The Gyro bike
04-29-06, 07:21 AM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 2,018
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
The Gyro bike
For parents that can't stand seeing their kid fail at anything, not even for a day.
https://www.dartmouth.edu/~gyrobike/works.htm
https://www.dartmouth.edu/~gyrobike/works.htm
04-29-06, 09:49 PM
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Albany, WA
Posts: 7,393
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 321 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 7 Times
in
6 Posts
I present - ta-daaa - the fixed gear gyrobike! Not for weenies:
* Accelerating is like climbing the alps - you have to stand on the pedals to get that flywheel sucker going for a lot longer than just riding without. Build your leg muscles with no hills in sight!
* for stopping using the fixed gear only you will need those large leg muscles to absorb the flywheel energy. Normal brakes won't do anything for you except burn out the brake pads.
* track stands: sorry folks, no can do.
* crashing: radio-tracking needed for the bike which will keep going for miles after you picked the grit out of your road rash.
* Accelerating is like climbing the alps - you have to stand on the pedals to get that flywheel sucker going for a lot longer than just riding without. Build your leg muscles with no hills in sight!
* for stopping using the fixed gear only you will need those large leg muscles to absorb the flywheel energy. Normal brakes won't do anything for you except burn out the brake pads.
* track stands: sorry folks, no can do.
* crashing: radio-tracking needed for the bike which will keep going for miles after you picked the grit out of your road rash.
04-30-06, 01:03 AM
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 239
Bikes: Yuba Mundo 4.3, 2007 Jake the Snake
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
It's obviously an engineering project from some students at Dartmouth. Seems pretty cool too.
Not nearly so cool as luddite retro-grouchism though. Being an ******* naysayer is way cooler than creating something, huh?
Not nearly so cool as luddite retro-grouchism though. Being an ******* naysayer is way cooler than creating something, huh?
04-30-06, 06:21 AM
#5
45 miles/week
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 2,020
Bikes: Jamis Aurora
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Since kids learning to ride usually stop with their feet... seems like adding inertia to the bike would be asking for them to run into things. Also wouldn't that get pretty dangerous as they speed up? If the flywheel is spinning at 4X wheel speed, that would mean if the kid gets up to 10 mph, the flywheel's moving as though they were going 40 mph. Can you mount a fender / scattershield on those bikes?
Don't let your kid near a hill...
Don't let your kid near a hill...
__________________
Treasurer, HHCMF Club
Now living in the land of the cheesesteak.
But working at a job where I can't surf BikeForums all day any more...
Treasurer, HHCMF Club
Now living in the land of the cheesesteak.
But working at a job where I can't surf BikeForums all day any more...
04-30-06, 09:36 AM
#6
Macro Geek
If this works as advertised, it could be a boon for adults who, because of preexisting or recently acquired balance or coordination problems, have lost the ability to ride or who cannot ride easily or safely.
04-30-06, 10:29 AM
#7
\||||||/
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: pdx
Posts: 1,360
Bikes: highly modified specialized crossroads and GT hybrid (really a [formerly] 12-speed bmx cruiser, made before 'hybrid' took on its current meaning), as yet unmodified redline 925, couple of other projects
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
isn't it easier just to take the pedals off your kid's bike and raise the seat a half inch or so every week while they're sleeping so they learn to balance without even realizing it?
04-30-06, 11:43 AM
#8
Senior Member
For those who can't ride bikes, there's trikes. I've always said that training wheels actually prevent learning to ride a bike, so in that I agree with the inventors. But it's still better to take the pedals off and learn balance on a grassy slope, not to introduce another balance aid.
