[*BCM*] busycle

[Moz]

Kristen asked:
> This looks awesome!  But what happens if there is a time where only one or
> two people are riding the bus?  Can it still run?  I can't wait to see it!

I suspect it'll be a matter of weight - something that can carry 20
people will be fairly heavy, so if there's only two people on board it
will probably be slow. If they do use a motor vehicle chassis then
very, very slow is probably the answer.

I've had plans based on a small van that looked fairly feasible, you
just need 8 (or 20) 10 speed bikes to get components off and an old
van. Bike bits let everyone choose their own pedalling speed and give
you a wider overall gear range (car engines work ok from 500-5000 rpm,
people from 50-150 - a range of 3x rather than 10x, so you need mroe
gears to make up for that).

The weight should be ok - maybe 1000lbs all up, and the wheels and
chassis will carry 2000lbs quite easily. So your 10 200lb people
should be fine. You need to lengthen it a bit, and cut away the sides
and engine area, but we planned on using the gearbox to allow us to
reverse and go a bit faster - everyone stops pedalling, you change the
gearbox gear, then everyone starts again. That way you have a good
range of gears (from the bike parts) at speeds from parade (or uphill)
to whizzing downhill.

It's when you say 20 people, at 200lbs is 4000lb and motor vehicles
that can weigh that much full are not generally lightweight. Maybe a
bigger van is the answer.

I'm dying of curiousity, and kind of wishing I was in Boston. Can't
wait to see what you lot build.

Moz
(yes, I'm an engineer. But I build bikes too :)