SS for use at South Pole
 

I read earlier today that a group of college students were trying to design a bicycle for use at the South Pole. Early on they found that a single speed bike was the way to go. Too many plastic and metal parts on more complex bikes were breaking in temperatures that averaged -78 F. Single speed, under 20 inch rims and close to 7 inch tires. University of Pittsburgh I believe. They started with a MTB donated by an LBS in California and remade it as a Carbon fiber bike. Possible most bike alloys get brittle at -80 to -100 F. Anyone out there hear any more about it?

They could have just bought a Pugsley or a Moots snow bike. People have already done this sort of thing.

I would think that a belt drive bike would be ideal for this, a chain could get water in it and freeze

They were trying to design a bike, egghead. Buying a ready-made product sort of defeats the purpose. Maybe they'll think of something Surly or Moots missed. Maybe they'll come up with a commercially viable idea in the process. Either way, consumerism is a piss-poor substitute for creativity.

My question is Why?

If it's so cold outside that you have to design composite materials to avoid frame failure due to the temperature- it's too cold to be outside on a bicycle of any sort. By the time you had enough layers of clothing on to keep your body warm you'd have a heck of a time pedaling. I know there are some hardcore bike commuters here who ride in all types of bad weather but I'm willing to bet that even many of them would agree that -78* is not cycling weather.

I know that sometimes these projects are "learning for the sake of learning" but this whole concept seems ridiculous to me.

Eh, I think it is cool.

Have a buddy who "winters" down there. Try spending half a year in the dark with the same people in a small compound with no fresh food/new magazines/newspapers. I think that a bike would provide some good entertainment.

The problems with parts getting brittle is a materials problem, not a design issue per se. They could take a standard bike and start making custom parts of identical geometry to solve those problems. Aircraft and rockets can fly in cold temperatures; it's not like everything falls apart.

All in all, it sounds like a group of people who have never ridden bikes or been to the south pole trying to solve the problem. Not to say they shouldn't do it as an exercise, but don't expect to see people bikin' at the pole real soon, either.

From my non-polar hiking experiences, it seems there are places where you're just better off without a bicycle. I could sit here in my armchair and design a bicycle for Mt. Everest, but wouldn't expect to see anyone riding to the top on it, either.

it's probably some ones grad school project. probably an avid cyclist. they are probably taking something they love to do and transforming that into a project they don't mind doing. i think it is a cool idea. do i think it's practical? no. but still a cool idea. i hope it works and someone enjoys all the hard work that is going into it.

I hope they fail so I feel better about not even trying.

Right, of course, and the educational purpose this project serves is invaluable. And, yes, they may develop new and refreshing ideas on the subject, but take a look at the articles:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...prod=permalink

http://passporttoknowledge.com/antar...archers16.html

http://www.post-gazette.com/healthsc...03prowler1.asp

They're not exactly breaking new ground here. If they had started with a beginning platform that was already closer to their final goal, they could have saved time, money, and likely made a more effective final product. For example, modifying golf cart tires and wheels, and then having to use snow chains with them versus working off of tires and wheels that are already designed to be used in a snow or sand environment like the Surly Endomorph tires or studded tires and wheels that already have the capacity for existing bike components.

I very well might be missing a variety of other variables, but the conditions this bike will experience are pretty similar to what the bikes in Iditabike or a similar event will experience, aside from the extreme cold, so a fairly large base of bikes and riders to work off of for this project already exists.

I'm all for new development and creativity, but effective research and building off of existing technology and ideas is something that these college groups always seem to fall slightly short of. For example, they assumed this would be used for basic transport only, but when they delivered the first bike the South Pole scientists replied it was too slow for what they wanted it for; fun. I'm sure this first bike was a valuable part of the design process, and they will likely change it to match the new needs. But, it's probably a reasonable assumption that switching their golf cart wheels from SS to geared won't be quite as easy as swapping out a wheel on a standard bike and an effective survey or discussion about the project may have allowed them to create a bike that better matched the scientists needs in the first place.

In short, I'm all for design and creativity, but I'm not necessarily for stumbling around looking for good design on grant dollars.