Jobst Brandt

Jobst Brandt (January 14, 1935 – May 5, 2015) was an American mechanical engineer, inventor, bicycle enthusiast, educator, and author.

Jobst Brandt
Jobst Brandt (front) in 2008
Born(1935-01-14)January 14, 1935
New York City
DiedMay 5, 2015(2015-05-05) (aged 80)
Notable work
The Bicycle Wheel
Parent(s)

Early life

Brandt was born in New York City, where his father, the German-born agricultural economist Karl Brandt, was a professor at the New School for Social Research.[1][2] The family moved to Palo Alto in 1938. Jobst Brandt studied mechanical engineering at Stanford University, graduating in 1958.[3] After two years of military service in the US Army Corps of Engineers, stationed near Frankfurt, Germany, he found employment at Porsche.[4] His subsequent employers included Hewlett Packard, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and Avocet, a bicycle accessories brand.[5] At Avocet, he was involved in the development of a cyclocomputer (patent 6,134,508), touring shoes (patent 4,547,983), and a high-performance bicycle tire, and published The Bicycle Wheel, a unique treatise on wheelbuilding which became a best-seller.

Legacy

In the late 1980s and early/mid 1990s, the era of the Usenet newsgroup, Jobst Brandt was a prolific contributor to rec.bicycles.tech and other public forums.[6] His authoritative explanations and incisive, sometimes tart opinions on bicycle technology, as well as the detailed descriptions of his inspiring bike holidays in the Alps[7] and epic one-day rides in the Santa Cruz Mountains,[8] brought him a wide readership among avid bicyclists well beyond the Bay Area, in the nascent online community.

References
  1. "Jobst Brandt : My Interviews". Ron George. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  2. "Jobst Brandt from Palo Alto in 1940 Census District 43-38". archives.com. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  3. "Beijing by the Bay: POISED BETWEEN PALO ALTO AND THE FOOTHILLS, STANFORD'S MADCAP BIKE SCENE HAS SPUN ITS OWN CULTURAL REVOLUTION". Stanford Today. January 1997. Archived from the original on 9 April 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  4. "Jobst Brandt : Part IV". Ron George (cozybeehive.blogspot.com). Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  5. "Jobst Brandt, cyclist, inventor, author and industry gadfly, dies at 80". Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  6. Articles by Jobst Brandt
  7. Alps 2001 - Olaf Brandt
  8. Coast Range Slide Show
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