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Crowd Funding For Crank Physics
BuzzSkyline writes "A new design for bicycle cranks violates basic principles of physics, but that's not stopping the inventor of Z-Torque cranks from trying to raise thousands in start-up capital through crowd funding." The picture looks intriguing for a fleeting moment before it looks silly. Covered in similar style at a site I'm glad to discover exists, the Bicycle Museum of Bad Ideas.
What are examiners for again ? Spelling mistakes ?
You seem to regard science as some kind of dodge... or hustle.
that it cannot be used to extract money from the gullible and hopeful -esp in America where the common man knows so much more than the engineer or the scientist...so in that sense it is a good idea just like all the weight loss and sex aid supplements you see on late night cable
-I'm just sayin'
It's possible that by moving the pedal so the cyclist's legs are in a different position during the pedal cycle, it's possible that his muscles could more effectively power the pedals.
Except no change has been made to the pedal cycle...
I've seen this before a dozen times or more as an engineering consultant. Some crackpot inventor comes in for a consultation with an engineering idea that "will save the world"*, and they say it works great with the soda-bottle-and-silly-straw model they built of the idea in their bathtub. They have $4 million in investment lined up, and they ask me to work up the numbers to show the feasibility of the idea.
2 minutes later, after trying to explain to them the 0th/1st/2nd Laws of Thermodynamics and how their device can't work because it violates all of them, it degenerates into a shouting match where the inventor (with an on-line PhD in cosmetology or similar) now is trying to tell me how the 0th/1st/2nd Laws of Thermodynamics do not apply to their device. I wish them luck and then send them to the door.
I don't envy them, because their options are 1) somehow continue to snow the investors until they make a major ass out of themselves when demonstration day inevitably comes and/or 2) slowly come to the realization that the 0th/1st/2nd Laws of Thermodynamics DO apply to their invention and that they somehow need to backpedal (pun!) out of the situation.
I'm not against garage inventors, but I wish them the humility to take 30 minutes to get their ideas vetted by a professional in the field before they make asses out of themselves and many others. There are many areas in engineering where the legitimate ideas are getting drowned out by the noise made by the uneducated hucksters.
*actual phrase used.
It's possible that by moving the pedal so the cyclist's legs are in a different position during the pedal cycle
Doesn't work like that. Draw a crank like this on a piece of paper, jab a pen through the point where the crank would connect to the gear and rotate the paper: you'll quickly notice that the thing still follows the exact same circular motion as any old, regular crank does, and therefore the legs don't actually assume any different a position during cycling. If the crank was displaced from the center then there would be a difference as it would no longer follow the same path as a regular crank, but alas, that's not the case here.
An analysis, found on their webpage:
http://www.z-torque.com/Portals/6/DrHuangReport.pdf
Claims that the benefit is from two side effects of the claim:
The increased mass gives a flywheel effect, meaning the pedal goes through top dead center easier.
The long shape bends under pressure, which does slightly increase the length of the arm under pressure.
So, by going to carbon fiber (lighter, and most likely stiffer), they'll most likely negate any benefits!
> so the cyclist's legs are in a different position during the pedal cycle
Only because of the bending. If it were stiffer, position would be exactly the same.
No, it's not possible. During the whole pedal cycle, the wheel is evenly in contact with the ground and the gears are in even contact with the chain. Throwing the angle on there doesn't put the rider's legs in a different position any more than rotating the existing cranks would because the "cycle" still results in the completely circular wheels and gears being in the same place. Simple physics is exactly why this can be dismissed.
A variable length crank that grew longer or sorter and avoided ground contact would be a wonderful way to over engineer a bicycle.
You seem to regard science as some kind of dodge... or hustle.
Automatically?
I think: "TIME CUBE"!
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
Manual of Patent Examining Procedure; 706.03(a) Rejections under 35 USC 101 III A rejection on the ground of lack of utility is appropriate when ... (2) an assertion of specific and substantive utility for the invention is not credible. Such a rejection can include the more specific grounds of inoperativeness! Such as inventions involving perpetual motion.
You seem to regard science as some kind of dodge... or hustle.
Yeah but the inertial difference would be some infinitesimal amount. Way to small to notice. The real problem is that this design in going to suffer huge stress at the points of the Z so if our intrepid rider is into mountain bikes he's going to break this thing about 4 weeks after he starts using it at precisely the worst possible time to have you crank break (while standing on your peddles on a steep climb.)
All you have to do to blow this out of the water is ask him why there isn't a curlicue wrench to give you more leverage in a tight place... not like we haven't been using wrenches for a while. This is a profound DUH, and no magic fairy dust nor faith in a loving deity will wash the stink of stupid off it. Sorry.
Oh come on. I'm not giving my money to anyone who can't write a sentence.
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Any problem can be made unsolvable if there are enough meetings made to discuss it.
I always slow way down when the guy up front is farting. Don't have to breathe as much of it that way.
this can't be dismissed just because simple physics says that it has no mechanical advantage.
Actually, that's exactly why it can be dismissed. It's nonsense.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
One measly zig? That's not going to efficiently couple my torque rotation constant. I want a crank with a minimum of five zigs and, for fuck's sake, a bare minimum of *three* zags... and that will be the "intro" model. The "pro" crank will come with seven zigs and five zags. The "custom" option will end the zigzags with a loop.
Throw in enough, and the bike will basically pedal itself. All I need to figure out now is how to perfect my shake weight handlebars. Still having problems with the braking on those things.