Human-Powered Vehicle Speed Competition

nsasch writes "Over at Battle Mountain, NV on SR-305, for the 2008 Battle Mountain World Human Powered Speed Challenge (mirror), some of the best cyclists will be competing in human-powered vehicles to break speed records. The current world record was set in 2002 at the same location with a speed of 129.6 km/h (81 mph) by Sam Whittingham in a custom-made recumbent bike. A lot of advanced aerospace engineering goes into these machines to reach highway speeds on less than one horsepower. Take a look around their site for pictures of the event and this year's records. It ends 20 September, so more pictures and results will be coming."

Hmm.

[Anonymous Coward]

What if I build a vehicle that is fueled by 1000 human corpses? Does that count? If not, I can always fall back on my alternate vehicle (powered by the tormented souls of children).

Human-Powered, eh?

[Chris Burke]

I see they're pretty much all recumbent bikes, and that's pretty cool and all, and 81 mph is impressive and stuff, but I think maybe they're perhaps suffering from a lack of imagination. Based off the common usages of "Solar-Powered" and "Diesel-Powered", would it be safe to assume that Human-Powered could also mean Human-Fueled?

Or should I read the fine print before entering the contest?

Not at sea level?

[schwit1]

What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing this at 1,408m instead of at sea level?

Re:Breaking Away.

[Anonymous Coward]

No joke, this actually happened to me. There is stop sign on a corner in our neighborhood but there is no intersection! One day around noon I just drove right through it. At the next stop sign I noticed a bicycle behind waving at me to stop. Thinking a tail light was out or something, I pulled over only to get a ticket for running the last stop sign.

Recumbents

[fiannaFailMan]

I think recumbents are incredibly cool, especially the Windcheetah three-wheeler. I could use one of those for winter training when the surface is too greasy for the conventional bike. It's just a pity that recumbents aren't so good on the hills where you can't get to produce power from the muscles in your arms the same way you can on an upright, although in fairness I tend to do most of my climbing sitting in the saddle these days except for when I'm near the top.

These faired HPVs are amazing, I think they're a great illustration of how much power a human can translate into motion if he has an efficient enough machine under him.

As for this speed challenge, it'd bring a lot of publicity to the even if they could persuade big name pro cyclists or at least high profile ex-pros to take part.

Re:This is what happens

[Anonymous Coward]

And this is what happens [youtube.com] when you do the same thing on a speedbike. Fortunately Rob walked away with nothing worse than cuts and bruises.

Re:Recumbents

[EaglemanBSA]

Actually, recumbents are just fine on hills, they just use different, rather untrained muscles - it takes time to get these into shape. Human power production and biomechanics are my area of study, and I've just finished a project developing a human-powered utility vehicle. It is truly amazing what you can do with 150 watts of power and some creative design.

I'd really like to see recumbents become more mainstream here in the US. They can make riding a lot more pleasant, and can make trips of up to 20-30 miles feasible for many people who thought otherwise. With the small market penetration though, they're in a vicious circle of high cost (typically >$1.5k). You can see my HPUV in action here. [blogspot.com]

Re:More Information on the event...

[Anonymous Coward]

Putting a UCI-class rider in one of those things would be great to see. The speeds would be off the charts. That would be the quickest end to your pro career. Much worse than getting caught for doping.

There are articles of agreement between IHPVA and UCI and, over the years, many UCI-class riders have ridden in hpv's (at HPV events)--so there is no "political" problem.

The problem is teaching a rider how to do a flying 200 meter speed run--it is not like a normal bicycle because the gearing is so much higher. Acceleration is very slow at higher speeds and the rider has to learn to accelerate carefully over several minutes. The goal is to pick a pace so that you exhaust yourself (run out of breath!) just as you enter the timing traps. Bottom line--just putting a strong rider into an hpv will not guarantee record speeds, it takes practice and thought.

why not wind up?

[OrangeTide]

Seems unfair that I can't just wind up a spring over a couple of weeks and then discharge it all in a single race.

Re:Recumbents

[Flying Scotsman]

Yes, that it true. UCI races have very particular specifications as to how your bicycle must be set up. Lots of little details, such as exactly how far forward or back your seat must be, how the handlebars are shaped, specific characteristics of the wheels, etc. The idea is to make the race about the athletes, not about their bikes. Think of it in terms of auto racing. Do you think that F1 cars should be allowed in a NASCAR race?

Re:Recumbents

[fiannaFailMan]

Ever hear the story of Graham Obree? He was a track rider who built his own bikes. He invented this low-tuck position that was subsequently banned. So then he invented the 'superman' position, everyone else copied it, and then it was banned too. I'm surprised a movie hasn't been made about him. He was a high profile rider at the same time as Chris Boardman was riding on the track with the famous (and expensive) Lotus bike.