[SolarBikeCar]

@vvill 156752 wrote:

So you drive an armored vehicle on the road? A tank perhaps? That way you could take up two lanes of regular traffic.

Now that you mention it, it is kinda like how motorcyclists and dump trucks coexist on the same road. Amazing. And legal too!

[SolarBikeCar]

Not to put too fine a point on this, but this is why I ride an elf: to protect myself from reckless cyclists behaving badly to win pointless prizes.

[SolarBikeCar]

@AFHokie 156619 wrote:

Dude, you invalidated your own argument. Your bicycle wheeled hybrid-power vehicle is not solely human powered either.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930AZ using Tapatalk

I’d would rather have a human powered only vehicle and would if my commute was less than 10 miles.
Since my commute is 15 miles I have e-assist.

[SolarBikeCar]

@Harry Meatmotor 156612 wrote:

Not modeled; real: Lose weight + get stronger = average speed of 20mph. Simple!

this model (which matches my real world experiences) proves that you underestimated the power or overestimate the speed and thus are not giving a true picture of what is required to commute 15 miles in 45 minutes over a 2% grade. One has to pay to lift the weight over the grade and you have to fight wind drag and saying a magical incantation doesn’t allow one to defy physics.

[SolarBikeCar]

here is a model of power requirements for the given scenarios. Focus on the black line and the right scale which has the power requirements at speed for a 2% grade.
That’s 500 watts to go 20mph with a 220 lb gross vehicle weight. To get average speed of 20 I need to go about 25 on the straight-aways which increases the power requirements to 800 watts.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14186[/ATTACH]

[SolarBikeCar]

@cvcalhoun 156592 wrote:

You said “human input” of less than 250 watts. My car requires human input of less than 250 watts.

Implicit in the conversation is that we are talking about human as the sole energy input since your objection was to e-assist. Methinks you knew that.

[SolarBikeCar]

@cvcalhoun 156580 wrote:

Yep, I have one. It’s called a car.

TL;DR. A car that goes 20mph on 250watts. Really? Show me!

[SolarBikeCar]

@Harry Meatmotor 156578 wrote:

I’m not going to link to my Strava activities, but I prove it false quite often.
I’ll sell you my commuter bike! It’s got gears! and purple things! But no motors

…and a person of average power output (say 100 watts) will not be able to move your commuter bike at an average speed of 20 mph. As you admit it takes more than 250watts on a road bike to achieve that speed.

This topic is about commute lengths and the point I’m making is that math and physics predicts a sweet spot somewhere short of 10 miles and that it can be stretched with electric assist to about 15.

[SolarBikeCar]

A trained cyclist can produce about 400 watts of mechanical power for an hour or more, but adults of good average fitness average between 50 and 150 watts for an hour of vigorous exercise. A healthy well-fed laborer over the course of an 8-hour work shift can sustain an average output of about 75 watts.
(from Wikipedia)

[SolarBikeCar]

@Harry Meatmotor 156538 wrote:

That is not true.

I don’t see you proving it false in real life.

I suppose one could build a device that reduced the drag at 25mph down to a few hundred watts but it would be uncomfortable to ride and not have room for luggage. If one’s commute had hills (say 2% over 15 miles) then the physics changes to also needing power to increase the potential energy of the device (about 160 additional watts for a 200# device).

Bottom line: if you have a device that can travel for 15 miles at an average speed of 20mph (i.e. a cruise speed of 25mph) over a 2% grade with a human input of less than 250 watts… I’ll buy it.

[SolarBikeCar]

I commute 15 miles. electric assist made that distance possible for me. Without electric assist my limit would be about 9 miles. I have a commute budget of 45 minutes which at 9 miles can be done at an average speed of 13mph. To get 15 miles in 45 minutes requires average speed of 20mph , which is not possible without motor assist. At 20mph biking is just as fast as car commuting and more predictable as it is not subject to traffic problems.

[SolarBikeCar]

i dislike people who cover their light. My eyes can adjust to an increasingly bright light. Instead I get this flickering dim light until 20 feet in front and then bam, full brightness and my eyes can’t adjust. I suspect it is a passive aggressive assault on the oncoming traffic with the plausible deniability that one is trying to be “nice”. If people would mount the lights low instead of high (helmet lights are the worst) they could have brighter lights and everyone benefits from the lighted trail. One doesn’t rely solely on the light from ones own lamp but all ambient light so hiding one’s light to rely on the opposing traffic providing light is less light for all.

[SolarBikeCar]

i carry a first aid kit. Never used it and don’t expect to need it. Is is dead weight I should leave at home or is there a good chance I’ll find someone who will be glad I have it in the course of a say a couple hundred rides?

[SolarBikeCar]

@Steve O 154908 wrote:

Currently 161 of the FS players have ridden their regular ol’ bikes in temps below 20 degrees.

Without gloves? I’m impressed. I break down and switch to winter gear at that point.

[SolarBikeCar]

@Judd 154952 wrote:

To be fair, you were not placed on a team because you behave like a dick on the trails.

Judd is in the lead in the rorschach bike test pointless prize. The prize is awarded to the person who concocts the most damning tirade against someone never meet or encountered but based solely upon a picture of their ride. Officionados fancy themselves Sherlock.

Tim, you owe me one for doing my part to increase your web traffic during the slow months. I suspect others can do an even better evil inner projection than Judd.

Rules specifically disqualify entries that use the word troll as that Is a given and is not original.

[Author]

Posts