Beer Wheel Drive Vehicle

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By Bill Gurstelle
Posted 2011/07/01 @ 6:30 pm
Category Energy, Fun & Games

No longer must those looking for a giant, 14-person bicycle outfitted with beer coolers look across the Atlantic for their machines. My friend, übermaker Casimir Sienkiewicz, (it sounds just like it’s spelled) has produced the first in what I believe will be quite a few of these.

He took his hand welded contraption out on the streets of Minneapolis last night.

They look like they’re having a good time.

In the Maker Shed

Gift Certificate

BeagleBoard BeagleBone Black

Makey Makey Standard Kit

Getting Started with Arduino Kit v3.0

13 Responses to Beer Wheel Drive Vehicle

Dafydd Barr on July 2nd, 2011 at 2:44 am said:

“Drinking, officer? Of course not! I’m not drinking; I’m driving! ~They’re~ drinking!!!!”

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Mike Gross on July 2nd, 2011 at 4:03 am said:

Boulder CO: http://www.myhandlebar.com

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Jonathan Barclay on July 2nd, 2011 at 6:33 am said:

Caz built these for a company in FL. Pedal pub has been operating similar vehicles in the twin cities for a while already…

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Jonathan Barclay on July 2nd, 2011 at 6:33 am said:

Caz built these for a company in FL. Pedal pub has been operating similar vehicles in the twin cities for a while already…

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Anonymous on July 2nd, 2011 at 7:17 am said:

Can someone tell me which song that is? And who the artist is?

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Anonymous on July 2nd, 2011 at 1:30 pm said:

please send one to Philly, thanks!

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Kris Koskelin on July 2nd, 2011 at 2:21 pm said:

We’ve got one like this in Madison, WI. I’m far from an engineer (though I DO work at a bicycle company… but I’m in IT) but I think it’d be cool if the cyclists drove a flywheel, rather than direct drive. Perhaps with a simple kind of variable speed transmission automatically controlled by electronics measuring torque delivered to the flywheel? Maybe I just read too much slashdot.

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Adam Lindsay on July 5th, 2011 at 3:42 am said:

How is this legal. Not that I am criticizing, I love it and want a fleet of them myself but it seems that there are some zoning laws that might be broken.

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Mike Murphy on July 6th, 2011 at 10:45 am said:

Now this is a bicycle…

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Joe on July 6th, 2011 at 1:22 pm said:

I believe this is perfectly legal from a speed standpoint (horse carriage in the city). How you have drunk passengers in a moving vehicle I’m not sure.

Also it would seem that thing isn’t built very efficiently. If a single biker can average 10-20mph, there’s no reason why a dozen bikers couldn’t do the same (still a good power to weight ratio even with a non-peddling driver). I don’t know why you would put such wide tires on it, there’s a LOT of drag co-efficient there (and not like it’s going to go fast enough to need traction).

I would say either they need continuous variable transmissions (so they can peddle efficiently), or they all need to be connected to alternators that charge up a battery, and the vehicle is simply electrically driven (which means when it needs to stop, they can continue peddling and storing up energy).

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Joe on July 6th, 2011 at 1:22 pm said:

I believe this is perfectly legal from a speed standpoint (horse carriage in the city). How you have drunk passengers in a moving vehicle I’m not sure.

Also it would seem that thing isn’t built very efficiently. If a single biker can average 10-20mph, there’s no reason why a dozen bikers couldn’t do the same (still a good power to weight ratio even with a non-peddling driver). I don’t know why you would put such wide tires on it, there’s a LOT of drag co-efficient there (and not like it’s going to go fast enough to need traction).

I would say either they need continuous variable transmissions (so they can peddle efficiently), or they all need to be connected to alternators that charge up a battery, and the vehicle is simply electrically driven (which means when it needs to stop, they can continue peddling and storing up energy).

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Joe on July 6th, 2011 at 1:29 pm said:

Case in point, this guy has totally designed what I’m talking about:
http://www.humancar.com

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City Cycle Tours on July 6th, 2011 at 3:48 pm said:

Thanks for checking us out! We have facebook (citycycletours) and twitter ( @citycycleusa:twitter
), as well as a great features website (citycycle.us) ! Our normal business site is here: http://www.thecitycycle.com.

As far as the legality goes, different states and cities have different laws, but the great state of MN considers us a bicycle and has ratified a statute allowing bicycles with 5 or more passengers to consume alcohol. We as the company provide the driver, however, so there is always a DD. And because we have disk brakes off of a car, the driver can take function away from the peddlers at any time. Let the party begin!

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