Bike Think

Ride Feel Ride character is primarily affected by three factors: frame stiffness, natural frequency response, and histeretic damping. Frame Stiffness The impacts that reach your body are related to the stiffness of the frame in the direction of the applied shock loads. This quality is primarily noticeable with larger dynamic loads such as potholes or [...]

Chainstay Bridges This is a brief look at the stress and stiffness effects of chainstay bridges.  I applied the horizontal torque load from pedaling to my beam FEA model with and without a chainstay to compare stiffness.  The FEA shows about a 5% increase in stiffness with a chainstay. However, there appears to be no [...]

Joint Stress The lugged frame has found itself relegated to a dedicated niche market.  For metal frames, lower cost, infinite geometry choices, and ability to weld aluminum and titanium has made welded frames dominate.  Whatever your preference may be, the comparison of the stresses at the joints for these two joint methods provides some interesting [...]

What effect does frame stiffness have on efficiency? When you push on the pedals, the frame deflects like a spring. This deflection absorbs energy known as strain energy. It has long been assumed that all or most of this energy is lost. The first law of thermodynamics states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. [...]