"Designing Men -- Wisconsin Bicycle Style"

Wisconsin winters might be cold -- yeah, the better to THINK about bicycling. And here is living proof that is just what some of us do in the "off" months, if not year-round.

Marc Muller: Waterford's Wright
Ideally, form follows function in architecture. But in bike architecture, it is a little different: Fit follows form for proper function.

"The person is a machine sitting on another machine, and they have to fit," said Marc Muller, vice president of Waterford Precision Cycles in Waterford and principal bike engineer for the company.

From Muller's vantage, there has been nothing particularly new or particularly revolutionary in bike design for the past 100 years. Still, Muller, whose goal is "to merge technology with craftsmanship," has pioneered plenty of advances in bicycle design.

When other high-end manufacturers switched to aluminum, titanium, and even plastic, Waterford stuck with steel alloy frames. Meanwhile, Muller helped push for better steel alloy selection: Reynolds 753 and 853 are light, strong, durable materials he inspired.

Computers now aid the design work, though much of the building is still done by hand.

"We incorporate machinery when it can enhance the quality or the precision," he said.

The principal relationships are the body to the crank, and the orientation of the mass of the body to the wheels. Small women who want big wheels always present a challenge.

"I tell them, 'The laws of trigonometry don't change for you, madam customer. If I could make it work, I would.'" Besides, he thinks smaller wheels are "really a very elegant design solution."

At 6 feet 5 inches tall, with average leg length and a long torso, he had his share of problems with bike frames, starting with when he raced in college. That is why he built his own frame in 1974. After college, he went into business making frames for others.

In 1981, the Schwinn bike company bought him out. Schwinn eventually went bankrupt, and in 1993 Richard Schwinn and Muller bought out the custom bike division of the company. The company now has 25 employees.

The market for custom designed bikes is booming, and the past five years have been "just nutty," he said.

And that level of craftsmanship costs: A Waterford bike runs at least $2,000. Bob Downs: Designing a better planet

As Gary Fisher, renowned father of the mountain bike, once put it, Bob Downs possesses an extremely keen perception of the obvious.

Downs founded Planet Bike, a bike accessory company, in 1996.

"I just observe how I interact with the product," is how Downs puts it. Lately, however, he's been stretching his perspective. The new Versair floor pump, designed especially for women, is a good example.

Its handle height is adjustable, and to maximize effort expended, the user can switch between creating air pressure during both the upstroke and the downstroke, or (like most pumps) during only the downstroke.

Based in Madison, Planet Bike produces a full selection of bike accessories. The selection include pumps, lights, racks, water bottle cages, locks and mini tools. Several models come from Downs's own inventions.

And while the technology behind such innovations is complex, "anybody can use it," Downs points out, adding that quality materials, good design and competitive pricing are his focus.

Downs got his start at Trek, based in Waterloo. He went from the customer service staff to product management simply because the company dictated that employees use only their products. This compelled him to keep offering tips on how to better design accessories. Pretty soon, they were patenting his ideas.

For Bob Downs, Planet Bike is more than just a bike accessory company. He is in it to promote bicycling and the types of vital communities it fosters. Planet Bike donates an amazing 25 percent of profits to nonprofit bike advocacy groups.

Why do all this?

"I just really believe in bikes and what they can do for people," Downs said.

Amy Kinast is a freelance writer living in Madison.