What's new at sheldonbrown.com
Pages about tandems and tandeming Sheldon Brown and family on home-built tandems[/caption] have been updated. We have more about disc brakes, brake levers, Gates synchronizing belts, and details about upgrading a cheap beach-resort tandem to ride with a child.
Aluminum, titanium and carbon-fiber frames are fashionable, and generally lighter than steel frames. But if you are on a bicycle tour to a remote area, the ability of any small-town welder to perform an ugly but functional repair on a steel frame could allow you to continue. You may be able to straighten a bent frame yourself. Read about it here.
Now, a video to go with Harriet Fell’s article recently published on sheldonbrown.com: her presentation on the MIT aluminum bicycle frame project at the 2016 International Cycle History Conference.
New post: the MIT aluminum bicycle project, 1974, where modern aluminum bicycle frames got their start as student Marc Rosenbaum’s thesis project. sheldonbrown.com site owner Harriet Fell built one of the original MIT aluminum bicycle frames, it came to be an exhibit in a Klein vs. Cannondale lawsuit — and she still rides it!
Thanks to reader Rick Paulos, we now have information on overlocknut distances for fatbikes. We have added this to our page on frame spacing
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Damon Rinard, who now works for Cannondale, had to turn his Web pages about bicycling over to Sheldon Brown back in 2001 when hired by an earlier employer. Rinard’s pages contain a wealth of information on bicycle design, and the renowned Spocalc bicycle spoke length calculator. Rinard even describes how to build a carbon fiber bicycle frame at home, and it’s easier than working with steel. His pages on improving aerodynamics are a real eye-opener. We have improved the translations of several articles originally written in German, checked links and reformatted the pages to make them easier to read in a modern browser.
The groundbreaking article about fatigue-resistance testing of bicycle frames — the results surprised even the people doing the test — now in a much-improved new translation from the original German.
Another Rinard article updated: his page of links to information, sources of materials and software for amateur frame builders.
Damon Rinard built a carbon-fiber bicycle frame in his garage! And we have just updated his pages describing how he did it, including sources for materials and tools. He points out that it’s actually much easier to build a carbon fiber frame than a steel frame.
Headed out on tour where you could be 100 miles or more from the nearest bicycle shop? Or do you just want to know the principles of bicycle frame alignment? We have an article for you.
