Product Research - Bicycle: Background

PRODUCT RESEARCH – BICYCLE
BACKGROUND
Bicycles are one of the world's most popular modes of transportation, with some 800
million bicycles outnumbering cars by two to one. Bicycles are also the most energy-efficient
vehicle—a cyclist burns about 35 calories per mile (22 calories per km), while an automobile
burns 1,860 calories per mile (1,156 calories per km). Bicycles are used not only for
transportation, but for fitness, competition, and touring as well. They come in myriad
shapes and styles, including racing bikes, all-terrain bikes, and stationary bicycles, as well as
unicycles, tricycles, and tandems.
HISTORY
As far back as 1490, Leonardo da Vinci had envisioned a machine remarkably similar to the
modern bicycle. Unfortunately, da Vinci did not attempt to build the vehicle, nor were his
sketches discovered until the 1960s. In the late 1700s a Frenchman named Comte de Sivrac
invented the Celerifere, a crude wooden hobby horse made of two wheels and joined by a
beam. The rider would sit atop the beam and propel the contraption by pushing his or her
feet against the ground.
In 1816 the German Baron Karl von Drais devised a steerable hobby horse, and within a few
years, hobby-horse riding was a fashionable pastime in Europe. Riders also discovered that
they could ride the device with their feet off the ground without losing their balance. And
so, in 1840, a Scottish black-smith named Kirkpatrick Macmillan made a two-wheel device
that was operated by a treadle. Two years later he traveled as many as 40 miles (64 km) at a
stretch during a record 140-mile (225 km) round trip to Glasgow. A couple decades later, a
Frenchman, Ernest Michaux, designed a hobby horse that utilized cranks and rotating pedals
connected to the front axle. The Velocipede, made with wooden wheels and an iron frame
and tires, won the nickname of the "boneshaker."
The 1860s proved to be an important decade for bicycle improvements with the inventions
of ball-bearing hubs, metal-spoked wheels, solid rubber tires, and a lever-operated, four-
speed gearshift. Around 1866 an unusual version of the Velocipede was created in England
by James Stanley. It was called the Ordinary, or Penny Farthing, and it had a large front
wheel and a small rear wheel. The Ordinaries were soon exported to the U.S. where a
company began to manufacture them as well. These bicycles weighed a hefty 70 pounds (32
kg) and cost $300—a substantial sum at the time.
By 1885, another Englishman, John Kemp Starley, created the Rover Safety, so called since it
was safer than the Ordinary which tended to cartwheel the rider over the large front wheel
at abrupt stops. The Safety had equally sized wheels made of solid rubber, a chain-driven
rear wheel, and diamond-shaped frame. Other important developments in the 1800s
included the use of John Boyd Dunlop's pneumatic tires, which had air-filled inner tubes that
provided shock absorption. Coaster brakes were developed in 1898, and shortly thereafter
freewheeling made biking easier by allowing the wheels to continue to spin without
pedaling.
The frame consists of the front and rear triangles, the front really forming more of a quadrilateral
of four tubes: the top, seat, down, and head tubes. The rear triangle consists of the chainstays,
seatstays, and rear wheel dropouts. Attached to the head tube at the front of the frame are the
fork and steering tube.
During the 1890s bicycles became very popular, and the basic elements of the modern
bicycle were already in place. In the first half of the 20th century, stronger steel alloys
allowed thinner frame tubing which made the bicycles lighter and faster. Derailleur gears
were also developed, allowing smoother riding. After the Second World War, bicycle
popularity slipped as automobiles flourished, but rebounded in the 1970s during the oil
crisis. About that time, mountain bikes were invented by two Californians, Charlie Kelly and
Gary Fisher, who combined the wide tires of the older balloontire bikes with the lightweight
technology of racing bikes. Within 20 years, mountain bikes became more popular than
racing bikes. Soon hybrids of the two styles combined the virtues of each.
THE RAW MATERIALS

The most important part of the bicycle is the diamond-shaped frame, which links the
components together in the proper geometric configuration. The frame provides strength
and rigidity to the bicycle and largely determines the handling of the bicycle. The frame
consists of the front and rear triangles, the front really forming more of a quadrilateral of
four tubes: the top, seat, down, and head tubes. The rear triangle consists of the chainstays,
seatstays, and rear wheel dropouts. Attached to the head tube at the front of the frame are
the fork and steering tube.
For much of the bicycle's history the frame was constructed of heavy, but strong, steel and
alloy steel. Frame material was continually improved to increase strength, rigidity, lightness,
and durability. The 1970s ushered in a new generation of more versatile alloy steels which
could be welded mechanically, thereby increasing the availability of light and inexpensive
frames. In the following decade lightweight aluminum frames became the popular choice.
The strongest metals, however, are steel and titanium with life-expectancy spanning
decades, while aluminum may fatigue within three to five years.
Advances in technology by the 1990s led to the use of even lighter and stronger frames
made of composites of structural fibers such as carbon. Composite materials, unlike metals,
are anisotropic; that is, they are strongest along the axis of the fibers. Thus, composites can
be shaped into single-piece frames, providing strength where needed.
The components, such as wheels, derailleurs, brakes, and chains, are usually made of
stainless steel. These components are generally made elsewhere and purchased by the
bicycle manufacturer.
CYCLE PARTS
Cycle accessories

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PRODUCT RESEARCH – BICYCLE

THE RAW MATERIALS

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