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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."
40lbs is light for that class of bike. For the last 3 years, I've been riding a Norco VPS-3, which comes in at around 37lbs, and is meant for a significant amount of abuse. It's not the sort of thing that you ride around town, though. Competitive downhill bikes often come in around 45 - 50lbs.
All bicycle innovation is welcome, but...
It usually is absurd, pointless, and only of interest to either professional racers or the people who will spend for a bicycle than a used car.
What we bike riders really need is:
1) Tires that don't go flat! Or, rather, I should say... tires that don't go flat and only cost two or three minimum wage units. $15 US. Yes there are Kevlar tires that are as thin as your thumb and cost $200, hold 100 PSI air pressure, and rarely go flat, but they don't count.
2) Something to keep the rain and road dirt from putting a big skunk stripe up our backs when riding in wet climates. There are fenders, but they don't work well.
3) The ability to fold the frame so that it can fit in the back of a small car or on the bus.
4) Brakes that work in the rain.
5) Tires that don't go flat. So important, I'm saying it twice.
We don't need auto transmissions, $150 helmets, $1500 frames that weigh next to nothing, and stupid yuppie mommies who want to pass stupid yuppie mommie laws to protect us for our own good.
The ones who drive around Oregon and California with the east coast Ivy League college decals on the back window of their Volvo's, almost kill you when they cut you off in the bike lane ("I didn't see you, and besides, you should be wearing a helmet!" "Well yeah, dumb bitch, you were changing the tape, dialing the phone, and reaching for the babie's bottle on the floor while changing lanes."
In fact, I HATE bicycle helmets. Their sole purpose is to show all the people driving around that the person on the bike is middle class, has a car at home, can afford a $100 helmet, and is seriously concerned about saving the environment to the point of actually going out into the public on a bicycle. The guys who don't speak English and ride a bicycle because they make $7 an hour and have four kids aren't wearing helmets.
"But," the yuppies tell me, "you NEED a helmet for safety! It should be illegal to ride without one."
Bull. The same people who say this think nothing about strapping two skinny long little boards to their feet and flying down an snow-covered mountain at 50 MPH with nothing on their heads but designer sunglasses!
When they put a Burger King on the top of the ski slope then all the yuppies will start wearing $200 ski helmets to show how concerned about safety they really are (and to make sure that no one confuses them with the people who work at the BK and ski home.)
http://saveie6.com/