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Biking @ 80 MPH
sadclown writes "Saturday marked the conclusion of the World Human Powered Speed Challenge in Battle Mountain Nevada. Canadian Sam Wittingham now holds the world record for human powered speed on land, 80.55 mph, on the Varna Diablo, a fully enclosed 60 pound recumbent bicycle. Other competitors included Matt Weaver, with his video-camera-navigated bike (no windows)the Kyle Edge, World (conventional bike) Sprint Champion Jason Queally, with his bike the Blue Yonder Challenge, designed by the formula one race car designer Reynard, and the UC Berkeley team, The Bearacuda, in which two riders pedal back to back. Wittingham's new record is nearly 8 mph more than his record last year. Hopefully some of the aerodynamic technology can be applied to commercially available vehicles (cars, maybe?)."
No! Don't do it!
Please, slashdotters, post everything in metric, except when dealing with nautical measurements (there's a good reason for a nautical mile!). Only America is still stuck with an archaic measurement system that requires more conversion factors than positive aspects to it..
Think about it: the SI system is even used by American scientists! It pains me to see how everyhting is turned into pounds and ounces and how you have to grab a calculator to calculate how many inches in a mile.
CowboyNeal, just think, at more than 2cm per inch, you'd be THAT MUCH TALLER and LONGER!
Boycott Imperialist sites! Post in metric!
top speed: 129.7 km/h
weight of bike: 27.3 kg
A word can paint a thousand pictures
Have you ever stuck your face out the window of a car at 60 MPH? Now, add 15 MPH and think about trying to pedal a bicycle while breathing in that sort of wind. It's not that you need much of a filter.. You just need somethin that will keep breating easy and comfortable.
OS Software is like love: The best way to make it grow is to give it away.
I'm really impressed with Matt Weaver who built his own cycle, the Kyle Edge, and hence didn't have the same time for physical training that winner Sam Whittinghham had.
.18 second slower than the winning time, and his time of 46.78 in the mile is only 1 second slower than the winning time of 45.78. No one else came close.
His time of 5.73 in the 200M is only
Next year, my money's on Weaver to win!
Actually, they were given sufficient distance to start from. They can choose any distance, but their speeds are measured over a 200 meter stretch.
There are also several other different classes, for more info, here are the RULES
Also for a more detailed listing of the records (with km/h and miles/h):
Go HERE.
It contains more that just land speed records.
(I also read that he is only reported to have gone faster than 80 miles per hour, but I do not see it on the official site.
These auto paced records aren't really human powered. The current world record holder is Fred Rompleberg with 166.94 mph. If you look at the photo at his site, you can see how the bike is partway covered by a fairing behind the dragster that's pacing him. The force of the air rushing in to fill the vacuum behind the fairing creates a suction effect that pulls the bike along. Almost all of the power is comming from the dragster's engine, not the rider. He might as well just use a rope.
7.95MPH faster and a bolt of lightning, and we'll see the world's first time-travelling bicycle!
Years ago, when recumbent cycle 'technology' wasn't as well known as it is now, I had the opportunity to ride both recumbent bicyles and tricycles created by a company called Greenspeed here in Melbourne, Australia.
My experience with the bicycles was less than perfect - it takes a slightly different balancing technique to ride with your centre of gravity lower than the centre of the wheels. The handlebars are also beneath the seat, rather than up in front. I'm told a couple of weeks experience would be plenty to feel at home though.
On the other hand, the trike is a joy to ride. Not quite as fast (if you're going for the speed record) but fantastic for cornering. I hit a corner a lot faster than I'd dare on a 2 wheel device, and it swung around without even lifting a wheel. Truly a fantastic piece of machinery.
At AU$ 3,750 for the economy model, these things aren't cheap - but hey, I can drool.
The real problem is trying to convince designers and the John Q. Public that aerodynamics are "cool", not the body styles with extraneous bulges, scoops and corners.
science is a religion
i seem to recall reading about some bike with some crazy gear ratio that got somewhere around 250 mph, but it had to be towed up to at least 70 or 80 mph to overcome the bike and rider's inertia
i think i read about it in popular science or scientific american a couple years ago
anyone know what I'm talking about?
"I would say that 99 per cent of what my father has written about his own life is false." - L. Ron Hubbard Jr.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I honestly don't think that there are tremendous gains in automobile aerodynamics on the horizon. Automobile manufacturers can already greatly increase the aerodynamics of their product, but only at a sacrifice to ergodynamics and practicality. The future for more efficient automobiles lies mostly in the development of smaller and more efficient power conversion (IE the engines) and the development of alternative fuel sources. Besides, the featured cycle looked to have the same lines as a Ford Probe concept car from over a decade ago, so I don't think there's much to be learned here. On the other hand, I think it's absolutely cool that cycle riders can achieve true highway speeds, even if they have to be in incredible shape and practically dislocate their shoulders to fit into the vehicles.
GreyPoopon
--
Why is it I can write insightful comments but can't come up with a clever signature?
I've known for years that you can go really fast on a bike, when you are in good health and in shape and have a short distance.
What I want is a bike that I can ride at some [fast] speed all day on my own power. Assume my exercise is only riding the bike to work (which if areoboic is enough to keep me in shape, but I'm still not pro level)
Remember that I'm only getting older. 7 years ago my body was at about the peak of its ability. I've got a long way to 40 and my body is already in decline. I'm looking for something I can use when I retire and still make good time.
For sure the majority of spoilers on consumer cars are absurdly useless. Indeed I remember in the mid/late 80s when you could get the Mustang 5L (did Americans call this the Mustang 1.32G? :-}) in two variants: The plain jane version, and the "GT" version chocked full of ground effects and spoilers. In actual tests the GT version was somewhat slower than the plain version because of the added 40lbs+ of ground effects, plus the fact that they were aerodynamically horrendous and thwarted rather than helped the car.
The coolest thing about F1 cars is that most of the ground force is caused by air going under the car and sucking the car into the ground. Indeed they banned things like Venturi tunnels under there because the ground force was getting too extreme.
You just need to go.
My landlady is 81 years old and rides her bike every day - A single-speed upright bike, with a basket in the front for her groceries. She's healthier than me.
The Chinese restaurant near my old office has a man of at least that age who delivers lunches on a bike - 5 or 6 bowls on a tray balanced on his shoulder, held by just a corner.
Here, I see mothers with 2 or even 3 children on their bike, out running errands - Hard to imagine a mother of 3 in the US who doesn't feel she needs a minivan to take the kids somewhere.
You don't need some $2,500 custom mountain bike - Get yourself a solid used Raleigh 3 speed with a basket and USE the damn thing. I see business men riding to work on their bikes in a suit and dress shoes in traffic on a 90 degree morning, or riding along in torrential rain, carrying an umbrella. If you live within a few miles of your work and your supermarket, you will use your bike and stay in shape. If you live way out in the suburbs, yes, you will probably have a nice trophy bike decorating your garage, that you will occasionally load on the back of your car to drive to the bike trail.
Too many people think of exercise like it's some kind of pill you take occasionally to feel better - It's a lifestyle choice. A choice that is too easily dismissed for the sake of convenience. Convenience of living in the 'burbs and driving those two blocks to the mailbox. Sure, there are reasons that people do these things, but they really don't help you when you're feeling old at 40.
For me, 40 is less than 5 years away and I look and feel 25 - I bike every day. I'm no health nut either - I smoke more than a pack of cigarettes a day and can drink obscene quantities of beer. I believe it is due to the excercise that has become part of how I live my life. Last week's health checkup confirmed that I am in great physical shape and I know that's not due to my diet...
You don't need to go fast - You just need to go.
Cheers,
Jim in Tokyo
-- My Weblog.
I've heard this over and over again.. and having travelled around the world a bit, I've come to two conclusions.
The first, is factual. There is no such continent as 'America'. Canada, the US, Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica... are all in 'North America'. Brazil, Argentina, Chile, etc... are in 'South America'. So saying 'America' must mean something ELSE....
The second is observational. When anyone in the world says 'American', they mean someone from 'The United States of America'. I even hear my fellow Canadians refer to them as 'Americans' all the time, you probably do it too. How else do you refer to our neighbors? United Statsians? Get real.
'American' is a term, the world over, that refers to those citizens of the United States. Get used to it.
I do not consider myself part of 'America'. I am from 'Canada'.
You can buy recumbent HPVs for road use, but down there the trucks aint gonna see you. keeping out the way should give you an extra speed boost even if nothing else does. Some models have things like flags on long poles to give you a chance of being seen.
:)
Have you actually riden a recumbent? My RANS Rocket has an aerodynamic advantage over an upright, and I ride it safely on the street. Instead of looking at my front wheel, I am in a upright position looks at drivers directly in the eye at their eye level. I am far from invisible. I also can ride 100 miles in a day without sore arms, neck, and wrists and without feeling like I just got a prostate exam with a weed eater.
Please learn just a little about the subject before making ignorant flippant remarks. You sould like one of the upright riders I recently toasted...