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City Bike (4 of 4)
Description
High strength tensegrity frame made of carbon fiber and kevlar cables. A balance between compression and tension elements is able to offer a lighter alternative to traditional bike frames by producing a stiff structure where elements seem to float one against the other.
Comments
great work and color !
The wheels are great!
thought about actually making it?
Wonderfully clever idea, but I do have some concerns about its lateral stability. Have any engineers or bike builders looked at this concept and offered any opinions?
Thanks for all your comments! Yes, i think about building a prototype, and I have doubts myself about lateral stability, but I didn't put any support between the rigid elements just to respect a "true" tensegrity.
Understood -- there's a purity there that makes sense, as an homage to Bucky. It might be interesting to do a more practical variant, though, that would convince the engineers and the hardcore cyclists. Perhaps a rigid connection between the seat tube and the main frame, plus a broader spread between the cable attachment points at the top of the seat tube, to add lateral stiffness?
seems like this is a copy of my concept. I have made a bicycle in bamboo based on tensegrity which was my graduating project in 1999. I have posted a picture of the prototype in coroflot a long time ago.
http://www.coroflot.com/public/individual_file.asp?individual_id=84714&portfolio_id=1219321&
http://www.coroflot.com/public/individual_set.asp?set_id=298545&individual_id=84714