Posted 08.16.2011 at 10:05 am
4 Comments
Tortola RoundTail
Jeff Harris/Artmix
Shock waves travel in straight lines, so when most bikes hit potholes, the shocks run through the frame and into the rider. One way to avoid the discomfort that can cause is to channel those vibrations onto another path, as the Tortola RoundTail road frame does.
THE TECH
When this bike hits a bump, shocks are transferred into two hollow steel circles, which replace the typical rear triangles. The hoops force the waves into a spiral, where their energy dissipates. In the lab, the RoundTail cut vibration 50-fold.
THE TEST
For one week, two bikers rode the RoundTail on every tooth-rattling road they could find in Vermont, comparing the vibration they felt in their backs and arms with what they felt on carbon-fiber and titanium frames.
THE RESULTS
Bikers had no pain after riding for 50 miles on the RoundTail, while they ached on other frames after only two. Outfitted with a Shimano kit, it matched the ride and speed of any other road bike.
Tortola RoundTail: from $2,000; Roundtail
Four More Smart Bike Parts
Polar LOOK Kéo Power Pedal: Courtesy Polar/LOOK
PEDALS
Riders lose speed when one leg pumps harder than the other. These pedals collect data from 16 pressure sensors and send the info to a handlebar display, so bikers can adjust their effort.
Polar LOOK Kéo Power Pedals: From $2,000; Polar, Lookcycle
BRAKES
To increase the stopping power of its brakes, Shimano cut friction-generated heat by a third. The company added cooling fins to the pads and inserted heat-diffusing aluminum into the rotars.
Shimano Deore XT M785 Brake System with ICE Tech: $210 each; Shimano
Giro Aeon Helmet: Courtesy Giro
HELMET
The Aeon touches a rider’s head in only six places so wind can cool the scalp. Low-density foam on a plastic frame (half the heft of carbon composites) absorbs impact while keeping the weight to 7.8 ounces.
Giro Aeon: $250 at Amazon
TUBE
Puncture the self-sealing Protek Max tube, and its reptilian bumps and ridges bend slightly inward toward the hole to reduce air loss. Sealant inside the tube closes off the hole.
Michelin Protek Max Inner Tube: $9; Michelin
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Tortola RoundTail: Wow... they've discovered the SPRING!
Ahhh the beauty of the internet...anyone can write an article on "science".
If you think of this logically, the front tire hits vibrations first so that vibrational energy (very different from "Shcok waves " which travel though gases...) and that path is the same. So the comapny uses marketing people and creative wirters to argue that since the vibration experienced by the rear tire takes a different "path" it is cut in half...
In less you have figured a way to dissipate that energy as heat it is still present (research law of conservation of energy next time) or light etc then it is still present in the frame and ends up in your body.
Rides tests are subjective. Sorry. Was their body more sore becuase they rode the bike afterwards, as part of a rest cycle in their training etc...
I also wonder about the atatchment of the hoopp frame. It looks like it is connected to the seat tube which would mean that energy would still be transferred into the seat tube (research vectors next time).
I would be more interested in how the design impacts frame flex, energy (of rider) translation to forward motion etc.
...and forgive my typos, darn portables...