Comments on: Le Pliable folding bike

By: Shozo, Keizo and Yoshizo

Shozo, Keizo and Yoshizo — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 17:36:18 +0000

I think a visit with Dr. Alex Moulton would be educational for neophite bicycle designers (and some posters here). He could take them to his office and show 55 years worth of design sketches…and then take them out to the shed and exhibit 55 years of tested prototypes.

Unless a designer has demonstrated reduction to practice, they should expect peer review to be, shall we say, “harsh”.

By: smalghan

smalghan — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 15:43:37 +0000

If the lower arm curved over the top of the front wheel and held a short fork that the wheel mounts to then that would go a long way towards making the steering geometry more rideable. Cables hidden inside the frame tubes connecting the handlebars to the fork crown would control steering motion. It could still look pretty clean and simple while riding a lot more like people expect a bike to feel.

By: Al

Al — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:34:04 +0000

Not too bad. This means, we are all paying attention to the bike evolution, the evolution of our baby, the bike, that is. I love them too, and I welcome good imanition. As an experienced designer, I can tell you this; every idea starts somewhere. This idea belongs in a blog, yes indeed, all we are doing is a design review, analyzing, studying a concept, NO NEED to put down.
I encourage people to do just this, just let you are ideas and dreams out, is all good.
Think about the plane or the flying idea, how many crazy concepts many inventors, designers, entrepreneurs and engineers came out with and how many people, engineers and physicist laugh and put down the concept? Look where the idea is today. So, lets all participate an a critic forum in a constructive way, letting Saul know of the improvements he need to make and the engineering details he missed. That is all I have to say.

By: Richard Masoner

Richard Masoner — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 22:05:25 +0000

@Track: Bike designers figured out about 130 years ago that placing the wheel in front of the pivot point results in an unstable bike. That’s experience, not armchair analysis.

By: Richard Masoner

Richard Masoner — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 22:02:54 +0000

@Bacon: By “unridable” what I mean is that fundamentally this bike cannot stay upright while in motion. A bicycle in motion is stable due partly to the caster effect — the bike’s motion keeps the wheel in front of the bike, and this is a function of the wheel’s position in relation to the steering pivot.

With the crazy origami design show here, the wheel wants to flip towards the back of the bike, like a broken wobbly wheel on a shopping cart, and down you go before you can say “physics.”

Bicycle dynamics isn’t intuitive, but bike designers had figured this stuff out through trial and error (on fixed gear bicycles no less) by about the mid 1880s.

By: James T

James T — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:58:29 +0000

“Personally I think a bicycle blog should not repost these renderings which so are so strikingly ignorant of the laws of physics”

I like to post all kinds of different concepts here, and I certainly acknowledge that some are more realistic than others. I don’t expect anyone to appreciate them all, but I usually can find at least one interesting detail or design element in even the most flawed concepts. If nothing else, the designs are a springboard for discussion, which is what this blog (or any blog for that matter) is all about.

Sometimes I comment on the designs I post, and other times I just put them out there to allow readers to react. In either case though, discussion and critique from readers are always welcome and the designer stands to benefit from that interaction.

By: Atomic

Atomic — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:38:39 +0000

I can IMAGINE a bike with a frame made out of pasta with pizza wheels. Your knowledge of the physical properties of thos materials tell you it’s a silly idea. If you had knowledge of bicycle dynamics you could see that this concept is just as silly. Imagination is not design nor vice versa. One might feed the other, but not necessarily. Btw, this central steering postion is seen in digital renderings several times each year. You’ll not see a ridable prototype, because it’s at that stage the designers realize it’s unworkable.

Personally I think a bicycle blog should not repost these renderings which so are so strikingly ignorant of the laws of physics (front wheel behind handlebars anyone?) but maybe that’s just me.

By: Le Pliable Folding Bike | Bike Reviews

Le Pliable Folding Bike | Bike Reviews — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:03:36 +0000

[...] you to “…push it around like a golf caddy” very much like that of a folded Stirva. Source: BicycleDesign August 24th, 2010 / No Comment|Concept Bike / Le PliableRelated Posts :Bigfish Folding BikeToyota x [...]

By: shedfire

shedfire — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:30:40 +0000

I don’t think off-the-wall, unrideable creations should be applauded. It’s a stupid design that fails on many points and shows a huge lack of understanding by the “designer”.
Saul should get out of his design studio and into his shed and start seeing how things work, rather than doing ludicrous sketches.

By: mommus

mommus — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:45:47 +0000

@trackasaurus surely pointing out a flawed thought process IS constructive criticism?