Author Topic: Bike geometry explainer.  (Read 1202 times)

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Bike geometry explainer.
« on: 21 June, 2018, 05:00:52 pm »

Can anyone recommend a really good book that explains bike geometry and bike frame design? Ideally without need for a prerequisite course in Physics, fluid dynamics, and applied mathematics?

J
--
Beer, bikes, and backpacking
http://b.42q.eu/

Re: Bike geometry explainer.
« Reply #1 on: 21 June, 2018, 06:24:42 pm »

Can anyone recommend a really good book that explains bike geometry and bike frame design? Ideally without need for a prerequisite course in Physics, fluid dynamics, and applied mathematics?

J

If you can find a reasonably priced used copy, the now out-of-print "Touring Bikes: A Practical Guide" by Tony Oliver (1990) is a very accessible and thorough treatment that's applicable to more than just touring bikes. It's dated now in terms of materials and components, but the principles are as relevant as ever and it's still the best book on the subject for the non-engineer that I know of.

Re: Bike geometry explainer.
« Reply #2 on: 21 June, 2018, 06:45:40 pm »
Something like the Paterek Manual? http://www.timpaterek.com/tpmanual_pdf.htm

Re: Bike geometry explainer.
« Reply #3 on: 21 June, 2018, 08:24:06 pm »
Not a book, but a weblog: I have always liked what frame builder Dave Moulton had to say about this topic -- though he mainly writes about racing bikes.

fruitcake

  • some kind of fruitcake
Re: Bike geometry explainer.
« Reply #4 on: 25 June, 2018, 02:30:03 pm »
Moulton's article linked upthread looks like an explanation of his preference for certain seat tube and head tube angles, with a brief explanation of the reasons the bike industry produces the frame angles it produces, and how these differ from Moulton's own. It's readable, short and not too technical.

Like the OP, I've found the articles I have read get deeply technical, when all I wanted was concise definitions of the concepts with simple explanations of what happens when you 'push the envelope'.

I find most new road bikes uncomfortable and I have only recently got an understanding of why, in terms of their frame geometry; this has helped me find frames suited to loaded commuting and slow-paced day rides.

Unless this already exists on YACF, I'd contribute to a thread of simple definitions plus examples, if that would help. I'd probably learn something from it myself.