Jobst Brandt | |
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 Jobst Brandt (front) in 2008 | |
| Born | (1935-01-14)January 14, 1935 New York City |
| Died | May 5, 2015(2015-05-05) (aged 80) |
| Notable work | 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.
Brandt was born in New York City, where his father, the German-born agricultural economistKarl Brandt, was a professor at the New School for Social Research.[1][2] The family moved toPalo Alto in 1938. Jobst Brandt studied mechanical engineering atStanford 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 atPorsche.[4] His subsequent employers includedHewlett Packard,SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and Avocet, a bicycle accessories brand.[5] At Avocet, he was involved in the development of acyclocomputer (patent 6,134,508), touring shoes (patent 4,547,983), and a high-performance bicycle tire, and publishedThe Bicycle Wheel, a unique treatise onwheelbuilding, which became a best-seller.
From the late 1980s until the early/mid 2000s, the era of theUsenet newsgroup, Jobst Brandt was a prolific contributor to rec.bicycles.tech and other public forums.[6][7] 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[8] and epic one-day rides in theSanta Cruz Mountains,[9] brought him a wide readership among avid bicyclists well beyond theBay Area, in the nascent online community.
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