The 1994 Edward DeMille Campbell Memorial Lecture

ASM INTERNATIONAL

Materials, Bicycles, and Design

M.F. ASHBY

If the selection of materials is to be integrated into engineering design, a procedure is needed to

identify, from among the enormous range of materials, the subset which most closely meets the
design requirements. The elements of such a procedure are here described and illustrated by using
it to select materials for bicycle frames.

I. INTRODUCTION II. MATERIALS AND THE DESIGN PROCESS

THE starting point of this article can be put in four short Figure 1 helps clarify the problem. The central column
sentences. Materials and processes underpin all engineering shows, much simplified, the stages of the design process.
design.tl-4~ The computer (by which we mean "information A market need is identified. Concepts which might meet
technology") has revolutionized the way the geometric, the need are devised. The functional units of each concept
thermomechanical, and manufacturing aspects of design are are identified and their viability is examined (left-hand col-
tackled.iS.6] But the selection of material and process is umns). Potentially practical concepts are selected and the
poorly integrated into this new technology. What can we design proceeds to the embodiment stage in which a layout
do about it? is developed and approximate estimates of its overall per-
formance are made. If successful, the design passes to the
detail stage in which analysis and optimization lead to a set
of working drawings giving the size and layout of each
component; critical components are subjected to finite-ele-
ment analysis; and the performance of assemblies is
M.F. ASHBY received his Bachelors degree and Doctorate in Natural optimized using modeling or simulation tools, until the de-
Sciences at the University of Cambridge and then joined the Institute for
Metal Physics at the University of Grttingen, Germany, working with sign is finally frozen. The output is a product specification:
Professor P. Haasen from 1962 to 1965. From 1966 to 1973, he held the a set of instructions for shape, material, and technology of
post of Professor of Applied Physics in the Division of Engineering and manufacture.iS,61
Applied Physics at Harvard University. Since 1973, he has been a member An example may help. A need is perceived for a man-
of the Cambridge University Engineering Department, where he holds the
post of Royal Society Research Professor. Professor Ashby has been the powered ground transportation system, Concepts are de-
editor of Acta Metallurgica since 1974. His research interests include vised, allowing the imagination to range as freely as
mechanisms of plasticity and fracture, methodologies for materials possible; a small subset is sketched in Figure 2. The
selection and their integration into an integrated design framework, and concepts' viability is examined. The first (Figure 2(a))
the modeling of material-shaping processes.
might be thought in the 1990s to be socially unacceptable.
The Edward DeMille Campbell Memorial Lecture was established in The most trivial of analyses reveals that the second (Figure
1926 as an annual lecture in memory of and in recognition of the 2(b)) is physically impractical. The third (Figure 2(c)) re-
outstanding scientific contributions to the metallurgical profession by a quires unusual human skills. The fourth--if refined--might
distinguished educator who was blind for all but two years of his just work.
professional life. It recognizes demonstrated ability in metallurgical
science and engineering. Analysis and development of a function structure (mode

METALLURGICALAND MATERIALSTRANSACTIONSA VOLUME26A, DECEMBER 1995--3057

 /
DESIGN DESI GN MATERIAL PROCESS
i
TOOL_S METHODS SELECTION SELECTIOt

i ALL MATERIALS ~LL PROCESSE-

~
FUNCTION
SYNTHESIZER ~ CLARIFYTASK ~ ............ "t---i LOWPRECISION ~ LOWRESOLEFOI _.~ :_,,r,- ..... + . . . . . i ~ _ y _
FUNCTION FUNCTI
DEVELOP
ON i DATA
MODELER STRUCTURE
3D -SOLID DEVELOP SUBSETOF SUBSETOF
MODELER LAYOUT EMBODIMENT. ~ MATERIALS PROCESSES
SIMULATION !
-HIGHER
I PRECISION
-HIGHER
RESOLUTION
/ \
I DATA
0PTIMIZATJON OPTIMIZE
METH00S SHAPES i ONE MATERIAL ONE PROCESS
COMPONENT ~ -HIGHEST -HIGHEST
~ODELING
DFM/ IrE
OFAM) MANUFACTURE
OPTIMIZE PRECISION
DATA RESOLUTION

t T I .o ucT I t
Fig. 1--The design process, with design tools on the left and material and
process selection on the right. In the early stages, the emphasis is on
breadth; in the later stages, it is on precision.

Fig. 4---Detailed design: the arrows signify dimensions and angles.

(Concept modeler)

Function modeler
Material
3-D solid m o d e l e r Product
Jl" and =
F E M ... S i m u l a t e . . . O p t i m i z e Specification
Process

D F A .,. DFM ... Selector

Rapid protctyping

Fig. 5--Developments in computer-aided design. Many of the

developments can be interfaced, allowing concurrent design; materials and
process selection are poorly integrated, at present.

machining, pattern-making, or prototyping equipment. Un-

der development are function modelers which exploit in-
Fig. 2--(a) through (d) Concepts for man-powered transport. formation about the function of a component or assembly
(rather than merely its shape) to generate and scale geo-
metric models and suggest assemblies. On the horizon are
concept modelers, using associative logic to suggest new
conceptual solutions to problems. Increasingly, these tools
are interfaced to allow concurrent rather than sequential de-
sign, minimizing development time and allowing the de-
signer to make changes in shape or configuration and to

Fig. 3--An embodiment of the concept in Fig. 2(d).

1 watch the consequences of the changes cascade through the
chain of linked tools.
Material and process selection (Figure 1, fight-hand col-
umns) have failed to keep pace with these developments.
They appear in the "sequential" position of the second box
of Figure 5. New designs generally make use of materials
and processes already familiar to the designer. Could not
their selection be integrated into the design framework? To
of propulsion and mechanisms of motion, steering, braking, answer this, it is valuable to examine first the causes of
etc.) lead to a sophisticated embodiment (Figure 3). Optim- their separation. Look for a moment, then, at the design
ization of frame shape and section, bearings, gearing, and history of the bicycle.
other critical components leads ultimately to a three-dimen-
sional geometric model, fully dimensioned, for each com-
ponent; in total, a detailed specification (Figure 4). III. THE DESIGN HISTORY OF THE BICYCLE
Sophisticated tools are available to the designer to help
with these tasks (extreme left column of Figure 1, and Fig- You could fill a small library with writings about the
ure 5). Shape is captured by 3-dimensional solid-modeling bicycle (a selection is listed as References 7 through 13).
tools which allow perspectives, projections, elevations, and As an example of design, the bicycle is a happy choice:
sections to be explored and which interface directly with today the bicycle is almost exactly 200 years old and en-
finite element, optimization, and simulation codes; the op- joying its second great peak of popularity. The hobby
timized geometry can be passed to numerically controlled horse---our concept in Figure 2(d)--was first in general use

3058--VOLUME 26A, DECEMBER 1995 METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A

Fig. 6 ~ T h e history of the bicycle: there was a period of intense technical development around 1890; today we are currently experiencing an intense
period of material development.

around 1795. By 1815, it had acquired steering, the inven- bicycles? But before delving into that, we should examine
tion of a German--the Count von Draise--with the quite what can be learned from this history.
unexpected additional benefit that one could now balance The most obvious lesson is this: technical development
on a moving bicycle. By 1838, pedals--direct power to the comes first and innovation in the use of materials follows
front wheel--had been added, devised, according to the later. Understandable. If you are a designer struggling to
French, by a Frenchman, Pierre Michaux. Thereafter (Fig- devise concepts, develop embodiments, analyze detail, and
ure 6), new concepts and their technical development fol- plan product manufacture, you choose materials you know.
lowed rapidly. The ball bearing, the spoked wheel, the Unfamiliar materials carry risks: a program to develop a
tubular frame, the chain drive, the free wheel, gears and new material carries heavy risks. But the sequence we see
differentials, and finally, in about 1890, Dunlop's pneu- here, though understandable, is undesirable. A design, once
matic tire were all invented for the bicycle. By 1895, the frozen, constrains the use of materials; the potential of a
bicycle had acquired the form and functionality of the bi- new material may never then be realized.
cycle of today: it had a diamond frame, pedal power, chain An example is as follows. The standard bicycle frame is
drive, and pneumatic tires; in technical specification, there made of 1-in. tubing. An accessory industry has grown up
is nothing to distinguish today's bicycle from that one. And around this dimension: all the things you clip, clamp, or
the perfection, so to speak, of the bicycle, was not the only screw onto bicycle frames are designed for 1-in. tubes. An
outcome of this remarkable burst of technical innovation. innovative designer seeking to employ a new material is
It created the infrastructure necessary for the development under pressure to retain this tube diameter: failure to do so
both of the automobile and the airplane: Henry Ford and divorces the new design from all the accessories available
the Wright brothers--among others--were bicycle builders to the old one. Yet the constraint of 1-in. tubing m a y - -
before they moved on to larger and (for the Wright broth- indeed does--prevent the most effective use of many al-
ers, at least) higher things. ternative materials, as we shall see subsequently. So we
The automobile all but killed the bicycle. Between 1900 return to the question: can materials selection be integrated
and 1950, the bicycle's popularity declined, and there was into the design process? We need a design-led materials
little incentive to develop it further. Indeed, it is arguable selection procedure.
that in the 100 years that have elapsed since 1895, there
have been no conceptual or technical developments in the
bicycle that remotely compare in their importance with the IV. DESIGN-LED MATERIALS SELECTION
invention of steering, of pedal power, of the chain drive,
or of the pneumatic tire. Yet, we live today in what is the The essentials of a design-led materials selection sys-
second great era of the bicycle: and the innovation, this tem El4,151are sketched in Figure 7. Its inputs are design re-
time, is materials. Since 1950, the conventional materials quirements: function, constraints, and objectives. Function
of which bicycles were made--wood, iron, and mild defines the purpose of the component: to carry bending mo-
steel--have been replaced by a portfolio of newer materi- ments, to transmit heat, etc. Constraints are conditions that
als, many of them derived from the aerospace industry that must be met in performing the function: first, functional
was itself first nucleated by the bicycle: low-alloy steels constraints such as a limit on elastic deflection or the re-
(now the bike industry standard), filled polymers, alloys of quirement that the component does not fail; and second,
aluminum, magnesium, and titanium, and--most recently-- geometric constraints which prescribe certain dimensions.
advanced composites. Surveying this range, one is tempted The objective describes the quantity to be minimized or
to ask: can all these materials be equally good for making maximized: the weight, the cost, the life, etc.

METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A VOLUME 26A, DECEMBER 1995--3059

 PEDALING

Function I [ ConstraintsI I Objective

(Carrybending I ~ l (Limitdeflection, I---"1 ( M~n~mize,~.
MO N' , "Z-
moment) II n~ I / minimize ~
it
9 tl

Translator
(materal ndees) '~= -- ROAD REACTION

,l Bending Torsion
Material
Fig. 9--The loading on the bicycle frame: (a) bending and (b) torsion. [13]
Selector
M M
~t

I Short list of materials ,m L -~

Fig. I ~ - A tube, loaded in bending.

adequately stiff--a frame which flexes too much dissipates

--*-t Iterate ~-~.---
the rider's energy. Figure 9 shows the important loads. The
forks, for obvious reasons, are loaded in bending. The
Fig. 7--Design-led materials selection: the inputs are function and shape; frame, less obviously, carries bending and torsional loads
and the output is a short list of possible materials and processes. created by impact and by out-of-plane pedaling forces, and
it is these which are most important in choosing its strength
and stiffness. We take bending as an example; the results
Compound ProDerties Fun~ion of torsion are the same.
ProPerties And here we need a model. The simplest model which
Fixed radius Fixed shape just captures the essentials is laid out below.
Density p .....

!Modulus E~ ~ E/p Ev2 / p Stiffness A. Translation: Design Requirements to Material Indices

Most bicycles have tubular frames. The tube diameter,
~oelP 2/3
~e /p Strength for an ordinary "street" bike, is standard (roughly 1 in.;
!Strength ~e" j 25 mm), allowing standardization of accessories. Consider
this first.
The design requirements can now be stated formally: a
Fig. 8--Simple and compound properties.
material is sought for a light, strong, tubular beam of fixed
outer diameter (Figure 10). The function is to carry bending
The first step is to translate these requirements into a moments. The objective is to minimize the mass m of the
specification for material selection. This we do by deriving frame. Expressed per unit length L of tube, the mass is
"material indices," combinations of material properties
which, if maximized, optimally meet the design require- m
-- = 27rrtp [1]
ments. These become the inputs to the materials selector, L
the output of which is a short list of candidate materials
and data describing them. Figure 8 gives an idea of what where r is the outer radius of the tube, t is the wall thick-
they look like. Materialperformance is described by simple ness, and p is the density of the material of which it is
properties (left-hand column): the lightest unit cube of a made. This is the objective function, the quantity to be min-
material is that with the lowest density p, and the stiffest imized.
is that with the highest modulus E. Component performance The first constraint is that of strength: the tube must not
is measured by compound properties or indices (central col- fail. Mechanical failure could be by plastic collapse, by fast
umns): combinations like specific stiffness E/p or a specific fracture, by buckling, or by fatigue caused by repeated cy-
endurance limit o-Jp. These indices look simple but they clic loads. Take fatigue as an example. The cyclic bending
are remarkably powerful: they capture function, constraints, moment MB the tube can withstand with infinite life is
and objective.
One example is a lightweight frame for a competition MB = - - [2]
r
bicycle. It must bear service loads safely (that is without
failure), be as light as possible, and at the same time be where o'e is the endurance limit and I is the second moment

306~VOLUME 26A, DECEMBER 1995 METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A

 El/2
M, = -- [81
t9
We need these results subsequently. For now, note that in-
n dices capture function, constraints, and objectives; they
translate design requirements into prescriptions for select-
ing material.
I11
o B. Material Property Space
Property combinations like those of Eqs. [5] through [8]
i1) suggest the idea of plotting one property--E, say--against
another--p, for instance--such that combinations such as
E
~ E/p and E1/2p can be examined. More generally, one can
think of a "material property s p a c e " - - a hyperspace with
values of material properties as coordinates. The space is
populated with blobs, each describing a class of materials:
metals, woods, composites, etc. Each contains a large num-
ber of smaller blobs, each describing one member of the
Simple property P2 class. Figure 11 is a schematic slice through this space. One
Fig. I I - - A planar slice through material property space. material property P1 (the modulus, for instance) is plotted
against another P2 (the density, perhaps) on logarithmic
scales. The slice intersects the blobs, as shown.
of area, given, for a thin-walled tube, by
Indices divide the space and allow the part of it contain-
I = 7rr3t [3] ing materials well suited to a given application to be iso-
lated. Think, for a moment, of P. as E and P2 as p. The
There is a second constraint, this time one of geometry: the condition
tube radius, r, is as fixed. The wall thickness is tree; we
E
choose it so that it will just support Ms. Substituting Eqs. --=- C
[3] and [2] into Eq. [1] gives the mass per unit length in P
terms of design parameters and material properties: or taking logs,

m_ 2MB [ p ] [4] log E = log p + log C [9]

7 r defines a family of straight parallel lines of slope 1, one
line for each value of the constant C. The condition
The lightest tube which performs the function and meets
the constraints is therefore that made from the material with E t/2
-C
the greatest value of the compound property or "index." P
defines another set with slope 2. We want the subset of
M, = - - [5] materials with the largest values of C; the appropriate fam-
P ily of lines identifies these. The indices give a method for
A change of function, objective, or constraints changes the optimal selection. Any one of the indices given previously
index. If the function were transmission of heat rather than (and there are many more) can be used in this way, plotting
mechanical load, thermal conductivity would appear in it on the appropriate slice through property space. We shall
place of endurance limit. If the objective were to minimize call these slices "material selection charts."
cost rather than weight, the density p would be replaced by Figure 11 is a planar slice. We learn more if we examine
C,,p, where C,~ is the cost per kilogram of the material. nonplanar slices. Figure 12 shows the idea. If each of the
More relevant here, if the first constraint is that of stiffness axes of the chart is not made up of simple properties but
rather than strength, is that the index (derived in a similar instead functions of two or more of them, then the chart
way) becomes projects a curved surface through the space, again inter-
secting the material blobs, as shown. And if the functions
E we choose are themselves indices, the procedure allows se-
3,42 = -- [61 lection of materials which maximize two different indices
P
at the same time. As an example, if the two indices M 3 and
And if the second constraint--that of fixed tube radius--is M4 (Eqs. [7] and [8]) are chosen, then the materials which
relaxed and replaced by that of fixed tube shape (r/t fixed) lie near the top right of Figure 12 are those which have
then--reiterating the derivation--the index for strength be- large values of both. In the examples which follow, we
comes have used curved sections to make the selections.
O-e2/3
M3- [7] C. Selection of Materials for Bicycle Frames
P
The method is best illustrated by example. The standard
and that for stiffness becomes bike made of the standard material (steel) has 1-in. tubes.

METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A VOLUME 26A, DECEMBER 1995--3061

 steels, the alloys of aluminum, magnesium, and titanium--
Non-planar slice
I

lie almost on top of each other; to separate them, the box

in which they lie has been expanded horizontally to the
right. It contains the alloys commonly used for bicycle
Q. frames: the low alloy steels 531 and 753; the aluminum
V
alloys 7075, 2024, and 6061 in the T4 or T6 condition; the
relatively low-strength B265 titanium; and the magnesium
alloy AZ61. All have almost identical values o f M 1 and M2;
at fixed tube radius, there is almost nothing to choose be-
0k,. tween them. Even CFRPs offer very little if fabricated as
1-in. tubing; the additional weight of the nodes needed to
c-
connect the tubes offsets the weight savings offered by the
material itself.
o The potential of light alloys and composites is unlocked,
o_
so to speak, when the constraint on tube radius is relaxed;
E fat-tube bikes can exploit their advantages more fully. In-
0
0 dices for tubing of constant shape (r/t) rather than constant
size (r) were derived earlier; they are listed in the third
Compound property g(P3,P4...) column of Figure 8. Calling the database again and forming
these new compound properties gives the slice through
Fig. 1 2 - - A curved slice through material property space. property space shown in Figure 14. And this time things
have changed. If we take 531 (it lies near the lower left)
500 as the benchmark, we find that all the other metals offer
FRAME MATERIALS
,~A/~
:
9 c,~/p v, E/p
gains, both in stiffness and in strength. The designer now
CFRPs has an option: if--as in a motmtain bike--strength is more
'E important than stiffness, the best choice might be those met-
d~200 als which lie highest on the strength axis: high-strength
WOODS
g titanium and metal-matrix composites. If, instead, stiffness
GFRPs I.--,
TiALLOYSN~~E is the over-riding consideration (as in a track bicycle), then
100
FILLED If MgALl 0Y$
it is the metals lying furthest to the right which are most
b~ 80
ELS
POLYMERS attractive: magnesium alloys and, above all, beryllium. The
o. 60 B265 153
CFRPs (and wood, too) are outstanding by both criteria;
[51 70"7 531
only the problem of joining has to be overcome to exploit
2- 6 L them fully.
~ - ~ Mcj ALLOYS i !
g / ,
o_ 20 POLYMERS ] , ~,
AI ALLOYS IISTEELS V. COMPUTER-AIDED MATERIAL SELECTION
[ I ~ I [ J I
2-2 2.3 12./. 2.i 2.6 2.7
All this is perfectly practical, t15,'6] Focus for a moment
10, J I I I I I I ] [ I ~ i I I
/* 6 8 10 20 40 60 80 100 200 on Figure 14 (the materials charts for fixed shape) and the
PROPERTY GROUP E//p (GP(a/Mcj.m -3) light alloys it contains. Figure 15 is the output of a com-
puter-based selection system[16] which implements the pro-
Fig. ] 3 - - A selection chart for strength and stiffness, w i t h fixed tube
cedure I have described here. The figure shows the same
radius, r, hut tube wall thickness free.
curved slice through property space. Data, in this instance,
were drawn from a database for light alloys, so steel wood
Accessories fit this frame size, so there is an incentive--as and CFRP are not there, but otherwise, it looks very much
already mentioned--to retain it. With this constraint, what like the previous figure. The large ovals span the range of
gain in performance, in the sense of strength and stiffness properties of each alloy class: aluminum, magnesium, tita-
per trait weight, do alternative materials offer? Figure 8 nium, and beryllium. The smaller bubbles within them de-
tabulates the indices. The second column gives those for scribe individual alloys, in specified states of heat
fixed tube radius--they are the indices M1 and M2 derived treatment; some of those relevant to the bicycle frame are
in Section A. labeled. The software allows selection lines to be con-
Imagine, now, a database of material properties contain- structed, isolating subsets of materials with attractive values
ing information about the materials that are, or could be, of both indices, and weighted, if desired, in the direction
used for bicycle frames. From it, we call the simple prop- of strength or the direction of stiffness. This subset can then
erties E, ~ , and p. With these, we form the compound be passed to further selection stages in which other con-
properties in the second column of Figure 8 and plot them straints (adequate toughness, availability in tubular form,
as a material selection chart. Figure 13 shows the result. weldability, etc.) can be applied, identifying the small set
The horizontal axis shows specific stiffness, and the vertical of materials which satisfy all the design requirements. More
one gives specific fatigue strength. Polymers and short-fiber important, the method can be integrated into the design
composites lie to the lower left; they are poor by both cri- framework. The inputs, as we have seen, are design spec-
teria. Continuous carbon-fiber composites (CFRPs) lie ifications: function, constraints, and objectives. The output
toward the upper right, good by both criteria. Metals-- is a short list of candidate materials, with property data

3062 VOLUME 26A, DECEMBER 1995 METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A

 Fig. 16--The output of a computer-aided selection system for a fixed tube
shape when material cost is to be minimized.
Fig. 14---A selection chart for strength and stiffness, with shape, r/t, fixed
but radius, r, free. O'e2/3
M5 - [lO]
Cmp
where Cmis the cost of the material per kilogram; M5 meas-
ures the strength per unit cost, for fixed tube shape. The
horizontal axis is
El~2
M6 = [11]
Cmp
It measures stiffness per unit cost. And now, steels deci-
sively win: although not shown here, they are better than
any of the light alloys (531 lies just off the top fight corner
of the figure). The light alloys themselves form a clear
ranking; aluminum alloys offer the best value for the
money, so to speak, in this application; they are followed
by magnesium and, then far behind, by titanium and be-
ryllium. All this can be done very quickly, offering the
designer the same sort of flexibility that he expects from
the design tools already at his disposal.

VI. CONCLUSIONS
Fig. 15--The output of a computer-aided selection system for a fixed tube There is evidence that in mechanical design, technical
shape when weight is to be minimized.
innovation precedes innovation in material and process.
While this is understandable, it is undesirable; when a new
material is introduced into an already detailed design, its
which can be passed to downstream tools for simulation, potential may never be fully realized.
finite element analysis, etc. Properly integrated for other The computer has greatly changed the design world. So-
design tools, the designer could select any one of these phisticated tools exist to capture function and geometry; to
candidates and watch the consequence of the choice cas- simulate, model, and analyze; to optimize, both for me-
cade through the linked chain of design tools and, if the chanical performance and manufacturability; and more. No
results are unsatisfactory, could pick an altemative candi- such tools exist for the selection of materials and processes,
date and follow the consequences again. with the result that their selection is poorly integrated into
We have limited ourselves thus far to the performance- the design stream. There is, today, a sense that the achieve-
related objective of minimizing weight. Suppose, as a final ments of material science have outstripped the ability of the
example, material cost rather than weight was the objective, engineer to apply them; and this divergence relates, at least
then, drawn from the same database, the appropriate slice in part, to the problem we have just defined: the inability
through property space is created, as shown in Figure 16. of the designer to explore the potential of alternative ma-
The vertical axis is terials in his design. A strategy is needed to deal with it.

METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A VOLUME 26A, DECEMBER 1995--3063

 The outlines of a design-led materials selection system REFERENCES
have been developed in this article. The scheme takes, as
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Approach, McGraw-Hill, London, 1983.
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2. F.A. Crane and J.A. Charles: Selection and Use of Engineering
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appears possible that a parallel scheme could be developed 5. G. Pahl and W. Beitz: Engineering Design, The Design Council,
London, 1984.
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A full implementation poses many challenges. The re- York, NY, 1992.
sources required are considerable; but so they were before 7. A. Sharp: Bicycles and Tricycles, an Elementary Treatise on their
the development of the solid modeling software which, to- Design and Construction, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1993.
day, is in general use. And the rewards are considerable. 8. R. Watson and M. Gray: The Penguin Book of the Bicycle, Penguin
Books, Harmondesworth, United Kingdom, 1978.
Above all, it is the route to a convergence of two of the
9. F.R. Whitt and D.G. Wilson: Bicycling Science, 2nd ed., The MIT
main streams of engineering: materials science and me- Press, Cambridge, MA, 1985.
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Culture Centre, Tokyo, 1993.
11. W. Ulrich: Fahrrad = Weg/Zeit, The Technical Museum, Vienna,
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 1990.
12. C.J. McMahon, Jr. and C.D. Graham, Jr.: Introduction to Engineering
The author wishes to acknowledge the financial support Materials: The Bicycle and the Walkman, University of Pennsylvania,
of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Philadelphia, PA, USA, 1993.
of the United Kingdom through a rolling grant to the En- 13. Engineering Materials: An Introduction, Unit 11, Bike Frames, The
Open University, Milton Keynes, UK, 1982.
gineering Design Centre of the Cambridge University En-
14. M.F. Ashby: Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, Pergamon
gineering Department, and to thank Dr. D. Cebon, Press, Oxford, United Kingdom, 1992.
Professor C.A. McMahon and Drs. H.R. Shercliff and 15. D. Cebon and M.F. Ashby: Met. Mater., 1992, Jan., pp. 25-30.
M.P.F. Sutcliffe for stimulating discussions and documents 16. CMS Materials Selection Software, Granta Design Ltd., 20
which have helped to shape this article. Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1QA, United Kingdom.

3064--VOLUME 26A, DECEMBER 1995 METALLURGICALAND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A