Future Bikes and Ideas

Allen Millyard dh1 gearbox singlesided bike from I think 2002....

Bionicon system, something like active suspension....

Now there are some old-new ideas which are promising: Motion ride(engineering) single sided linkage fork+low pressure shock, Kamemo low pressure shock....there are some very good produsts right now, like Pinion smart.shift, Bmc autodrop semi automatic/automatic dropper post, Eightpins integrated dropper post, Aenomaly products Switchgrade saddle angle adjuster, three axle suspended seat etc. But somebody must integrate all this things in one meaningful, logical, usable solution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcVXz8U6UWY, link for "Bionicon System" at work....

Waki was more steam punk than anything lol. The shit he used to type out was crazy.

It would be  a nice bike to see for sure. I think there are some very local initiatives for that, boosted by circular economy and sustainable development -the German bike market is a good example for shared perspectives and innovations I suppose w/ Intend, Actofive, Liteville, 8Pins, Pinion, Nicolai... 
 

Regarding these ideas there's a lot going on here in France -mostly with urban bikes stuff but still, very good ideas to share. 

- Ultima bike with thermoinjected recycled plastic frame (kinda reminds me of GG's process) + Motion forks + Valeo/ Effigear motor & gearbox combo and I think Baramind bars 
- Ref bikes with modular frames 

There's kind of a cluster here in Lyon and the area and it looks like most of those companies try to work together and improve their products alongside. That's a nice thing to see as a concerned  and passionate consumer.

Edit: that Kamemo Onyx Deep bike with USD fork is niiiiice, didn't know about them (I got that Lahar feeling))

If it doesn't come with a 14 speed cassette I'm not interested.

As a side note Allen Millyard is now regularly to be seen on a UK TV show where he uses his engineering prowess working on old bikes and cars. You also get to see his 8000cc 500bhp V10 motor cycle (Dodge Viper engine, nuts)!

If we have to deal with electronics on a bike, it should be integrated so that it makes my life easier. I can definitely see a self-learning and adjusting suspension and transmission. The suspension would monitor what you are doing and adjust itself to have an optimal setup for you liking. The transmission would also know you habits and would detect when it's time to shift. I'd also like see some miniature power power generator to get rid of batteries that need to be recharged separately.  

I still want to haven an efficient gearbox that sits in the bottom bracket area and that doesn't break like some other stuff that's currently out there.

And ergonomics/bike fitting. We finally need geometry that resembles our body proportions.

THANK YOU!

In times where everything unnecessairy gets replaced by AI, why not the suspension setting? 80% of riders have their settings somwhere between utter BS and mildly acceptable anyway. Base factory setting works for most riders, your suspension will learn YOUR base setting withing a couple of rides.

Completely different trail conditions or you're tired? I'm sure your bike would notice before you do and adapt settings without you even noticing.

As long as it's not automatic and selflearning where is the point? Same goes for paper and pen vs. tablett. It's the process that should be modernised not the tool.

Shifting, finally someone with the same opinion : i'd love to have the shifting automatic.

since the shifting process doesn't add any value to my riding experience why should i bother? Does braking? Absolutely, braking later, braking for fun, fine tuning the riding through braking is a big part of my actual riding. The shifting however not at all. i just shift to get up a hill. tired? shift.

fiddling with suspension is something i like but having it automatic would definately be easier. same with pizza: i love making pizza, take my time for the dough and precook the tomatosauce etc. takes time, is delicous, is fun, is cheap.

or i could order some pizza. no time, delicious (depends), no fun, expensive.

As it happens, I'm a mechanical engineer and also an aspiring machine learning engineer, it would be so sick to work on something like that. Make things that are annoying (or do not add value to the experience) so smart that they just do their job somewhere in the background and completely disappear from your attention is an application for ml that makes a lot of sense. 

Let's get rid of air springs and spring springs. The future is electromagnetic suspension ala the Bose car suspension they briefly made ages ago. 

I think materials science will have a lot to say about future bikes and definitely manufacturing methods. 

ABS is already starting development, it's likely that will rapidly progress, and when it does traction control for e-bikes will be right there. 

Wheels still brake often, let's fix those. 

By the way. How about damping using Lenz's law, there are lots of cool videos on YT (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0amdIcZt5I). You could probably manipulate the damping curve using electric circuits. That could be completely passive and you could even charge stuff with it. 

I would like tuned disc rotors. If my brakes are going to make noise I’d love it to be something fun. I’m thinking “sheeeeesh” or fart noises 

The only thing I really want for the future, besides a gearbox, is linkage front suspension (yup, I'm one of those guys).  Structure cycles has it right, especially because they use off the shelf shocks, not proprietary headaches.

Weight savings with future breakthroughs of materials and removing the unsprung mass in the rear triangle

This could work for me too. Not being much of a fan just imagine how much quicker I'd get.

Or I could get them tuned to sound like Adam Sandler and enter World Cups.

I had a linkage design that got away... I was working in motorcycles at the time and seeing the new BMW's with linkage front ends. So drew up a bike design and was on top of the world thinking that I had the next big thing in my pocket. Then I saw the cover of Mountain Bike Action the next day and there was my bike with the name Whyte on it. Damn.

Bring back (reliable) external fork travel adjustment (u-turn, 2-step, or Talas) with some kind of rear shock adjustment (Canyon shapeshifter, or just multiple shock mounts).

Sometimes I want a 170ish mm enduro feel, sometimes I want a 140ish mm trail feel. Often I end up using very similar parts for either build on separate frames...one frame and fork that just worked would be rad.

There are frames out there that fit the bill with adjustable dropouts, linkages, etc., just no mass-produced travel-adjust forks. 

But man even just the fork, cranking the u-turn down on my Santa Cruz Blur 4x made that bike so versatile! Especially on a hardtail...still miss my Transition Vagrant with a Fox Talas...

I won't shit up the thread with AI generated nonsense but by coincidence the other day I asked Google Gemini to create a futuristic mountain bike concept and it filled in the front triangle then removed the seatpost.  Levitating saddles are the future.

Ah the Norton Nemesis 🤪

I think the lefty still is not fully developed.

Cedric Gracia raced a 160mm version of it on 4x. And those races were savage!

I've got a floating oleo strut fork in the works!

Prototype using a donor manitou mattoc with the single strut, is nearly ready for first assembly n proving the theory's work.

Theory is a oleo position sensitive damper with floating negative chamber.
Position sensitivity comes from the bleed pin diameter varying the orifice size based on the fork stroke.
This will dead-blow when the oilflow reaches the max for orifice size, and the floating negative seal head will reduced the vacuum cavitation during dead blow events.
As forces slow to below threshold, the main air spring will extend again, the negative seal head will extended back, and normal orifice oil damping will take over again. All of this occurs still during the compression stroke.
Rebound will have a max rate of the orifice limit, and be position sensitive too helping deal with the high return pressures after dead low events or bottom out.