Bicycling is more and more becoming an accepted form of transportation in cities the world over. Nonetheless, with the mainstreaming of bicycling has come the call for rules of the road, setting up a clash between rival camps of bicyclists.
On one side are the bicycle-as-vehicle proponents who argue that in order for bicycling to become fully accepted bicycles have to be treated as vehicles and bicyclists need to conduct themselves as motorists are expected to, following all guidelines of the road. On the other side are those who still think in the original roots of bicycling as a carefree mode of transport that was informal and unregulated. These “bicycle originalists” believe that one merely hops on a bike and pedals – even if on the sidewalk, against traffic, and without a helmet.
The bicycle-as-vehicle crowd argues for rules, even in a park. It’s a veritable cultural war within the bicycling community, and has been for ages. This is an interesting, and even amusing, situation, when one considers how uniform motorists are compared to cyclists who, true to form, are as free-thinking as their free-ranging ways may suggest.
But a bicycle is not a “vehicle,” unless one defines “vehicle” as being synonymous with “means” – in which case our feet are vehicles, or means, too. A bicycle nearly in no way kills, whereas auto accidents give rise to multiple industries. It’s unfortunate but perhaps inevitable that the mainstreaming of bicycling should attract literalists, literal-minded souls and soulless minds which are blind towards the spirit of things and can only perceive, robot-like, according to rigid guidelines which can never fully encompass all the situations that arise in life – real life, as actually lived…and ridden.
A bicyclist is nothing more than an “extended pedestrian.” A bicyclist is nothing more than an empowered pedestrian – a pedal-powered pedestrian. While essential precautions should be taken, precautions unique for the act of bicycling, in no circumstance does bicycling ever even begin to approach all which is involved with operating a car.
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May 29 2010 | bicycle | No Comments »
A brief overview of carbon bike frame development reveals a direct descendant of US aerospace engineering activities that took place starting in the 1970s. Work on the space shuttle and the development of stealth fighter and bomber aircraft back then mainly powered this activity. Today, a carbon bike made from carbon fiber materials has a number of notable positive ride characteristics.
In the 1970s, aerospace engineers began considering ways in which they might make military aircraft lighter and more “invisible” to radar. Carbon fiber isn’t a metal, meaning that radar waves (radar stands for “Radio Detection and Ranging”) tended to not bounce off of it is readily as it does metal of all types. This was a great discovery, and meant that aircraft could be stealthier against such radar.
This gave engineers the idea to start substituting carbon fiber from metal in many different applications, most especially those involving aircraft. When it’s properly laid up or molded, carbon fiber is able to be shaped into many different forms. Aerospace engineers and others looked at this with excitement, because certain shapes slip through radar easier than others.
Carbon fiber also has a great many properties, all of which contribute to its structural rigidity and extreme durability, in many cases. This meant that its light weight and durable nature made it a perfect candidate for use as a material on the space shuttle. Lighter weight meant less use of expensive fuels for the shuttle, in other words.
These same aerospace engineers eventually migrated to entrepreneurial activities in many cases as well. This means that they struck out on their own, forming their own aerospace companies or other businesses that created goods made from carbon fiber. One of these was bike frames. Carbon proved to be durable, extremely light in weight and easily molded into such frames, with the right equipment.
Back in the 80s, however, many professional and hard-core enthusiast bicyclists were wedded to the idea of steel for their bike frames. Even Greg LeMond, who won the Tour de France three times, resisted the idea of a non-metallic frame. Eventually, however carbon fiber’s durability, strength and smooth riding characteristics won over not only him but many other cyclists as well.
Today, almost no professional road cyclist out there rides anything other than a carbon fiber bike. Lance Armstrong, eight-time winner of the Tour de France, rides a specially-made carbon fiber bike that costs in excess of $15,000 but weighs relatively little. Its handling and ride characteristics are without compare. Today, these characteristics have trickled all the way down to the average rider’s bike.
A carbon bike frame will probably never be as inexpensive as a frame made with aluminum or steel (titanium bike frames cost about the same as carbon fiber), but the cost has come down significantly over the years. Many bikes today come out of factories in mainland China and Taiwan, where high-quality bikes and bike frames are produced in great number. This results in a less-expensive frame, overall.
There is a big difference when it comes to weight with certain bike frames and carbon bike frame is the lightest material out for bikes. We have many different carbon bike frames that can help you perform better tricks like the pros.
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May 28 2010 | bicycle | No Comments »