Steel Is Real
"Steel is real". I'll tell you why below.
Over the years we have partnered with a number of great companies, including Phil Wood, HED, Industry 9, White Industries, Wolf Tooth, Paul Components, Sour. These folks have outfitted student frames for Bespoked and NAHBS for 14 years.
In a first we will begin research and internship collaboration with Columbus/Cinelli. The owner of Cinelli bikes and Columbus Tubing, in Milan, Victor Luis, and I met yesterday to discuss possibilities. I received an unbelievable email and invitation from him on Monday.
The history of Cinelli bikes and Columbus Tubing represents the most significant chapter in cycling's evolution over the last 100 years, marked by innovation and artistic expression. One of their bikes is in MOMA. Founded in 1919, Columbus Tubing has been a cornerstone of the cycling industry, providing high-quality steel tubing that revolutionized bike design. Cinelli's designs resonate within the artistic community, exemplified by custom artworks adorning their bicycles. Columbus Tubing created, over the century, steel alloys that enhanced bike performance through superior materials, so that legends of the TDF rode Columbus tubed frames to many championships.
They currently make steel, titanium, aluminum and carbon fiber tubes. They are working with MIT and Northwestern on composite research.
Spring semester, we will use Columbus Tubing in Bike II (Project Design: Handmade Bicycle II) on a couple of frames, the designs of which are near and dear to my heart. We'll do deflection tests on finished frames and finite analysis - the process of using computer simulations that predict how an object will behave.
These bikes will be exhibited at Bespoked October 2025. And students and I will go to Milan then as well.
Victor will be coming to Iowa City in the spring to visit class and meet students. He is interested in vitalizing the art and culture of the handmade bike, from learning to riding.
The best job in the world is being a professor and teaching art and engineering majors how to design and build custom bike.