Breaking The Chain | Bennet Peter | TEDxStGilgenInternationalSchool

Introduction and Bicycle History

• The host thanks Tyler for his talk on the importance of decisions shaping our future and invites the next speaker, Bennett, to the stage to talk about bike chains, taking the theme of chain reactions literally (1m10s).
• Bennett shares a story about a bicycle on stage, which is one of the last remaining bicycles from the school's original fleet of 10 when it first started (1m58s).
• Bennett asks the audience to put their arms out and hook them around the person next to them, creating a chain, to illustrate his talk about breaking the chain and realizing individual strength when part of a chain (2m39s).
• Bennett discusses the evolution of bicycles, starting with a 250-year-old velosophy without pedals or a chain, and moving on to the addition of pedals, then a three-piece suit and a tricycle (3m35s).
• The next stage in bicycle evolution is the addition of chains, pedals, and old-fashioned looking men with fob watches and chains, representing progress (4m32s).
• Bennett shows a patent diagram from 1902 of a three-speed internal hub, which is similar to what can be bought from a bike shop today, and notes the complexity of packing many parts into a small package (5m8s).

Bicycle Chain Composition and Wear

• Bennett asks the audience to guess how many parts a bicycle has, listing some of the visible parts, such as wheels, seat, handlebars, and frame, before revealing the total number of parts (5m32s).
• A bicycle chain is composed of many individual parts, with a standard chain having approximately 112 links, which are made up of multiple components such as side plates, outer plates, inner plates, bushings, pins, and rollers (6m17s).
• Each link in the chain is made up of several parts, including a side plate, outer plate, inner plate, two bushings, a pin, and a roller (7m33s).
• A special device is used to test the wear of chains by measuring how long it takes for a 10 cm section of the chain to wear by 1%, or extend by 1 mm (8m19s).
• The machine tests the chain under load, simulating the equivalent of a 70 kg person riding a bicycle at full speed for 190 hours (8m51s).
• The results of the test show that different chains wear at different rates, with some lasting longer than others (9m42s).
• The Conex chain was found to last the longest, but it is noted that the information may be biased since the test was conducted using a Conex machine (10m14s).
• The question is raised as to whether it is worth paying more for a chain that lasts longer, and it is suggested that if all chains were the same price, it would be worth buying the one that lasts the longest (10m32s).

Bicycle Cost and Value

• A test was conducted to compare the wear rates of different bicycle chains with varying prices, and the results showed that the most expensive chain, priced at $76, was actually the worst in terms of wear rate, contradicting the idea that you always get what you pay for (11m8s).
• A gold-plated bike was mentioned, which costs £400,000 and is considered to be out of the price range of most people, and also defeats the purpose of what a bicycle represents, which is an egalitarian, autonomous, and zero-waste mode of transportation (11m46s).

Bicycles and Freedom

• The idea of a bicycle representing movement and freedom for everyone is highlighted, and the story of Gino Bartali, an Italian cyclist who won the Tour de France and used his bike to deliver documents that helped 800 Jews flee Italy during World War II, is shared as an example (12m21s).

Chain Breaking and Innovative Designs

• The concept of breaking a chain is discussed, and a tool called a chain breaker is introduced, which is used to push a pin out of the chain to break it (13m57s).
• A new design for a chain is presented, which uses no tools and can be easily broken and reassembled using a special tool or a fishing wire, and is considered to be a simple and effective solution (14m36s).
• Another solution to the idea of a chain that wears well is presented, which is to make it out of rubber, and a new design that has been developed is mentioned (15m18s).

Gates Bicycles and Resistance

• Gates bicycles have been available on the market for about 10 years, offering clean, efficient, and quiet alternatives to traditional bikes, but they work differently and have low resistance, particularly in terms of drivetrain and rolling resistance (15m24s).
• As speed increases, so does the power required and the resistance, with wind resistance being a significant factor, increasing with the square of the speed (15m53s).

Pushing the Limits of Speed

• Charles M. Murphy attempted to break the laws of physics by riding a bike very fast, achieving a speed of 100 km/h (60 mph) behind a train in 1899, as cars at the time were not fast enough to provide the necessary assistance (16m36s).
• The progress of assisted speed records has continued, with the current record being held by an Italian rider on a 3D-printed bike, with a frame, handlebars, and other components made from titanium and carbon fiber, estimated to cost €75,000 (19m35s).
• The design of bicycles has evolved to reduce wind resistance, with riders like Greg LeMond using new designs to "cheat the wind" and break conventional cycling records, such as winning the Tour de France in 1989 by 8 seconds (18m0s).
• Other riders, like Graham Obree, have also pushed the boundaries of conventional cycling by building their own bicycles and using innovative materials, such as parts from a washing machine, to reduce wind resistance (18m24s).
• The record for the fastest speed on a bicycle has continued to be broken, with riders like Jens Voigt and Francesco Moser achieving high speeds on specially designed bicycles (19m7s).

Speed Records and Wind Resistance

• The current world record for speed on a velodrome bike is 56 km/h, set by Philip Bana, but wind resistance is still a factor to consider (20m3s).
• An alternative to a traditional bike is the recumbent bicycle, which is extremely efficient due to its lowered drag coefficient, but can be difficult to ride (20m19s).
• Another option is a human-powered vehicle, which is essentially a bicycle inside a streamlined shell, allowing riders to reach higher speeds (21m15s).

Human-Powered Vehicles and Record Breaking

• The vehicle has a carbon fiber shell that opens up like an Easter egg, providing a fast but not comfortable place to be (21m29s).
• To break records, some riders use a vehicle with two chains, one driving the second chain, and ride on salt flats, such as the famous Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah (21m56s).
• Denise Mueller-Korenek holds the world record for the fastest speed on a bicycle, reaching 296 km/h while riding behind a drag racing vehicle that created a wind shadow (22m59s).
• She achieved this speed by pedaling in the still air behind the vehicle's canopy, which was specially converted for this purpose (23m34s).

Breaking Free from Constraints

• The idea of breaking free from constraints is inspired by the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who said that man was born free but is everywhere in chains (24m22s).
• The goal is to use chains for the right reasons and break them when they are the wrong reasons, and to think outside the box to achieve new possibilities (24m57s).

Intermission

• A joke is shared about an environmentalist who went down the same bike road twice, with the punchline being that the environmentalist recycles (26m1s).
• The event has reached a 50-minute intermission, and attendees are invited to help themselves to refreshments in another room (26m13s).
• Live music will be performed by a group referred to as "the other guys" during the intermission (26m18s).