No motor. every year we do this. last year i took the checkerd with a pallet that had the bottoms off roller blades on the back and the front had a childs fork and tire off a bike.
Problem is another 5-feet i would have lost the race i got top ended.
i need some ideas for this year(has to be finished by this tuesday)
So should i go with a bigger tire? add weight? take weight off? what do you guys think?
here is what some other ppl had in the other years
Brian, you want BIG wheels w/ good bearings. Like road bike wheels, but with a LOW SLUNG chassis, so you’re low to the ground. Your best bet would be laying down.
What you want to do is minimize friction… only 2 major instances in this problem.
air drag… keep your cart as aerodynamic as possible. a teardrop shape is the most aerodynamic, but anything that looks like a missile will be good.
bearing friction…more on that…
bigger wheels decrease the moment about the axle.
also regarding bearing friction:
this is where weight comes into play. The axle load on the bearing is the only variable you can control. A lighter cart will have less bearing friction, but the downhill component of force imparted by gravity will also be decreased. Make the cart too heavy and the normal load on the bearing will slow you down. The fwd acceleration vs weight diagram would be an inverted parabolic shape, you need to find the peak of that curve, but the only way to do this is through a semi-complex math problem or through testing. Make the cart as light as possible, test, add balast, retest to maximize. The shape of the hill doesn’t need to be exactly like the actual race course though.
good luck
Also you want to inflate the fuck out of the tires.
When I was younger I made a sweet ass street luge.
I used a 2x6 about as long as my body, took a cheap skate board and used the board for my ass,back support and attached the trucks to the very front, and around 3/4s of the way back.
I used rollerblade wheels with like abec 8’s or something. the things hauled ass.
i think newman has got it down. Thing i will only have time to work on it tomorrow. Could i use the existing pallet cart i have in the last pic shown? where to get supplies from? anyone have anything laying around?
No, only two trucks. one as far forward as possible. Any more than 2 trucks and you GREATLY fuck your turning ability. Loosen the trucks up a little bit and you’ll be able to use your side to side weight to make the turns.
More info:
*1 race this year for all the marbles.
*More races can be run time and police presence permitted but the first one gets the bragging rights.
*Race winner(trophy)
*Most innovative award(trophy).
$50 Best appearing cart award.
*No motor/engine
*One pusher per cart.
*NO SHOPPING CARTS!
*No Open Beer Containers near starting line.
Winner to be interviewed with cart prior to the start of the mod 200. Please have cart at the track for the interview. We were supposed to do this last year but I was racing and didn’t have time. Im not racing this year so there will be time.
maybe remove some of the pallets that arent really needed to cut down on weight? just a thought. dont want it to crack or anything either tho for not having enough