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Ultimate Sleds?
frenchgates asks: "I recently moved near a long and steep sledding hill with dangerous trees right at the bottom. I have acquired a fleet of sleds at this point, plastic shells, inflatables, a toboggin, a flexible flyer, etc, but all have one potentially fatal (literally) flaw: no brakes. I figure this crowd probably takes its gravity-fun seriously so I am looking for info on sleds (or customizations) allow rapid stopping in all snow conditions."
That's the way I always did it when I was a kid.
Tim
Omnia vestra castrorum habetur nobis.
Better use linux on your super sled. If you use Windows, it will crash. You could hit a tree like Sonny Bono.
The Uncoveror: It's the real news.
Chop the trees down. Use the wood to make more sleds.
Seriously, who needs brakes when you're riding down a snowbank on the detatched hood of a police cruiser?
One future, two choices. Oppose them or let them destroy us.
You are going to have a tough time trying to stop something on snow in any kind of device. If the snow is deep enough, a rudder would provide you with steering, and if turned to a 90 degree angle, would almost certainly bring the sled to a complete stop, while simultaneously hurdling you through the air, thanks to our friend, inertia. But at least you were able to steer your sled in the moments before your tragic accident.
Brakes in the back? Effective for the sled, not for you. Brakes in the front? I hope you like flipping over and having a sled land on you.
"Inattention makes clowns of us all" -Bean
Back in The Day I had a GT snowracer. Had metal spike-things that were driven into the ground when you pushed the breaks with your feet. Worked pretty well.
;-)
Maybe they still make them, or similar kinds, or maybe you could find an old one.
Oh yeah, and having a steering wheel rocked too
When your ready to stop, just throw it over. Watch out for that sudden deceleration though.
Ask Slashdot - google for stupid people.
What you need is a complicated system of instantly ignited, rapidly burning chemical propellant in a jet enclosure, with the nozzle pointing in the direction of normal travel. This may have the unintented side effect of ruining the sled run.
:-)
Or you could just use the traditional method of stopping a sled, as others have pointed out, and JUMP THE FUCK OFF!
* And remember, it's spelled N-e-t-s-c-a-p-e, but it's pronounced "Mozilla."
Use one. Perhaps get lessons.
Dave
I write a blog now, you should be afraid.
A combination of "Jump the fuck off" and "dig in with an icepick" would probably work fine, once you got the technique right. Wear a hockey mask and lotsa padding while you hone your skills.
Look into something called a Fluke used in mountaineering
Rudder? That better be some wicked-soft snow!
:) Those round plastic "plates" don't stop for anything... just lean back and plant your ass in the snow!
I remember having a "trike" some time ago. It was basically three skis with the front, middle one mounted on bycicle type handlebars. The undersides of the rails were ribbed to grab the snow and ice just a little bit and turn you.
This works extreamely well. You don't want to use any kind of "anchor" to stop, since you'll probably be going quite fast... and the jerk from the anchor rope will be just as bad (or worse!) than hitting the trees!
Another brake design I've seen is a triangle-shaped plate with SMALL spikes on it, hinged at the point opposite the spikes and held up under the sled with a light spring.stomping on the plate pushed the spikes into the snow and slowed you down safely.
And, of course, "Jump the fuck off" is still the most reliable.
(Building a berm of leaves at the bottom of the hill before it snows would make a great safety net, too)
=Smidge=
If it has brakes then what is the point of the trees at the bottom?!
I have found that the most reliable way of stopping is running into other people walking back up the hill. Small children probably won't stop you, but they usually walk back up in groups of 2 or 3, which is usually sufficient.
The masses are the crack whores of religion.
turn sideways quickly, pull back toward the hill as the sled turns, you'll dig in and stop dead(on pun intended) quickly...
Power Corrupts,Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely, leaving one person(group)in charge is absolutely corrupt.
I am looking for info on sleds (or customizations) allow rapid stopping in all snow conditions.
Hey, and I'm looking for a sled that will turn snow into 24 carat gold as it travels down the slope... I'll bet we find out respective sleds at the same time.
"Your superior intellect is no match for our puny weapons!"
Well what we did back in the day was not what they do now, but I pride myself in doing it years before it became interesting.
We use to use a surfboard that had snapped in half in large surf, glass the jagged end to avoid fiberglass in your arse of course. Then make a loop leash plug, IE a place to tie a rope in your case.
Then we took an approx 20 pound piece of tug-boat drive shaft that had been cut down that we had been using for a shallow draft bay boat while fishing. If you use a anchor you get caught on crap on the bottom much more than if you use something that is basically a what amounts to a cylinder of solid steal about 12 inch long and 5 inch wide. So you have something heavy, with no sharp points, that you can keep on a boat and not worry about driving it though your leg or kicking it with no shoes and loosing toe.
Now we would wait for some 20+ winds on the beach, crank up our 10+ wingspan stunt kites, and sit on 1/2 a surfboard with a 20 pound weight under our legs attached to a 8 foot surfboard leash. This leash being attached to the back of the snapped surfboard in the leash loop. We would get going fast or toward something that we did not want to ram head first into we just kicked that make shift anchor off and it did quite the job of slowing us down. Not enough to fly off the front just slow you down with drag to get you under control.
Good luck, I would love to hear if this works for you. You could also deploy a small runners chute behind you to bring your speed down to sub-sonic...ahahaha...either way this would be fun to watch.
Neck_of_the_Woods
#/usr/local/surf/glassy/overhead
Do what ski resorts do for their tubing hills: before the trees at the bottom, build up a mound of dirt / strawbale / etc. that'll get covered in snow. Don't make the grade sharp enough to act as a jump though (unless intended!) The mound should slow you down enough to roll off safely.. assuming there's at least some flat area at the bottom of the sled hill to work with. Or you could always try a net. (:
I just posted, but here's another idea that might actually be original. How about some sort of bungie apparatus? This could work in all sorts of ways. Either the cord could release and spring back away after slowing you down or else you could ride out the oscillations... perhaps getting a free ride halfway back up the hill. (: Heck, if you get this figured out, charge admission. (and take out a huge insurance policy! hehe)
ice axe ;-)
flying sled
slippery surfaces
you could stop yourself all right...permanently
Tie it to your house or a tree at the top of the hill. Start with a very conservative guess as to length, increase it to your comfort factor.
Bonus: don't need to trudge back up hill lugging the damn sled.
Infuriate left and right
I feel that I am well-qualified to comment on your particular situation.
First, why would you want to brake a sled? There's no fun in that. The whole point to sledding is to wipe out into the snow, run into a pile of friends, or come to a satisfying stop after a leisurely decceleration. I have never understood brakes on sleds.
Second, if you're going so fast that you need to brake suddenly to avoid hitting trees, wouldn't you go flying off the sled anyway?
Third, if you aren't going so fast that a sudden stop would send you off the sled, can't you just jump off, or better yet, use your feet or hands to slow the sled down on the way down?
Fourth, what are these "dangerous trees"? Do they bite? Or are they dangerous by virtue of the fact that they are so close?
My favorite sled after a snow tube is a sled made by Rubbermaid. It's a thicker, hollow one-person sled that has a place to put your feet into, with a seat and rope; the contact with the snow is limited to two blade-like protrusions on the bottom of the sled.
But neither of them have brakes.
I have found that rope can slow down your sled quite a bit if you let it fly under the sled.
Dogs attempting to snatch your hat off your head also help to slow down a sled.
Just space several hay bales at the bottom several feet/yards in front of the obstacles. Break them apart a bit so they'll cushion the shock enough. It'll still smart to hit one, but you'll likely walk away unharmed.
When I was a kid we had a sled with levers on each side, so it you pulled on one, it would dig into the the snow and make you turn.
pulling both made you slow down.. kinda..... but ultimetly the best would be a gt....
metalgeek
windows, just another pane in the glass
A couple of thoughts come to mind. You could attach a large battery on your sled and heating coils to your runners... Turn on the juice, poof, no more snow and stopping will be imminate.
:)**
Another idea is to use sand to arrest yourself down to a speed where more traditional stoping methods (Flinstones was always my preference in my youth) will suffice.
Attach a chunk of 2x4 to the front with some decent nails driven through the front, hinge the 2x4 and flip them down and push down with your feet and hang on (because your sled will probably do an immediate 180, losing a substantal amount of speed int he process).
**WARNING: I will not be held responsible for damage to you, your seld or any incoming karmatic backlash for damage done to the trees
On the whole, I find that I prefer Slashdot posts to twitter ones because I don't get limited to 140 chars before
There's no reason why you couldn't do both :-)
* And remember, it's spelled N-e-t-s-c-a-p-e, but it's pronounced "Mozilla."
Seriously, I think the best option would be to set up one of those soft fences akin to the ones you see on the ski slopes. The material looks pretty cheap and it will save your ass if you get too out of control to stop (which you will if you do it right.)
I thought I read an article where a russian inventor had invented a way of using electricity to change the coefficient of friction with snow/ice?
;)
I thought the first application of this technology would be brakes for skiis or snowboards.
I don't have a reference to this, but this could be the geeky way of solving the problem...
I mean if somebody is constructing a cleanroom to build a satellite in his basement, THIS would be a no-brainer...
So to [-1 redundant], we've established that:
1. Inertia's a bitch.
Half the fun of doing stuff like that as a kid is the fact that it's a pretty darned dangerous activity. Trust me, the fear of death/dismemberment/disfigurement makes anything a whole lot more fun.
Once we reach adulthood we (usually) condition ourselves to avoid stuff we perceive as dangerous, or at least get in control of the situation [insert darwinist theory here].
The point being -- the fun is in being out of control. I wouldn't use a sled with brakes if one existed, just as you astutely pointed out -- I do, in fact, take my gravity-fun very seriously.
Pile up some snow. Make a bank before the trees. And jump the fuck off!
For that dragster feel...
Take inspiration in what the ski resorts do : span large nets in front of the trees. Make sure that the nets slope gently from the ground so that the transition from snow to net is not too rough. To avoid spending on poles, you could even attach one end of the nets to the trees and the other end to the ground ten meters away from the trees. If any hard points remain, make sure they are well envelopped with bales.
Buy rafts, inflatable pools or "moonbounce" toys, wrap them around the most dangerous trees. Or perhaps the orange snow-fence I often see?
An of course, jump the fuck off.
That is, the strap that holds you on to the sled when you snap back up the hill. Otherwise, you'll be eating a lot of powder.
... don't do that. It sounds like a good way to die. Especially if you just missed a tree on the way down and the damn bungie finishes you off just as you're taking a sigh of relief.
Oh, and don't forget to make sure that the bungie is attached to an extremely strong point on the sled. Without that, you'll just break the sled.
Oh, and don't forget that the sled in question will probably have to be a saucer. The slighest angular twist in your path to the bungie mounting point will probably cause you to roll/drag on your way back up the hill otherwise.
Oh, and
Please mod this post only if you think others should/n't read this. I have enough ego^H^H^Hkarma. Thanks!
I have a set of these (hard to find a complete set), and I remember in the "S" volume there were plans for a few snow sleds, etc - I think there may even have been a plan for a sleigh! Anyhow, one of these plans was some kind of racer deal, with outboard "skid rudders" and a steering wheel that turned to allow you to "drive" the sled - seemed like a fun thing! I also think there was a plan for an ice sail-skate racer thingie (not sure what they are called).
A little background:
The encyclopedia set was published in 1968, and contained a TON of "do-it-yourself" projects - everything from cars, to homes, to boats - even a clothes dryer! Full plans, full articles giving you instructions on how to build, and what tools to use. The articles typically leave just enough leeway for you to experiment, too. Unfortunately, I think they may have only been published that year, as I haven't seen any later editions for sale anywhere. But if you can find them, they are well worth it - some of the projects are meaningless nowadays, except on the educational level - either there are better products to buy on the market today, or there are similar products which are cheaper than what can be built. Other projects and articles though are still relevant today, and can give you ideas on how to do things cheaper than by hiring someone (for instance, there are three articles in the series on building your own full size swimming pool - one made out of fiberglass. There are articles on building fences, and other home improvements - one talks about building rolling storage systems to recover unused space in crawlways and basements. Other articles detail things like basic auto maintenance, plumbing, electrical wiring - though that last one would have to be checked against code, of course).
I have known about these encyclopedias for a long time, since I was a kid and purchased one at a used book sale at the library (the "A" volume, which was the "free" volume they would send you - they don't seem to do much of that kind of marketing anymore - anyhow, I bought it because it had some cool plans for a model hovercraft). I find it sad to think it wasn't too long ago when people thought "Yeah - I could just build the damn thing!" and bought these kind of books to help them out. Nowadays, it seems that people think if it can't be bought, it can't exist - and most people don't think about building anymore. A lot of people don't even have the ability to think they can build it. Maybe it was because there are enough products today that are cheaper than building it yourself. Or maybe people are just lazy and don't want to take the time to learn how.
When I see someone doing "homebrew" stuff, though, it makes me feel better knowing there are still people that can do it - which is why I do so myself, so that others can feel the same way, and perhaps be inspired by example. For most computer geeks, this seems to be the way anyhow, what with case modding, overclocking, hardware building and interfacing, homebrew pringles can antennas, etc.
I cannot reccommend these encyclopedias enough - I wish they (I think it was a Time-Life series) would republish them again, with some of the old plans and articles reworked for modern materials and parts, but still keeping that old-time "do-it-yourself" feel...
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
Oops:
http://www.k2gravitytools.com/