name a cycling innovation that hasn't already been made pre-1950

[martl]

This came to my mind becuase i learned today that COï2 inflator guns were available from EDCO in the 50ies
http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx?ID=D3842EA2-1D6E-4313-BC9A-961855C98EEA&Enum=103&AbsPos=0

many oher "recent" innovations also have been invented very early.

Clipless pedals? There's a patent from 1895 (!) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_pedal#cite_note-Velo36-3

lugless aluminum frame? Luminum did that in the 1890ies, too
https://de.pinterest.com/pin/176062666652291170/

indexed shifting? commonplace with Osgear Super Champion

Integrated Headsets? Coppi used them on his Bianchi
Ahead-style stems? look into Jan Heines "the competition bicycle" for an early example. Mounted to a welded oversized aluminum frame, of course.

Full suspension? italian soldiers rode them in WW1



so, with the obvious exception of CFK - which cycling innovation actally is "recent"?

[FlashUNC]

Computer aided electronic shifting?

Dunno how you'd fit vacuum tubes on a 531 frame.

The steampunk cosplay possibilities are exciting though.

[crownjewelwl]

Hydraulic disc brakes

[merckx]

titanium, carbon fibre, silica tread compounds, ceramic bearings, yada, yada, yada.......

[sandyrs]

The Trek Y-Foil.

Next question.

[tumbler]

BB30, BB30a, BB90, BB386, PF30, PF86, BBright, and T47 bottom brackets. Each one, a revolutionary breakthrough in crank turning technology that made us wonder how we ever rode bikes without them.

[93legendti]

Internet cycling forums

[rustychisel]

BB30, BB30a, BB90, BB386, PF30, PF86, BBright, and T47 bottom brackets. Each one, a revolutionary breakthrough in crank turning technology that made us wonder how we ever rode bikes without them.

Oh, ahhahahhaahhahhhaa... I see what you did there. POTW

[Louis]

Helmets that will actually protect your brains.

Non drying-out-and-getting-stiff-as-a-board chamois.

[ripvanrando]

Carbon seatposts?

[oddsaabs]

Aerobars.

[dustyrider]

This reminds me of a former professor of mine. He challenged us to bring him an original idea. When presented with ideas he would turn around and look at his library. He'd mutter to himself for few minutes then pull down a book that either described or showed that our original idea wasn't so original. Never could stump him...

[bikingshearer]

I'm pretty sure they didn't have EPO in 1915.

[cnighbor1]

mass cheating

[echappist]

power meters

[bicycletricycle]

well, i guess one could say something about sophisticated metal alloys,

All the extremely high tensile strength thin wall steel alloys, 853, 953, aermet, etc.

I think that the alloys of titanium used today were not available in extruded tubing form until more recently, 3/2.5 6/4 especially not in butted form

Scandium alloys would have been a soviet state secret until the 80's?????

composite materials have been around in some form or another for a long time (wood is a composite material) but epoxy resins and highly refined carbon fiber filaments have come into their own much after the 50's.

I guess one could say incremental improvements in material science is not all together "new" but I might argue differently.

[Stephen2014]

If shaft drive ever becomes mainstream.....I know they were around maybe late 1800s, one brand being Rover when they still made bikes.

[charliedid]

V-Brakes

Spandex/Lycra clothing

BMX bikes

Yaw

Recessed Cleats

GU

Dyno Hub

Swing Bike

U-Lock

Disc Wheels

Kevlar Spokes

Cyclo Computers

[charliedid]

Internet cycling forums

Winner

[martl]

V-Brakes

https://janheine.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/bq72_brake_special.jpg


Spandex/Lycra clothing
Kevlar Spokes


Innovations in terms of design, not do the same thing but use a modern material :)

Cyclo Computers

speedometers have been round long

Dyno Hub

Sturmey Archer GH12, 1936

Recessed Cleats

Detail :)

U-Lock

Early 20th century
http://www.historicallocks.com/Other/Historical%20Locks/Pictures/bike%20locks/Cykell%c3%a5s-2.gif

BMX bikes
Swing Bike

Swing bikes are more an oddity than an innovation, no?
BMX were derived from modified kids bikes
http://classiccycleus.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/70stingray.jpg
so my guess is kids were stripping too-small bikes and tried funny stuff on them since bicycles existed... but the BMX might qualify. just :)


Yaw
GU

sorry, don't know what that is


Disc Wheels

http://www.animaatjes.de/bilder/f/familie-feuerstein/vv.gif

but actually yes, somewhat surprising i can't find any early reference. Thought some of the recumbent pioneers had one, but no reference found. So until other proof, you might have a point there!

[oldpotatoe]

V-Brakes

Spandex/Lycra clothing

BMX bikes

Yaw

Recessed Cleats

GU

Dyno Hub

Swing Bike

U-Lock

Disc Wheels

Kevlar Spokes

Cyclo Computers

Yaw has been around since about 1904 or so:D:D

[charliedid]

https://janheine.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/bq72_brake_special.jpg



Innovations in terms of design, not do the same thing but use a modern material :)

speedometers have been round long

Sturmey Archer GH12, 1936

Detail :)

Early 20th century
http://www.historicallocks.com/Other/Historical%20Locks/Pictures/bike%20locks/Cykell%c3%a5s-2.gif

Swing bikes are more an oddity than an innovation, no?
BMX were derived from modified kids bikes
http://classiccycleus.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/70stingray.jpg
so my guess is kids were stripping too-small bikes and tried funny stuff on them since bicycles existed... but the BMX might qualify. just :)


sorry, don't know what that is


http://www.animaatjes.de/bilder/f/familie-feuerstein/vv.gif

but actually yes, somewhat surprising i can't find any early reference. Thought some of the recumbent pioneers had one, but no reference found. So until other proof, you might have a point there!

We have a new winner!

:D

[charliedid]

Yaw has been around since about 1904 or so:D:D

Yaw'r right.

[bikinchris]

A lot of these "innovations" are only refinements of ideas that were already there. That's not the same thing

[unterhausen]

This reminds me of a former professor of mine. He challenged us to bring him an original idea. When presented with ideas he would turn around and look at his library. He'd mutter to himself for few minutes then pull down a book that either described or showed that our original idea wasn't so original. Never could stump him...

there are people out there inventing stuff constantly, so this really isn't surprising at all.

I have an equal and opposite story. I had a professor that I always hated because he was a very vocal proponent of "young earth" creationism. Which in my book means 'idiot' right off the bat, but also he shouldn't be using his non-thermo expertise to lend credence to a thermo related argument. Anyway, we had a design lab where we usually supposed to design something in an hour. It was fun. One day he shows up with a patent for something that doesn't actually work and said for us to explain how it works. It would be really interesting to know how many patents there are that obviously don't work with a 3 second analysis. My group was the only one that had the guts to go up and tell him it didn't work. And he then had to admit in front of nearly 300 senior mechanical engineering students that everyone got full credit that day, it didn't work. I tried to track down the patent, but I haven't been able to find it.

[goonster]

LED headlights

[summilux]

Belt drive
kevlar bead
latex inner tube
lycra

[joosttx]

Lefty fork

[Bstone]

BB30, BB30a, BB90, BB386, PF30, PF86, BBright, and T47 bottom brackets. Each one, a revolutionary breakthrough in crank turning technology that made us wonder how we ever rode bikes without them.

I do find myself thinking the same thing frequently.

[charliedid]

Lefty fork


https://oldbonemachine.wordpress.com/category/bikes-i-like-2/ :-)

[Dead Man]

When was tubeless invented? Pre-loading tubulars with tubeless sealant has been pretty huge for me.

-Freehub
-Threadless headsets
-composite carbon fiber - Which have been MORE revolutionary; rims or frames??
-Wide road rims
-STI
-EPS helmets
-Carbon soled shoes

[eippo1]

Winner

Charlie Sheen?

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9QS0q3mGPGg/hqdefault.jpg

Also dropper posts

[OldCrank]

GPS.

On my handlebars. That records my ride, cadence, power, weight, etc.

Just needs to hook up to silverware at home, so I get enough calories...

[Rusty Luggs]

slant parallelogram rear derailleur.

[Bob Ross]

This reminds me of a former professor of mine. He challenged us to bring him an original idea. When presented with ideas he would turn around and look at his library. He'd mutter to himself for few minutes then pull down a book that either described or showed that our original idea wasn't so original. Never could stump him...

When I was a wee teen of about 14 or 15 years old we used to play a similar game with Frank Zappa's discography. Was rarely chronological and so not really about "original" or "innovation" or "who did it first" per se, but it was a tribute to Frank's scope as a composer: No matter what idea we could come up with, Frank had dabbled in it...sometimes even well.

Along similar lines, it's been said that If You Can Think It Up, There's Already Porn About It On The Internet. :banana:

[Dead Man]

Along similar lines, it's been said that If You Can Think It Up, There's Already Porn About It On The Internet. :banana:

Otherwise known as Rule 34. "If it exists, there is porn of it - no exceptions"

No exceptions.

[cdn_bacon]

Synthetic EPO

[martl]

When was tubeless invented? Pre-loading tubulars with tubeless sealant has been pretty huge for me.

-Freehub

Wiki: The concept of a freehub was devised and manufactured by British company Bayliss-Wiley in 1938[2][3] and won the Cyclists Touring Club (CTC) award for that year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freehub


-Threadless headsets

as said before, Jan Heine's book "the competition bicycle"shows an example from, i believe, 1950


-composite carbon fiber - Which have been MORE revolutionary; rims or frames??

Same design but different material doesn'T count

-Wide road rims

Just restoring an original 1950 "Stollenwerk" (Nervex, 531) which had "Mairag" rims. Wide clinchers.

-STI

I doknow people fitted downtube shifters to the brake handles in the 70ies. Italian fellawho ran a small bike shop here in Munich showedme his which, according to himself, he had shown to Campagnolos product management around 1975
No idea if that was also done earlier than that.

-EPS helmets

Helmets were around, just different material. Zonk.
-Carbon soled shoes
translate to "Shoes with inflexible sole": Well they weremade outa wood. Wood has fibres and is carbon-based. zonk.

[Dead Man]

Helmets were around, just different material. Zonk.

No... that's like saying the running shoe isn't an innovation because the sandal already existed. "Just different material."

Hairnets kept you from getting scalped... that's about it. EPS actually prevents concussion and skull fracture. You will survive a 15+mph impact to your skull, wearing one. Absolutely no guarantee with anything previously used (and discarded, since they were worthless).

You're not zonking that one, sorry. :p

[martl]

No... that's like saying the running shoe isn't an innovation because the sandal already existed. "Just different material."

Hairnets kept you from getting scalped... that's about it. EPS actually prevents concussion and skull fracture. You will survive a 15+mph impact to your skull, wearing one. Absolutely no guarantee with anything previously used (and discarded, since they were worthless).

You're not zonking that one, sorry. :p

so you mean that 35 years after their wide market introduction and everyone deciding riding without was irresponsible and only done by idiots, helmets actually provide noticeable protection? eek!

but let's not go there. Wasn't talking hairnets, was talking helmets.

1958 stayer race. Helmet. zonk.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-05597-0002%2C_G._Barandat%2C_M._Klieme.jpg

[Dead Man]

so you mean that 35 years after their wide market introduction and everyone deciding riding without was irresponsible and only done by idiots, helmets actually provide noticeable protection? eek!

but let's not go there. Wasn't talking hairnets, was talking helmets.

1958 stayer race. Helmet. zonk.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-05597-0002%2C_G._Barandat%2C_M._Klieme.jpg

And those will do more than prevent abrasion? Those actually provided impact absorption, and prevented impact force injury?

[93legendti]

:cool:

[martl]

Slingshot's cable downtube?

which improved... exactly what...?!?

[93legendti]

:)

[93legendti]

:)

[charliedid]

Slingshot's cable downtube?

I've seen others but this is the first pic I found.

[54ny77]

the term "colourway."

[Dead Man]

the term "colourway."

I ····ing hate that term.




:)

[Repack Rider]

Two wheel drive.

[Ronsonic]

The Sedis Chain. Fewer parts, shifted better across a wider cassette. That was a real invention and made the rest of the post 1980s stuff (index shifting, brifters) all work.

[bfd]

-STI


Integrated brake/shift levers were thought of probably in the 40s or 50s. Daniel Rebour has two drawing of them:

look at #8

https://spinwell.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/rebore.jpg?w=450&h=582

#1 January 1949

http://www.blackbirdsf.org/rebour/images/1949.01.1.jpg

Not as elegant as today's versions, but they were thinking about it!

Good Luck!

[martl]

Ride one and see.

I am sorry, I thought the title of the thread was "name a cycling innovation..."

I intended/hoped this thread to be a bit fun and tongue-in-cheek, sorry if i wasn't 100% obvious about it.

Let'S set a few rules then:

An "Innovation" is defined as an invention that actually improves either riding experience, safety, or performance, by implementing a design or idea that wasn't used for that purpose before.
An invention that does things just a different way without improving anyithing is a variant, not an innovation.
Just taking something that was there before and making it of a material that wasn't yet around when the concept was first introduced, is a modification, not an innovation in the context of this thread. (game would be too easy otherwise)

And yet i know theat leaves a huge gray area :D

[martl]

And those will do more than prevent abrasion? Those actually provided impact absorption, and prevented impact force injury?

it offered the best possible protection by the standards of the time (You might notice the fella on the motorcycle isusing a similar one). Good enough for me as i don't have one available for a full SNELL test. I dare say it wouldn't do much worse than some of the recent specimens.

A hard shell, padding, straps. It's definitely a bike helmet.

[martl]

Butted spokes

http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US1660319-0.png

[Stephen2014]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt-driven_bicycle
Belt drive patent 1890.

[oldpotatoe]

I ï½·ï½·ï½·ï½·ing hate that term.




:)

And 'bomb proof'...

[palincss]

Pedals with float


All step on, retentionless pedals have "float"; also, clips & straps w/o cleats have "float." Nothing new there.

[Bob Ross]

And 'bomb proof'...

I tried asking the wheelbuilders at my LBS for a "bob proof" wheelset and they sold me some complete crap, I destroyed them in two rides!
Now I ask for "bomb proof", apparently they know what that means.