ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, May 4, 1996 TAG: 9605060034
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
AS TOUR DuPont rolls into Roanoke tomorrow, and some of you are contemplating the advances in bicycling over time, you might be interested to know that a number of esteemed scientists have been busy for years trying to build an unrideable bicycle. As humor columnist Dave Barry would say, we're not making this up.
Now it appears that Dr. Richard E. Klein, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Illinois and director of the Bicycle Research Institute, has succeeded in inventing such a failure.
We're not sure exactly how, but it apparently has something to do with reversing the positions of the handlebars and seat, and adding a chain drive so that the pedals power the rear (formerly the front) wheel.
Triumphant in his flop, Klein was a featured speaker at a Virginia Tech-sponsored event for high-school students in Richmond earlier this week. Klein explained that the significance of his dud has to do with what it reveals about the basic principles of bicycle motion, a complex problem that can't be simulated mathematically. Whatever. We're sure he understands it.
Held in connection with Tour DuPont's entry into Richmond, the Tech event was designed to promote students' interest in science and engineering. Let's hope it doesn't inspire lifetime commitments to the development of hundreds of utterly useless gadgets. There are enough of those on the market already.
LENGTH: Short : 33 linesby CNB