Living Car Free - Any way this can be used to promote car free?

http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/wisil/whpsc2008/speedchallenge-2008.htm

In September of 2008 cyclists from around the world will gather on SR305 outside of Battle Mountain, Nevada for the 9th consecutive year to race on one of the straightest, flattest, and smoothest surfaces in the world. The 4,619ft (1,408m) altitude road allows riders an acceleration zone of over 4 miles, enabling them to reach their maximum velocity before being timed over a 200 meter distance.

Current WHPSC Records:
In 2002, Sam Whittingham broke the world speed record for the third year in a row by going 81.00 MPH!

I think there's technology here that needs to be invested in. Even if you could use this technology to make a vehicle that's pedal powered that can go 35 mph (instead of the 81 record), it could offer a replacement for short distance travel. I think most people would feel more comfortable surrounded by vehicle "walls" than on a regular bike.

I don't think any amount of investment is going to give everyone a 4 mile flat road to build up speed.

I don't think any amount of investment is going to give everyone a 4 mile flat road to build up speed.

You're missing the point. Pretty much every study done on cycling efficiency agrees that about 80% of your effort goes toward fighting the air/wind friction. These contests are all about creating the most aerodynamic human-powered vehicles, thus making the human more efficient and able to achieve greater speeds with less effort. That would go a HUGE way toward convincing a number of people to use human powered vehicles over regular gas or hybrid cars.

I've been on several recumbent races, and the truth is that unless you invest a huge heap of money and sacrifice a lot of discomfort, your are probably not gonna get much faster than a normal bicycle. The walls of these bicycles are hardly walls. They are more like canopies that make the car more aerodynamic. The cars are hard to get in and out of, and the enclosed shell means you get sweaty really quickly.

Plus the low position is hardly safer even with the canopy around you. The only reason why bicycle riders aren't dying in droves is because they are higher than traffic which makes them more visible and means that they can see everything around them easily.

http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/wisil/whpsc2008/speedchallenge-2008.htm


I think there's technology here that needs to be invested in. Even if you could use this technology to make a vehicle that's pedal powered that can go 35 mph (instead of the 81 record), it could offer a replacement for short distance travel.

Sadly, I agree with others that this technology is specialized enough that it bears as much resemblance to a useful utility bike as the ThrustSSC does to a Prius.

But really a fair amount of R&D has gone into velomobiles and recumbent bikes. Recumbent bikes are finally achieving the economies of scale that lower the price out of the stratosphere. But also most short distance trips occur in urban areas where being able to drop your legs down to stop is at least as important as improved aerodynamics. Traffic is a major consideration.

To most people, recumbents are still strange, foreign vehicles that look difficult to control. The body, when they see how flimsy it is and how it it obscured their vision, they may not be so impressed. And there's that thing about the effort required to pedal a bike, especially uphill.

But we can hope. I did see a white-haired man getting fitted for a Rans Fusion in front of the local bike store today.

http://www.go-one.us/artwork/WhiteVelo.jpg

http://www.go-one.us/

You're missing the point. Pretty much every study done on cycling efficiency agrees that about 80% of your effort goes toward fighting the air/wind friction. These contests are all about creating the most aerodynamic human-powered vehicles, thus making the human more efficient and able to achieve greater speeds with less effort. That would go a HUGE way toward convincing a number of people to use human powered vehicles over regular gas or hybrid cars.
The best way would be to build one yourself.

The better fully-faired bikes (mostly homebuilts) can average 30-35 mph on flat roads. These are two-wheel bikes that are still fairly light but can be very challenging to handle in crosswinds. And if you're riding along side a highway with cars passing you at 50+ mph, then you're going to have crosswinds all day long.

Velomobiles tend to have a tough time averaging much over 20 mph. They are aerodynamic but weigh too much--65 lbs is lightweight (and expen$ive), ~80 lbs is common and some commercial examples approach 100 lbs. These can work okay on flat terrain, but as you would guess, are nearly useless for riding up steep hills. You can probably get out and push faster than you could pedal the things.


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I'd like to build a faired recumbent bike someday--but at the current time, if you want to go fast, I think it's far more practical to add a bicycle engine kit than it is to build any kind of fairing. The Golden Eagle engine I have on one bike pushes me all day long at 27 mph, and still gets 180+ mpg.
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How about the recumbent trikes? No problem with stability when you stop at a red light.

http://tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:4rKrHrzHeGeMDM:http://www.coolhunting.com/images/hypersport2.jpg

Or a recumbent trike that can fly:

http://paramotoraustralia.com/shop/images/NAJA%20black-blue.jpg

The best way would be to build one yourself.

if you want to go fast, I think it's far more practical to add a bicycle engine kit than it is to build any kind of fairing.


BTDT (Been There Done That) :roflmao2: Sent from one classification to another! Get fairing- get rumble, get trike- find every rut/railroad track/driveway/speedbump, go motorized velo.- find the cops pronto, go gas - get "buzz" Very enjoyable - until I was caught! No problem; "I won't do it again", then go to the next classification.