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Light, Durable, Cheap


Rob's picture

By Rob - Posted on 01 May 2008

This is a great quote,

When it comes to bike components, you can only pick two out of three adjectives to describe them: light, durable, or cheap. Having all three in one is impossible.

From V-brakes and snow don’t mix.

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Flynny's picture

I think it was originaly a a Bontrage quote "Strong, light, cheap. pick two"

CN did an interview with him a while ago

"CN: You once said, "Cheap, light, strong; choose two." But we're now seeing plenty of surprisingly inexpensive frames and parts at weights that would have cost the earth ten years ago. What gives?

KB: "Strong, light, cheap. pick two" describes the situation an engineer faces in product design or what a consumer faces when selecting a product in a very accurate way - if you don't consider world economics. If fairly complex things can be made properly in a place where very inexpensive, skilled labor is available the simple rule can unravel a bit. The important part of that last line is "can be made properly" of course.

I do not know much about the lightweight frames offered these days so I can't be too specific about any details. I ride a very nice aluminum cyclocross bike that was not very expensive and it seems to be holding up fine, so I am willingly participating in the experiment I guess. I do check it over carefully from time to time."

http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=tech/2004...

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