[AT] Bicycle program

Mitchell Daly md31043 at msn.com
Thu Apr 11 07:59:39 PDT 2019


Very good explanation, Steve. Thanks for sharing it.

Mitch Daly
md31043 at msn.com

________________________________
From: AT <at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com> on behalf of Stephen Offiler <soffiler at gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2019 8:15 AM
To: Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group
Subject: Re: [AT] Bicycle program

I'm not sure what your point is.  But these are topics where I have some broad expertise, since I work in manufacturing, I am involved with manufacturing education, and I am a serious cyclist, rolling up at least a couple thousand miles a year for the last 30 odd years.

So first of all, your typical 16 year old boy in the modern day has spent too much of his formative years playing video games, and has not developed much in the way of mechanical curiousity.

When Harry Ferguson left the farm to work as a bicycle mechanic, bicycles were a legitimate alternative to equestrian transportation, not a hobby.  That was a move into what would have been a valuable and mainstream career at that time.  In the modern day, there is very little money to be made as a bicycle mechanic.  I happen to be good friends with a bicycle mechanic who is probably among the top couple dozen in the USA - bicycle manufacturers actually seek him out for assistance with their designs.  He makes a very good living compared with his peers, but it's still just a small fraction of what my peers make in the manufacturing industry.

There is no such thing as an Associate Degree in Bicycle Mechanics.

The program in the link provided is not intended to train bicycle mechanics.  It uses the bicycle as a case study in modern manufacturing, encompassing welding and fabrication of a variety of materials (advanced high-alloy steels, aluminum, titanium) plus composite (aka "carbon fiber") techniques, plastic injection molding, CAD design work, etc etc.  I find it a very clever way of engaging the students.

SO



On Thu, Apr 11, 2019 at 12:57 AM James Peck <jamesgpeck at hotmail.com<mailto:jamesgpeck at hotmail.com>> wrote:

A 16 year old boy I interact with has told me that he is not interested in being any kind of mechanic. I was pointing out some power company linemen to him and explaining how many of them earned in the 6 figures.

Harry Ferguson left the family farm to work as a bicycle mechanic and did well for himself. Someone with an Associate Degree in Bicycle Mechanics would likely find out that there is not much money to be made working on bicycles but ag equipment could be a different story.

https://www.thefabricator.com/article/additive/bicycle-design-program-rethinks-manufacturing-education?
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