5 ms·

Bikes benefit a lot from pneumatic tyres, pressure pumps, smooth asphalt (not cobbles), precision engineering of chains, chemistry of oils and lubricants, rust-

Bikes benefit a lot from pneumatic tyres, pressure pumps, smooth asphalt (not cobbles), precision engineering of chains, chemistry of oils and lubricants, rust-proof steel, rubber brake pads with compounds that last long enough and resist rain, spring steel for suspension, cables that don't stretch. Without those things you get a wooden boneshaker hobby-horse, large, heavy, energy inefficient, incovenient: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=hobby+horse+victorian+bike&t=ffab&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=hobby+horse+victorian+bike&t=ffab&... (And internal combustion engines; how are you going to distribute them around the Roman Empire by the tens of millions without trucks or ships?)

Alex3917 4y ago
The key invention that made them possible was ball bearings. This is why the modern bicycle and the modern car were invented within a year or two of each other.
- alt227 4y ago
  ...and roads, which were created for use by horses and carraiges.
B1FF_PSUVM 4y ago
Yep, 90% materials, and so are other things like windsurfing, paragliding, etc. Very little of the "modern stuff the ancients didn't figure out" could be done without modern materials. If dumped back in time, maybe you could make rent teaching swimming or doing accounting. Medicine would probably be too dangerous.
- blululu 4y ago
  Yeah. Surfing is a great example of a Stone Age sport that has been radically changed by Space Age technology. Koa wood gets you a longboard that is hard to steer and can only surf long smooth waves. The modern surfboard is very much born out of California's aviation industry and its fixation on light, strong materials and aerodynamics. Surfing Pipeline is only possible with modern plastics, fins and shaping.
Khoth 4y ago
To expand on one of those things - bike chains get slightly longer as they wear out. Once it's about 1% longer than it started, it looks about the same as it always did, but it's starting to damage the drivechain and you need to replace it. An ancient Roman blacksmith has no hope of making a chain with anything like that level of precision.
- convolvatron 4y ago
  you would have used leather belts. it would have been a pita, they stretch pretty fast...but its feasible I think.
- loeg 4y ago
  Yeah. The vast majority of parts on a bicycle are the individual links in a chain. Manufacturing these to sufficient tolerance is quite challenging. Romans might have been able to do shaft-drive. Or Penny-farthings (direct pedal-wheel drive).
- thinkling 4y ago
  I believe you only have this problem if your bike has gears based on a set of sprockets (different size chainwheels and a derailleur to move the chain from one to the other). In Europe (Holland in particular), people ride single gear city bikes (or internally geared hubs) for decades without replacing chains or cogs. When you only have one chainring and one cog, they wear along with the chain, and it takes a very very long time to encounter problems. It's when you have the sprocket cluster with multiple cogs that are not all wearing equally, that you get problems. Or often the problem on geared bikes doesn't appear until you replace your worn chain and the new chain no longer meshes well with the cogs worn to match the old chain.
  - jen729w 4y ago
    Or in any flat hipster city. Melbourne (now Canberra) representing! I ride my single speed (not fixed) every day. It’s my most beloved possession.
  - mardifoufs 4y ago
throw0101b 4y ago
> Bikes benefit a lot from […] smooth asphalt (not cobbles) Bicycle riding societies were some of the more vocal proponents on paved roads (predating the automobile): * https://www.vox.com/2015/3/19/8253035/roads-cyclists-cars-history https://www.vox.com/2015/3/19/8253035/roads-cyclists-cars-hi... * https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2011/aug/15/cyclists-paved-way-for-roads https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2011/aug/1... * https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/american-drivers-thank-bicyclists-180960399/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/american-drivers-thank...
- sharkweek 4y ago
  And now of course some of the most prestigious races in the professional cycling world are across predominantly cobbled roads as a form of torture for those racing. https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hD4Vtdmow7B4Jf4XiWPH5g.jpg https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hD4Vtdmow7B4Jf4XiWPH5g.jpg
  - throw0101b 4y ago
    Also lots of competition on non-paved roads: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclo-cross https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclo-cross
    - sharkweek 4y ago
      As a former (and not great) CX racer, this sport should not be talked about, as it's a cruel beast to those who dare and try. (Kidding, of course, it's a wildly entertaining form of racing)
    - loeg 4y ago
      And MTB and Gravel racing, of course.
  - sasawpg 4y ago
    With the most exciting Sunday in the entire year of racing coming up!
  - 4y ago
temporarara 4y ago
Well, I've got a bike from the 30s and it's perfectly fine for everyday riding. While I agree that most of those things you listed are valuable and convenient, good enough is often just good enough. Like I've got no use for any cables and I don't need precision engineered chains.

Alex3917 4y ago

The key invention that made them possible was ball bearings. This is why the modern bicycle and the modern car were invented within a year or two of each other.

alt227 4y ago
...and roads, which were created for use by horses and carraiges.

B1FF_PSUVM 4y ago

Yep, 90% materials, and so are other things like windsurfing, paragliding, etc. Very little of the "modern stuff the ancients didn't figure out" could be done without modern materials. If dumped back in time, maybe you could make rent teaching swimming or doing accounting. Medicine would probably be too dangerous.

blululu 4y ago
Yeah. Surfing is a great example of a Stone Age sport that has been radically changed by Space Age technology. Koa wood gets you a longboard that is hard to steer and can only surf long smooth waves. The modern surfboard is very much born out of California's aviation industry and its fixation on light, strong materials and aerodynamics. Surfing Pipeline is only possible with modern plastics, fins and shaping.

Khoth 4y ago

To expand on one of those things - bike chains get slightly longer as they wear out. Once it's about 1% longer than it started, it looks about the same as it always did, but it's starting to damage the drivechain and you need to replace it. An ancient Roman blacksmith has no hope of making a chain with anything like that level of precision.

convolvatron 4y ago
you would have used leather belts. it would have been a pita, they stretch pretty fast...but its feasible I think.
loeg 4y ago
Yeah. The vast majority of parts on a bicycle are the individual links in a chain. Manufacturing these to sufficient tolerance is quite challenging. Romans might have been able to do shaft-drive. Or Penny-farthings (direct pedal-wheel drive).
thinkling 4y ago
I believe you only have this problem if your bike has gears based on a set of sprockets (different size chainwheels and a derailleur to move the chain from one to the other). In Europe (Holland in particular), people ride single gear city bikes (or internally geared hubs) for decades without replacing chains or cogs. When you only have one chainring and one cog, they wear along with the chain, and it takes a very very long time to encounter problems. It's when you have the sprocket cluster with multiple cogs that are not all wearing equally, that you get problems. Or often the problem on geared bikes doesn't appear until you replace your worn chain and the new chain no longer meshes well with the cogs worn to match the old chain.
- jen729w 4y ago
  Or in any flat hipster city. Melbourne (now Canberra) representing! I ride my single speed (not fixed) every day. It’s my most beloved possession.
- mardifoufs 4y ago

throw0101b 4y ago

> Bikes benefit a lot from […] smooth asphalt (not cobbles) Bicycle riding societies were some of the more vocal proponents on paved roads (predating the automobile): * https://www.vox.com/2015/3/19/8253035/roads-cyclists-cars-history https://www.vox.com/2015/3/19/8253035/roads-cyclists-cars-hi... * https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2011/aug/15/cyclists-paved-way-for-roads https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2011/aug/1... * https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/american-drivers-thank-bicyclists-180960399/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/american-drivers-thank...

sharkweek 4y ago
And now of course some of the most prestigious races in the professional cycling world are across predominantly cobbled roads as a form of torture for those racing. https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hD4Vtdmow7B4Jf4XiWPH5g.jpg https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hD4Vtdmow7B4Jf4XiWPH5g.jpg
- throw0101b 4y ago
  Also lots of competition on non-paved roads: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclo-cross https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclo-cross
  - sharkweek 4y ago
    As a former (and not great) CX racer, this sport should not be talked about, as it's a cruel beast to those who dare and try. (Kidding, of course, it's a wildly entertaining form of racing)
  - loeg 4y ago
    And MTB and Gravel racing, of course.
- sasawpg 4y ago
  With the most exciting Sunday in the entire year of racing coming up!
- 4y ago

temporarara 4y ago

Well, I've got a bike from the 30s and it's perfectly fine for everyday riding. While I agree that most of those things you listed are valuable and convenient, good enough is often just good enough. Like I've got no use for any cables and I don't need precision engineered chains.