"And how crazy..." bicycles, bicycles
Oh!
As kids, we're crazy about them I know I was
I loved my little red Schwinn bike, I sure did
- Charlie! - Look at that. That's it
"That's my four-year-old son Charlie"
"He's just starting to learn how to ride a bike. How about that!"
"I myself don't even own a bicycle right now"
"So, you know what? I'm gonna go on a journey of discovery"
"I wanna find out as much about bikes as I can"
"And maybe I'm gonna fall in love again"
"Yeah. Maybe"
- That'll be... get all this - What are they doing?
"From commuters who bike five miles to work..."
Saves on gasoline
"to weekend warriors..."
You do three hours' worth of serious exercise and you have fun doing it
"Americans are embracing the bicycle"
"Not only is pedal-power free it's also healthy"
"Industry insiders expect the good times to keep on rolling"
But let me ask you this
Why is it... that bikes hold our imaginations in such...
ironclad unbreakable captivity? Why? Hands
Oh, my heavens! Holy cats!
Whoa! He took a little a spill
- You okay? - I'm good. I'm fine
Ah, he's fine
That was a triple axle double fudge sundae
I don't know what would you call that?
Different than when I was a kid, right?
Look at that. The littlest one of all the littlest one
A tater tot High-flying birds cheese!
"BMX, that's, um, bowel matrix size I don't know, nope"
"Bangers and mash, Xerxes"
"I give up"
"Wait a minute, what?"
"Bicycle Motocross, didn't I say that? I think I said that early on"
- Hello, everybody, I can't believe it - Hello
- I can't believe what I was s... seeing
- You wanna try? - I do wanna try it
I mean, I don't wanna do anything where I'm gonna get broken
- You have to wear a full helmet - Yes
And then if you fall, it won't hurt it will... it will only hurt a little
Have you fallen on that, and this has saved you, do you think?
- Um, yeah - Oh, okay
What do you think?
"Before we go any further full disclosure"
"I have not been riding my bike or any bike"
"I don't own a bike, in my adult life"
"When I'm on vacation where I can rent a bike"
"oh, I've do ne that just for fun. However.."
" I'm looking at these kids, and this is a different bike"
"It looks like you don't sit down. Anyway, let's see how I do"
So you said you have a little experience of riding a bike so...
Well, years ago, but as they say, it's like riding a bike
- you know, I think I'll remember it - Yeah. Exactly, you remember
It's muscle memory it's nothing to it, but to do it
- See, if I was just gonna ride.. Yeah
- this is too low for me, right? - Exactly
This is a type of bike where you don't wanna sit down, you wanna stand up
- Like that Kevin is demonstrating. Look - Exactly
- "See how he's standing up?" - "I see"
"You see... You see how he took off standing up?"
"You're not gonna be taking off sitting down"
"you're gonna be taking off standing up"
I sure am. Uh, okay
Oh, yeah There we go
I'm catching up to you!
He's good, he got the turn
Keep your feet level, Jeff you're losing points, man
- Oh, man, that was good, Jeff - Yeah?
"You almost look like a professional, bro"
Keep your head forward, and then, keep your, um, back back
Because we're not about to let you go out there unprepared
- So that's where I'm gonna go? - Yeah
- Geez - That's next level, huh?
- It looks a little... - I'm only six, I'm doing it
- Uh, so I'm ready? - Yeah, you're ready
Okay. Ready?
- Yes. Yes - "Yup"
"There you go, Jeff"
There you go
And he's coming around the mountain when he comes and there we go
- "What'd you think, Jeff?" - I thought it was fantastic
I think you took this like a champ I think that was too easy for you
- I think that's pretty good, thank you - I think you did pretty good
I'm gonna start weeping uncontrollably, that was fantastic
I know It's this, slap, bam!
"You know people have loved bicycles"
"since the very first one in 1817 hey, it was called The Velocipede"
"Wow, that's like velociraptor velocipede, or dandy horse"
"We've tried the monowheel, the unicycle, the dicycle, the tricycle"
"penny farthings, boneshakers"
"and a multitude madcap vehicles, dreamt up by those brave enough to explore"
"not what is but what might be"
"Innovation in bike technology has never stopped"
"To Silicon Valley Tally-ho"
"This place is called Specialized"
"They are the, I'm told, premiere researchers, developers"
"and designers of top-tiered bikes Oh!"
- Welcome to Specialized - Chris, thank you so much
What do you got, two bands on each wrist?
Uh, well, I'm a tech nerd, so I can explain why, but yes, I do
Isn't there a different word than... than nerd?
Instead of nerd let's replace it with... what, a...
- Innovator - I like that
I like that, too
- Should we go with that? - Yeah, let's do it
Tech Innovator. Tech Visionary Tech...
Uh, that might be a little far I don't know, visionary is ...
Well, it's for me to say it's not for you to...
- Okay. All right. All right - You're too gracious and humble
I already see
- So... let's talk about bikes - Okay. Cool
I'm a bikeless person I currently have no bike
You're in the right place We focus on high performance
"Since 1974, wow, 1974"
"these guys have developed some of the best in the world"
"These are the Ferrari of bicycles and the Specialized engineering"
"helps sports heroes like the Tour de France time trial winner"
"Julian Alaphilippe do everything that he does"
"The innovative technology conjured up"
"in the Specialized laboratory informs their overseas factories"
"and then eventually makes its way into a bike store near you"
"What makes their bikes so special?"
So this is the most top secret so I'm gonna beep that thing
Okay
I'm not looking yet I've haven't seen this
Are they allowed in too?
- We'll let 'em in, we'll let 'em in - You're a tease. Okay
Okay. Come on in, dear viewer
I call them... so far I call them dear viewer
but I should have a nickname for them
- There's a... there's a... - The Peloton, let's do that
- What? - It's a cycling term. It's a Peloton
That's a very interesting fact
I would suggest Yeah, you put that in the cut
I think that's an interesting thing for me to know
- I've never heard that before - Yeah
So this is kind of what makes up a bike
and it all kind of starts in the... at the most basic level
- So, um... - Did you see that?
I didn't touch anything
- You don't believe in ghosts, do you? - I don't... I don't believe...
No, but I don't believe that you didn't touch anything either
- I was right here - But it's okay. It's okay
Let's rewind the tape
Well, what makes up a bike and it all kind of start...
- I touched nothing. I touched nothing - Okay
People don't realize how complicated bikes are
Bikes are some of the most innovative and difficult vehicles
to engineer and design
- Why is that? - We're not that strong
And so, when you're not that strong, every little thing matters
"It's like every gram matters"
"you have to punch a hole through the wind"
" with that quarter of a horsepower or so that you have"
"Every little bit of efficiency gain means"
"that you can get to work a little bit faster, a little bitless sweaty"
"or win the Tour de France"
"The stuff that we do here is so new"
"that not only do we have to make the part"
we have to make the tools to make the part
Then they came up with this what... How is this used exactly in...
Wait a minute. I recognize that No, no, no, that's not part of a bicycle
- Never... Never mind. Sorry - That's fuel for the engine
The highest, performance bikes in the world
use carbon fiber and we're no different
Carbon fiber is a material that allows us to engineer something
that's incredibly strong and incredibly lightweight at the same time
So this is the lab where we do the initial prototypes
and figure out how to make it as light and as strong
and as aerodynamic as possible
I smell something in here that's different
- I smell glue, glue - It's like glue exactly
"Carbon fiber is a like a resin"
These two sticks are exactly the same weight
- Yes - same thickness, same material
Yes
If these were metal they will feel exactly the same
Yes
But with carbon fiber it's directional
so this one, feel how flexible it is this way
- "but how hard it is to twist it" - Oh!
Can't twist it, okay
And so for this one, feel in contrast how hard it is to bend it
- Yes - but how easy it is
- to twist the opposite - Oh my gosh!
When you're riding bike you don't wanna be beat up
you w ant it to be comfortable to soak up the bumps
and so you want the bike to be flexible this way
Right
But when you lean into a turn you don't want it to like go "Womp"
- So when we design a bike - Yeah
believe it or not a person, it's a hand process
takes over 400 hundred of these pieces
"and puts it in exactly a certain orientation"
"to make sure that the bike bends a very specific way"
"This is what we call a Pitita"
so it just goes on and on and on and on
"This is kind of our robotic cyclist that's putting a ton of power into it"
just to make sure that it'll last a lifetime
Bikes are like a high-performance vehicle, except the engines
Yeah
are seven billion different people around the world
Like, you're an engine I'm an engine, we're different
- Yeah - And so, there're biomechanists
they use equipment measurement, data
to figure out what's the most efficient way to put you on a bike
"Surprisingly, a bike is more complicated a machine to operate"
"than a car"
"It involves continuous use of some of our primary sensory capabilities"
"visual, of course"
"vestibular and proprioceptive"
"Steering maintains balance while pedaling maintains propulsion"
"The subtlest movement of our arms or weight shift in our seat"
"or pressure from our legs changes the trajectory and speed"
"Whether you're competing or commuting"
"making the most of your bike is determined"
"by how well you do with these tiny movements"
"but there's another very interesting force at play"
"This is one of the world's only sports-specific wind tunnels"
"Now, apparently, wind resistance can be the difference"
"between getting to work on time or showing up late. You don't want that"
"So, the machine and its engine need to be as streamlined as possible"
We're gonna fire up the fans and we'll show on this graph ...
the amount of resistance that you're generating in real time
And you'll see a blue lump come up
and that'll... high is worse lower is more efficient
it means it takes less energy to go a certain speed
- Yes, strategy - It works if you're...
Strategy and you're a little bit wiser
you conserve energy that could be a huge difference
And even if you're not the strongest on the day, you could still win
So as you can see your aero drag is climbing
If you stay in that position it'll stabilize
"We talked about pelotons earlier"
"if you really wanna save energy follow someone else"
I'm gonna ride in front of you Watch this
"Your resistance has dropped by almost a half"
A big part of the problem is your jacket is catching so much
of the wind that the position's not making that much of a difference
So we're gonna cut the fans and get you into something
a little bit more aerodynamic than that
- "Looking good" - Well, thank you
- That's what we're talking about - Thank you
- I feel, um... sleek as a panther - "That's what we want"
"That's exactly what we're looking for"
I don't know if you remember
but when you had your street clothes on
this blue bar was all the way up here
Let's get into, like that super low bullet position
You're going, you're going you're going, and just hold that
"it's dropped another maybe like 15 percent"
that's half of the resistance that you had before
If you were gonna ride 20 miles
normally, a person will take maybe, like, an hour-ish or so to ride...
- Right - twenty miles, so...
Now, with this outfit... I could ride it in 57 minutes
- I'd cut three minutes off of the dime - Three minutes in?
- What do you think? - That's pretty slick
- Jesse - Jesse...
The results are in...
Pull the band-aid off quick and give it to me straight
"Eleven minutes faster"
Forty-three percent faster compared to your other clothes
Use this as kind of like a visual
If you're riding to someone's house to work or whatever
- and it takes you an hour... - Yeah
you could, like, literally stop and have lunch
- That's... shocking - I'm shocked
- "Really, like, eleven minutes, yeah" - I'm also shocked. Wow!
I'll never forget this as long as I live
- Thanks - Thank you
All right
Hey, kid, throw me a... sody pop
Dare I say I'm falling again deeply in love, with the bicycle
I do like it
And when you're able to sit sitting is nice
But not with my particular configuration of buttocks
I don't mean to get too ribald or otherwise personal
but like I said to Dr. Yu...
I don't know, I just need more cushioning than...
than the average bear, I think
But I'm sure there's so much more to learn about those two issues
expertise and innovation
"Bicycle engineers have always been innovators"
"While fixing bikes in Dayton, Ohio"
"the Wright brothers used their knowledge of wheels and balance"
"to take to the sky"
"And it was former bicycle mechanic Henry Ford"
"who transformed Detroit into Motor City"
"His quadricycle, and now we got the car, changed transport forever"
"And of course it created jobs..."
"This city produces more automobiles than any other city on earth"
"booming industry"
"Automobiles produced at a rate of over 10,000 a day at peak capacity"
"Wow! Well, that's a lot of cars"
"The automobile defined the United States in the 20th century"
"And bikes were just a thing of the past"
"The car, that was the future until it wasn't"
"This is Motor City today"
"A city that broke down when the car industry flatlined"
"But you know what?"
"I hear that it's beginning to purr into life again"
"And bikes are playing their part"
"Now, this is something very, very special"
"Every Monday evening, an epic bike ride pulses through the city"
"and captures the imagination of all who witness it"
"They call it the Slow Roll"
"Look at these, so many of these bikes are customized"
"personalized works of art"
"Aren't they beautiful?"
We try to come at least three to four times a year
We try to make it out
- And just the two of you come? - Yeah. It's a mother-daughter thing
We... just is me and mommy riding, that's it
- That is so sweet - That's it
- And how did you all do this? Wow! - This is my love
Like, I love Sky-Sky She has her own name
- What's it called? - Sky-Sky
This year, she's pink and white and blue
Probably next year she'll have sunflowers
- It's very, very, very beautiful - "I jazz her up every year"
I started it out with the skulls and roses
- to get the bike itself out the garbage - Bought it for five bucks
- Yup - I love that
"All them scars and bruises and stuff, that's me, riding it"
- It means something to me, you know - Right
Oh, I've been doing this now since 2015
- Every week? - Every week that we have it, yes
It's such a nice thing when they bring up all walks of life together
You come meet, have a commonality, ride bikes
"How can I think of home?"
Why do people love... bikes?
Well, I think when they ride them, they're free
They're not paying no bills they're not, you know
the kids are all safe they're not stressing out
they're free, you know
Is there any kind of name for this kind of bike or...?
I call this one Copperhead like on a bit... like a snake
- "Like a snake" - "Yup"
- "And this one's called Double Trouble" - "Bubble?"
"Because we have a double top bar throughout the whole bike"
"Now I wanna take part in this but you know what?"
"I don't have a bicycle"
"Hey, maybe somebody can help me How about Henry Ford?"
"Here we are"
Look where we are It's quiet here
- "Your name is Henry Ford" - "The Second"
- "Indeed"
So that means that your dad was Henry Ford
Correct
My dad was actually a metal model maker in the automotive world
- Working for Chrysler, though - Chrysler
Indeed
"Here in the United States, we buy 16 million bikes every year"
"but less than one half of one percent are made here"
"Detroit Bikes is one of a handful of manufacturers in America"
"They can produce a hundred and fifty hand-crafted bicycles everyday"
"And Henry Ford is helping to put America back on two wheels"
"And how about bikes how did that all happen?"
Well, with the financial fallout in 2008, I got laid off
and I was looking for work over a period of two and a half years
and sitting on my sofa, just waiting for the next job to come through
I saw a pack of kids roll by my front window on their bikes...
having the best time
I was like, "What the hell am I doing, depressed, sitting here?"
I had a bike in the basement I haven't looked at for years
tuned it up, cleaned it up went for a ride around the neighborhood
and I just felt physically better
"Seems like a very beautiful activity"
"Well, this is the final assembly area here at Detroit Bikes"
"We do everything from receive 25-foot-long pieces of material"
"we cut them to length we bend them, weld, surface finish, paint"
Boy, boy, look at that wood So what do you call that part?
So this our, our new rack we've created
it's a stained birch over a custom design rack
So, it'll just take a few moments I can throw your rear end here
Henry Ford the second Henry Ford the second
And this'll be perfect for your Slow Roll
- I love this bike - Initiation
I already love this bike Geez, oh, man
On the wheels of a dream, note to editor, at this point, cut to...
"On the wheels of a dream"
Gee, that's nice
This is fantastic This feels good
Yeah, I think this is the one
- I love this bike - Indeed
- Thank you very, very much, Henry - Indeed. Thank you so much
- For taking the time - Thank you, Henry
- All right. I'm free again - Be free
All right
"Wow, hey, a lot more people here now, it's about to start"
"Me and my brand-new bicycle are gonna meet the grandmaster"
"of the Slow Roll"
- "Mike" - "Yeah?"
- you started this whole thing? - I did. I did
How? Congratulations What's the story?
You know, there's a lot behind it
but started as something really simple, which is a bike ride
You know, five or ten of us in the beginning
And now, it's what, 5,000 people that are going?
Yeah, we get three to five thousand people a week
Can you believe that?
Can we hear a "Slow Roll"?
"The Slow Roll's about bikes right, you guys like riding bikes?"
All right Slow Roll, are you ready?
Yeah!
- All right. Slow roll - Slow roll
"All right, folks slow down, one stop"
"Slow down, one stop"
"Slow down.."
"What's it done for Detroit?"
"The impacts of Slow Roll on the city level are almost innumerable"
We see people are moving back
because of Slow Roll, we see people participating in restaurants
"and going to different bars"
and staying within the city once they get here
- Yes - Which is huge
"But when we roll from the neighborhoods"
"you see the kids running out of their houses"
You see people coming out on their front porches and cheering us on
Yeah. This is fantastic
"Holy cow! What an event"
"Man, you know, looking at these roads reminds me"
"that our whole landscape was shaped by the automobile"
"Highways and endless lanes of traffic slashed"
"through communities as cars increased in popularity"
"We drove out from the city and turned fields into suburbs"
"Our land became ruled by the car and we changed the environment"
"But bicycles, of course have no emissions"
"So, people are claiming their cities back"
"with bikes helping to make them feel human again"
Community. Unification That's no small thing
The bicycle is a machine
It's mechanical but, you know, I..
I felt that it was an extension of my body
It allowed me, in a... unique and subtle but profound way
be in connection with everything around me
The potential of me and that bike...
has something to do with allowing me to contact something in me
that is...
can I say real?
Well, it feels like in some way, I'm home
I'm...
I'm home
Gee
"Go, Charlie, go!"
Here I come
I'm coming
I'm making my move
Subtitled by: Image Production House