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#162
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"The Stability of the Bicycle"
(Carl Fogel) wrote:
My (modest cough) 15 mph record (hey, it's lasted at least one post) was set with the bike standing firmly upside-down on a garage floor, a firm grip on the tire, a wind-up, and a mighty heave--plus a few mulligans. My approach would have bounced your dangling bicycle's front wheel off the turf and ruined your experiment, so there's absolutely no shame in your humiliating second-place finish, as I just finished emailing my Red Sox sister in Boston. Front tire spinning standings: 1. Carl Fogel (unassisted 700c) 15 mph 2. Simon Brooke (assisted 27") 9 mph More to come? But of course... I think I started this whole "how fast can you spin a wheel" when I suggested that I spun up the front wheel on my fixie to 15-20mph. Alas, I probably didn't. But I don't have a speedo on any of my "current bikes"... the best I could do is to drag down an old (but lovely...) steel bike of my wife's that still has a working speedo. Unfortunately, the pickup is on the rear wheel, so spinning it "the easy way" was out of the question (since it would engage the pawls, and take the chain and cranks along for the ride). With a single, awkward, upside-down spin, I got 14mph. It was probably a bit higher, judging from the decay rate and the time it took for the speedo to register. But now I DO doubt I actually spun the front wheel 20mph. Maybe 15 though (which means I was actually underestimating the gyroscopic effect a bit. Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com Home of the $695 ti frame |
#163
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"The Stability of the Bicycle"
Mark Hickey wrote in message . ..
[snip] Dear Mark, Sorry, but honesty isn't the best policy. Decay rate won't wash, the speedometer has spoken, we measure real horsepower at the rear wheel, not what might be happening above the wrist-pin! You said 14 mph and that's all you get. You really can't complain. We're letting you slip in a rear wheel spin and only punning on your lovely wife's rear in the standings. Hope she appreciates it, though I don't recommend slapping at it. We trust everyone to use the finest speedometers available, to calibrate them to the measured size of their front tires honestly, and to have another go until this kind of important competition is settled! (Incidentally, the front wheel of a penny-farthing would give vastly improved leverage, so we'll have to outlaw them, sort of like aluminum bats and mortars for deer-hunting.) (And no, this thread-digression is not your fault, though you may well have raised it elsewhere. I can't seem to figure out how to put the link to my original rude post, so it's appended below.) Front tire spinning standings: 1. Carl Fogel (unassisted 700c) 15 mph 2. Mark Hickey (lovely wife's rear) 14 mph 3. Simon Brooke (assisted 27") 9 mph More to come? Carl Fogel Original spinning post from different thread: From: Carl Fogel ) Subject: Argument - rolling mass negligible or not? View this article only Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.tech Date: 2003-10-07 14:13:02 PST "GWB" wrote in message om... . . . Take a wheel hooked up to a speedo, lift it off the ground a bit. I'll bet you can get that wheel spinning to show 30 mph on the speedo with one finger. It doesn't take much power to move a wheel, heavy or light. Dear GWB, Can you really spin a dangling front wheel attached to a speedometer up to 30 mph easily with a single finger? From what I've seen of calculations on rec.bicycle.tech, it actually takes quite a bit of power, speed, and leverage to spin a spoked 700c wheel up to such speeds. I'm old and slow and sluggish (and so is my front wheel), but 15 mph was roughly what my max-reading kept reporting after I slapped wildly at the spinning tire with my hand instead of a single digit (and I cheated by flipping my bike upside-down so that I could take a good crack at the wheel.) The fastest track sprinters are said to reach only about 27 mph about 2/3 of the way down the 100 meter track using their legs, which are much longer and faster than their arms and fingers. The fists of boxers are commonly thought to reach only 20-25 mph. Baseballs are thrown at much higher speeds, but then the arms involved follow much greater arcs than are available to fingers urging 700c wheels. Perhaps you meant hooking a speedometer up to a rear wheel and using a single finger on the pedals to spin it up? You might gain the necesssary leverage, but it still sounds like one impressive finger that you're giving us. So no betting--what's the max-speed that you and your friends actually record spinning a front wheel with one finger? The experiment takes only a minute or two, so I hope to hear from other researchers. If nothing else, think of the amusing spectacle of bicycle geeks in garages everywhere grimly stroking dangling wheels with single fingers. Surely younger folk with lighter aero-wheels can improve on my pitiful 36-spoke performance. But do resist the temptation to gain leverage by sticking your finger into the spokes near the hub--you'll likely break a finger. Carl Fogel |
#164
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"The Stability of the Bicycle"
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#165
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"The Stability of the Bicycle"
2. Mark Hickey (lovely wife's rear) 14 mph
no comment |
#166
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"The Stability of the Bicycle"
"Robert Strickland" wrote:
2. Mark Hickey (lovely wife's rear) 14 mph no comment I was thinking the same thing... Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com Home of the $695 ti frame |
#167
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"The Stability of the Bicycle"
Mark Hickey wrote in message . ..
"Robert Strickland" wrote: 2. Mark Hickey (lovely wife's rear) 14 mph no comment I was thinking the same thing... Dear Rob and Mark, No comment? Thinking the same thing? Bah! You sound like spineless politicians, not fearless, forthright, virile cyclists! Mark's lovely wife must be thinking as she spins her well-equipped rear wheel (speedometer and all), "Only the brave deserve the fair." Carl Fogel |
#168
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"The Stability of the Bicycle"
(Carl Fogel) wrote:
Mark Hickey wrote in message . .. "Robert Strickland" wrote: 2. Mark Hickey (lovely wife's rear) 14 mph no comment I was thinking the same thing... Dear Rob and Mark, No comment? Thinking the same thing? Bah! You sound like spineless politicians, not fearless, forthright, virile cyclists! Hey, how would I know? She rides stoker position. Mark's lovely wife must be thinking as she spins her well-equipped rear wheel (speedometer and all), "Only the brave deserve the fair." Sadly, that bike just collects dust. It's a "pre-Habanero" bike, and while nice, doesn't even get to do rain duty here in the desert. Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com Home of the $695 ti frame |
#169
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"The Stability of the Bicycle"
gyroscope head??
i can't ride but i can think.downwind mostly. swoop swoop maybe ya'll need a 130 moph fairinging cosworth sounding motor to devo understanding or a gyro and a string. no insurance! |
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