207MPH on a BICYCLE?

[MichaelD]

You betcha. http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20141110-watch-207mph-on-a-bicycle D:

The acceleration is just...stupid.

 

[Ruptga]

If that 19Gs is accurate, that's beyond ridiculous.

 

[mikeford]

Five to six G's and people black out without a pressure suit to manage blood flow, but more than 10, not happening.

 

[n7]

that's madness

 

[MongGrel]

If that 19Gs is accurate, that's beyond ridiculous.

Pretty much would be....

 

[Captante]

Considering top-fuel dragsters can pull a 3.7-4.0 second 1000 feet (or a little under 1/5th of a mile) at over 100 mph higher speeds its certainly within human limits to do this. Having said that however, doing it on a bicycle requires balls of steel!


Edit: Forgot that the fastest NHRA-sanctioned dragsters (top-fuel & Funny-car) only run 1/8 of a mile now to limit maximum speeds. Makes those acceleration numbers even more impressive!

 

[JEDIYoda]

sweet ride!!

 

[SKORPI0]

François Gissy Bicycle World Record 207 mph 333 km/h :awe:

 

[The Day Dreamer]

Bugatti Veyron is feeling inferiority complex.

 

[MongGrel]

The guy musta been duct taped to it

 

[John Connor]

I wonder what kind of bearings he is using? Titanium? There's probably no crack shaft or chain.

 

[mmntech]

Even though he's wearing proper armour, I don't think it'll do much in a crash at those speeds

I wonder what kind of speed you'd get if you strapped one of those RC jet engines on a bike? :hmm:

 

[piasabird]

Jim she'll break up if we go much faster. Most bikes cant handle that kind of stress. It might work on a track or a nice smooth straight road, but what use is that in traffic or making a right turn?

 

[Thump553]

When I was about 15 some friends and I got onto a brand new but yet unopened interstate. We pedaled our bikes as hard as we could going downhill for about a mile and reached 65 mph. I was so scared at those speeds I still vividly remember that more than four decades later. Our safety equipment consisted of t-shirts, jean shorts and the hair on our heads-bike helmets didn't exist back then.

200+ mph on a bike is completely unimaginable to me.

 

[Ruptga]

Five to six G's and people black out without a pressure suit to manage blood flow, but more than 10, not happening.

Sustained Gs, sure. This crazy bastard survived 46g on a rocket sled, the trick is to do it for less than a second.

 

[dank69]

If that 19Gs is accurate, that's beyond ridiculous.

Five to six G's and people black out without a pressure suit to manage blood flow, but more than 10, not happening.

They mention that the story is from Top Gear so I went there and found it. That story says 1.9G, not 19G, lol.

 

[Nograts]

What amazes me is that, over a decade ago I decided to test my vehicles top speed. I hit 130 MPH on a road and realized that even .25 inches of adjustment on the wheel = FEET/YARDS on the pavement. I'm surprised he was able to keep a bike that stable while going that speed, because I almost ate it ~130 MPH (it was a narrow road).

 

[Squeetard]

Edit: Forgot that the fastest NHRA-sanctioned dragsters (top-fuel & Funny-car) only run 1/8 of a mile now to limit maximum speeds. Makes those acceleration numbers even more impressive!

Wrong. They run a thousand feet instead of 1320. 1/8 mile is 660 feet. But the rails are almost hitting 300 mph in the 1/8th.

 

[Thump553]

I wish they gave some info, like what he used for tires (bicycle tires that can handle 200+mph?) and how he slowed down-you would think that even a tap on the brakes at those speeds would have sent the whole rig tumbling.

 

[Humpy]

I wish they gave some info, like what he used for tires (bicycle tires that can handle 200+mph?) and how he slowed down-you would think that even a tap on the brakes at those speeds would have sent the whole rig tumbling.

The tires were thoroughly tested off the shelf Michelin's. The brakes were standard V brakes with rubber pads. The speeds we high for a bicycle but the overall loading on the components was still pretty light.

It doesn't take much to get 250 pounds going or to stop.

 

[Captante]

Wrong. They run a thousand feet instead of 1320. 1/8 mile is 660 feet. But the rails are almost hitting 300 mph in the 1/8th.

Yeah I corrected the top-half of my post but not the bottom lol. Obviously I've been out of the drag racing loop for awhile!



Either way amazing acceleration though!

 

[rh71]

When I was about 15 some friends and I got onto a brand new but yet unopened interstate. We pedaled our bikes as hard as we could going downhill for about a mile and reached 65 mph. I was so scared at those speeds I still vividly remember that more than four decades later. Our safety equipment consisted of t-shirts, jean shorts and the hair on our heads-bike helmets didn't exist back then.

This is why I hope my kids never leave the house.

 

[Scarpozzi]

So is it a BI-cycle because it goes both ways? (rocket powered AND pedals?)

 

[Rakehellion]

What are those tires made of?

 

[NoTine42]

I wonder if bike tires/wheels provide any sort of gyroscopic stability above a certain RPM?