Make:

• Make a bicycle ramp
• HOW TO - bike pannier from messenger bag
• Found Video: Crazy bicycle innovations of the past
• Odd bike...
• DIY: Recycled Recumbent
• DIY: Seat made from bike parts and crutches

At 50mph wind resistance creates a lot of drag. This device does nothing to reduce it. Even regular bicycles out grand parents ride are more streamlined than this.

The top competitive riders today achieve 50mph on racing bicycles but they can't maintain for longer than few seconds. World record riders on extremely streamlined recumbents can maintain 50mph for an hour.

I'm, calling BS on the 50mph claim.

Safer? I see no evidence of brakes. Steering is achieved by differential drive- forward motion (and a lot of open space) is required.

Faster? 50 mph? A human being can't produce enough power to propel themselves through the air in a standing position at 50 mph. Think about it- a racing bike powered by a trained athlete is far more aerodynamic, yet they can't hit 50 mph without a steep hill. I hate to try to steer this thing at that speed.

The guy at NASA who approved the funding and the guy who built the bike must be FOBs (Friends of Bush). Your tax dollars hard at work!

Twisted Metal

Posted by: Marc de Vinck on July 3, 2008 at 6:00 AM

50mph does seem fast. I think an over-the-counter race bike weighs about 15-18 lbs (I could be wrong) How much does this bike weigh?

Very cool looking, but I think you'd spend sooooo much time focusing on the various hand/foot movements and the "wheelies" that you'd never even attempt to bring it to full speed. And at 50mph - holy crap! I can't even imagine how awful a wipeout would be in that cage!!

Good start for something better to come?

I, too call BS on this. 50 mph is BS, "safer" is BS. In fact, it's probably not legal in TX, where brakes that can make the braked wheel skid are required.

Plus, it's not a "bike" - it has 3 wheels. And terrible ground clearance.

Posted by: Marc de Vinck on July 3, 2008 at 9:44 AM

@Del

.....and yet I still want to try it!

You can see in the video that there are massive disc brakes on the large wheels; brakes are a non-issue.

But yeah, I loves me some crazy human powered vehicles, and I like this idea, but the 50 mph speed claims have got to be total poppycock.

Anyway, this video was made in 2005. I'd love to see the latest iteration, just for kicks.

Well, I followed back to where space.com got this:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/01/hyperbike_hype.php

The inventor compares it to "crawling at 50mph". Not the top speed, but a descriptive term.

The prototype weight is 200lbs(!) but could slim down using better construction mat'ls and method.

Totally a prototype. This machine can be optimized several ways: human should be lying head or feet first to reduce wind resistance (the required movements are not dependent on operator position); the instability of the front wheel can be offset by moving the human forward of the center of gravity... just move the operator far enough that the front wheel remains on the ground when the wheel strikes a 1 inch obstacle at 30 MPH; the frame is not optimized for weight and contains redundant structures, etc.gazb

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