Sheldon Brown (bicycle Mechanic)
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Sheldon Brown (July 14, 1944 – February 4, 2008) was an American bicycle
mechanic A mechanic is a skilled tradesperson who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially engines. Formerly, the term meant any member of the handicraft trades, but by the early 20th century, it had come to mean one who works w ...
, technical expert and author. He contributed to print and online sources related to bicycling and bicycle mechanics, in particular the web site ''Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Technical Info''. His knowledge of bicycles was described as "encyclopaedic" by ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' of London.


Background

Brown was the parts manager, webmaster and technical consultant of Harris Cyclery, a bike shop in
West Newton, Massachusetts West Newton is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Among the oldest of the thirteen Newton villages, the West Newton Village Center is a National Register Historic Distric ...
, as well as an enthusiast of vintage and classic bicycles in addition to cycling in general. Brown maintained ''Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Technical Info'', a web site highlighting a broad range of cycling subjects ranging from how to fix a bicycle flat tire to details on
Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...
and English
three-speed bicycle The three-speed bicycle is a bicycle that uses internal hub gears at the rear wheel hub to provide three gear ratios. Three-speed hubs have been in use since the early 1900s. Though they are heavier than comparable derailleur systems, internal- ...
s,
Sturmey-Archer Sturmey-Archer was a manufacturing company originally from Nottingham, England. It primarily produced bicycle hub gears, brakes and a great many other sundry bicycle components, most prominently during its heyday as a subsidiary of the Raleigh ...
hubs, tandems, and
fixed-gear bicycle A fixed-gear bicycle or fixie is a bicycle that has a drivetrain with no freewheel mechanism, meaning the pedals always spin together with the rear wheel. The freewheel was developed early in the history of bicycle design but the fixed-gear ...
s. He repaired cameras and was an
amateur photographer ''Amateur Photographer'' is a British photography magazine, published weekly by Kelsey Media. The magazine provides articles on equipment reviews, photographic technique, and profiles of professional photographers. About the magazine ''Ama ...
. His site features his photographic work. Brown maintained an English-French cycling dictionary, having lived and cycled in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and written about his family's travels in France. Brown was an atheist.


Online

Brown's website, developed with Harris Cyclery, includes a deeply knowledgeable and accessible database of technical bicycle information. In particular a wide selection of knowledge of common bicycles from the second half of the 20th century that use non-standard parts. The site remains current as of 2023, maintained by his widow, Harriet Fell, and his friend John Allen, "a nationally recognized bicycling expert who helped found the Cambridge Bicycle Committee." Up until 2021, the commercial pages were maintained and updated by Harris Cyclery employees, but Harris Cyclery closed in 2021 due to economic pressures and supply chain shortages. Brown maintained the site's glossary of
bicycling terminology This is a glossary of terms and jargon used in cycling, mountain biking, and cycle sport. For ''parts of a bicycle'', see List of bicycle parts. 0–9 ; 27.5 Mountain bike: A mountain bike with wheels that are approximately in diameter and ...
, online guide to
wheelbuilding Wheelbuilding is the process of assembling wire wheels (generally a bicycle wheel, but including wheelchairs, and some automobile, cars and motorcycles). The components of a wire wheel are the Rim_(wheel), rim, spokes, spoke nipple, nipples, and ...
, as well as the mirror sites of the technical work of Damon Rinard,
Jobst Brandt Jobst Brandt (January 14, 1935 – May 5, 2015) was an American mechanical engineer, inventor, bicycle enthusiast, educator, and author. Early life Brandt was born in New York City, where his father, the German-born agricultural economist Karl ...
, and others. Brown had also participated in online cycling forums such as rec.bicycles.tech
newsgroup A Usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system for messages posted from users in different locations using the Internet. They are not only discussion groups or conversations, but also a repository to publish articles, start ...
and bikeforums.net. Brown was a proponent of
fixed-gear A fixed-gear bicycle or fixie is a bicycle that has a Bicycle drivetrain systems, drivetrain with no freewheel mechanism, meaning the pedals always spin together with the rear wheel. The freewheel was developed early in the history of bicycle ...
, single-speed bicycles for ordinary street use. Brown, with Galen Evans and Osman Isvan, developed a method to determine and compare bicycle gear ratios. For any combination of front chainring, rear cog, wheel size and crank length, his method results in a number that Brown terms the "gain ratio". Also, Brown expressed opinions on chain cleaning, lubrication and wear, a source of controversy in the field of bicycle maintenance. In addition to the wide array of bike mechanics and repair articles, Brown's website also contains sections on family cycling, touring, a bike humor section, as well as essays and fiction about cycling. His humorous online articles frequently appeared on April 1.


Final years and death

After developing nerve deterioration over the last years of his life, Brown lost his ability to ride an
upright bicycle Body relative directions (also known as egocentric coordinates) are geometrical orientations relative to a body such as a human person's body or a road sign. The most common ones are: left and right; forward and backward; up and down. They fo ...
and continued riding with a
recumbent Recumbent may refer to: * Recumbence, the act or state of lying down or leaning * Recumbent bicycle, a bicycle, tricycle or quadricycle which places the rider in a reclined or supine position * Recumbent effigy A tomb effigy ( French: ''gis ...
tricycle A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a Human-powered transport, human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) Three-wheeler, three-wheeled vehicle. Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for pa ...
. In August 2007, Brown was diagnosed with
primary progressive multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to transmit signals, resultin ...
. He died on February 4, 2008, in Newton, Massachusetts,Commonwealth of Massachusetts Standard Certificate of Death
/ref> after a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
.


Print publications, awards, and citations

Brown was a contributing writer for ''Bike World'' magazine (USA) and for ''Bicycling'' magazine (USA), and then for the trade magazine ''American Bicyclist''. Brown wrote the "Mechanical Advantage" column for ''Adventure Cyclist'', the magazine of the
Adventure Cycling Association Adventure Cycling Association is a nonprofit member organization focused on travel by bicycle (bicycle touring). Headquartered in Missoula, Montana, Adventure Cycling develops cycling routes, publishes maps, provides guided trips, and advocates ...
, "from 1997 through 2007." In October 2003, Brown was awarded a certificate of commendation for his contribution to cycling by the UK's
Cyclists' Touring Club Cycling UK is a trading name of the Cyclists' Touring Club (CTC), which is a charitable membership organisation supporting cyclists and promoting bicycle use. Cycling UK is registered at Companies House as "Cyclists’ Touring Club", and is c ...
(CTC). Brown received the Classic Rendezvous Vintage Bicycle Award in 2005. MassBike presented Brown the Influence Pedaler Award posthumously in 2008. CTC's Chris Juden mentioned Brown's site in his response to a letter to the editor email, and Lennard Zinn, technical editor for ''VeloNews'', cited Brown in his regular ''Technical FAQ with Lennard Zinn'' column. Frank Berto cites Brown's writing in ''The Dancing Chain'', published by Van der Plas Publications, and
Zack Furness Zachary Mooradian Furness (born 1977) is an American cultural studies scholar, punk musician and author. Biography Born in 1977 in Pittsburgh, Furness earned a bachelor's degree in English from Pennsylvania State University, a master's degree a ...
cites Brown's writing in ''One Less Car: Bicycling and the Politics of Automobility'', published by
Temple University Press Temple University Press is a university press founded in 1969 that is part of Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). It is one of thirteen publishers to participate in the Knowledge Unlatched pilot, a global library consortium approach ...
.


References


External links


Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Technical Info

Harris Cyclery homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Sheldon 1944 births 2008 deaths American atheists American male cyclists Male touring cyclists People from Marblehead, Massachusetts Cycling writers Cyclists from Massachusetts People with multiple sclerosis 20th-century American sportsmen