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Not to sound like an armchair road-debris-cleaner but.. Wouldn't it be much better to have the magnet contraption in the front of the bike, so you can bravely d
by btbuildem 3y ago
Not to sound like an armchair road-debris-cleaner but.. Wouldn't it be much better to have the magnet contraption in the front of the bike, so you can bravely delve into the most metal-shard-infested areas without fear of puncturing your own tires?
- PM_me_your_math 3y agoPushing a trailer doesn't really work. You'd need an apparatus big enough to hold magnets and FOD, and allow you to steer unobstructed. A purpose built vehicle with a cab-over design would be easier to control.
- Cthulhu_ 3y agoDutch cargo bikes / bakfietsen want a word. That said, those are a lot higher off the ground; the video shows the sweepers are only an inch or so over the ground. If something catches, it's more likely to just make the cart buck instead of sending the driver. Source: am Dutch, rode into a rock once, that was pretty bad.
- loeg 3y agoA dutch cargo bike still has the front wheel in front of the load, too -- vulnerable to any sharp objects that the magnets haven't picked up yet.
- dylan604 3y agoBreaking down the word "trailer" pretty implies that it will be something behind. Attempting to use the word trailer for something that is in front just seems like an extreme abuse of the word
- _iv 3y agoThe design is mostly limited by what can be built on a budget from off-the-shelf components. Additionally, the magnets plus accumulated scrap metal look pretty heavy- anything far enough in front of the wheel base would change the center of mass in a poor direction.
- duxup 3y agoPulling on something with a bike seems significantly easier than pushing. I think the rate of tire puncturing is low enough that you wouldn't bother changing the design.
- doubled112 3y agoPlus if something goes wrong on a bike, you want it to go wrong behind you. What happens when the rear wheel locks up? Not much What happens if the front wheel locks up? If it catches you off guard, you're launched face first into pavement.
- whycome 3y agoAnd a front wheel failure would mean you launch into the 'metal contraption' ahead of you.
- doubled112 3y agoIt's just helping break your fall.
- fragmede 3y agowith that trailer attached behind you, I don't think you'd front flip
- dylan604 3y agothis is one of those lessons from high school physics that has always stuck with me. taking the forces involved in pushing and pulling and breaking them down into vectors, pushing is always physically more expensive
- EnigmaFlare 3y agoHuh? How does that work? Certainly doesn't generalize to all vehicles.
- 3y ago
- mrob 3y agoYou can get highly puncture-resistant bicycle tires, e.g. Schwalbe Marathon Plus, which can survive riding over thumb tacks. They're heavy, but if you're already pulling a heavy magnet you probably won't mind.
- IncreasePosts 3y agoNo, it would be much more difficult to control. You can buy kevlar tire liner to reduce the likelihood of punctures though.