Zeros being made of the new “extra super duralumin” aluminum alloy, which corroded quickly in corrosive environments (like near the ocean) and became extremely brittle likely helped too.

Love the teeth. I wonder how thick the steel on the front is, and what alloy.

Your video, How NASA Reinvented The Wheel - Shape Memory Alloys, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

All I can think is Wood's Metal.
But I'd think he's know that.

Wood's metal, also known as Lipowitz's alloy or by the commercial names Cerrobend, Bendalloy, Pewtalloy and MCP 158, is a eutectic, fusible alloy with a melting point of approximately 70 °C (158 °F). It is a eutectic alloy of 50% bismuth, 26.7% lead, 13.3% tin, and 10% cadmium by weight.

Looks very cool and I want one because of that, but it seems like a massively inefficient design for something where efficiency is pretty important. Why the steel frame? Why not aluminum or one of those fancy bike alloys if aluminum isn't strong enough? Why the big wheels and fat tires with all their extra weight and increased rolling friction just for the sake of aesthetics? The minibike layout does seem pretty good for an electronic bike though.

*lies, please? I see this, and all I notice are the complete lack of reality-grounding measures.
Let's not make the planet stupider for someone's bullshit movie universe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adamantium
"Adamantium is a fictional metal alloy appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics."

I'm made of a polycarbonate alloy, you're made of glue ... bounces off me and adheres to your necrotic flesh.

The last bit of faith I had in the ways of old is now gone. All that steel hammering and for what? Stamp out a sword from cold steel.

That's my cyberpunk samurai. A disillusioned samurai in a not too distant future 3D prints a sword out of plastic and kills robots made out of martian alloy.

His faith is restored when he realizes it is not the sword that makes the samurai, but the way of Bushido which allows man to overcome the tyranny of martian robots. That and a moderate amount of armor blessed by the spirits of earth and infused with the wielder's chi, such that to break earth's samurai defender's armor would be to shatter his very soul. Split a bullet with a glance.

Was about to comment on the fancy light-weight alloy tires, but @ Payback put it better than I planned to.

...aaand I'm fairly certain "scientists understood that temperatures affect material performance." That is not something that is new knowledge gained by humanity in the last 100 (or 1000) years.

Better metal alloys? Certainly.

A disturbing idea for sure.

I know it's just a very visual illustration of how history might not change for the better if key elements are changed, but just to expand on his little thought experiment...

They wouldn't have had access to the neccessary raw material, would they? Pretty much every sort of metal alloy was in short supply even during the late '30s. The occupation of Narvik brought some relief, but still, a nuclear weapons program requires some pretty exotic material that you can't get at Tesco.

"Magnetic field ... with empty space between the tread and alloy wheel."

What!?! Because that wouldn't be excessively heavy/expensive/dangerous at all, oh no. I can't decide whether this should be in commercial, scifi, or parody.

"At high speeds this precooler cools the hot, ram compressed air leading to an unusually high pressure ratio within the engine. The compressed air is subsequently fed into the rocket combustion chamber where it is ignited with stored liquid hydrogen. The high pressure ratio allows the engine to continue to provide high thrust at very high speeds and altitudes. The low temperature of the air permits light alloy construction to be employed which gives a very lightweight engine — essential for reaching orbit." —WikiPedia

Can't stand people like that anyway. Muscle cars are to be driven, not trailered. 1955 Mercedes 300SL "Alloy"? Fuck ya, two floor trailer with a/c and floor to roof low-e glass tinted sides. Camaro? Please. If you're not behind the wheel you're a poser.

Aluminium alloy usually, and yes they do take a beating. Everything is a light as they think they can get away with so top riders quite often snap frames, sometimes several a year. Carbon is generally avoided because of the way it can splinter when it breaks.


>> ^Stingray:

What are those wheel frames made out of? They're taking some hardcore punishment.