soap box racers.....gravity powered

[fast eddie]

25mph top speed, im sure a trike would be just fine, especially a straight line drag race. something else ive seen builders overlook (even when the care manufacturers built entries for a gravity race a few years ago) is that a bicycle wheel is not designed to take the kind of lateral force that is applied to a wheel by turning at speed w/out leaning into the turn, very dangerous! have fun and be safe, gravity riding is deceptively dangerous.
fast eddie outty

 

[blink]

i have seen a bicycle wheel taco on a turn in a gravity race before.
what do you recommend?

should i beef the whole thing up and use motorcycle forks and wheels?

 

[fast eddie]

i think for a straight line gravity race that trike should be fine, and it looks killer! but one a trike starts to speed wobble, your race is over! personally i think two wheeled racers are the most maneuverable and the fastest, but thats just my opinion.

 

[blink]

i wish i could enter a 2 wheeler.

rules of the build:
- must have 4 wheels
- must have brakes
- must be able to steer
- must weigh no more than 250 lbs

hey, it should be fun either way, we have some time, so hopefully we can get it rough then work out the kinks as we go along.

 

[fast eddie]

check out some of the gravitybikes ive built
http://www.myspace.com/theeddiesclub

 

[MaddMatt]

i have seen a bicycle wheel taco on a turn in a gravity race before.
what do you recommend?

should i beef the whole thing up and use motorcycle forks and wheels?

take a look at these designs. There are some pretty good photos of the construction and most of these guys get up to speeds of 40+ mph on bicycle tires.
It's a myspace page so you'll have to have one to view the photos. http://www.myspace.com/aigrf Also check out the videos at http://www.sfvisbf.com

 

[fast eddie]

i just checked the link i put up to the clubs myspace page, not sure why it was set to private, but its open so check it out if ya get a chance
fast eddie outty

 

[blink]

those are all really sweet eddie!

 

[blink]

some progress photos......

the race is this weekend.

 

[aka_locojoe]

Cool gravity trike. So what's left the wheelie bar? Good luck!

Here's video from our race if anyone missed it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhvKa-AZwnE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=282rem7UZBs

 

[Beater]

Check out the cars and videos these guys have: http://www.sfvisbf.com/
Pretty awesome.

 

[blink]

hey yall,
the race is today!
we finished the trike last night.
its called The Mad Rat.
road tested....fast, turns good (enough) and stops on a dime with the V-brakes i put on it.

will post photos from today of the finished cart and others.

wish me luck!!!

 

[TheDuke]

Good Luck!That thing look's like a BLAST to ride! Be Safe!(or don't hurt yourself to badly :wink: )
L8 EM

 

[blink]

race was lots of fun.
i didnt win, but came in the top ten out of close to 70 entries.
and i didnt crash. almost half of the racers crashed, some beyond repair.
one person was seriously injured.
brakes on his racer were not worth a crap - piece of wood on lever that scraped ground.
didnt want to wear helmet but judges made him.
he put on a bike helmet backwards and did not strap it.
when he flipped, his head was the first to hit the ground.
helmet flew off, face slid on ground for 30 or so feet.
guy was knocked out. EMT was already on the scene just in case.
took him away in an ambulance.
very scary.
i think the rules were not strict enough for brakes or safety.

one thing i would change next year....make it heavier!
anyhow, here are some photos.

my photo finish!

 

[aka_locojoe]

Cool. Looks like a well done event. Too bad about the injury.
Thanks for the photos.