Real-Life Decision Making
Bicycle designers are always thinking of creative new ways to build a bike.
It only takes about four weeks for bicycle designer Brady O'Hare
to turn one of his ideas into a prototype. However, sometimes he spends more
time on a design.
For example, for the past three years, he has been working on and off on
one design. Usually, O'Hare first sketches his ideas on paper, then models
them on a computer. After that, he prints out what he has, fills in the details
and turns over his completed design to be built. After spending so much time
with them, you can become very close to your bicycle designs, he says.
Because Steve Rex builds custom bicycles, his process of designing is different.
"I do a fitting using a sizing cycle. I find out what kind of riding the person
does, then do a full-size drawing. Then I cut tubes and weld them together."
You are a bike designer with a lot of vision for bicycles. You are lucky
because you have just scored a job with one of the bigger companies. Finally,
your lifelong dreams have been realized. All that hard work on bicycle molding
jobs, building frames and earning an engineering degree has finally paid off!
Your first design has come off the assembly line. It looks good. A couple
months later, your boss asks you to go visit a few dealers and see how the
bike is selling. She wants you to get some feedback on that particular model.
You enter a bicycle shop and see your pride and joy on the dealer's floor.
As luck would have it, the famous bicycle racer, Mike Quickly, is in the shop.
You go over and start a conversation with him. You ask him what he thinks
of this bicycle -- of course, you point to yours. He answers, "This thing?
No way. I don't like it. It's too heavy. It just doesn't move right."
What do you do?