ChrisF Posted September 18, 2017 Share Call me crazy, but times have changed. The best design today is the most sustainable 1. Having a sustainable world for future generations is priceless and a non-negotiable requirement. Private vehicles with combustion engines should be banned and everybody should be allowed to own 1 steel bicycle. Aaaaaa .... What is "best" ? As an engineer that would have to be that one design that gives the perfect geometry, and flex and and and ..... Accountants seems to have a slightly different view .. "best" becomes some watered-down middle ground "thing" ..... To be truly the BEST - it should be cost effective, while truly affording the absolute best engineering has to offer, from materials to geometry to components, etc. And to then take this to the extreme, it would be the best of the best IF this included "green", "recycling", "longevity", etc etc ..... Back to reality - 99% of the time, "best" is nothing other than a better PR exercise to the competition ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Boab Posted September 19, 2017 Share Aaaaaa .... What is "best" ? As an engineer that would have to be that one design that gives the perfect geometry, and flex and and and ..... Accountants seems to have a slightly different view .. "best" becomes some watered-down middle ground "thing" ..... To be truly the BEST - it should be cost effective, while truly affording the absolute best engineering has to offer, from materials to geometry to components, etc. And to then take this to the extreme, it would be the best of the best IF this included "green", "recycling", "longevity", etc etc ..... Back to reality - 99% of the time, "best" is nothing other than a better PR exercise to the competition ..... ....optimal design vs best design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTBeer Posted September 19, 2017 Share Call me crazy, but times have changed. The best design today is the most sustainable 1. Having a sustainable world for future generations is priceless and a non-negotiable requirement. Private vehicles with combustion engines should be banned and everybody should be allowed to own 1 steel bicycle.fark off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudi-h Posted September 19, 2017 Share each to their own i guess... What I like is that these guys have taken a stance, whether it's the correct stance is subjective though... Factory working conditions. I don't think that any form of factory setup is is significantly more or less humane a working environment compared to another... Is a carbon shop really much worse than car factories and welding shops? If so, why? Recycling. Aluminium may be 100% recyclable, but how many old bikes end up recycled? Epoxy resin toxins. Any form of manufacturing has toxic or chemical by-products. Stainless steel welding requires passivation with strong acids. PC boards use acids for etching. Paints are generally bad for the environment etc. Any form of transport produces tonnes of waste oil. Should we then stop buying anything china because of their tendency of dumping their waste into the ocean? And then... the talk about how alu is better and safer than carbon. It's a bit late in the 21st century for that debate, we know that carbon is a better frame material. If environmental considerations prevents anyone from using it, then it's all good, but please don't tell us that carbon is a substandard frame material prone to cracking and catastrophic failure because it isn't. Edit: Carbon bicycle frames are likely some of the most costly items per kg. A Santacruz frame minus the shock costs roughly R40k and weighs less than a kg. Assuming that 75% of the selling price goes back to the frame designer, agent, sales commission, transport, etc. it means that the manufacturer can likely ask R10k for that frame, making at R10000 per kg of raw material!! Compare that to typical steel fabrication where R10000 will buy you 300 kg's of fabricated steel product, there is no reason why carbon factories cannot rank amongst the worlds safest, most humane and environmentally friendly industries. Edited September 19, 2017 by rudi-h DJR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTBeer Posted September 19, 2017 Share i wonder what bars,wheels, seat post they will use. all 6061 i guess?!yes, that Aluminium smelting process is really enviromentally friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamS2 Posted September 19, 2017 Share Compare that to typical steel fabrication where R10000 will buy you 300 kg's of fabricated steel product, there is no reason why carbon factories cannot rank amongst the worlds safest, most humane and environmentally friendly industries.You clearly haven't priced Columbus tubing lately. DJR, ChrisF and Captain Fastbastard Mayhem 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudi-h Posted September 19, 2017 Share You clearly haven't priced Columbus tubing lately. haha... i meant steel fabrication in general. special applications will always fetch a much higher price, hence (similar to carbon) steel bicycle frame fabricators should also be able to provide better working and living conditions for their employees compared to okes that weld up I-beams for main stream structural use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted September 19, 2017 Share haha... i meant steel fabrication in general. special applications will always fetch a much higher price, hence (similar to carbon) steel bicycle frame fabricators should also be able to provide better working and living conditions for their employees compared to okes that weld up I-beams for main stream structural use. THIS is why china is cheap ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now