Jobst Brandt

{{Short description|American bicycle racer (1935–2015)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Jobst Brandt

| image = Jobst Brandt 2008.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Jobst Brandt (front) in 2008

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1935|01|14}}

| birth_place = New York City

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2015|05|05|1935|01|14}}

| death_place =

| nationality =

| other_names =

| occupation =

| years_active =

| known_for =

| notable_works = The Bicycle Wheel

| father = Karl 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 Brandt, was a professor at the New School for Social Research.{{cite web|url=http://www.georgeron.com/p/my-interviews.html|title=Jobst Brandt : My Interviews|work=Ron George|accessdate=8 May 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.archives.com/1940-census/jobst-brandt-ca-34321240|title=Jobst Brandt from Palo Alto in 1940 Census District 43-38|work=archives.com|accessdate=8 May 2015}} The family moved to Palo Alto in 1938. Jobst Brandt studied mechanical engineering at Stanford University, graduating in 1958.{{cite web

|url = http://news.stanford.edu/stanfordtoday/ed/9701/ST9701fea1.html

|title = Beijing by the Bay: POISED BETWEEN PALO ALTO AND THE FOOTHILLS, STANFORD'S MADCAP BIKE SCENE HAS SPUN ITS OWN CULTURAL REVOLUTION

|date = January 1997

|work = Stanford Today

|accessdate = 8 May 2015

|url-status = dead

|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20150409093820/http://news.stanford.edu/stanfordtoday/ed/9701/ST9701fea1.html

|archivedate = 9 April 2015

}} After two years of military service in the US Army Corps of Engineers, stationed near Frankfurt, Germany, he found employment at Porsche.{{cite web|url=http://cozybeehive.blogspot.com/2010/03/jobst-brandt-part-iv.html|title=Jobst Brandt : Part IV|work=Ron George (cozybeehive.blogspot.com)|date=15 March 2010 |accessdate=8 May 2015}} His subsequent employers included Hewlett Packard, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and Avocet, a bicycle accessories brand.{{cite web|url=http://www.bicycleretailer.com/north-america/2015/05/06/jobst-brandt-cyclist-inventor-author-and-industry-gadfly-dies-80#.VU0uFI5VhBc|title=Jobst Brandt, cyclist, inventor, author and industry gadfly, dies at 80|work=Bicycle Retailer and Industry News|accessdate=8 May 2015}} 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

From the late 1980s until the early/mid 2000s, the era of the Usenet newsgroup, Jobst Brandt was a prolific contributor to rec.bicycles.tech and other public forums.[http://sheldonbrown.com/brandt/ Articles by Jobst Brandt]{{cite web | url=https://yarchive.net/bike/index.html | title=Bicycles }} 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[https://www.flickr.com/photos/olafbrandt/sets/72157600244571392/ Alps 2001 - Olaf Brandt] and epic one-day rides in the Santa Cruz Mountains,[https://web.archive.org/web/20080511074654/http://www.geocities.com/rayhosler/coastrangeslides/coastrange.html Coast Range Slide Show] brought him a wide readership among avid bicyclists well beyond the Bay Area, in the nascent online community.

References

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