Slashdot Mirror
Human-Powered Vehicle Speed Competition
nsasch writes "Over at Battle Mountain, NV on SR-305, for the 2008 Battle Mountain World Human Powered Speed Challenge (mirror), some of the best cyclists will be competing in human-powered vehicles to break speed records. The current world record was set in 2002 at the same location with a speed of 129.6 km/h (81 mph) by Sam Whittingham in a custom-made recumbent bike. A lot of advanced aerospace engineering goes into these machines to reach highway speeds on less than one horsepower. Take a look around their site for pictures of the event and this year's records. It ends 20 September, so more pictures and results will be coming."
This is the pinnacle of human-powered vehicle evolution. Here are some features:
- Compact, lightweight frame cuts down on weight and complexity while adding strength.
- Unique wheel placement and design ensures maximum power transwer to drive wheel while reducing drag caused by friction stemming from contact surface area.
- Portability - it's like owning a segway that you can hand-carry into the store!
- Ability to self-balance while occupied, without the use of a kickstand, leg, or tripod.
- It's like walking on a wheel and it makes the Segway its bitch.
I see they're pretty much all recumbent bikes, and that's pretty cool and all, and 81 mph is impressive and stuff, but I think maybe they're perhaps suffering from a lack of imagination. Based off the common usages of "Solar-Powered" and "Diesel-Powered", would it be safe to assume that Human-Powered could also mean Human-Fueled?
Or should I read the fine print before entering the contest?
The enemies of Democracy are
The cop (also riding a bike) could put a red light on his helmet and ring his bicycle bell as a siren... *ching ching* *ching ching*
Very intimidating...
And where would he put the suspect after he's caught, in the basket?
Developers: We can use your help.
The bitch seat? If you've just been caught by a bicycle cop, I can't imagine a more fitting place for you to sit.
This is the mountain bike speed record being broken. Spoiler alert: it doesn't end well for the vehicle or the human.
Airplane Photos, Airline News, Planespotting Guides
There goes my plan for a hamster powered car entering the race.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power lost.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing this at 1,408m instead of at sea level?
These faired HPVs are amazing, I think they're a great illustration of how much power a human can translate into motion if he has an efficient enough machine under him.
As for this speed challenge, it'd bring a lot of publicity to the even if they could persuade big name pro cyclists or at least high profile ex-pros to take part.
Drill baby drill - on Mars
Am I the only one that thought, "Holy Shit!" at 81mph?! On flat ground? On a bike?
I've never broken 40 letting my fat ass drag me downhill on a roadbike - I can't imagine what it's like to be able to propel yourself at 80mph with your feet.
Mod my comments down. It'll be fun.
Was I the only one thinking the article was about making Bio-diesel from Liposuction Clinic's waste?
As Mark Twain put in his "Innocents Abroad", the Egyptians burned mummies in their locomotives: "The fuel is composed of mummies three thousand years old, purchased by the ton or by the graveyard for that purpose, and sometimes one hears the profane engineer call out pettishly, 'D--n these plebeians, they don't burn worth a cent--pass out a King!"
Putting a UCI-class rider in one of those things would be great to see. The speeds would be off the charts. That would be the quickest end to your pro career. Much worse than getting caught for doping.
There are articles of agreement between IHPVA and UCI and, over the years, many UCI-class riders have ridden in hpv's (at HPV events)--so there is no "political" problem.
The problem is teaching a rider how to do a flying 200 meter speed run--it is not like a normal bicycle because the gearing is so much higher. Acceleration is very slow at higher speeds and the rider has to learn to accelerate carefully over several minutes. The goal is to pick a pace so that you exhaust yourself (run out of breath!) just as you enter the timing traps. Bottom line--just putting a strong rider into an hpv will not guarantee record speeds, it takes practice and thought.
What makes Battle Mountain the place to do this kind of thing is it's the smoothest, flatest road that the local community is willing to close.
Actually, it is not flat and has the steepest slope permitted under the ihpva rules for the 200m record. Unlike other forms of land speed record you don't have to do both directions, as in general the riders are only able to do one good run each day.
This is a bit of a cop-out though, as even the miniscule slope permitted under the rules becomes significant at high speed. Look at it like this - if you weight 100kg and drop 1m you gain 1kj of energy.
A gradient of 1/100 is nothing if you're pootling along at 4m/s, but if you're doing 40m/s it starts to provide a significant amount of your energy output. If Battle mountain were truly flat, the records would be significantly lower - perhaps 70-75mph.
I didn't see it mentioned in the summary, but world speed record holder Sam Whittingham's bike was designed by a Bulgarian sculptor, Georgi Georgiev, who is not an engineer. The bike was not designed from computational fluid dynamics, or other modern engineering techniques. The design emerged from the brain of Mr. Georgiev; he designed the bike to "hide from the air", while providing Sam Whittingham with just enough space to pedal comfortably.
I have always been amazed that Sam Whittington and Georgi Georgiev have been able to consistently beat teams with engineers and batteries of computers with advanced aerodynamics software. Mr. Georgiev is something of a genius.
This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when first he appears as a protector - Plato (423 to 327 BC)