Experiments in Speed

"_Mécanicien" (Mecanicien) 08/28/2014 at 09:46 • Filed to: speed record, twowheelsbad, ford

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Here is a neat little video about a guy building his own bicycle to try his hand at land speed record.
He also uses, as a "wind breaker", a car that goes to 11 on the Jalop scale.

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BJohnson11 > _Mécanicien 08/28/2014 at 10:02

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Awesome. I love stories like these of just a guy chasing a dream, and building everything to accomplish that dream himself.

That Capri at the end looks awesome too.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > _Mécanicien 08/28/2014 at 14:52

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This makes me want to hop on my bike. Its reminded me of how fun it is to ride at a speed close to the cars around you. In the open air, feeling the tension of the crank in your feet... That feeling is like none-other.

Goggles Pizzano > _Mécanicien 08/28/2014 at 20:22

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Experiments in speed. I've had thoughts. Fastest tandem? Surely it would outperform a single seat.

_Mécanicien > Goggles Pizzano 08/29/2014 at 04:46

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I'm not really sure. You add a lot of weight, obviously, but the 2 people have to be perfectly synchronized.

Goggles Pizzano > _Mécanicien 08/29/2014 at 09:13

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Hmmm.

_Mécanicien > Goggles Pizzano 08/29/2014 at 09:17

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¯\_()_/¯

Goggles Pizzano > _Mécanicien 09/13/2014 at 14:04

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Okay, I've thought about it (probably too much).

Can't seem to find it, but I had a cool infographic showing the effects of weight on top speed. The short of it though:

Let's say you have a 3000lb car with 400hp. The car tops out at 150mph. If you could add another 3000lbs of lead without effecting aerodynamics, the top speed would still be somewhere around 140mph (or even slightly faster). The bike in question would be just a bit more than double the weight of a conventional bike and rider, but...with double the power.

Did some reading on tandem bikes racing among singles as well. The general consensus is they suffer on hills where lower speed balance becomes a significant problem. I don't believe this would have effect the bike in question. The faster the wheels turned the more the bike would want to stay upright due to the gyroscope effect.

Given that weight is of no matter, solutions to gearing problems, and the synchronization you mention, could be very complex (flywheels).

Since weight (and aerodynamics in this case) have next to no effect to top speed, I'm convinced the bike would fly. It sounds ridiculous, but if the current record is 166mph, 240mph should be in order. At this speed downforce generating wings protruding beyond the slipstream effect of the car would be needed.

Do you have a welder?