Nocim....my Edwardian hotrod speed machine!

Great looking chain tugs there. Great design and execution.

Where is that train track upthread? Just wondering if it is one of the old sugar beet lines that went all over the place. Any disused/demolished stations near by you know of?
 
Great looking chain tugs there. Great design and execution.

Where is that train track upthread? Just wondering if it is one of the old sugar beet lines that went all over the place. Any disused/demolished stations near by you know of?
Thank you! That's the the track that leads to dungeness pretty much disused for the last 50 years except for haulage to and from the power station. I've always wanted to make a little peddle powered trundle cart and have a playy about 😁 there is an abandoned station on that line about ten miles up from that pic!
 
Well folks ....some assistance if you please!
I'm not a watt watcher....I have no techy doodads to calculate what watt I make.....I say wot wot!
Now this bike was built with the cranky idea of drafting.....drafting behind a veteran motorbike 😄...in a few months theres a local vintage veteran motorcycle swapmeet I'm confident I can find a rider and machine 👍 plus theres a few local hairy bikers round here that like a laugh!

Now I have the ability albeit not very long to be like a hamster in a wheel. I've overspun an ebike that has a maximum speed of 39.8mph... gearing was 46 x12 on a 26" MTB wheel with a 32mm tyre.
Gear inches of around 97 I believe?
Hitting that speed is exactly that...hitting...instead of the motor being a drive it becomes a brake! Motor power from my number crunching equates to around 1780 watts. With I think a cadence of somewhere around 200 😆
Obviously I couldn't maintain that speed/cadence/grunt for a second! But it was enough for the ebike to shut down and need a reset ....aswell as me😊

Now...bare with me... Windage! From various gear calculators I can see that windage/drag at nigh on 40mph requires about 1700 watts?
So if I reduce windage...IE tucked behind a canopy on a motorbike anyone have any ideas as to how much grunt I might/could save? This is an area of mathematical brain stew I've never tasted!
This isn't about rocket science and wind tunnels but more about cunning guesstimation a dollop of math jam and a good hearty stab in the dark🤣...it is after all about having the "craic" but it would be nice to achieve something a little punchy....the fool in me would be content with 60 but the devil in me wonders if there could be more?

So if anyone can help in anyway in this I'd be grateful don't suppose anyone knows of a gear/cadence/grunt/aerofool calculator specifically for drafting 🤨

As ever all comments and suggestions welcome 🤣
 
Think this is a bit nuts to be honest. 60 mph on an vintage bike will feel incredibly fast.

You would have to strip the bike down to essentials, do some trial and error about handling, braking, your own aerodynamics and build practice and trust with your pacer. It sounds easy, but it is not, especially if you are on open roads with traffic.

You may get some better clues here:

https://donhoubicycles.com/blogs/news/donhou-top-10-no-2-experiments-in-speed-bike
 
Great stuff thanks again...👍 It is plain nuts I couldn't agree more! But it's calling me.... something I have to try even if it's just to chicken out and then go for a few beers!
Fastest I've experienced is just over 50 downhill and I remember breathing was tricky... there's a lot of wind buffeting,It starts to feel like how a dog looks hanging out of moving car! Noisy too.
Location is tricky....
I have a preferred choice locally which isn't a road 👍 it might take a bit of charming to get the go ahead but it's my first call.
As for the bike....it's good to go....just kidding!
They'd be many tweaks.
 

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