[Closed] Describe your 'bike of the future'!

28.25" wheels

26" wheels 😉

black

It's in the garage.

next to the de lorean?

StreetWolf but with pedals

Cheeky.
It's not old, it's retro.

26" wheels

'if it's too different, it's risky'. - C. Boardman.

Given that I'm constantly about 5years behind, the future for me is the sort of stuff that most folk are on now. So 10speed, clutch mechs, n/w....etc

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This one. Raleigh Vektar!

StreetWolf

I think you're mixing up your 80s American vehicular TV shows. I'll give you a clue: Jan Michael Vincent wasn't flying AirHawk.

[quote=stilltortoise ]
I think you're mixing up your 80s American vehicular TV shows. I'll give you a clue: Jan Michael Vincent wasn't flying AirHawk.

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One with a beer dispenser.

D'oh

Still a bike that doubles as a helicopter........mmmmmm.

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hmmmmm. Seemed good back then, doing 300mph everywhere with a fancy sat-nav thingy.

Bah, late as ever with my centre-less maglev [url= http://www.oobject.com/non-apple-minimalist-gadgets/zero-bike/724/ ]wheel[/url]

More coffee, a few weeks longer, and I'll have it cracked. Along with the nonocycle.

Hard to know, really. The current crop seem pretty well sorted, so I'd imagine they'd stay like that and get lighter.

I'd guess some sort of adaptive platform control for the suspension; maybe a lightweight low-loss gearbox.

Same as now, but half the price.

Electronics in the suspension that works well - eg can adjust travel and spring/damping settings near enough automatically (probably with manual override) and probably integration with the latest iteration of google glass or its future iterations (implants I expect...)

It could measure speed and attitude to figure out if you're climbing and adjust appropriately - or also measure cadence and see how much suspension movement is pedal bob and adjust to minimise that. It could then open the platform right up when it detects you're coasting.

Exactly and really that's not rocket science - a lot of it was well in place back in the early 90s in F1 with active suspension - the issue is making it reliable, light and effective enough for a bike.

Should be easy - if Di2 can change gear for you, then you could easily make an actuator for the lever on top of your shock. Then all you need is some sophisticated software.

It could measure speed and attitude to figure out if you're climbing and adjust appropriately - or also measure cadence and see how much suspension movement is pedal bob and adjust to minimise that. It could then open the platform right up when it detects you're coasting.

You mean like E:i shocks on Lapierres and Haibikes?

Yes, like that - but it could evolve over time and do stuff like adapt to your riding style or trail conditions, or you could have downloadable programmes to adjust to your preference. Nice idea.

Di2 that detects the level of lactate in your legs and adjusts the gear ratio accordingly.

Obviously you would need some sensors surgically implanted into your legs, which would be wirelessly connected to the rest of the system (e.g. Bluetooth).

Yes, that's the start of it but they're quite limited in what they actually do at this stage - they only adjust damping, not travel, positioning, etc. You really want to go the active suspension route of hydraulic suspension but at present that means a heavy compressor and power source...

i expect fewer people to have the kind of disposable cash that would make things like electronic damping/shifting commonplace.

so i expect more and more people to be riding 29+ type bikes (29er, 3" tyres, no shocks, bombproof frame that'll last years.

not exactly a mad-max type scenario, but our future is not likely to be brighter/richer/more opulent.

put it this way, we're more likely to see things like meat rationing within 10 years, than another man* on the moon.

(*unless that man/woman is chinese)

The OP didn't mention that it had to be cheap, just that it's what you want...

Those "hubless" wheels look like a good place to put cargo.

not exactly a mad-max type scenario, but our future is not likely to be brighter/richer/more opulent.

I think it will be.

nemesis - Member

The OP didn't mention that it had to be cheap, just that it's what you want...

i interpreted the title 'describe your bike of the future' to mean:

'what bike do you think you'll be buying in 10 years?'

molgrips - Member

I think it will be.

energy prices are going up, material costs are going up, labour costs are going up, food prices are going up, housing costs are going up, pay is not going up.

our (my) expenditure on luxury goods is going to be squeezed. that will include fancy-pants mtb stuff. Any bike i'll be buying in 10 years will likely be 'simple and durable' than 'fully integrated with the web3.0'

(mainly, i just have a hankering for a Surly Krampus)

pay is not going up.

Not in the next few years, but after that, it will do. 'Of the future' to me means 20 years' time.

Killjoy 🙂

so, when can i expect the annual 5%+ pay-rises to kick in?

(enough to cover inflation, and leave me with a few extra ££/month)

forgive me, i was just working around the suggestions of the OP:

...are we moving too fast and need to pedal backwards...

+

...in 2025...

nemesis - Member

Killjoy

i disagree, i reckon i'd have a ****-load of fun on a Surly Krampus, they seem ideal for the kind of badger-tech trails that appeal to me.

don't think about what the bike companies want you to want on your bike like more tech, think about what would make your riding experience more enjoyable.
my bike of the future:
- self-cleaning and maintenance free
- be able to shield me from the worst weather (dark/ rain/ cold)
- would protect me from crashes with other road users
- be able to tell me how I'm performing and what I should be doing to perform better

I don't think bikes can get much lighter given the materials they have to work with, there is only so much you can do with a frame to make it lighter, what ever its made out of, I do think adjustable geometry will become the norm and also electronic shifting, wheel size will settle down but on what size im not sure

ahwiles, this morning.

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I don't think bikes can get much lighter given the materials they have to work with

That's the point - bikes of the future = new materials.

Carbon fibre, Hydroformed metal, advances in suspension and advances with shifting (electronic) have significantly changed higher end bikes in the last 10-15 years.

I think new materials will be a big factor over the next 10-15 years - Graphene, maybe even organic Polymers?

Bike manufactures need to keep going with the R&D, otherwise we'd all stop buying new stuff...

Bike that cleans itself, and lubes itself, and mends itself.

In fact, it will take itself off to the LBS when it has broken some thing it can't mend.

And can defend itself from thieving scumbags

I've Got to agree with Awhiles actually...

Any means of transport, especially Bicycles, that can make more effective use of available resources will be where it's at in the coming decades...

I think we're hitting a bit of a peak in terms of Plastics and oil consumption, Producing/Processing Steel, Aluminium, Titanium and Carbon to create anything is pretty energy intensive, if that something then runs on any form of stored energy it's going to become a bugger to afford, so bikes could well see a resurcence as Car's drop out of people's price range...

So when we get to 2025? Hmmm, I'd actually like to be riding a Mechanically simple, maintainable/repairable bike made using mostly Bio-composites, ideally sourced and processed locally...

I think the learning curve will take a while yet, at the minute people still think 'Leccy cars are [i]"Environmentally responsible"[/i] and economical...

Scarcity of resources might sound scary (well it sort of is) but it actually presents real opportunities for those with a bit of vision and a will to innovate...

As a mountain biker:
- Gears that don't require adjustment, and aren't open to the elements.
- Suspension as cheap, durable, and serviceable as a motorcycle's.

I've often thought that the rear derailleur is an inherently flawed system for mountain bikes. Fine on the road, but do you really want a flimsy bit of drivetrain hanging down under your hub like that? There has to be a better way of doing it, perhaps somehow redesigning it to be alongside / above the hub?

So, I think my bike will be from a future where hub gears are lightweight, cheap, and modular (ie, they can be removed from a wheel in a few minutes with hand tools), and we've consigned MTB derailleurs to the same category as rim brakes.

That's the point - bikes of the future = new materials.

New materials will allow inflatable frames, which you can adjust the stiffness of with a track pump, if you want them to be more vertically stiff but still laterally compliant.

Remotely adjustable wheel size "on the fly"

26" for when you want "chuckable"
27.5" for when the trail needs bringing alive
29" for when you just want betterer

So, I think my bike will be from a future where hub gears are lightweight, cheap, and modular (ie, they can be removed from a wheel in a few minutes with hand tools), and we've consigned MTB derailleurs to the same category as rim brakes.

For suspension bikes, you don't want the hub gear on the rear wheel, too heavy - so that's why I said gearbox bikes.

Dude, we're in the future.

where hub gears are lightweight

A hub gear's always going to be heavier than a hub without gears in it!

central gearbox, electric shifting

genuinely unflattable tyres - maybe foam-supported and just topped up with air to suit

self-cleaning or else filth-immune, I don't really care which

capable of tracking and defending itself against vehicles that comes too close (not so much RPGs as forced braking or maybe engine immobiliser)

actually, no, RPG or lasers

Can fake a structural failure if you ride something like a big bag'o'shite in front of witnesses

hover facility - obvs

There'll be no actual bikes, no need as all outside space is too toxic. You can select various classics and ride them virtual style on a playstation 17.

A hub gear's always going to be heavier than a hub without gears in it!

Is it always going to be debilitatingly heavier than a derailleur combo IN THE FUTURE? My Cougaroff Megahub will be made of ceramic and graphene, have wirelessly operated electronic shifting, and be lubricated by the tears of Shimano executives.

I dreamt the other night that my bike was so stable that it was almost impossible to fall off. You could slide sideways down muddy hills, do endless manuals and effortless two wheel drifts - it would even stand up by itself for about 10 seconds before falling over. I want one like that!

In reality, I'd like bikes to still be simple things - I really don't want yet another thing to beep at me to tell me it needs charging! Modern bikes are great, I'm sure the manufacturers will keep tinkering and making them better.

I dreamt the other night that my bike was so stable that it was almost impossible to fall off.

[url= https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/529668138/jyrobike-auto-balance-bicycle ]Jyrobike[/url]

A bike that can defend me from the gangs of mutants who roam the wastelands of 2025. Optical camouflage, like the Predator, a device for finding non-toxic water supplies. Bowie knife in one grip, compass in the other. Quick release bombers as an emergency bludgeon for defence against wildlife and previously mentioned mutants.

It will also have to bring the trails alive and shelter me from radiation, dust storms and sand people. Would be nice to have a dropper post, but I want to keep it realistic.

[i]There has to be a better way of doing it, perhaps somehow redesigning it to be alongside / above the hub?[/i]

Hub gears are not going to be the future, they're not even the present.

Is it always going to be debilitatingly heavier than a derailleur combo IN THE FUTURE?

Maybe not but you'll always want as little weight as possible on the rear hub, on a FS bike. Even if that's 0.1 microgrammes.

I'm 50 now so in 25 years or so a 28lb all-mountain rig with pedal assist...and a neighbor that doesn't fart or smoke weed in the garden.

Malvern Rider - Wow!

Gearbox. And a lefty at the back.

On a positive note I hope that there will be just one remote lever to adjust my forks, rear shock and dropper post. I know that's around now, but by 2025 it won't resemble a botched wiring job and require lots of cable adjustment.

However, knowing the industry I expect a plethora of new standards that no-one needs... There will be a new standard for bottom brackets, brake mounts, rear dropouts and we must be long overdue another ISCG revision by now. And a Fox fork will require a mortgage to own and a dedicated pit crew to service.

If your bike has a battery then all the various knobs and levers can be powered by it and they can all be linked in via a common standard to the control unit. So one button and the seat goes down, the forks go up, shock pivot moves etc.

ok then - how do you want your beer in 20 years time? I would bet still the same

and bikes will fundamentally be the same because they evolve slowly, I will bet there will be a lot of manual shifting for many many years to come (derailleur was invented in the 30s and I bet the numbers of electronic gears are small) for example

belt drive, BB gearboxes, trispoke onepiece wheels, battery powered biks... aren't new tech by any stretch but if they haven't cracked it by now they probably won't

It took long enough for somebody to point out the obvious - well done, ed. Given we've debated often enough on here that ultimately how fast your bike goes is a lot less important than how much fun it is, are any of the suggested innovations actually going to make riding more fun? I note there is still plenty of desire from people to make things simpler (no suspension, no gears - personally I've gone the whole hog and find it more fun having no drivetrain, no handlebars, no "front" wheel).

Why do so many concept bike wheels have no spokes or hubs? How would they work, on bearings or magnets. Magnets? WTF is that all about &C...

Because they're mostly "designed" by design students with no real knowledge of the engineering behind a bicycle, how a bicycle wheel works or why it is the way it is. All such designs are doubtless heavier and less efficient than normal wheels - I've seen designs based on lots of bearings at the rim. I'm kind of surprised at Boardman coming up with such a design, but wonder if he just employed a design graduate - then again it was Mike Burrows who came up with the interesting innovations, not CB. Then again, checking out that article, there's very little of real innovation or value there - maybe the "unbreakable" lock, but I'm guessing that just hasn't been tested properly - though he admits as much himself.

Oh, and LOL @ Northwind in case nobody else got it.

edit.

more affordable and developed city electric bikes maybe, appealing to new commuters.

with ( joking ) drive/ride through showers and dryers.

belt drive, BB gearboxes, trispoke onepiece wheels, battery powered biks... aren't new tech by any stretch but if they haven't cracked it by now they probably won't

Yeah but sometimes things are around for a while until someone either finds a way to make them cheap; a niche opens up; or a big company gets involved. Rear suspension was around for ages until it became mainstream, likewise disc brakes - but for different reasons.

appealing to new commuters.

Interesing, this. The disadvantage of cycle commuting is always going to be the weather. So even with e-bikes that's going to be the downside for perhaps most people. I would hazard a guess that in London cycling is already the most popular weather-exposed commuting method.

Hmm.. I wonder if they'd ever create sheltered cycle superhighways?

however there may be people who do not feel confident with the perceived fitness required for a reasonable commute.

or have a limited public transport system in maybe more remote areas, do not own a car and would like to cover larger distances. Clothing is so good nowadays too.