Lateral frame-building

Bicycle Design: Mick Burrows. Company of Cyclists 2000. Softback 160 pages, £16.95 ISBN-1-898457-07-7

Mike Burrows: cycle builder, bike rider, HPV inventor, practical engineer, aeromodeller and lateral thinker – all good reasons why his excellent book would probably be best avoided by sensitive bike-testing journalists and marketing men (if there are any). It's a bit unfortunate that to get his ideas accepted he needs these guys on his side even if he is design consultant for Giant. Even so, he's pretty uncomplimentary towards them. But they have products and magazines to sell and rely on advertising hype rather than facts.

Mike uses practical experiment and basic engineering theory to dispel a lot of myths that have grown up around cycle design. His ideas are backed up with results: his designs are ridden by the ONCE team and every one has heard of the 'Lotus sport'.

He pours scorn on the ability of bike testers to detect half an inch on chainstay length, doubts the ability of a rider to detect the difference in rigidity of different grades of steel – the most advanced test instrumentation tells us that the modulus of elasticity is the same for all steels. In fact as a cycle builder, bike rider, engineer, (ex)aeromodeller and less capable lateral thinker than Mike, it is a book that I wish I had written.

There are some bits I'm not so sure are spot on: I really am less convinced by the advantages of aerodynamic seat pins than Mike obviously is. His testing of the rigidity of wheels appears flawed and does not stand up to the real world in my experience.

This is certainly recommended reading though; it could even help you to decide where to invest your money to best achieve your needs from your bike. To understand Mike's points you do not need an engineering degree – but an open mind is an advantage.

Mick Gray