most wanted cycling innovation?
Comments
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For reference, I do practice what I preach!
Weighs around 3 times the UCI weight limit, has one gear and is just perfect for going to the shops. I regularly use it to ride the 10 miles into town, takes about 5 minutes more than on my fixed wheel bike.
When in Amsterdam, I like playing "spot the drop bars" - you might get lucky and see a dozen people each day with them.0 -
ugo.santalucia wrote:CiB wrote:If a dynamo output gave the same information that strain gauges do, wouldn't that be the way power is measured on bikes already?
It is debatable whether Joe average needs to know the power output... it's one of these pointless pieces of information that seems trendy at the moment... probably since a bike ride was renamed a "training session"...
+1
Yet another fad that is designed to leach money out of the wallets of the must have bde. I went to a club meeting where a guy there had just spent 1k+ on a set of Garmin vector pedals. His argument for them was he knew exactly how hard he was working and if he saw the power drop he knew to push harder to keep it up.
Sounds great until you realise he only ever did 50 mile group rides where most of the time he was sat in the middle chatting.0 -
SmoggySteve wrote:ugo.santalucia wrote:CiB wrote:If a dynamo output gave the same information that strain gauges do, wouldn't that be the way power is measured on bikes already?
It is debatable whether Joe average needs to know the power output... it's one of these pointless pieces of information that seems trendy at the moment... probably since a bike ride was renamed a "training session"...
+1
Yet another fad that is designed to leach money out of the wallets of the must have bde. I went to a club meeting where a guy there had just spent 1k+ on a set of Garmin vector pedals. His argument for them was he knew exactly how hard he was working and if he saw the power drop he knew to push harder to keep it up.
Sounds great until you realise he only ever did 50 mile group rides where most of the time he was sat in the middle chatting.
maybe his target wattage was 100? baby steps and all that...0 -
A lock that is light enough to carry in a jersey pocket but strong enough to be e serious obstacle to a thief.
The saying about bikes; light, strong, cheap - choose two doubtless also applies to locks, but I would be happy to pay well for something that gave me the confidence to let an expensive bike out of my sight, even if only for a few minutes.0 -
Initialised wrote:The next step I'd like to see is a dynamo built into the bottom bracket that would power all onboard electronics by charging a battery as your rode, it could also be used to power lights, phones, onboard computers etc...
The problem with putting it at the BB is that the cranks don't spin as fast as the wheels and you'd lose the "free" charge you get whilst coasting. But I agree, with electronics becoming increasing prevalent, a light and efficient dynamo to power them makes sense.0 -
For the people who seem to need to generate electricity while they ride. :roll: :roll:0 -
dennisn wrote:
For the people who seem to need to generate electricity while they ride. :roll: :roll:
Those things are really crude and a dynamo is pretty much useless without a battery. Who wants lights that turn off every time you stop at a junction?Ber Nard wrote:Initialised wrote:The next step I'd like to see is a dynamo built into the bottom bracket that would power all onboard electronics by charging a battery as your rode, it could also be used to power lights, phones, onboard computers etc...
The problem with putting it at the BB is that the cranks don't spin as fast as the wheels and you'd lose the "free" charge you get whilst coasting. But I agree, with electronics becoming increasingly prevalent, a light and efficient dynamo to power them makes sense.
Yes but hubs need servicing/replacing more often than BBs and wheels are consumables until disc brakes become the norm. To me it's the obvious place to put it (and get and crude but cheap power metric) because a good BB fitted properly will last years and we'd only be sapping a Watt or two.
You could build a dynamo into the rear derailer, use one of the jockey wheels as a generator, it could make sense for the rear derailer to power itself this way but the rear derailer is a moving part so you'd risk frayed wires and rear derailers tend to get bashed in crashes, get torn off frames when the chain jams up etc... so not good to rely on it for power.
Fitting a dynamo in the front hub as is currently common practice doesn't make sense if you want it to power the derailers as internally routing the cabling through the headset is a pain and a likely cause of failure. Also you have to take extra care and time to change a tyre, tube and who's going to have a spare on hand when they pringle the rim?
So, the front and rear electronic shifters get power from a battery mounted in the seat tube which is charged by a generator built into the BB. Use wireless shifters (maybe solar powered) and have the derailers set up to revert to automatic shifting should the control signal get lost. The shifting preferences for automatic transmission could be set manually or based on a statistical analysis of the rider's preferences, either performed crudely on the fly or from the results of data mining an online system, with options for a efficiency, performance, comfort or leisure mapping. You know, all that data we're constantly generating then uploading why not use it for something more useful than the bizarre MM-IRL-RG that Strava has become?
Then shifters could stop being integrated into the brake lever on drop bars, they'd essentially become buttons or even irrelevant if automatic, sequential shifting catches on. So long as the main players agree on a standard or the aftermarket offers adapters all those lovely MTB hydraulic brake calipers need is a road lever design and the market opens up.I used to just ride my bike to work but now I find myself going out looking for bigger and bigger hills.0 -
Something I can't figure out. Everyone on this forum wants to use ceramic bearings anywhere you can put a bearing because they reduce friction(so they say) and make moving the bike easier. Now, it would seem that these same people want to put some sort of generator / dynamo into the bottom bracket. Do they realize that generating electricity requires some sort of energy input. It's not simply a FREE thing you get by pedaling. So, gains, if any, by the use of ceramics will be more than negated by the extra power you yourself will have to produce in order to turn this generator / dynamo. Generators need a certain amount of dedicated power input to produce power.0
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dennisn wrote:Something I can't figure out. Everyone on this forum wants to use ceramic bearings anywhere you can put a bearing because they reduce friction(so they say) and make moving the bike easier. Now, it would seem that these same people want to put some sort of generator / dynamo into the bottom bracket. Do they realize that generating electricity requires some sort of energy input. It's not simply a FREE thing you get by pedaling. So, gains, if any, by the use of ceramics will be more than negated by the extra power you yourself will have to produce in order to turn this generator / dynamo. Generators need a certain amount of dedicated power input to produce power.
Can you back that up with quotes?0 -
Ber Nard wrote:dennisn wrote:Something I can't figure out. Everyone on this forum wants to use ceramic bearings anywhere you can put a bearing because they reduce friction(so they say) and make moving the bike easier. Now, it would seem that these same people want to put some sort of generator / dynamo into the bottom bracket. Do they realize that generating electricity requires some sort of energy input. It's not simply a FREE thing you get by pedaling. So, gains, if any, by the use of ceramics will be more than negated by the extra power you yourself will have to produce in order to turn this generator / dynamo. Generators need a certain amount of dedicated power input to produce power.
Can you back that up with quotes?
Quotes? No. Seems though that some people don't follow how putting a generator in the bottom bracket(or anywhere) requires that the rider produce extra power to run it. It is not FREE. The generator / dynamo itself requires power input to produce power output. :roll:0 -
Thin Lightweight Bib Tights With No Pad.
You just try finding a pair in Medium.0 -
Made it up then...
No one has denied dynamos create resistance, I'm sure most on here are aware of that. Modern dynamos are getting very efficient though and perhaps ceramic bearings would actually be beneficial in reducing the (negligible) extra effort the rider has to put in.0 -
Ber Nard wrote:Made it up then...
No one has denied dynamos create resistance, I'm sure most on here are aware of that. Modern dynamos are getting very efficient though and perhaps ceramic bearings would actually be beneficial in reducing the (negligible) extra effort the rider has to put in.
Don't know that I "Made it up..."? Many, many people on this forum seem to obsess about rolling resistance, ceramic bearings, light weight, etc. All things that help to decrease the "effort" of pedaling. Now they seem to want to add something that will increase this pedaling "effort". That was my point. 0 -
Who are "they"?0
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dennisn wrote:Ber Nard wrote:dennisn wrote:Something I can't figure out. Everyone on this forum wants to use ceramic bearings anywhere you can put a bearing because they reduce friction(so they say) and make moving the bike easier. Now, it would seem that these same people want to put some sort of generator / dynamo into the bottom bracket. Do they realize that generating electricity requires some sort of energy input. It's not simply a FREE thing you get by pedaling. So, gains, if any, by the use of ceramics will be more than negated by the extra power you yourself will have to produce in order to turn this generator / dynamo. Generators need a certain amount of dedicated power input to produce power.
Can you back that up with quotes?
Quotes? No. Seems though that some people don't follow how putting a generator in the bottom bracket(or anywhere) requires that the rider produce extra power to run it. It is not FREE. The generator / dynamo itself requires power input to produce power output. :roll:Initialised wrote:sapping a Watt or two.
No, I didn't assume it'd be free.
Your point was?
I don't suppose anyone else here realised that the magnets in speedometers and cadence meters cause both aerodynamic and electromagnetic drag as well as adding weight all of which slow you down. It's basic, quantum physics, you cannot make a measurement without affecting the subject of the measurement and therefore the outcome.I used to just ride my bike to work but now I find myself going out looking for bigger and bigger hills.0 -
I don't suppose anyone else here realised that the magnets in speedometers and cadence meters cause both aerodynamic and electromagnetic drag as well as adding weight all of which slow you down. It's basic, quantum physics, you cannot make a measurement without affecting the subject of the measurement and therefore the outcome.
Which is why I have just bought a magnetless one
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Is it weightless too?diplodicus wrote:I don't suppose anyone else here realised that the magnets in speedometers and cadence meters cause both aerodynamic and electromagnetic drag as well as adding weight all of which slow you down. It's basic, quantum physics, you cannot make a measurement without affecting the subject of the measurement and therefore the outcome.
Which is why I have just bought a magnetless oneI used to just ride my bike to work but now I find myself going out looking for bigger and bigger hills.0 -
No. I was only joking!0
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That is exactly why I count my cadence in my head and estimate speed and distance.
funnily enough today's ride was 1000 miles at a speed of 150 mph, give or take, i'm still working on my estimations.www.conjunctivitis.com - a site for sore eyes0 -
Initialised wrote:dennisn wrote:Ber Nard wrote:dennisn wrote:Something I can't figure out. Everyone on this forum wants to use ceramic bearings anywhere you can put a bearing because they reduce friction(so they say) and make moving the bike easier. Now, it would seem that these same people want to put some sort of generator / dynamo into the bottom bracket. Do they realize that generating electricity requires some sort of energy input. It's not simply a FREE thing you get by pedaling. So, gains, if any, by the use of ceramics will be more than negated by the extra power you yourself will have to produce in order to turn this generator / dynamo. Generators need a certain amount of dedicated power input to produce power.
Can you back that up with quotes?
Quotes? No. Seems though that some people don't follow how putting a generator in the bottom bracket(or anywhere) requires that the rider produce extra power to run it. It is not FREE. The generator / dynamo itself requires power input to produce power output. :roll:Initialised wrote:sapping a Watt or two.
No, I didn't assume it'd be free.
Your point was?
My point was that it's not free power. Right or wrong I sort of got the impression that some people thought that as long as the cranks are spinning you can hook a generator up to them without slowing you down at all or requiring any more effort to keep up the pace.0 -
Why put dynamos in hubs OR bottom brackets... put them on the disk brakes...........
Seriously. Imagine a standard disk brake rotor with some neodymium magnets embedded in the radial spokes that go from the center of the disk to it's edge. Then have a small generator that fits into the standard disk mounts and situates itself over the magnets without interfering with the brake caliper (or even merge brake caliper and generator into one combined unit). Has the advantage that it spins faster than the cranks (same as a hub dynamo) but doesn't stop you easily replacing parts when they brake or wear out.
Also means you can have one on both front AND back wheels. And since everybodies using LED's these days there is no need for it to generate the sort of voltages that old dynamos try and achieve (a leftover from the "must be able to power a halogen front light" days). 4.2v at 1.5/2.0 amps is enough to drive a Cree XM-L light at a fair brightness (look at a 501 torch, for example). So, the generators don't have to be uber huge or heavy (a fraction of the size of those old 'bottle' dynamos you use on tyres).0 -
dennisn wrote:My point was that it's not free power. Right or wrong I sort of got the impression that some people thought that as long as the cranks are spinning you can hook a generator up to them without slowing you down at all or requiring any more effort to keep up the pace.
I agree (I was only rankled by your over-dramatising the point) hence why I initially posted that a BB mounted dynamo is not a good idea: it simply doesn't do the amount of work a hub does. If you've done enough to coast, a dynamo hub will still work, a BB dynamo won't.0 -
Ouija wrote:Why put dynamos in hubs OR bottom brackets... put them on the disk brakes...........
Seriously. Imagine a standard disk brake rotor with some neodymium magnets embedded in the radial spokes that go from the center of the disk to it's edge. Then have a small generator that fits into the standard disk mounts and situates itself over the magnets without interfering with the brake caliper (or even merge brake caliper and generator into one combined unit). Has the advantage that it spins faster than the cranks (same as a hub dynamo) but doesn't stop you easily replacing parts when they brake or wear out.
Also means you can have one on both front AND back wheels. And since everybodies using LED's these days there is no need for it to generate the sort of voltages that old dynamos try and achieve (a leftover from the "must be able to power a halogen front light" days). 4.2v at 1.5/2.0 amps is enough to drive a Cree XM-L light at a fair brightness (look at a 501 torch, for example). So, the generators don't have to be uber huge or heavy (a fraction of the size of those old 'bottle' dynamos you use on tyres).
Thinking on it, if generators on bikes was ever a realistic proposition, I imagine dynamo technology as we know it would be outdated in no time. KERS pehaps?
http://www.formula1.com/inside_f1/under ... /8763.html0 -
You want KERS it required an energy storage medium. More weight.0
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SmoggySteve wrote:You want KERS it required an energy storage medium. More weight.
A battery?0 -
Ber Nard wrote:SmoggySteve wrote:You want KERS it required an energy storage medium. More weight.
A battery?
I wasn't asking what , I was saying it will add weight. More stuff to power more weight. People want to power meters, gps, gears, what next? More stuff to go wrong as well.0 -
The solution is surely to bin chains and derailleurs.
Simply mount a dynamo in the bottom bracket and run the wires to a motor in the rear hub, which then moves your bike.
You can alter your cadence by altering the magnetic field of the dynamo, which will then alter the power generated per pedal stroke.
Clearly the rear motor simply makes use of the supplied power (however much there is).
The bike manufacturers can then add extra power ports for certain bikes for your lights, gps, phone charger, heated saddle.0 -
taon24 wrote:The solution is surely to bin chains and derailleurs.
Simply mount a dynamo in the bottom bracket and run the wires to a motor in the rear hub, which then moves your bike.
You can alter your cadence by altering the magnetic field of the dynamo, which will then alter the power generated per pedal stroke.
Clearly the rear motor simply makes use of the supplied power (however much there is).
The bike manufacturers can then add extra power ports for certain bikes for your lights, gps, phone charger, heated saddle.
A bike; with a motor on it!
You should get down to the patent office asap before someone steals your idea.0 -
SmoggySteve wrote:taon24 wrote:The solution is surely to bin chains and derailleurs.
Simply mount a dynamo in the bottom bracket and run the wires to a motor in the rear hub, which then moves your bike.
You can alter your cadence by altering the magnetic field of the dynamo, which will then alter the power generated per pedal stroke.
Clearly the rear motor simply makes use of the supplied power (however much there is).
The bike manufacturers can then add extra power ports for certain bikes for your lights, gps, phone charger, heated saddle.
A bike; with a motor on it!
You should get down to the patent office asap before someone steals your idea.
It is simply replacing the mechanical transmission with electrical transmission of power from pedals to rear hub. I'm sure you are aware of, or can look up, the difference between an electrical motor and a heat engine, and that an electric motor does not specify in any way the source of the electricity.
Sure you could add a battery if you wanted to store power (which seems sensible but adds weight). I'm sure if you then could charge the battery independent of pedalling you could also create an electric moped, but that's not what I'm suggesting.
You could also put the motor in the bottom bracket and simply have a front chain ring moving independently of the pedals based on the supplied electric current, which might be more efficient in terms of the mass of the motor.0
