That polar Bike

What do you think of Helen Skelton’s polar bike? Looks a bit over designed to me. The bumf on the bbc is full of hype and reads like a bad advert from the 70s. The article could even have been written by a top gear script writer imo. Still no aknowledgement that bikes have already covered similar distances in similar temperatures. Hydraulic brakes will freeze, What about the suspention forks then? I think the bike will make her journey harder.

Old Hannebrink bike innit?

Not quite sure what speeds she is hoping to reach on it but good to read on BBC website it has been designed to be aerodynamic 🙂

Someone at BBC googled cycling to the South Pole .. Doug Stoup came up .. they called his company … he charged them alot of money consultancy no doubt and he told them the Hanebrink was up to the job .. No one asked why he ditched it in his attempt.

Should they have googled ‘Snow Bike’ I think they would have ended up with a far better machine born and bred on snow as far as i’m aware and I stand to be corrected Los Angeles home of the bike designers doesn’t have a great deal.

Yep, the research is questionable in bike choice…

Moonlander with studded BFL tyres will ride a lot easier than freakbike 8O, rememering of course, she is towing her gear on a sled is she not? I just cant see how those dumpy tyres will work?

She should have bought my fat bike that is for sale atm.. 😆 😉

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16345232

I know absolutely nothing about snow bikes but there must be a very good reason why participants in the likes of Iditarod don’t ride one of those bikes.

Surely the small diameter wheels will make it harder work as it’s won’t roll over bumpy ground as easily.

Not quite sure what speeds she is hoping to reach on it but good to read on BBC website it has been designed to be aerodynamic

May be just to move into a 100mph headwind.

They should have spoken to any arrowhead 135 participants rather than a designer

If you’re not very au fait with bike design, the BBC helpfully lists the relevant parts for you:

What tyres for Antarctica? 😉

There was a bit in the latest Ride Journal about how the US science teams at the pole are trying to introduce these type of bikes for ‘commuting’. There was some guy there who had his old MTB there and said it was faster and better to ride.

Still, I’d assume they’ve done a bit of research. As physically and mechanically demanding as the Arrowhead and Iditabike are, I’m imagine the demands of Antarctica are quite different.

I think the worry with the fat bike, so beloved of STW, is that cross winds acting on massively tall tyres would be bad

The worry is how long that rear mech is going to last while ploughing through the snow.. 😉

Surely cross winds acting on the bike are neglible when looking at cross winds acting upon the body …

..the ability to ‘aero tuck’ out of the wind surely goes out the window when winds are approaching 100mph 🙂

Would have prefered the lightest bike possible… if this bike holds the key to getting to the pole Doug Stoup surely would have got it there.

This in my opinion is the man they should have spoke to …

http://iditarodtrailinvitational.blogspot.com/2011/01/mike-curiaks-self-supported-journey-to.html

The worry is how long that rear mech is going to last while ploughing through the snow..

That was my first thought – looks awfully exposed down there!

I’ll bet my tyres that she won’t ride any of it, even without trying to pull the sledge. They’ll then blame the bike.

If they’d have spoken to Mike Curiak they’d not be bothering to try )

The Hannebrink is probably an ok sand bike, but it is really obsolete fat bike technology. There’s a good reason that the Alaskan riders all use things like Pugsleys, Mukluks, Fatbacks etc, and that’s because they are better.

If she succeeds with this bike it will be a triumph of obstinacy over obsolescence.

However, maybe snow conditions at the Antarctic are different. If it’s harder and smoother, maybe.

BTW love the Tri bars, but if wind is going to be that much of a problem then maybe a recumbent would have been better.

Nonetheless, I hope she makes it and proves us wrong.

My first thought is that toe-straps are an outrageously bad idea in snow. Anything where the snow is only marginally rideable and you’ll be putting your feet down a lot. Or falling over sideways if you’re strapped to the bike. SPDs are somewhat popular in Alaska but at least you can get out of them quickly.

I’ve seen what happens to a suspension fork at -25C and it’s not good. On the one I saw – a Maverick – the seals shrank and all the air came out. Hey preston: no suspension and wacky geometry.

PS Snow story fans, make sure you get the next Ride Journal (out soon).

Still no aknowledgement that bikes have already covered similar distances in similar temperatures.

It’s Blue Peter, not NASA or Feinnes FFS.

Hydraulic brakes will freeze,

Good job its only got one and its cable then.

What about the suspention forks then?

Well they tested them in a meat locker which was presumably turned down to ‘a bit nippy’.

The worry is how long that rear mech is going to last while ploughing through the snow..

Don’t get much snow on the ground with 100mph storms to bolw it away. Think of any pics you’ve seen of the poles, its pretty much just ice.

toe-straps are an outrageously bad idea in snow

Look more like those power strap ones, I’ve had them on the fixie, they lyt you lift your foot away when your ankle rotates, but if you pull verticaly they’re like normal straps.

If it’s just ice why the fat tyres? That rear mech and 20″ wheels is suicide IMHO. I’ll be amazed if that bike got more than 100 miles.

If you read the BBC report fully, and especially play the little video, it seems as though it’s not a bike expedition at all. It’s going to be skis, some kite skiing when the wind is in the right direction and not too weak or strong, and according to her own words she hopes to be able to use the bike a little bit. The practicing they’ve done out there in the last few days suggest it’s only going to be a really little bit. Fair play to her though – the team seem to be suggesting ditching the bike completely, she is keen to at least give it a go.

As far as I know, Mike Curiak is not particularly keen on trying this. A few others have investigated in a semi-serious manner – I think Aidan above may even have been one of these. Expense and logistics are usually the main problems, as some of these folks have made the full iditarod distance so certainly have the experience.

Interesting to see how much she is able to use the bike, and what she feels about it after she’s done.

From her blog
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/diaries/helen-skeltons-polar-challenge-for-sport-relief

First day on the ice bike
28th December 2011 8.19pm
Today Niklas and I tried the ice bike for the first time. Towing our sledges behind the bikes was very hard. We went 1.5 miles in about 1.5 hours.

I asked the crew to take the sledges off the bikes to see if we could cycle faster. We could, but after another two miles we took the decision to take the kite out again.

I really don’t want to see anyone fail and I direct my negativity towards the bike and not the athlete … I just hope she ditches the bike and achieves what she sets out to achieve.

This does however leave the South Pole undridden by bike … ITT anyone along the American ice road ??? No entry fee but cost of logistics is high :)… although an out and back would save you best part of £100,000 in flights

“Pedals allow Helen full 360-degree power”

Love it. 🙂

Caption, final photo: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16345232

sorry just read the article again looking for a quote id read the first time – musta missed the part where it says the tires are 8lbs each !

8 POUNDS ! 8!!!!!!!!

are they mental ? is that so it doesnt blow away in the wind ?

oh and according the fortune they work similar to golf cart tires – thats not because they were originally golf cart tires ? – it strikes me as very home made approach – looks like cynic-als cargo bike doesnt it 😀

But what’s better?

A 3.5lb tyre that needs a tube and that might get torn, so you need to carry spares.

Or heavy tyres that under those loads would seem unlikely to get damaged?

As usual, well-informed commentary from thisisnotaspoon 🙄

What about the suspention forks then?

Well they tested them in a meat locker which was presumably turned down to ‘a bit nippy’.

Normal freezer temperature: about -20C. Temperature she’s likely to see in Antarctica -25 to -30. If you don’t think that’s a big deal, think about the difference between 20C and 10C. Or normal winter in the South East at about 0C or that time a couple of years back when it hit -10C.

toe-straps are an outrageously bad idea in snow

Look more like those power strap ones, I’ve had them on the fixie, they lyt you lift your foot away when your ankle rotates, but if you pull verticaly they’re like normal straps.

Ever ridden a bike in boots warm enough for -40C? Ever felt what happens to your co-ordination at that temperature?

I have. It’s a bad idea.

FYI regarding her speed, on the bike in the Iditarod 6-8 mph is a decent average. 10 mph can happen in good conditions.

I have no idea what ground conditions are like for her, but I think she made the right decision to get off the bike for a while if 1 mph is all that she was making.

we were discussing this here at work this morning, with someone who has just come back from completing the fastest land crossing to the South Pole…..

He said not a chance with that bike, but he did say that its just like driving on fine sand rather than “conventional” snow

To quote her diary

“Everyone has been saying it’s going to be impossible to ride the bikes here but I was determined to make them work – and they did! Unfortunately, they don’t go as fast as I’d like and it’s very tiring pedalling in the snow. “

oddly they dont look like they go that fast for the effort on hardstanding on fortunes video on youtube – didnt take a genius to work out they wouldnt be any faster on snow !

they covered 15 miles yesterday and are back on kites today !

covered 41 miles by kite yesterday ….

As usual, well-informed commentary from thisisnotaspoon

why, thankyouverymuch 🙂