[vwmtnbiker]

hey has anyone seen this? http://tv.ksl.com/index.php?sid=148363&nid=5 could have come from only ONE place....utah i cant wait til i see someone rolling around on one of these guys.

 

[rigidhack]

Looks flexy!

 

[binary visions]

Ineresting, but I wonder how brittle it is?

 

[zane]

Until they are able to mass produce that fiber-weave material the cost will remain too high, they're "working" on a machine to weave the fibers but it's still done by hand. Not a bad idea, but it'll take more than that to change the entire bike industry.

 

[blue]

I saw the story on TV...wasn't horribly impressed. The design isn't that light, carbon and scandium still have it beat.

 

[whoopnar]

Those guys are dam smart!

 

[BigHit-Maniac]

Until they are able to mass produce that fiber-weave material the cost will remain too high, they're "working" on a machine to weave the fibers but it's still done by hand. Not a bad idea, but it'll take more than that to change the entire bike industry.

And... it's fricken UGLY...

ink:

 

[Kornphlake]

I never saw the bike, but I did see several 12 foot long columns while I was at BYU. I think the primary market was supposed to be for utility poles and signs on highways, supposedly those things are crazy strong. I really don't know much more than that though. BYU has some professors, specifically in the ME program, that think they're really into cycling. I know at least one did consulting for Tange on the Unishock, but there were others that were involved in mountain biking to some extent in the late 80's. Every year there's at least one seinor project that is something like a recumbant bicycle, a pedal powered vehicle, a snow bike... Some of them are great ideas, but I've never seen anything actually make it to market other than a clip you put around your ankle to keep your pants out of your chain.

 

[quadricolour]

Does that mean that God himself designed it by proxy?

 

[caputo1989]

Im going to look into it some more. I like the costs less part and the strong part.

 

[ioscope]

Not gonna work.

 

[sanjuro]

I wonder how well it would take an impact? Wouldn't that be fun to have it collapse catastrophically if you dented it?

On the other hand, this might be the way bikes are designed in the future...

 

[Kornphlake]

Does that mean that God himself designed it by proxy?

No, not by proxy...

Not gonna work.

Actually I'd be suprised if it didn't work. I would, however, be suprised if the product ever made it to actual production. I've seen stuff like one piece plastic derailurs with compliant hinges that actually work but were designed and built more as demonstration pieces or as proof of concept prototypes than as something that will be sold. BYU isn't in the business of deveolping and selling products, they're more than happy to sell the rights to a patent though.