Comments on: A $20K hi-tech bike?

By: harvey

harvey — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 10:04:51 +0000

need a £1.000.000 top-secret doesnt excist american black-projects stealth 2 ton bike lock for that one to leave out side the pub ey avalible to any one for 99p in 2110 if we still exsist .

By: The Factor 001e from bf1 Systems | Bicycle Design

The Factor 001e from bf1 Systems | Bicycle Design — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:06:55 +0000

[...] with the UCI requirements, a fact that one of the designers pointed out in the comments section of my 2007 post: “The Factor 001 is not designed for UCI sanctioned mass-start races – Just as a car such as a [...]

By: A Cargo Bike for Uganda | Bicycle Design

A Cargo Bike for Uganda | Bicycle Design — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:06:42 +0000

[...] mentioned the Factor 001 bike from BERU F1 Systems in a 2007 post. Lately, that bike has been seen all over the internet as it is currently being unveiled at an [...]

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:27:00 +0000

When one of the “integrated proprietry” components becomes obsolete by some possibly minor technical innovation, then the bike becomes a $20K dinosaur, right?

By: Marilyn

Marilyn — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 05:53:00 +0000

Nice blog. Keep up the good work. Cheers:-)

By: bikesgonewild

bikesgonewild — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 07:13:00 +0000

…anon neil…yes, great to have you posting on this…my question would be: why the narrow rectangular down tube when lateral stiffness is a major consideration on any bike ?…as i mentioned on the ‘quickrelease tv’ blog, much work has been done in regard to shaped tubing for what is intrinsically the single most important tube w/ the lat/torque concept in mind…
…i’ve also considered that the down tube was tied into your data acquisition system…would that lat/torque info measurement be a reason for it’s shape ?…

…ok, a second actual question (sorry !) would be in regard to the braking system…what kind of surface to surface interface are we looking at here ?…can’t imagine it needs to be a secret…

…jorgensen, please remember, the “tle” of only 3k miles per set @ $36k (tires & wheels ???) allows for ‘pur sang’ smoking (turn off the traction control) of all four wheels while achieving the fastest ‘production car’ acceleration times in the world on the way to the overall fastest speed (insert incredulous snicker) …the bugatti volkswa///oops, veyron is a toy but quite an amazing one…
..the most wonderfully impractical bit of info i might share re: the bugatti would be this…a maclaren f1 coupe, a pretty heady car in it’s own right, could be allowed a velocity of 120mph/194kph & the veyron (from a standing start) would beat it to 200mph/322kph…such are the juxtapositional vagaries of aerodynamics, power & the egos of competing brand managers…i digress…

…happy new year to all, here at the church of the bike…

By: jorgensen

jorgensen — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 16:40:00 +0000

James-

Somewhere in the flatfiles! is a sideview of what I had concepted. Taking the kids on holiday, but when I return I am pretty sure I can dredge them up.

To the member of the bike design team- Pleaae do not misunderstand, it is fine that it is a non-UCI bike, could even help push design forward a bit, but the design does place it in a very small region of the market. Not a problem either, just how it is.

A note on Bugatti, a good friend has a neighbor who owns one, got a slow leak puncture in the tire, had to send the whole wheel tire package back to Germany, as no one in the USA at the time had the equipment to deal with the run flat hyper speed rated tire. No repair allowed, a new tire fitted. The cost? You can do the math, tire life expectancy 3K miles per the manual, set of four, $36K! That is not a car, its a toy. I think comparing the bike to a toy is precarious

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 22:44:00 +0000

Hi James,

Yes - Of course we will let you all know more when we can. Whetting peoples' appetites yet not giving away too much of the good-stuff is a mighty-fine line to walk...

Season's greetings to all whoever your god might be - Anonymous Neil

By: James

James — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 13:33:00 +0000

Jorgensen, I agree with BGW that your handlebar concept sounds quite interesting. Do you have a sketch of it that you would like to share? Also, I am glad you brought up the old Modolo Kronotech. I remember that concept well and I can't believe that in all the time I have been doing this blog I have never posted about it. I should do a post about that bike as well as some of the other 80s concept bikes that BGW mentioned. Some of those bikes really got me interested in ID as a career while I was in high school.

Anonymous Factor 001 designer, Thanks for joining the conversation, It is always great to hear the designer's perspective. If you have additional pictures or info about the bike, send me a message and I'll be happy to post more.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 21:59:00 +0000

Hi Jorgensen,

The Factor 001 is not designed for UCI sanctioned mass-start races - Just as a car such as a Bugatti Veyron isn't designed with FIA regulations in mind. So super-quick wheel changes take a back seat to having the best braking option. It is a fast road machine rather than a 'racing' bike.

The frame 'architecture' was arrived at simply because it offers the best lateral stiffness with the least mass, not to fit with UCI regs (which it wouldn't in any case - the press release shots don't show very much at this stage)...

Regards.