What Will We Be Riding in 2112?

Hoopdriver

When you think about it bicycles haven't really changed much in a century - unlike cars, or planes or telephones; a bike today still pretty much looks like a bike did way back when. It seem to be one of those inventions they got right in its first incarnation. Still, there has been a slow but evident evolution and it has me wondering what bikes might be like a century from now. I wrote a little essay on the question here

http://my-bicycle-and-i.co.uk/2012/what ... ng-in-211/

and I would love to get some visions of what you guys think 22nd century bicycles might be like

CambsNewbie

Personally, as I'll be 139 then not a lot!

Seriously.. Materials will get lighter and stronger still.. Aerodynamics will evolve. Things like sat-navs, power meters will be build into the bike from the start. And hopefully puncture proof tyres!

Hoopdriver

CambsNewbie wrote:

Personally, as I'll be 139 then not a lot!

Seriously.. Materials will get lighter and stronger still.. Aerodynamics will evolve. Things like sat-navs, power meters will be build into the bike from the start. And hopefully puncture proof tyres!

Whippersnapper...I'll be 154

But do you reckon they will look like bicycles?

APIII

There'll be some nostalgic, bearded sub-culture bemoaning the lack of traditional carbon fibre frames I expect

Hoopdriver

APIII wrote:

There'll be some nostalgic, bearded sub-culture bemoaning the lack of traditional carbon fibre frames I expect

Or steel.

Think of it: the Boeing 314, the great Pan Am Clipper Flying Boats of the 1930s, have vanished completely. There is not a single one left. Corrosion by the salt water wiped out the lot.

kleinstroker

I think Carbon framed bikes are back in fashion as part of the nostalgia around the self propelled locomotory clubs that have become so popular since the repeal of thermionic power cells ( it seems the cells are actually the cause of all the deaths that now occur along our megaducts ).

It's easy enough for anyone these days to print their favourite bicycle frame and components at home, then you would only need to get a special permit to fabricate some authentic real rubber tyres and you will be away.

Obviously real rubber from real rubber trees is a licensed material and as such is prohibitively expensive, which is probably why cycling is seen as such a status symbol by the ubercool youth of today.

Hoopdriver

kleinstroker wrote:

I think Carbon framed bikes are back in fashion as part of the nostalgia around the self propelled locomotory clubs that have become so popular since the repeal of thermionic power cells ( it seems the cells are actually the cause of all the deaths that now occur along our megaducts ).

It's easy enough for anyone these days to print their favourite bicycle frame and components at home, then you would only need to get a special permit to fabricate some authentic real rubber tyres and you will be away.

Obviously real rubber from real rubber trees is a licensed material and as such is prohibitively expensive, which is probably why cycling is seen as such a status symbol by the ubercool youth of today.

Love it.

chrisaonabike

kleinstroker wrote:

It's easy enough for anyone these days to print their favourite bicycle frame and components at home

Nice one - beat me to it

Being able to print bike frames (and probably using carbon nano-tubes rather than that grossly inefficient CF stuff) will be here a lot sooner than 2112 though

alihisgreat

RDW

Hoopdriver

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

Good way to beat the puncture fairy

CiB

This, probably when all the roads have broken up and there's no road tax* to keep them maintained.

Garry H

It will be exactly as it is today, if the UCI are still around anyway.

Hoopdriver

Garry H wrote:

It will be exactly as it is today, if the UCI are still around anyway.

That's a good point - on the other hand, given the events of the last week, do you reckon they'll be around?

Garry H

Hoopdriver wrote:

Garry H wrote:

It will be exactly as it is today, if the UCI are still around anyway.

That's a good point - on the other hand, given the events of the last week, do you reckon they'll be around?

Yup, but reckon there'll be a lot of re-branding and shuffling going on. Will be renamed ICU

utgaardaolle

Recumbents.

nweststeyn

[sceptic]

Since the 1920's, the world population has grown from 2 billion to 8 billion. Reports that this growth is 'levelling off' are exaggerated (although partly true, it is slowing). However, I wouldn't be surprised if the year 2112 saw a world population of some 14 billion people. Our exploitation of the worlds resources (which will continue - as our country gets 'greener', others get dirtier) will result in a world barely fit for human habitation. Our human lust for warfare and domination will continue and political tensions will increase. Human nature is greed and/or a tendency to ignore what we don't want to see or hear, so these problems will never be truly resolved. Trade relationships will break down as resources become more scarce, and we will be forced to live on the produce of our OWN land. In the case of the country, there will be too many inhabitants for that to be a viable option. Human civilisaton, as we recognise it today, will implode over the next two centuries. We will be well under way by 2112. So with that in mind, I don't care what bicycles people will be riding because the landscape they will be riding them in will consist of charred, polluted remains of a once beautiful planet.

I haven't even started on climate change, both natural and pollutant-induced.

[/sceptic]

nweststeyn

Sorry... I'm currently writing an essay on "how do we prevent ourselves from f**king everything up" (or something slightly more polite) and I've realised the answer is almost certainly that we can't. I'm feeling a little cynical.

y33stu

^^^^^^^^^ Jesus. Future looks bright then :?

Gizmo_

nweststeyn wrote:

Sorry... I'm currently writing an essay on "how do we prevent ourselves from f**king everything up" (or something slightly more polite) and I've realised the answer is almost certainly that we can't. I'm feeling a little cynical.

My view would be that we could - but we won't, because 90% of the earth's population isn't listening.

nweststeyn

Gizmo_ wrote:

nweststeyn wrote:

Sorry... I'm currently writing an essay on "how do we prevent ourselves from f**king everything up" (or something slightly more polite) and I've realised the answer is almost certainly that we can't. I'm feeling a little cynical.

My view would be that we could - but we won't, because 90% of the earth's population isn't listening.

Exactly Gizmo... Exactly.

GiantMike

nweststeyn wrote:

Gizmo_ wrote:

nweststeyn wrote:

Sorry... I'm currently writing an essay on "how do we prevent ourselves from f**king everything up" (or something slightly more polite) and I've realised the answer is almost certainly that we can't. I'm feeling a little cynical.

My view would be that we could - but we won't, because 90% of the earth's population isn't listening.

Exactly Gizmo... Exactly.

But we won't f*ck EVERYTHING up. We'll change the planet, kill ourselves off and then leave the planet to recover behind us. There will still be a sun and the fundamentals to support life. We seem to think that all that matters is that we keep the planet as it is to support mankind when the reality is that we should focus on not stopping life continuing after we wipe ourselves out.

I'm planning to come back as a badger. Or a dolphin. Haven't decided yet.

Hoopdriver

GiantMike wrote:

nweststeyn wrote:

Gizmo_ wrote:

nweststeyn wrote:

Sorry... I'm currently writing an essay on "how do we prevent ourselves from f**king everything up" (or something slightly more polite) and I've realised the answer is almost certainly that we can't. I'm feeling a little cynical.

My view would be that we could - but we won't, because 90% of the earth's population isn't listening.

Exactly Gizmo... Exactly.

But we won't f*ck EVERYTHING up. We'll change the planet, kill ourselves off and then leave the planet to recover behind us. There will still be a sun and the fundamentals to support life. We seem to think that all that matters is that we keep the planet as it is to support mankind when the reality is that we should focus on not stopping life continuing after we wipe ourselves out.

I'm planning to come back as a badger. Or a dolphin. Haven't decided yet.

I'm planning not to go at all, just stick around and see how it all turns out...

nweststeyn

GiantMike wrote:

nweststeyn wrote:

Gizmo_ wrote:

nweststeyn wrote:

Sorry... I'm currently writing an essay on "how do we prevent ourselves from f**king everything up" (or something slightly more polite) and I've realised the answer is almost certainly that we can't. I'm feeling a little cynical.

My view would be that we could - but we won't, because 90% of the earth's population isn't listening.

Exactly Gizmo... Exactly.

But we won't f*ck EVERYTHING up. We'll change the planet, kill ourselves off and then leave the planet to recover behind us. There will still be a sun and the fundamentals to support life. We seem to think that all that matters is that we keep the planet as it is to support mankind when the reality is that we should focus on not stopping life continuing after we wipe ourselves out.

I'm planning to come back as a badger. Or a dolphin. Haven't decided yet.

Also very true... Although for centuries after the demise of humanities dominance on Earth, our legacy will leave a scar on the planet.

Don't get me wrong though, I'm not suggesting we will disappear completely - pockets of humans will survive and start all over again most likely. It just won't ever reach the same ludicrous state as we see today.

GiantMike

nweststeyn wrote:

...pockets of humans will survive and start all over again most likely....

Hopefully they'll have a moderator in case things get out of hand. I vote for Rick Chasey.

nweststeyn

GiantMike wrote:

nweststeyn wrote:

...pockets of humans will survive and start all over again most likely....

Hopefully they'll have a moderator in case things get out of hand. I vote for Rick Chasey.

Frenchie gets my vote. A civilisation of panache!

mr_goo

nweststeyn wrote:

[sceptic]

Since the 1920's, the world population has grown from 2 billion to 8 billion. Reports that this growth is 'levelling off' are exaggerated (although partly true, it is slowing). However, I wouldn't be surprised if the year 2112 saw a world population of some 14 billion people. Our exploitation of the worlds resources (which will continue - as our country gets 'greener', others get dirtier) will result in a world barely fit for human habitation. Our human lust for warfare and domination will continue and political tensions will increase. Human nature is greed and/or a tendency to ignore what we don't want to see or hear, so these problems will never be truly resolved. Trade relationships will break down as resources become more scarce, and we will be forced to live on the produce of our OWN land. In the case of the country, there will be too many inhabitants for that to be a viable option. Human civilisaton, as we recognise it today, will implode over the next two centuries. We will be well under way by 2112. So with that in mind, I don't care what bicycles people will be riding because the landscape they will be riding them in will consist of charred, polluted remains of a once beautiful planet.

I haven't even started on climate change, both natural and pollutant-induced.

[/sceptic]

Well that's cheered me up no end.

lakesluddite

GiantMike wrote:

nweststeyn wrote:

Gizmo_ wrote:

nweststeyn wrote:

Sorry... I'm currently writing an essay on "how do we prevent ourselves from f**king everything up" (or something slightly more polite) and I've realised the answer is almost certainly that we can't. I'm feeling a little cynical.

My view would be that we could - but we won't, because 90% of the earth's population isn't listening.

Exactly Gizmo... Exactly.

But we won't f*ck EVERYTHING up. We'll change the planet, kill ourselves off and then leave the planet to recover behind us. There will still be a sun and the fundamentals to support life. We seem to think that all that matters is that we keep the planet as it is to support mankind when the reality is that we should focus on not stopping life continuing after we wipe ourselves out.

I'm planning to come back as a badger. Or a dolphin. Haven't decided yet.

I'll have to be a badger rather than a dolphin - I can't swim.

Hoopdriver

LakesLuddite wrote:

GiantMike wrote:

nweststeyn wrote:

Gizmo_ wrote:

nweststeyn wrote:

Sorry... I'm currently writing an essay on "how do we prevent ourselves from f**king everything up" (or something slightly more polite) and I've realised the answer is almost certainly that we can't. I'm feeling a little cynical.

My view would be that we could - but we won't, because 90% of the earth's population isn't listening.

Exactly Gizmo... Exactly.

But we won't f*ck EVERYTHING up. We'll change the planet, kill ourselves off and then leave the planet to recover behind us. There will still be a sun and the fundamentals to support life. We seem to think that all that matters is that we keep the planet as it is to support mankind when the reality is that we should focus on not stopping life continuing after we wipe ourselves out.

I'm planning to come back as a badger. Or a dolphin. Haven't decided yet.

I'll have to be a badger rather than a dolphin - I can't swim.

Good thinking.

But neither can ride a bicycle...

Joeblack

I'd imagine something along these two lines -

http://www.yankodesign.com/2009/11/24/b ... -dutchess/ - I really like the integrated lights and the internally gearing (I can see this on future bikes)

Where as this not so much loooool -

http://spinwell.files.wordpress.com/200 ... 005-28.jpg