(HUMS)
Give me your answer, do
I'm half crazy...
Bicycles, bicycles.
Oh, as kids, we're crazy about 'em. I know I was.
I loved my little red Schwinn bike, I sure did.
-(BICYCLE BELL DINGS) -JEFF: 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?
(LAUGHS)
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. -(CHUCKLES)
-I love you, get... (LAUGHS) -(LAUGHS) What are they doing?
NARRATOR: 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.
NARRATOR: ...Americans are embracing the bicycle.
CYCLIST: Not only is pedal power free, it's also healthy.
NARRATOR: 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, um, ironclad, unbreakable captivity?
Why? Hands.
Mm-hmm? Mm-hmm?
(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)
JEFF: Oh, my heavens. Holy cats.
Whoa! He took a little spill!
-You okay? He's fine. (CHUCKLES) -I'm good. I'm fine.
That was a triple axel... double... uh, fudge sundae.
I don't know what... what you'd 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! Geez! (LAUGHS)
JEFF: BMX, that's, um...
Bowel Matrix Xy... xylophone. Nope.
Bangers and Mash Xerxes.
Gee, I give up.
Wait a minute. What?
Bicycle Motor Cross.
Didn't I say that? I think I have said that early on.
-Hello, everybody. I can't believe it. -CYCLISTS: Hello.
-I can't believe what I was s... seeing. -You wanna try?
JEFF: I do wanna try it.
I mean, I don't wanna do anything where I'm gonna get broken.
(CYCLISTS LAUGH)
You have to wear a full helmet,
-and then if you'll fall, it won't hurt. -Yes?
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?
JEFF: 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 done 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 level of 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. -Exactly, you remember it.
Muscle memory. It's nothing to it but to do it.
See, if I was just gonna ride,
-this is too low for me, right? -BRANDON: Yeah. Exactly.
This is the type of bike where you don't wanna sit down, you wanna stand up.
-Like that? Kevin is demonstrating, look. -BRANDON: Exactly.
-BRANDON: See how he's standing up? -JEFF: I see.
BRANDON: And 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. Oh, okay.
-JEFF: (GRUNTS) -BRANDON: Oh, yeah!
There we go!
KEVIN: I'm catching up to you!
He's good. He got the turn.
Keep your feet level, Jeff. You're losing points, man.
-BRANDON: Oh, man, that was good, Jeff. -Yeah?
BRANDON: You almost looked like a professional, bro.
JEFF: (PANTS)
Put your head forward and then keep your, um, back back.
'Cause we're not about to let you go out there unprepared.
-That's where I'm gonna go? -BRANDON: Yeah.
-Geez. -BRANDON: 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?
-BRANDON: Yes. Yes. -KEVIN: Yep.
-JEFF: Yeah. -BRANDON: There you go, Jeff.
JEFF: (GRUNTS)
BRANDON: There you go.
JEFF: (GRUNTS)
And he's coming around the mountain when he comes and there we go.
BRANDON: 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 was pretty good.
-I think it was pretty good. -Thank you.
I'm gonna start weeping uncontrollably.
-That was fantastic. -Yeah, I know.
Do this. Slap. Bam.
JEFF: 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, bone-shakers,
-and a multitude of madcap vehicles -(BICYCLE HORN HONKS)
dreamt up by those brave enough to explore not what is, but what might be.
Innovation in bike technology has never stopped.
(BICYCLE WHEELS SQUEAKING)
JEFF: To Silicon Valley! Tally-ho.
This place is called Specialized.
They are the, I'm told, premier researchers, developers and designers
of top-tier bikes. Ooh.
-CHRIS: Welcome to Specialized. -JEFF: Chris, thank you so much.
What have you got, two bands on each wrist?
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," -Hmm.
let's replace it with, what?
-A... -Innovator.
-JEFF: I like that. -I like that, too.
-Should we go with that? Tech innovator. -CHRIS: Yeah, let's do that.
-Yeah. -Tech visionary.
Uh, That might be a little far.
-I don't know. Visionary is... -JEFF: Well,
-it's for me to say. It's not for you... -Okay, alright, alright.
-You're too gracious and... -(LAUGHS)
...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. But we focus on high performance.
JEFF: 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? (CHUCKLES)
-CHRIS: So, this is the most top secret. -(BUTTON BEEPS)
So, I'm gonna beep that thing.
Okay. I'm not looking yet.
I haven't seen this. Are they allowed in, too?
-We'll let them in. We'll let them in. -JEFF: You're a tease. Okay.
-Yeah. -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... -Peloton. Let's do that.
-What? -It's a cycling term. It's a peloton.
That's a very interesting fact.
-I would suggest you put that in the cut. -Yeah.
I... I... 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. -(METAL CLATTERS)
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...
Uh, no, but I don't believe that you didn't touch anything either. (LAUGHS)
-(STUTTERS) I was right here! -But it's okay. It's okay.
-Let's rewind the tape. -It's okay. It's okay.
(TAPE REEL REWINDING)
...what makes up a bike, and it all kind of starts...
JEFF: I touched nothing.
-I touched nothing. -CHRIS: Okay.
CHRIS: 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.
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 gained
means you can get to work a little bit faster,
a little bit less 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... Uh...
-How is this used, exactly, in... -(LAUGHS)
Wait a minute. I recognize that. No, no, that's not part of a bicycle.
-Never... never... never mind. -That's, uh, fuel for the engine.
CHRIS: 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 a glue, exactly.
CHRIS: Carbon fiber is like a resin.
CHRIS: These two sticks are exactly the same weight,
-same thickness, same material. -JEFF: Yes.
-Yes. -If these were metal,
-they would 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. -JEFF: Oh.
-Can't twist it. Okay. -So, this one, feel in contrast
how hard it is to bend it
-but how easy it is... -JEFF: Yes.
-to twist the opposite. -Oh, my God.
When you're riding a bike, you don't wanna be beat up.
You want 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 go... (IMITATES METAL BENDING SOUND)
-Mm-hmm. Yeah. -So, when we design a bike,
believe it or not, a person...
It's a hand process, takes over 400 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 fatigue test, 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.
CHRIS: 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 are biomechanists,
they use equipment, measurement,
-...data, to figure out... -Hmm.
-what's the most efficient way to put you on a bike.
JEFF: Surprisingly, a bike is a more complicated 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.
(MOUSE BUTTON CLICKS)
(FAN WHIRRING)
CHRIS: This is one of the world's only sports-specific wind tunnels.
Whoo!
The fans are at the back.
So, this tunnel sucks. It doesn't blow.
The fans draw air through.
JEFF: Now, apparently, wind resistance can be the difference
between getting to work on time or showing up late
and 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. -If you're strategying,
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.
CHRIS: 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 is 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.
CHRIS: Looking good.
-Well, thanks. -That's what we're talking about.
Thank you. I feel, um...
-sleek as a panther. -CHRIS: That's what we want.
That's exactly what we were 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 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 the time. -Three minutes? That's pretty steep.
-Jesse. -JEFF: Jesse.
-Results are in. -JEFF: Pull the band-aid off quick
-and give... give it to me straight. -JESSE: 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, whatever,
-and it takes you an hour... -Yeah.
...you can, like, literally stop and have lunch.
That's shocking.
-I'm shocked. I'm also shocked. Wow. -JESSE: Right. Eleven minutes, yeah.
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 am fallen 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, uh, buttocks.
I don't mean to get too ribald or otherwise personal,
but, uh, like I said to Doctor Yu...
...(SIGHS) I don't know, I just need more cushioning than...
(LAUGHS) ...than the average bear, I think.
But I'm sure there's so much more to learn about those two issues,
expertise and innovation.
JEFF: 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. -(PLANE ENGINE REVVING)
And it was former bicycle mechanic Henry Ford
-who transformed Detroit into Motor City. -(CAR ENGINES REVVING)
His quadricycle, and now we got the car, changed transport forever.
And, of course, it created jobs.
MAN: This city produces more automobiles than any other city on earth.
JEFF: Booming industry.
Automobiles produced at a rate of over ten thousand a day
-at peak capacity. -JEFF: Wow. 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, uh, it wasn't.
JEFF: 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 it's me and mommy riding, that's it.
-So sweet. -WOMAN: That's it.
-JEFF: And how'd you do all this? Wow. -This is my love. Like, I love Sky-sky.
She has her own name.
-What's she called? -WOMAN: Sky-sky.
This year she's pink and white and blue.
Probably next year, she'll have sunflowers.
-It's very, very... very beautiful. -(CHUCKLES) I jazz her up every year.
WOMAN 2: I started out with the skulls and roses.
He got the bike itself out the garbage.
-Bought it for five bucks. -I love that.
All them scars and bruises and stuff, that's me riding it.
-It means something to me, you know. -Right.
Well, I have been doing this now since 2015.
-JEFF: Every week? -Every week that we have it. Yes.
It's such nice thing when it brings up all walks of life together.
You come meet, have a commonality, ride bikes.
-(HUMMING, LAUGHS) -(WOMAN LAUGHS)
Why do people love bikes?
Well, I think when they ride 'em, 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...
Uh, I call this one Copperhead. Like, a bit like a snake.
-JEFF: Like a snake. -MAN: Yep.
And this one's called Double Trouble...
'cause we have a double top bar throughout the whole bike.
JEFF: Now, I wanna take part in this, but you know what?
I don't have a bicycle.
(POWER TOOLS WHIRRING)
JEFF: Hey, maybe somebody can help me.
How about Henry Ford?
Here we are. Look where we are.
It's quiet here.
(MOUTHS SILENTLY)
JEFF: Your name is Henry Ford.
-HENRY: The second. Indeed. -JEFF: The second.
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. -(WHISPERS) Chrysler.
(CHUCKLES) Indeed.
JEFF: 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 150 handcrafted bicycles every day.
And Henry Ford is helping to put America back on two wheels.
JEFF: 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 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...
-Hmm. Hmm. -...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.
JEFF: Seems like a very beautiful activity.
HENRY: 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 oh boy, look at that wood. So, what do you call that part?
So, this is our... our new rack we've curated.
It's a stained birch over a custom-design, uh, rack.
So, it'll just take a few moments.
-I can drill your wheel in here... -Henry... Henry Ford II.
-Henry Ford II. -(HENRY CHUCKLES)
And this'll be perfect for your Slow Roll...
-I love this bike. -...initiation.
-I already love this bike. Geez. Oh, man. -(CHUCKLES)
On the wheels of a dream. Note to editor, at this point cut to...
(HENRY CHUCKLES)
(BICYCLE BELL DINGS)
JEFF: Gee, that's nice.
This is fantastic, this feels good. Yeah, I think this is the one.
-I love this bike. -HENRY: 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.
JEFF: All right.
JEFF: (HUMMING)
JEFF: Oh, wow. Hey, lot more people here now. It's about to start.
Me and my brand-new bicycle are gonna meet the grand master of the Slow Roll.
-Mike, you started this whole thing? -I did. I did.
-How... Congratulations. What's the story? -You know, there's a lot behind it
but it started as something really simple, just a bike ride.
You know, five or ten of us in the beginning...
-And now it's what, 5000 people... -Yeah, we get three to 5000 people a week.
-Can you believe that? -(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
-Can we hear a Slow Roll? -(CROWD CHEERING)
MIKE: The whole world loves bikes. You guys like riding bikes?
(CROWD CHEERING)
All right, Slow Roll, are you ready?
-Yeah! -(ALL CHEERING)
MIKE: All right, Slow Roll.
MIKE: All right, folks. Slow down... (INDISTINCT CHATTER)
JEFF: What's it done for Detroit?
MIKE: The impacts of Slow Roll on a city level are almost innumerable.
We see people 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.
MIKE: Well, when we roll through neighborhoods,
you see the kids running out of their houses,
you see people coming out on their front porches
-and cheering us on. -Yeah. Yeah. This is fantastic.
JEFF: 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.
JEFF: Community, unification...
that's no small thing.
The bicycle is a machine.
It's mechanical, but, you know, I... I... I felt that it was an extension of my body
that 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...
(CHEERY MUSIC PLAYING)
-(BICYCLE BELL DINGS) -EMILIE: Go, Charlie, go!
Here I come.
I'm coming.
I'm making my move.
I'm making my move! (CHUCKLES)