Hey Im going into college this fall and plan on majoring in engineering. Are there people that engineer bikes, you know the people that design the bikes. I was wondering what bike engineers take in college and just general information. Thanks.
Bike Engineers
- Thread starter buck
- Start date
I've been in the engineering profession for twenty years and to my knowlege there aren't any specific classes or seminars of any sort pretaining to the engineering of bicycles. You do have to have knowlege of strentgh of materials. I believe building bikes is an art not just a profession. Leave the bikes to the artist and go build bridges or space shuttles. You'll definately have more fun just riding the bike; and you'll truely make more money creating some spectacular engineering marvel. Trust me!!! 
All right, thanks. Yeah Im planning on going into civil ngineering but thought Id check into the possiblities of engineering bikes. I figured with all the full suspension designs and such that there may be possiblities. What type of engineer are you? Also do you have an opinion on which school would be better for engineering, University of Maryland or Clemson University. Thanks.
Mech. I'm not sure about the Maryland universities. VT in Blacksburg, VA or ODU. Keep your GPA up and your options open. Good Luck!!!
Oh cool, yeah i checked out VT this summer. It was pretty cool, but a bit too big. Probably should have applied there though and maybe to NC State too. I asked about University of Maryland and Clemson becuase I got in to each. Thanks.
Nah my SAT isnt high enough for MIT, would be nice to go there though. Itd be very easy to get a job with a degree from MIT.
I am in my last quarter of Mechanical engineering at UCLA. Mechanical engineering will definately help you in the design of a frame. Materials science is another area which may help you. The welds which join the tubes are the most critical points of any frame design. The materials used (ie. Al 6061, Al 7005, Ti, or even Mg) are another important part of frame design. Good luck.
I'm an Electrical Engineer out of Northeastern , but I did do my Co-op at MIT. and you will be amazed at what you wind up doing once you get out. the most important part is that piece of paper!
Splat,
This is an interesting coincidence.
My BSEE is from Northeastern, and I did co-op at Draper LAbs nee the MIT Instrumentation Labs.
J
This is an interesting coincidence.
My BSEE is from Northeastern, and I did co-op at Draper LAbs nee the MIT Instrumentation Labs.
J
one of my room mates in college , was Was doing his co-ops at draper.
A good friend of mine is a custom frame builder--no engineering background, but extensive bicycle background (25 years+), and excellent technical skills. Another friend was a frame builder, now an engineer, but eventually would like to engineer custom racing wheelchairs and adapted handbikes for parapalegics.
My advice would be to contact any framebuilders you can find and tell them about your interests. You'll certainly hear about framebuilding from the front lines. People don't go into custom bicycle fabrication for the money that's for sure.
Best of luck.
All right, thanks for the advice. Yeah I was thinking about emailing a few companies. I already emailed Santa Cruz and they were able to give me a good amount of information. Right now I think it would be cool to work for a company like Santa Cruz or Yeti, like a smaller, higher end company, no plans to start my own company but that would be cool. Thanks again.
I too am an ME. I seem to remember in written in either MBA or Moutain Bike that some college in CA is offering a two semester course on bicycle construction. If I can find the issue I will post the info.
One thing a bicycle company is looking for is if the engineer knows what can be constructed via usual machining and welding techniques. Taking a night welding course at your local Votech is very useful. Also interning at a machine shop will help a lot too.
One thing a bicycle company is looking for is if the engineer knows what can be constructed via usual machining and welding techniques. Taking a night welding course at your local Votech is very useful. Also interning at a machine shop will help a lot too.
All right cool, I'll have to look into welding classes in my area. I'll have to check to see if Clemson has welding classes too, thats where Im going for college.
that's currently EXACTLY what i'm doing. i've learned a good deal from the machine shop i am doing an apprenticeship through as well as working for my sponsor during the summer. the main thing you have to know when doing the actual design of the frame is the materials you are working w/. the better knowledge of the materials, ie tensile strengths, melting points, etc. will only help you design a better product in the long run. the only thing that you won't learn from any engineering class is geometry, that's something that just comes from years of experience and know how....oh and yeah take the welding class, think that would surprise you at how hard it is to actually weld a thin walled steel. believe me i'm trying now and it's rough. good luck w/ all of it though!
No one ever makes any money in the bike industry, but it sure is fun to work in...
If you want to BUILD bikes, learn how to weld and machine... and just get crackin'. Grab any chance you get to work/apprentice with a professional builder.
If you want to DESIGN bikes, take as many of the following classes as you can:
- CAD
- Solids/Structural Mechanics
- Dynamics (Kinetics and Kinematics)
- Machinery design (usually follows solids and dynamics)
- Materials
If you want to start messing with shocks and forks:
- Systems
- Fluids
- Find work in a Moto shop.
Try to get involved with the Formula racing or Solar racing teams if your school has them. You'll learn a ton, especially if you work on chassis or suspension design.
Good luck!
If you want to BUILD bikes, learn how to weld and machine... and just get crackin'. Grab any chance you get to work/apprentice with a professional builder.
If you want to DESIGN bikes, take as many of the following classes as you can:
- CAD
- Solids/Structural Mechanics
- Dynamics (Kinetics and Kinematics)
- Machinery design (usually follows solids and dynamics)
- Materials
If you want to start messing with shocks and forks:
- Systems
- Fluids
- Find work in a Moto shop.
Try to get involved with the Formula racing or Solar racing teams if your school has them. You'll learn a ton, especially if you work on chassis or suspension design.
Good luck!
Yeah i was wondering how much opportunity there is for bike engineers like working for a company and how much they got paid. I figured they wouldnt make too much, but it would be sweet. Thanks for all the info guys.
It's a trade off. You can design bridges and cars for big money, or bikes because you love it.
Working in the bike industry is my dream job, but it's just that for the time being: a dream. I graduated with a ME degree from UVa last year and am finishing up a welding class, have worked in a bike shop (with a frame builder) for 3 years, and IMO have very good technical skills and knowledge of the industry. I applied to about 15 different bike companies, and have a few pro/inside contacts and have had no luck whatsoever. Maybe it's the economy right now, but I'm SOL getting a job in the industry. I'm currently looking for a "real" job right now, but I'd still love to work in the industry someday.
Good luck and race as much as possible to get to know people in the know.
Good luck and race as much as possible to get to know people in the know.
I had a friend that went there, and then into designing framesOriginally posted by NRSracer
if you have a higher GPA, you should consider applying to MIT(massachussettes institute of technology)
Watch out for MIT though, everyone there is either is smart, and works their arse off (no social life) or, BRILLIANT and does tons of drugs and stuff.
One of my friends friends worked for Lotus (software, not the car), made big$$ trading stocks, had a 4.0, and partied like a ROCK-STAR all at the same time.
Man... what a life.
Or, spend half of your life making big money whilst buying and riding heaps of bikes, then once a decent knowledge base is built about bicycle geometry and whatever, kick back and start designing/building bikes. As said, the only way to understand geometry is to have experience, so build your experience in riding whilst you can afford to buy bikes, get some money saved, then move on to making them.
Damn I was worried that it would be hard to get a engineering job in the mtn biking industry. Maybe Ill just get an engineering job somewhere else and make a good amount of money and buy bikes. Well I guess I wont have to worry about that too much, dont start college till august so I have time. Thanks for the info, its helped a lot.
nah, even when the economy is good jobs are scarce in bicycle engineering. R&D departments are generally run by the people that founded the company to begin with, and there really isn't much need for extra (unproven) brains. You can find jobs in marketing and manufacture, but not engineering.Originally posted by indieboy
i'd be more then willing to bet it's the ecomony buddy, espically w/ the shape the bike industry in a whole is in right now.
The best way to get into engineering bikes is to start building your own... it's not cheap, but it's a lot cheaper than breaking into most other industries.
If you want to know what engineering you should take ... ask this guy - Ron Sutphin...
he runs one of 2 bike mechanic schools in the country (rumor has it, worldwide) He teaches bicycle building in addition to mechanics
This guy knows more about bikes than any normal human should. The school has been around for a good 20 years now, and he's been there the whole time.
Universal Bicycle Institute
This guy really loves bikes and loves discussing them....
he runs one of 2 bike mechanic schools in the country (rumor has it, worldwide) He teaches bicycle building in addition to mechanics
This guy knows more about bikes than any normal human should. The school has been around for a good 20 years now, and he's been there the whole time.
Universal Bicycle Institute
This guy really loves bikes and loves discussing them....
This seems as good a thread as any for my first post here. Like several others I grew up crazy about bikes and wanted to get a job in the industry. I got my degree in MET. Not only do you get engineering classes, but you learn machine shop and welding skills. I highly recomend it.
As far as getting a job after grad., don't bother looking at the bike biz. Pay those student loans off, and then start buying tools and computers. Make bicycle engineering your hobby. You have all the time in the world to come up with great ideas. Build what you can by your self, test & refine, just start small & be safe.
As far as getting a job after grad., don't bother looking at the bike biz. Pay those student loans off, and then start buying tools and computers. Make bicycle engineering your hobby. You have all the time in the world to come up with great ideas. Build what you can by your self, test & refine, just start small & be safe.
I'm pretty sure it was Stanford where ME students could take a class on Frame building.
<---- Senior ME here, done in a month or so.
Youll learn lots of stuff about bikes. The basic principles governing a bike are not that complicated. Its basic structural stuff and materials info You'll learn that stuff. The machining part and welding part, if you get involved in the right things youll learn that too. I would love a job engineering in the bike industry, BUT at this point my concern is not that its hard to find a job with a bike co, but that its hard to find any job at all.
brian
Youll learn lots of stuff about bikes. The basic principles governing a bike are not that complicated. Its basic structural stuff and materials info You'll learn that stuff. The machining part and welding part, if you get involved in the right things youll learn that too. I would love a job engineering in the bike industry, BUT at this point my concern is not that its hard to find a job with a bike co, but that its hard to find any job at all.
brian