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Bicycle Tech Drivetrain Advances Showcased
whoda writes "For many years, bicycles have had very few advancements in drivetrain technology. This is finally changing. The newly formed g-Boxx Standard has been incorporated into the new Nicolai Nucleon TFR bicycle frame. This bike uses an internally
geared 14 speed planetary gear system, mounted in the center of the bicycle, to drive the rear wheel using a conventional chain. The design allows the chain to run inside of the frame. This removes many fragile components from the bicycle, and allows a more rigid frame structure to be made. Evil Bikes have also shown a protoype
Evil 2013i hardtail which also incorporates this new standard - I've found the toy I want for the holidays."
You could simply ride fifteen pounds of funk.
One gear -> stronger legs, more distributed workout, less to maintain, fewer parts to fail, just mo' fun
Every once in a while someone spends a crapload of money trying to change the fundamentals of the bicycle, but really, other than the derailleur, not much has changed in over 100 years.
sorry if I sound like a troll, but I've been a serious cyclist for over 20 years now, done competition at the USA national level (okay, I got waxed, but I was there!), worked in the industry (local shop, major retailer, manufacturer), and have read way too much hype about new stuff. reading the comments here reminds me of a bunch of bike guys sitting around talking about how cool Windows ME was when it came out.
/. anyway. there are several posters here that seem to be actual riders, but the great majority don't seem to be very discerning cyclists.
okay, okay, we're just off our usual topic set here. but someone tell me why this story is on
first, this supposedly new and supposedly cool design is, as others have already pointed out, just recycled concepts, the main function of which is to separate the consumer from his/her cash.
these concepts have all been relatively stillborn over the years mainly because they are more expensive, less reliable and heavier than existing designs. plus, internally geared hubs are fine for the grandpa and grandma riding around the retirement community, but they are notoriously inefficient for someone trying to actually go fast.
reasonable cost is important because stuff breaks. always. even the unbreakable stuff.
reliability is important because we'd all like to ride home, not walk. plus it keeps us from having to pay for more stuff. this looks like stuff designed for freestyle use, and that stuff gets thrashed.
light weight is important if you ever have to (a) accelerate the bike (including changing its direction, or (b) go uphill. maybe also (c) put the damn thing on top of your car.
anyway, these bikes look like expensive pigs using minimally tested technology. we should all be sneering at this.
I mean, shit, if you don't want your shoelaces to get caught in the chainrings, double tie them. put a fucking rubber band around your pants cuff.
This year, you may (or may not have noticed) that every rider in the Tour de France was wearing a helmet. They're only allowed to take off their helmets for the last 5km or so of a race when the finish is uphill. Why?
Well, earlier in the year, a nice young rider with a 2 month old son went over his handlebars in a low speed crash. He bumped his head on the ground, and never woke up. From all accounts, Andrei Kivilev was a nice guy just trying to make it as a pro.
He was apparently the last straw. Finally, the UCI has instituted mandatory helmet laws for all riders. It's not because it's flashy, it's because they CAN save lives. It's not a guarantee, but neither is a seatbelt.
The bike that you're asking for is constantly being aimed for, not by bike companies, but by people that try to develop cheap bikes for third world countries, where they're actually a fantastically important asset. Hopefully, they'll also make bikes domestically. I think that something like what you're suggesting could bring cycling back to our overly sedentary society. What we need are cheap, effective helmets and cheap effective bikes. In that, you're totally right.
Unfortunately, others claim that this is mainly attributable to a decrease in cycling: http://www.cyclehelmets.org/papers/c2001.pdf
That depends on where you live, of course. Where I live it isn't illegal, at least not for adults.
--Bruce Fields