JKK Posted October 6, 2015 Posted October 6, 2015 I am a Mountain Biker and a Mechanical Engineer... Of which I am sure there are many.. Naturally, engineers want to design something new, innovative. I have had ideas that sound great, but when I start doing a bit of thinking, they become laugh-able. From my collection:Me trying to re-invent the wheel... Secondly, trying to design a CVT type belt-drive drive train...The distance between the alu discs increases as the rear wheel spins faster, thus decreasing your cadence the faster you go and increasing it when you ride up a hill, removing the need for gears. Maybe with some outside input, something could come of our silly ideas...? Einstein said that imagination is a preview of the future... Who else has had some crazy ideas??? Please share!
Sepia Posted October 6, 2015 Posted October 6, 2015 I am a Mountain Biker and a Mechanical Engineer... Of which I am sure there are many.. Naturally, engineers want to design something new, innovative. I have had ideas that sound great, but when I start doing a bit of thinking, they become laugh-able. From my collection:Me trying to re-invent the wheel...Capture.PNG Secondly, trying to design a CVT type belt-drive drive train...The distance between the alu discs increases as the rear wheel spins faster, thus decreasing your cadence the faster you go and increasing it when you ride up a hill, removing the need for gears. 1.PNG2.PNG Maybe with some outside input, something could come of our silly ideas...? Einstein said that imagination is a preview of the future... Who else has had some crazy ideas??? Please share! Could not understand a word of this.Now I know why I did not do this subject after school.Ai tog, clever people.
Patchelicious Posted October 6, 2015 Posted October 6, 2015 Those ideas arent crazy, they are brilliant! If they are production ready is another story Keep at it, either innovate those ideas to work better, or come up with new ones. Either way dont stop, we need more imagination in the world! High 5 dude!
Jewbacca Posted October 6, 2015 Posted October 6, 2015 SRAM came up with a rear hub that has 2 speeds and no shifter and it changes 'gear' or resistance at a certain rotational rate. There are some awesome concepts to be toyed with, keep at it and maybe one day you will own a patent that Hope Tech are dying to put into production!
DJR Posted October 6, 2015 Posted October 6, 2015 .............Secondly, trying to design a CVT type belt-drive drive train...The distance between the alu discs increases as the rear wheel spins faster, thus decreasing your cadence the faster you go and increasing it when you ride up a hill, removing the need for gears. ..........DAF, the truck manufacturer, made a little compact car in the 1960s, called the Daffodil. It had a belt drive variable transmission that worked on the same principle. I helped someone re-build one of those sometime in the 1980s, so excuse if the detail memory is a bit faded. Here's the link. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DAF_Daffodil
Cat2forLife Posted October 6, 2015 Posted October 6, 2015 I saw a video once of some guys who had a similar idea for a wheel. It eliminates the need for expensive suspension. It's a very cool idea I think, but needs some refinement.
raptor-22 Posted October 6, 2015 Posted October 6, 2015 both ideas have been around a while and the limitations are not insurmountable.Weight is a consideration but the CVT needs a drivemechanism for the cones. Springs and centrifugal mass are too havey but stepper motors are small and light enough. there is also hydraulic options
nox1111 Posted October 6, 2015 Posted October 6, 2015 I design loads of things that I would love to hypothetically make/build, but just can't justify...either for financial, time or practical reasons.sorry - not meant to be a hijack!I like that you're doing it!
Andymann Posted October 6, 2015 Posted October 6, 2015 I've often wondered if it would be feasible to have a motorcycle type gearbox on a bicycle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq11CusULlk The gears could be a lot narrower (don't have to transmit as much power), the speed would be lower (so there would be no need for as much oil, if any), and the whole thing could be enclosed in a carbon shell (or even be part of the frame). So you could probably get it fairly light. You could even then have a cassette type quick change option. No RD, no FD, no cluster.
Andymann Posted October 6, 2015 Posted October 6, 2015 I'm also curious to see if given the trend towards disks on a roadbike, if anyone will manufacture a carbon fibre rotor....
Patchelicious Posted October 6, 2015 Posted October 6, 2015 I'm also curious to see if given the trend towards disks on a roadbike, if anyone will manufacture a carbon fibre rotor....Do you think you could produce enough heat to make it work during braking?
Andymann Posted October 6, 2015 Posted October 6, 2015 And here's another thought. If you can load a course onto your TACX indoor trainer and ride a virtual route pretty accurately from your Garmin, how long before you will load the race you want to do in your Garmin, load your FTP, HR and optimum cadence (from lab tests), and sync that with your electronic shifting. Feedback from the route profile, your HR monitor, your Power Meter and your Electronic shifting will mean all you need to do is pedal, and your gears will change for you so that you are always in the optimum zone. Electronic doping anyone?
JKK Posted October 6, 2015 Author Posted October 6, 2015 I've often wondered if it would be feasible to have a motorcycle type gearbox on a bicycle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq11CusULlk The gears could be a lot narrower (don't have to transmit as much power), the speed would be lower (so there would be no need for as much oil, if any), and the whole thing could be enclosed in a carbon shell (or even be part of the frame). So you could probably get it fairly light. You could even then have a cassette type quick change option. No RD, no FD, no cluster. You mean like Greg Minnaar's Honda from 2009/10 I think?
Andymann Posted October 6, 2015 Posted October 6, 2015 Do you think you could produce enough heat to make it work during braking?Touch the edge of your carbon rim after a 10m hard brake and you'll see it gets plenty hot.... If anything it might get too hot and soften the resin
JKK Posted October 6, 2015 Author Posted October 6, 2015 And here's another thought. If you can load a course onto your TACX indoor trainer and ride a virtual route pretty accurately from your Garmin, how long before you will load the race you want to do in your Garmin, load your FTP, HR and optimum cadence (from lab tests), and sync that with your electronic shifting. Feedback from the route profile, your HR monitor, your Power Meter and your Electronic shifting will mean all you need to do is pedal, and your gears will change for you so that you are always in the optimum zone. Electronic doping anyone? Now that is smart! Just like that BMW that was on Top Gear. Drive the track once and it memorizes it and then drives it again on it's own.. Or just link your shifters to your cadence and they shift up or down accordingly, sort of like an Auto gearbox shifting according to the revs...
Andymann Posted October 6, 2015 Posted October 6, 2015 You mean like Greg Minnaar's Honda from 2009/10 I think?I spoke with Greg once when we were on the Roof, and he reckoned there was nothing special inside that gearbox - it was pretty much just reversed with the RD in the front. The big thing there was that the "cluster" did not have a spline setup, so while you were freewheeling down hill, the cluster still turned which allowed you to shift gears without pedalling
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