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The KHS bike she rode was a dragster in its own right. The low-slung, chopper-style bicycle is more than seven feet long and outfitted with 17-inch motorbike wh
by obmelvin 8y ago
The KHS bike she rode was a dragster in its own right. The low-slung, chopper-style bicycle is more than seven feet long and outfitted with 17-inch motorbike wheels for stability at insane speeds. It also demands a two-wheel drivetrain to propel the absurdly tall gear.
“The drive ratio is 62:12, twice,” said John Howard, Mueller-Korenek’s coach, who once held the motor-paced record himself at 152 mph back in 1985. “That’s roughly 488 inches, or approximately 128 feet per revolution. She’s traveling nearly 130 feet every time she turns those cranks. It’s pretty mind-boggling.”
It's pretty crazy. 128 ft per revolution!!!!
- caf 8y agoSince I've had to convert several numbers to metric now to make sense of them, I though I'd put the conversions here for anyone else that's in the same boat: 183.9 MPH = 296.0 KPH (record speed, average over 1 mile) 100 MPH = 160 KPH (approximate speed at which tow rope detached and she began accelerating under her own power) 128 ft = 39 m (linear distance travelled per crank revolution)
- r_c_a_d 8y agoThe wheels must have been a little bigger than 17 inches, since (62/12) * (62/12) * 17 = 453.8 Massive gear. I wonder if anyone could get that moving from a standing start. A huge 1km TT rider maybe?
- mqlkib 8y agoDon't forget about π, with it you get 18.3 wheels. No problem with really fat tires, I think.
- r_c_a_d 8y agoWhen I read this I thought, what is n? You mean pi, right? Yes, 18.3 inch wheel is what I got. Here in the UK, the "wheel" size includes the tire as well, I think. I guess if the rim is 17 inch diameter then 18.3 is only a tire width of 0.65, which isn't very fat.