The Art & Science of Bike Design: A 5‑Part Introduction from the Open University

In 2012, Bradley Wig­gins became the first Eng­lish cyclist to win the grand­dad­dy of all cycling races, the Tour de France. In 2013, Chris Froome became the sec­ond. After back-to-back vic­to­ries, the Brits have every rea­son to cel­e­brate, and per­haps that’s why the Open Uni­ver­si­ty cre­at­ed The Sci­ence Behind the Bike ear­li­er this year — a series of four short videos explor­ing how sci­ence has changed the physics, tech­nol­o­gy and phys­i­ol­o­gy of cycling. Now, still gid­dy, they’ve fol­lowed up with a five-part video series called The Design Behind the Bike. Even if you’re down on cycling as a pro­fes­sion­al sport, you can still appre­ci­ate the artistry that goes into mak­ing an ele­gant bike. Watch the entire series in one sit­ting above, or catch the indi­vid­ual install­ments here: His­to­ry of Bikes & Bikes Design, The Aes­thet­ics, Wheels, Mate­ri­als, and Frame Design. All clips can be found on YouTube and iTunes too.

Relat­ed Con­tent:

Sci­ence Behind the Bike: Four Videos from the Open Uni­ver­si­ty on the Eve of the Tour de France

Brus­sels Express: The Per­ils of Cycling in Europe’s Most Con­gest­ed City

David Byrne: From Talk­ing Heads Front­man to Lead­ing Urban Cyclist

The Physics of the Bike