Form versus Function

[Too Tall]

If the bike is a really amazing, beautiful and creative labor crafted in ways that just simply "SENDS" you to the moon...does it also have an amazing ride? Must it have GREAT ride qualities to match?

[ergott]

Mine does.

[atmo]

If the bike is a really amazing, beautiful and creative labor crafted in ways that just simply "SEND" you to the moon...does it also have an amazing ride? Must it have GREAT ride qualities to match?

it's difficult for me to look at a well-crafted frame
and know that the design is not optimized for road
use. whether it fits the client is a tangential issue
to this - it should fit. but often i see "pretty" frames
that i know will know not descend, hug the road, whose
wheels that are too close to each other, etcetera. that
kinda' stuff irks me.


hey - thanks for reading atmo.

[Ray]

If the bike is a really amazing, beautiful and creative labor crafted in ways that just simply "SEND" you to the moon...does it also have an amazing ride? Must it have GREAT ride qualities to match?
Yeah, great ride trumps great beauty in a bicycle. To me, anyway. I have both. The one that rides best isn't a whole lot to look at. The ones that look best don't have the ride quality to match the best rider. I ride the best rider almost every time and try to find productive uses for the pretty ones.

Not to say you can't have both qualities in the same frame, but I don't at the moment and I go with the great ride pert near every time at the expense of the great beauty.

-Ray

[keno]

Pretty is as pretty does. You are pretty, TT.

keno

[Jason E]

So long as the ride it provides is the ride you'd expect it to provide.

That is, the quality and beauty of the bike should, in my opinion*, be along with, not ever instead of, a tremendous ride quality.

You, for example, have some beautiful bikes. Though I appreciate their build quality, I would never buy them because they would never fit me and my little 5'8" 'stature'.

Obviously this is a case of fit, but as we know, fit is important in how a bike performs, and the wrong fit, either by horrific geometry or just blatantly the wrong size, would impact the ride.

If your intent were to buy the bike as an art-piece, then the criteria changes, as you may not intend to ever ride it.

If I had an opportunity, the spendable cash, and the room to display it, I may have considered buying a bike as a showpiece. Given it was the correct bike.

That said, a forum member was selling a bike I desparately wanted, but it was the wrong size. I was a little heart-broken, but I knew better then to compromise handling/performance/fit for the sake of being able to ride around on an ill-fitting, but georgeous Marcelo..... Ooops. Gave it away. :rolleyes:

Anyway, that's my take. Your results may vary*.











*Writing out the acronyms is the new Black.

[BUTCH RIDES]

Hello,
I just got back from my morning ride ,to yoga on my beautiful Fierte , I had my bike shop put a cute little basket on so my toy poodle could ride with me .I love my bike very much. Thank you.
adios

[dirtdigger88]

Yes I fretted every detail about my Kirk- but what REALLY matters to me is the ride- if the ride isnt what I want who cares what the bike looks like-

I see form and function as one- bikes that look great to my eye- tend to be balanced- I bet they would ride pretty d@mn well too-

Bikes as art? maybe- but I would never buy a bike- even if I intended not to ride it- in a size that I couldnt ride-

A bicycle thats not ridden- isnt a "bike" in my book

Jason

[Kevan]

is intrinsic only to the rider. Question is where does one attribute start and the other finish?

In a woid...

Gestalt!

[Too Tall]

I am in agreement that a custom bike...a bike made for you which is beautiful should also have a ride that fits the bike / riders intended use and never the two shall part! Yes, bikes are made to ride EVEN IF YOU HANG IT ON A WALL the entire package must make perfect functional sense. That is one hallmark of great builders by and large.

;) Thanks, our bikes are all quite nice to look at. It might have something to do with the people who we want to build out bikes. I'll give you a "for instance". When we designed the race tandem, CoMotion allowed me to send specs. We went back and forth fine tuning the design and the last thing they said was " we'll adjust the TT slope so it looks good...I never blinked or asked for a drawing of the change...I was dealing with people who "get it".

[Tom]

It also has to look good, too, but that's just my own problem.

[znfdl]

I am lucky that Spectrum Cycles has been designing and building me bikes that are beautiful and great to ride for 18 years.

[Delpo]

If the bike is a really amazing, beautiful and creative labor crafted in ways that just simply "SENDS" you to the moon...does it also have an amazing ride? Must it have GREAT ride qualities to match?


If a woman is really amazing, beatiful, and creative labor in ways that just simply "sends" you to the moon...does it also have an amazing ride? Must it have GREAT ride qualities to match? Form should follow function unless we are watching and not riding. Nothing wrong with watching...

[Ginger]

Yeah, same for men. (You don't need to be "PC" but please remember that there are readers other than males on the forum, this was a good thread and you just took it to the gutter. Happy?)

I think a bike is a bike. If it gets people out riding, it's a great bike.

That said, I think I have seen beautiful bikes that handle exactly as they are supposed to for the job they do. They aren't always custom. I've also seen some very ugly bikes that do exactly what they're supposed to do. It isn't that they aren't beautiful in their own right - to someone - but they don't suit my version of what is beautiful.

[Too Tall]

Simple race bikes can evoke strong feelings.

[Ginger]

I see...I was thinking of a broader category of "bikes."


This bike doesn't do much for me, I'm not fond of "riding" them, (and I have ridden a trials bike on a mtb trail...and around a parking lot...) but I appreciate that it does what it does very well...
http://www.trials-online.com/images/bike-mod.jpg

[Elefantino]

If the bike is a really amazing, beautiful and creative labor crafted in ways that just simply "SENDS" you to the moon...does it also have an amazing ride? Must it have GREAT ride qualities to match?

Uh, yeah. Otherwise you frame it and hang it on the wall.

And is there anyone who builds beautifully uncomfortable bikes? Would they last long in the business?

Atmo?

[Fat Robert]

yes

it has to handle properly while being used for its designed application

it needs to have no "extra" design elements that add nothing to the actual performance of the bike when used for its designed application

I'm with lobster boy on this one -- bikes that are clearly wack in their design or execution have no beauty.

[Too Tall]

Elefantino - Yes, I think so. I own such a Turkey, really a showpiece at the time I had it made for me and young lad with face pressed to the glass I had faith it would be the last bike I'd ever want. Sspielman caught the bug when he saw it many yrs. ago too. The beautiful swoopy fork is made of plumbing (gak), careless front center / fork rake inappropriate...really a darn near unrideable bike but boy howdy was it pretty and brother was I struck by the artistry. I'm a wee bit smarter now. I'd never have a bike made for me by someone who did not have a good track record and insight how to make an appropriate rig.

Ging - THAT's what I'm talking about. Clean, pure form is appreciated BIG time because it screams function. Clear case and alignment of the two.

FattyConCarne - so the "extra" and unecessary bit(s) the designer added are appreciated / required because it adds distinction??? or because a little "bling" on an otherwise austere rig is appealing?

[Fat Robert]

the fat one goes for austere -- its a tool, mr. too tall.

oh man...just did three fat slow hours after six weeks of no bike....

[obtuse]

all of my bikes look awesome and obtuse. most of 'em have been pretty good.

obtuse