs are light. A suspention air fork for a bicycle can often be almost the same weight as a dead rigid steel fork. The other parameters include stiction [more…]
Here is how the Maximum Roadster has been developing. Ceramic bottom bracket is a noticeable improvement. I got it by accident while testing many crank configurations for another bike. I ended up using the inexpensive crank, with high end chainrings, and top of the line bearings. Practical. Great tires, and that skinny Stans front rim. [more…]
This has been the best iteration of this bicycle design. I have ridden this frame a lot, mucho trial-and-error with component advances. The result became: Light, compact, and nimble, yet hard; intended for broken big city streets. Acceleration among traffic being a top priority for componentry harmony.
This bicycle design worked out very well. Used it nearly every day. Get supplies, beer, lumber… Rigged for theft prevention security, and ease of use; it quickly adjusts so the wife can take it when she needs to get something.
The latest in fixed gear urban riding performance of the day. Aluminum aero frame with steel plate fork ends. Easton carbon fiber seatpost. Carbon fiber handlebars with suede bar tape. Selle Italia Trans Am saddle. Cane Creek headset, Specialized tires, and more! The experiment here was to keep the entire machine, but especially to keep [more…]
Check out this great old Giant Cadex 3 frame. The tubes have a variety of weave patterns. Detailed engineering for a new path; carbon fiber was very new and exotic. Then I sought and found a Specialized Future Shock FSX carbon fiber fork. This one is from 1994 with titanium hardware. It is a great [more…]
From my experience of building a high handlebar chopper, I learned the value of giant rear tire / skinny front tire. The problem, I discovered, is that the eye perceives the skinny tire as having a smaller diameter, compared to the fat tire. Optical illusion, and not the way I want it. I could visualize [more…]
nnnnnn Hot Rod Girl A ride for New York artist Simonetta Moro She is sly with her color and camouflage. The magenta letters and pink wheels go nicely with the dark purple metallic paint. Plus the drivetrain is super hot. Those top of the line racing Dura Ace hubs are so [more…]
This project is to get a bicycle for riding the city streets. This will be a bicycle optimized for big city, not-always-even pavement, super quick lateral maneuvers, maximum acceleration, and emergency braking. This bike will not handle well off-road, it won’t squeeze into a peloton, it is not very good for doing tricks, but [more…]
The face of the new roadster. High power and Sharp handling A resurrected classic design for urban exploration I have wanted to build a classic Roadster for quite a while. This twitchy criterium frame may not have been the best choice, but the hyper-active handling matches my environment well. One big advantage of this frame [more…]
How to rebuild a Manitou suspension fork, replacing the elastomers with springs. The early Manitou forks are well designed, light, simple, and work well. They don’t have as much travel as offroad forks of today, but they are very good for street riding. Their springs (elastomers) often decay over time, but can be repaired. [more…]
Super Street Machine. Maybe Supabike. This one has the 52 tooth top ring. The 52t chainring gives the proper top gear speed, but doesn’t shift so well.
1992 Klein Rascal Handlebars / Stem: Mission Control bar stem combination, with Ourys Fork / Headset: 1992 Manitou 1 on Shimano XTR headset Front Wheel / Hub / Rim / Tire: Coda with Primo Comet 26 x 1.5 Rear Wheel / Hub / Rim / Tire: Coda with Primo Comet 26 x 1.0 [more…]
The sleek carbon fiber and titanium, non worn out, Specialized Future Shock FSX Rock Shox suspension fork was not holding air in one side. I liked this damn thing, it’s perfect for street riding; light, compact, and short travel. I went to start a tear down and investigate what could be the problem. Of course, [more…]
Users of the category of vehicle, wheeled nonmotorized, operate differently from pedestrians. They also do not act like motorized vehicles. And considering the risk of damage or injury from a mishap, the tolerance should be wide.
The project started out to be as a Scorcher. Like those late 1800s simple, direct, bikes the scorcher guys rode. But really, I need multispeed shifting and brakes here on the street, also I need to learn about disc brakes. Plus I need to learn more about larger 700c wheels. So, big [more…]
I found a murdered-out 1 year old high end Specialized hybrid for sale. Frame was great, chipped and gunked like a retired delivery bike, but straight. The bike came with a rigid fork, and a smaller 26”, wide mountain bike wheel, with high end tire and rotor, but no brake. 2015 Specialized Crosstrail Sport [more…]
