TECH THROUGH TIME

There’s no such thing as a stupid question. At least that’s what we tell Boothy every time we go to the pub (and he asks another barmaid for their name and number). But here’s one anyway: why are bikes designed the way they are nowadays? They (almost) all use a four-stroke water-cooled engine made of aluminium, with four valves per cylinder and fuel injection, telescopic front forks, monoshock rear suspension, hydraulic dampers, disc brakes, 17-inch(-ish) wheels with radial tyres, all held together in an aluminium frame.

Every single one of these technologies has decent alternatives – iron engines, two-stroke motors, carburettors, drum brakes, steel frames, girder forks. And they’ve all been tried over the years. Indeed, some have arguably been better than what we’ve ended up with. But there’s been a serious level of convergence in bike design over the past few decades.

We are where we are, thanks to several different types of pressure. At the most basic level, there are statutory rules – the law in other words. National governments and international organisations like the EU and the UN have passed legislation on car and bike design, most notably around gas and noise emissions, fuel economy and safety. That’s what killed off two-stroke machines for the road, most obviously, but has also sped up the adoption of fuel injection, catalysed exhausts and water-cooling, all of which help make cleaner, quieter powerplants. Safety rules have led to compulsory ABS systems