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upright mike
USA
27 Posts |
 Posted - 10/28/2011 : 01:18:41
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I propose that the IHPVA start recognizing TRIKE world records for vehicles with three (3) or more wheels. This category could also be named MULTI-TRACK which would include 3 and 4 wheeled vehicles. TRIKE MEN'S 200-METER FLYING START
TRIKE WOMEN'S 200-METER FLYING START
TRIKE MEN'S ONE-HOUR STANDING START
TRIKE WOMEN'S ONE-HOUR STANDING START
--perhaps---
TRIKE MEN'S WOMEN'S 6-HOUR
TRIKE MEN'S WOMEN'S 12-HOUR
TRIKE MEN'S WOMEN'S 24-HOUR
Background:
In the early history of the IHPVA there was an ongoing battle over which was a faster design: a single-track two wheeled machine such as a bicycle or a multitrack bicycle such as a tricycle or quad. In the early days the tricycle designs briefly proved to be superior as several multi-track vehicles set the top 200-meter record. There has been a recent resurgence in trike design at Battle mountain which includes the Orion Trike by Raymond Gage, Spectre II, Arrow Hawk and FireFly by Don Schroeder, and the Backslider Trike by Barclay Henry. Worldwide, the 3-wheeled velomobile has become a popular transportation tool. A category for unfaired trike racing has been added to the HPRA Human Powered Race America race series. New designs for Tilting Trikes have emerged on this race circuit that may find their way into streamliner trike design.
Argument 1:
A rider can (arguably) output more power on a multitrack vs a two-wheeler, because the rider has to focus less on maintaining balance and steering - a sometimes difficult task in a streamliner at high speeds. The multitrack design is inherently more stable at low speeds, ie self balancing without any rider input. The multitrack may prove to be the superior vehicle for a long-distance event such as 24-hours, because the rider can focus less on balance and steering in the late hours of the event or through the night. It could be argubly a safer design for students and other ethusiasts to pursue which could be encouraged by the IHPVA.
Argument 2:
A multitrack vehicle is slower than a single-track vehicle because of at least one additional point of contact with the ground. There is already the precedent of honoring IHPVA honors Arm-Powered records, which could be seen as a limitation to some vehicles, much like a multitrack with an additional wheel, might be viewed as a limitation to the design. |
Edited by - upright mike on 10/29/2011 04:55:43 |
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Larry Lem
USA
40 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2011 : 08:17:05
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We probably will need a better description than multitrack. A bicycle in which the front and rear wheels aren't aligned can leave two distinct tracks after traveling through a puddle of water.
Or one could build a bike with two wheels parallel to one another with the rider in between, but such a vehicle would probably not be very fast. But still, it would not be a 3 or 4-wheeled vehicle which I think is the intent in the creation of such a class.
I think we need to have a higher-level discussion as to whether more classes in general should be added to the IHPVA-recognized categories. We should start a separate thread on that for discussion. We can list the classes that Mike has suggested as examples. Thanks for bringing this up, Mike.
Larry Lem |
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upright mike
USA
27 Posts |
Posted - 10/29/2011 : 05:02:21
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Personal viewpoint on wording
I have the personal opinion that the word TRIKE is better recognized than a MULTITRACK. I dislike the word "MULTI-TRACK", because myself as a reader has to "think" about what a multi-track is. The non-engineer side of me immediately think its some sort of an off-road vehicle, has some sort of complicated steering mechanism that steers in multiple directions. The word trike is so much easier to grasp, as in "oh-yeah, I ride one of those". So perhaps if it has three wheels in a two-track design where the three wheels are always in contact with the ground under "normal" operating conditions, then its simply a "TRIKE".
If we define a vehicle as a multi-track, then we'd have to force the reader to look at the ambigious column marked as TYPE in the IHPVA records list that contains these ambigious codes like -7, -10 etc, then dig deeper for a translation to see if the vehicle had 3 or 4 wheels.
The only QUAD that set a record was the early VECTOR TRIPLE #82 which set the world record in 1979 at 57.06 mph. I'd rather not handicap the naming of these record categories with MULTI-TRACK now and forever because of one NON-TRIKE achievement. Perhaps this QUAD MULTITRACK achievement could just be listed as an asterisk in the TRIKE category |
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upright mike
USA
27 Posts |
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Don S
USA
88 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2012 : 17:31:55
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Has anyone ever tested the petion method of calling a vote on changing or adding to the IHPVA rules?
I think the trike/multitrack competition would have substantial support from the membership, perhaps not in establishing new classes and new events, but in establishing trikes as subclasses and recognizing records within those sub-classes for existing events.
Another consideration might be the establishment of a subclass called Practicle or Commuter Vehicles as envisioned by the founders of the IHPVA to promote the developement of alternate human power transportation.
Don
"it's important to understand what makes them fast. It's more important to understand what keeps them from going faster." DS |
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