Yeah,
And slide rules fit into the classic time line very well. Back in High School all the cool kids wore them on your belt like a very long pager or phone that kids favor today. Slide rules along with the brains to use them were soon replaced by relatively expensive (more than a bike, they came down later) pocket calculators.
Regards,
Gilbert "too cool to rule" Anderson Raleigh, NC USA
In a message dated 8/24/02 4:22:50 PM, CaptBike@sheldonbrown.com writes:
<< Sometimes a 400 year old instrument is faster than your computer!
The slide rule was invented back in 1625 by William Oughtred, based on John Napier's 1614 discovery of logarithms. This was the indespensable tool of mathematicians, scientists, engineers and mathematically literate lay people up until the early 1970s when solid state electronic calculators became available.
Computers are wonderful things, and among their many uses is the
rapid calculation of bicycle gearing. I have written (with some
volunteer programming help) a Web based system for calculating the
gears of multiple speed bicycles. http://sheldonbrown.com/
This and similar systems are excellent for generating charts of multiple gear systems. They are less than ideal for the fixed-gear or singlespeed rider, however. For calculation of single gears, I usually fall back on much older technology, my trusty slide rule!
The slide rule generally only offers 2-3 digits of precision, but for bicycle gearing that's quite sufficient, and the extra digits provided by many computer applications only obscure things.
My latest Web article shows how to do this. I'm very proud of the JavaScript slide rule.
See: http://sheldonbrown.com/
Sheldon "Slipstick" Brown Newtonville, Massachusetts +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | Anyone who can't use a slide rule is a cultural illiterate, | | and should not be allowed to vote. --Robert A. Heinlein | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone 617-244-9772, 617-244-1040, FAX 617-244-1041 http://harriscyclery.com Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide http://captainbike.com Useful articles about bicycles and cycling http://sheldonbrown.com >>
Gilbert Anderson
The North Road Bicycle Company
your bicycle outfitter
519 W. North St.
Raleigh, NC 27603
USA
ph toll free in USA :800/321-5511
Local ph: 919/828-8999
E-Mail: cyclestore@aol.com