thoughts on this wooden bicycle?...
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Davo on
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It looks pretty sweet but I think that it would be for fair-weather riding only.
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Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on
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mmmm... fast beavers...
chrisc927 said:Woodpeckers could be a problem. And really fast beavers.
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Permalink Reply by knowbody on
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don't know much about what's goin' on here but i can really appreciate the innovative lamination techniques. initially thought that the internal coil lamination was a neat trick! then realized that this is indicative that the outer wall is also veneer. looking down the throat of the construct there are hints of fibre but not 100% discernible. wondering if splaying out the lamination on the seat stay is strictly aesthetic or actually functional and curious how they determined the preload on the individual structures - would be concerned of an imbalance when load is applied at slower speeds though the gyroscopic effect of the rear wheel should maintain some uniformity at higher rpm. the metal chain stay is definitely a good choice but the stresses where both the seat tube and the down tube insert at the chain stay when the seat stay flexes may cause catastrophic failure at the unions. pornographic engineering brings me to wonder if the metal is male or does the wood go in and just how far?
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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on
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Permalink Reply by Don P on
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Woodpeckers and termites aside, functionality of this design is suspect. Wood is strongest at the center of the trunk. Even if these wood components are made out of that area, they are hollow, which would put more stress on the walls. Tensile strength of the strongest wood is on the order of 6 times less than steel. Strain energy on the typical frame is usually in this descending order: seat stays, chain stays, top tube, seat tube, down tube. The top tube and seat stays on this design are smaller (and perhaps weaker) than the other components.
Bamboo would be a natural material to replace wood in this design. Bamboo is strongest on its walls, and actually compares to steel in tensile strength. Here are two examples, one old, one new:
The first example was built in 1894 by the Bamboo Bicycle Company LTD in England. Cost at the time was 22 pounds, or about $1,500 in today's currency. The second is a contemporary frame from Calfee, the frame starts at $2,700.
Bamboo is reputed to give an excellent ride. I believe there is a Chainlink member with a Calfee design bamboo bike.
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bamboo is a logical choice for struts in structural trusses. a member of the grass family, it is a natural composite structure as opposed to wood's open cell structure set in concentric layers.
bamboo's nodal segments also adds structure as well as introduce weaknesses making it a difficult feature to rely on.
on the other hand, the "wooden bike" emulates bamboo's hollow tubular symmetry (sans the node segments) as well as its composite structure while setting the fibers in a quasi x, y, z pattern at the same time introducing polymers in the matrix along with glass fibres or crystalline microbaloons at a minimum (either would be necessary to maintain glue suspension between the composite schedule).
in their natural states both bamboo and wood have their place in specific applications. on the other hand either bamboo or wood could be processed to be better applicable for composite manufacturing. consider corrugated fiberboard, commonly (incorrectly) referred to as 'cardboard' by the generic crowd. corrugated fiberboard is restructured cellulose (wood) in a flat composite form.
so yes, to the uninitiated, it's all the same.
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Permalink Reply by Duppie on
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Meh. ;)
How about a bike from flax fibers, with an internal lighting system?
And unlike these design studies, this one is commercially available (or should be soon) from a mass producer of bicycles
James Baum said:
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