underneath the rider to the back wheel.
The chain was guided along the central
rails of the monocoque chassis by using
two pairs of spare sprockets as idlers,
one set each on drive and return. The
previous front wheel, with its 16-tooth
hub, was swapped to the rear; and the
rear wheel came up to the front, braked
using discs, thanks to mountings that
came with the new fork.
JUST IN TIME
“We completed it in just enough
time to race on the last day, which
was fantastic,” continues Townsend.
“Again we did the 2.5 mile course in
the morning, and then got on to the
5-mile course in the afternoon. Which
infuriatingly had a big crosswind; it
wouldn’t have been a legal run anyway,
with a at crosswind of about 15mph.
But they were letting bikes down the
course. The top of our logged speed was
about 55mph on this brand-new bike.
But even some of the top guys who had
been doing 80-plus mph during the week
only managed that in the same heat in
that wind. So that was a big success as
far as we were concerned. And, likewise,
Russell felt safe in the bike.”
“So it was a mixed review. We didn’t
break any records that we were hoping
to. But we won an award for the hardestworking
engineering team, for this intense
period of work. We got a lot of respect
from the community about what we were
able to achieve in three days. From my
perspective, it is as much about the
student experience as the project and the
students’ experience of participation. It
was really inspiring to see this group of
students, who had worked together all
year on the project under less pressure
at university, really come together.
Also, for them, to experience that level
of highly pressurised teamwork, and
simply doing whatever it takes to deliver
on engineering projects within the time
available.”
In fact, their dedication won over the
leader of the French team, who was
staying at the same motel – their place
on the nal night heat on the ve-mile
track was given by him. That epitomises
the enthusiasm and sportsmanship of the
event, contends Townsend. “The whole
event is a very interesting community of
like-minded techy, quite nerdy but also
sporty, engineering-type people. It’s a
group of passionate amateurs, all sharing
knowledge.”
So, back to the drawing board. As
most of the team were third-years or
graduates, one of Townsend’s rst
tasks is recruiting the next cohort. He
concludes: “Next year, the plan is to
go back ghting. I’ve got my eye on the
80mph hat; I want to see it on our rider.
There’s no question of stopping. I’m not
disheartened at all; we are the young
upstarts; it’s only our second year. Good
design is about learning from what works,
and what doesn’t and improving on that
as a result.”
Sponsors and supporters
Although the materials bill for the bicycle was relatively low – about £3,500 – sending a dozen students
to Nevada for two weeks is not. This past year, the team bene tted from a number of sponsors.
Airgrind produces a nanotechnology coating for aircraft; it seals every pore in the surface to reduce
drag.
Blue Hippo Media is producing a documentary about the project. “Glen and I had it in our minds that
one of the big aspects of the project is engagement in STEM. The project has got so many touch points
at school level that can be used to inspire the younger generation, and explain that this is what real
engineering is.”
IT company Illumit, one of whose directors is a keen cyclist, sponsored production of the
documentary.
Rayvolt, the Spanish e-bike company, donated a 1,000W hub motor that the team anticipates using
next year to help accelerate the bicycle to high speeds on short tracks.
As the new academic year starts up, the team will again be looking for sponsors.
www.ied.org.uk 13
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AIM HIGH
Battle Mountain
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