Sheldon Brown (bicycle mechanic)
Encyclopedia
Sheldon Brown was an American
bicycle mechanic
and technical authority on bicycle
s. He contributed to numerous print and online sources related to bicycling, bicycle mechanics and maintenance, including his own website — and received numerous awards for his contributions.
in West Newton
, Massachusetts
. He was an enthusiast for old and classic bicycles and cycling including Raleigh
and English three-speed bicycle
s, Sturmey-Archer
hubs, tandems
, and fixed-gear cycles
. He repaired cameras, and was an accomplished amateur photographer
and his site features his photographic work.
Brown was a francophile
, having lived and cycled extensively in France
, maintained an English-French cycling dictionary and written extensively of his family's travels in France.
After developing nerve deterioration over the last years of his life, Brown lost his ability to balance an upright bicycle and continued riding with a recumbent
tricycle
. In August 2007, Brown was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis
. Brown died on February 4, 2008 after a heart attack.
Brown was noted for developing and maintaining the site's glossary of bicycling terminology
, his online guide to wheelbuilding
, as well as the mirror sites
of the technical work of Damon Rinard and others.
With Galen Evans and Osman Isvan, Brown developed a method to determine and compare bicycle gear ratios. For any combination of front chainring, rear cog, wheel size and crank length, his method results in a number that Brown terms the "gain ratio" . This method purports to be the only formula that takes into account crank length in addition to chainring, cog and wheel size, and has the advantage of producing a unitless quantity and is thus independent of the choice of units for the contributing quantities.
Also, he wrote extensive argumentation about chain cleaning, lubrication and wear, a topic which is often a source of disagreement among riders and among lubricant manufacturers.
Brown was a frequent participant in online cycling forums such as the rec.bicycles.tech Usenet
newsgroup and bikeforums.net. His April Fool's Day articles were awaited by the online cycling community. On some groups, links to his site in response to technical questions were flagged with the abbreviation AASHTA (As Always, Sheldon Has The Answer). His signature style was to sign off with a whimsical nickname related to the topic at hand. When discussing an internal planetary gear hub (such as the Sturmey-Archer
or the Shimano Nexus
hubs), he might be Sheldon "Totally Enclosed" Brown or, for a page on gears and drivetrain, Sheldon "Shifty" Brown.
Brown was an early proponent of fixed-gear
, single-speed
bicycles for ordinary street use — after such designs had, for many years, been supplanted by multi-speed models in industrialised countries.(http://sheldonbrown.com/singlespeed.html) In recent years, use of such bikes has become a widespread cycling, popular culture and fashion phenomenon. After ignoring single speed bicycles for decades, many manufacturers now offer highly stylized single-speed models intending to meet the market demand. Despite the rapid growth of this market, Brown's web site remains a technical resource for single-speed cyclists. Similarly, Brown's interest in the Raleigh Twenty
bicycle (a 1960s and 70s English-made line which bases a highly-adjustable, adult-size bike on a relatively small, 20 in. (406mm) diameter wheel) spurred a collectors' and restorers' market for these overlooked bikes.
. In 2004, Brown was recognized for his contribution to cycling by the UK
's Cyclists' Touring Club
(CTC). Reference is made to his site in the technical library of the CTC.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bicycle mechanic
Bicycle mechanic
A bicycle mechanic is a mechanic who can perform a wide range of repairs on bicycles. Bike mechanics can be employed in various types of stores, ranging from large department stores to small local bike shops; cycling teams, or bicycle manufacturers....
and technical authority on bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
s. He contributed to numerous print and online sources related to bicycling, bicycle mechanics and maintenance, including his own website — and received numerous awards for his contributions.
Biography
Brown was the parts manager, webmaster and technical consultant of Harris Cyclery, a bike shopLocal bike shop
A local bike shop or local bicycle shop is a small business specializing in bicycle sale, maintenance and parts. The expression distinguishes small bicycle shops from large chains and mail-order or online vendors is abbreviated LBS...
in West Newton
West Newton, Massachusetts
West Newton is a village of the City of Newton, Massachusetts and is one of the oldest of the thirteen Newton villages. The postal code 02465 roughly matches the village limits.-Location:...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He was an enthusiast for old and classic bicycles and cycling including Raleigh
Raleigh Bicycle Company
The Raleigh Bicycle Company is a bicycle manufacturer originally based in Nottingham, UK. It is one of the oldest bicycle companies in the world. From 1921 to 1935 Raleigh also produced motorcycles and three-wheel cars, leading to the formation of the Reliant Company.-Early years:Raleigh's history...
and English three-speed bicycle
Three-speed bicycle
The three-speed bicycle is a bicycle that uses internal hub gears at the rear wheel hub to provide three gear ratios. Typically, in low gear, the rear sprocket turns faster than the wheel; in middle gear, the rear sprocket turns at the same speed as the wheel; in high gear, the rear wheel turns...
s, Sturmey-Archer
Sturmey-Archer
Sturmey-Archer is a manufacturing company originally from Nottingham, England. It primarily produces bicycle hub gears but has also produced motorcycle hubs....
hubs, tandems
Tandem bicycle
The tandem bicycle or twin is a form of bicycle designed to be ridden by more than one person. The term tandem refers to the seating arrangement , not the number of riders. A bike with two riders side-by-side is called a sociable.-History:Patents related to tandem bicycles date from the late 19th...
, and fixed-gear cycles
Fixed-gear bicycle
A fixed-gear bicycle is a bicycle that has no freewheel, meaning it cannot coast, as the pedals are always in motion when the bicycle is moving....
. He repaired cameras, and was an accomplished amateur photographer
Amateur Photographer
Amateur Photographer is a British photography magazine, published weekly by IPC Media, a Time Warner subsidiary. The magazine provides articles on equipment reviews, photographic technique, and profiles of professional photographers.- About the magazine :...
and his site features his photographic work.
Brown was a francophile
Francophile
Is a person with a positive predisposition or interest toward the government, culture, history, or people of France. This could include France itself and its history, the French language, French cuisine, literature, etc...
, having lived and cycled extensively in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, maintained an English-French cycling dictionary and written extensively of his family's travels in France.
After developing nerve deterioration over the last years of his life, Brown lost his ability to balance an upright bicycle and continued riding with a recumbent
Recumbent bicycle
A recumbent bicycle is a bicycle that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position. Most recumbent riders choose this type of design for ergonomic reasons; the rider's weight is distributed comfortably over a larger area, supported by back and buttocks...
tricycle
Tricycle
A tricycle is a three-wheeled vehicle. While tricycles are often associated with the small three-wheeled vehicles used by pre-school-age children, they are also used by adults for a variety of purposes. In the United States and Canada, adult-sized tricycles are used primarily by older persons for...
. In August 2007, Brown was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
. Brown died on February 4, 2008 after a heart attack.
Online
Brown's website, developed with Harris Cyclery, includes technical information, with an emphasis on do-it-yourself customization of bicycles. The site remains current, maintained and updated — its commercial pages, by Harris Cyclery employees, and informational pages, by his widow, Harriet Fell and his friend, John Allen, a noted bicycle authority.Brown was noted for developing and maintaining the site's glossary of bicycling terminology
Bicycling terminology
The following terminology is used in the general cycling, as well as the more specific sports of road bicycle racing and mountain bicycle racing.-A:...
, his online guide to wheelbuilding
Wheelbuilding
Wheelbuilding is the art and science of assembling a wheel from its component rim, spokes, nipples and hub.-Goals:...
, as well as the mirror sites
Mirror (computing)
In computing, a mirror is an exact copy of a data set. On the Internet, a mirror site is an exact copy of another Internet site.Mirror sites are most commonly used to provide multiple sources of the same information, and are of particular value as a way of providing reliable access to large downloads...
of the technical work of Damon Rinard and others.
With Galen Evans and Osman Isvan, Brown developed a method to determine and compare bicycle gear ratios. For any combination of front chainring, rear cog, wheel size and crank length, his method results in a number that Brown terms the "gain ratio" . This method purports to be the only formula that takes into account crank length in addition to chainring, cog and wheel size, and has the advantage of producing a unitless quantity and is thus independent of the choice of units for the contributing quantities.
Also, he wrote extensive argumentation about chain cleaning, lubrication and wear, a topic which is often a source of disagreement among riders and among lubricant manufacturers.
Brown was a frequent participant in online cycling forums such as the rec.bicycles.tech Usenet
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
newsgroup and bikeforums.net. His April Fool's Day articles were awaited by the online cycling community. On some groups, links to his site in response to technical questions were flagged with the abbreviation AASHTA (As Always, Sheldon Has The Answer). His signature style was to sign off with a whimsical nickname related to the topic at hand. When discussing an internal planetary gear hub (such as the Sturmey-Archer
Sturmey-Archer
Sturmey-Archer is a manufacturing company originally from Nottingham, England. It primarily produces bicycle hub gears but has also produced motorcycle hubs....
or the Shimano Nexus
Shimano Nexus
Shimano Nexus is a brand of bicycle components which includes products such as epicyclical gear hubs, cranksets, shifters, brake levers, hub brakes, hub dynamos, and a CPU for automatically changing gears. The series is primarily aimed at the "comfort" market such as urban commuters and tourers,...
hubs), he might be Sheldon "Totally Enclosed" Brown or, for a page on gears and drivetrain, Sheldon "Shifty" Brown.
Brown was an early proponent of fixed-gear
Fixed-gear bicycle
A fixed-gear bicycle is a bicycle that has no freewheel, meaning it cannot coast, as the pedals are always in motion when the bicycle is moving....
, single-speed
Single-speed bicycle
A single-speed bicycle is a type of bicycle with a single gear ratio. These bicycles are without derailleur gears, hub gearing or other methods for varying the gear ratio of the bicycle....
bicycles for ordinary street use — after such designs had, for many years, been supplanted by multi-speed models in industrialised countries.(http://sheldonbrown.com/singlespeed.html) In recent years, use of such bikes has become a widespread cycling, popular culture and fashion phenomenon. After ignoring single speed bicycles for decades, many manufacturers now offer highly stylized single-speed models intending to meet the market demand. Despite the rapid growth of this market, Brown's web site remains a technical resource for single-speed cyclists. Similarly, Brown's interest in the Raleigh Twenty
Raleigh Twenty
The Raleigh "Twenty" is a small-wheeled bicycle which was introduced to the market in 1968 as a competitor to the original Moulton bicycle. Raleigh already had a more direct competitor in the RSW-16 bicycle. Initially it was not aggressively marketed, but it was a much better bicycle than the RSW-16...
bicycle (a 1960s and 70s English-made line which bases a highly-adjustable, adult-size bike on a relatively small, 20 in. (406mm) diameter wheel) spurred a collectors' and restorers' market for these overlooked bikes.
Print Publications, Awards
Brown was a contributing writer for Bike World magazine (USA) in the late 1970s and for Bicycling magazine (USA) in the early 1980s, then for the trade magazine American Bicyclist and Motorcyclist from approximately 1988 through 1992. For several years until shortly before his death, he wrote the "Mechanical Advantage" column for Adventure Cyclist, the magazine of the Adventure Cycling AssociationAdventure Cycling Association
The Adventure Cycling Association is a national cycling association in the United States which provides services for cycle-tourists, publishes maps and campaigns for better cycling facilities. Its headquarters are in Missoula, Montana...
. In 2004, Brown was recognized for his contribution to cycling by the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's Cyclists' Touring Club
Cyclists' Touring Club
CTC and the UK's national cyclists' organisation are the trading names of the Cyclists' Touring Club.CTC is the United Kingdom's largest cycling membership organisation. It also has member groups in the Republic of Ireland...
(CTC). Reference is made to his site in the technical library of the CTC.