What needs changing on bikes?

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Drago

Legendary Member
Active variable geometry stems. The faster you go, the lower your bike tucks you in.

Hydraulic drivetrains.

Propeller drive.
 

biggs682

Itching to get back on my bike's
Location
Northamptonshire
A built in audible device to warn others that there's a cyclist approaching apart from the squeaky chain and incorrectly adjusted derailleur.

Oh and a way so that a bike can communicate with animals in fields to save the rider doing terrible animal noises as he passes fields with livestock in 😂😂
 

All uphill

Still rolling along
Location
Somerset
A built in audible device to warn others that there's a cyclist approaching apart from the squeaky chain and incorrectly adjusted derailleur.

Oh and a way so that a bike can communicate with animals in fields to save the rider doing terrible animal noises as he passes fields with livestock in 😂😂

I'm glad I'm not the only person to do that!

Still my cow, sheep and horse impressions are better than my singing. :laugh:
 

Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
I think a new headset design could come in handy. Old threaded headsets with expanding wedge stems are nice because they give you lots of up/down adjustability. But they could be a fiddle to adjust the bearings, servicing/regreasing them was always a swear-fest, they could get stuck, and the engineers on here mutter about "brinnelling" and stuff. I've never experienced that - they always worked fine for me - but I'm not an engineer so what do I know.

Threadless A-headsets satisfy the engineers more - because "brinnelling" blah blah and it's pretty easy to adjust the preload on the bearings, but they have the massive drawback that once you've cut the steerer tube to length you can't un-cut it.

Can't someone invent a headset that's easily adjustable up and down, easy to maintain and doesn't make engineers go on and on about brinnelling? And preferably isn't as ugly as sin.
 
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Active variable geometry stems. The faster you go, the lower your bike tucks you in.

Hydraulic drivetrains.

Propeller drive.

It will not surprise us I'm sure to learn thats already been tried, by the French of course ^_^

Peugeot Propeller Bicycle-1920

Peugeot-Propeller-Bicycle-1920-1web-87c.jpg
 
According to the late Mike Burrows, the only 'new' invention for bikes was the clipless pedal in it's various forms.
Everything else, he reckoned had already been done, but lacked either the suitable materials and / or the techno knowhow to make it work properly.
Was he right - ? :whistle:

The clipless pedal was invented by Charles Hanson in 1895. It allowed the rider to twist the shoe to lock and unlock and had rotational float.

LED lighting and Kevlar tyres have been game changers for everyday cyclists.
I think a new headset design could come in handy. Old threaded headsets with expanding wedge stems are nice because they give you lots of up/down adjustability. But they could be a fiddle to adjust the bearings, servicing/regreasing them was always a swear-fest, they could get stuck, and the engineers on here mutter about "brinnelling" and stuff. I've never experienced that - they always worked fine for me - but I'm not an engineer so what do I know.

Threadless A-headsets satisfy the engineers more - because "brinnelling" blah blah and it's pretty easy to adjust the preload on the bearings, but they have the massive drawback that once you've cut the steerer tube to length you can't un-cut it.

Can't someone invent a headset that's easily adjustable up and down, easy to maintain and doesn't make engineers go on and on about brinnelling? And preferably isn't as ugly as sin.

My Dahon Cadenza has a threadless headset that compresses a sleeve, not the stem. The stem goes over the sleeve and can be adjusted for height and removed for packing.
 
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