rmfnla

https://gearjunkie.com/4-wheel-bike-...49d02-22782825


"A titanium frame holds down four—count ’em, four—5.5″-wide wheels, two in front and two in rear. That mammoth paw print provides massive float along the polar terrain.

The real engineering genius lies in the drivetrain, though. An 18-speed internal hub with Pinion transfer case gives Van Weelden “more range than mountain bikers with a triple chainring.”

Running this setup has two advantages: It keeps the gears largely out of the snow and ice that would otherwise confound a typical drivetrain.

It also allows the stainless steel chain to run through the center of the bike, powering a rear hub that rests between the two tires."

Miele Man

Four separate wheels and tires no matter how close together they are makes this a QUADRICYCLE not a BIcycle. LOL Hope he makes it in time to catch that last flight out.

Cheers

TimothyH

Billions of bicycles in the world are not "plagued" by dished wheels.

I really dislike hyperbole for dramatic effect. The author Adam Ruggierio looses all credibility with me at that point.


-Tim-

bikemig 

I thought this was a neat article. I especially liked the bit where Hank van Weelden talked about how he saved for the trip from his business. It made me think of how it is possible for many of us to do extraordinary things if we dream big enough and save some money. Thanks for sharing this article.

BlazingPedals

A recumbent TRIKE beat him to the South Pole by about 3 years.

World's first cycle to the South Pole achieved

fietsbob

bike = 2 wheels , max/

BlazingPedals

Considering he designed the bike from scratch, he didn't show very much originality. Ganging bike tires to get more width? Why not design the bike to use lawn tractor tires? They wouldn't be a standard bike size, but he's designing from scratch, right?

rmfnla

exmechanic89

Looks like a pretrty cool adventure. I like the bike design, 4 wheels or not.

rydabent

Makes you wonder if he is aware of this fact.

coominya

He looks all chuffed with himself, riding in about a half an inch of snow. Let's see it perform in 2 or 3 feet of the stuff, but before that he better lose the flab.

alois

A flab like that is a great asset on a cold and extreme expedition like this. His chances of survival are bigger with than without.

coominya

Nothing that slows you down is an asset, unless of course he plans on using his body as a sail and cash in on the katabatics. We will watch with baited breath.

Maelochs

Check out the builds on some long-distance swimmers.

First off, insulation is kind of important in a cold environment ... whether he wears it under or over his skin. Second, long-distance swimmers and I expect, this guy, Do burn fat as a primary food source. it is a lot easier to store a lot of fat ... in fact, it is pretty much humanly impossible to store more than a few hours of carbs in the body.

He won't have that explosive power to establish and consolidate a breakaway ... but as for long, slow grinds over (hopefully, for his sake) mostly flat ice and snow carrying a ton of gear, he won't find the extra weight around the middle to be an issue.

When was the last time you saw an ultra-light CF touring bike? Never, because low weight only really matters if you are looking to maximize speed over distance ... this guy is looking purely at distance, and speed is no object.

The other side of this ... as mentioned above: it is always good to see someone with the drive and the sense to have a crazy dream and then back it up with a rational plan and then try something completely crazy in a sensible way.

This isn't a guy saying, "I think I'll ride my normal training loop backwards today" (Oh, My!!!!!!!) This is a guy saying, "Life is short and the rest of mine is going to be packed with some awesome memories of that time i Really went for it, all out."

Success or failure in a case like this is measured by just going for it. If his bike breaks, if he quits halfway, whatever .... he will have gone a lot deeper into himself and into the potential of life (which includes death() than most people are even brave enough to dream about doing.

Somehow I don't think a few pounds of body fat are the issue here.

Maelochs

Oh, and also ... the phrase is "bated breath." it means that breathing is ABated---on--hold--stopped---as in, one is so nervous one is holding one's breath, waiting to see what will happen.

Baited breath ... well, let's be charitable and blame autocorrect.

2manybikes

The woman who did it on a trike had a harness she could wear to pull the trike behind her when pedaling was not possible. The trike of course will do this well because it balances itself. Also going very slow is much easier on a trike because of the self balance.

On long rides that are really testing your endurance, the weight becomes very important. A little extra weight could be the difference between success and failure on very long rides. Something you might not notice under better conditions or on a short ride. This is true for hiking etc. Not just cycling.

All the internal geared hubs that I know about have a more resistance when the oil gets very cold. Hopefully he tries this thing in cold enough weather. He may end up wanting a deurailleur.
Also, when estimating the amount of food etc. for the trip, the speed of travel is also very important. Not fast speed, but one mile an hour off on a multiday ride could mean running out of something.

Maelochs

Again, look at the builds of long-distance swimmers.

This guy is riding a heavy rig. He will be wearing a Lot of insulation, either under or over his skin. With body fat, he is carrying insulation as well as fuel---I could say possibly saving weight, but really ... you are flat wrong about every ounce being important.

What matters is that the guy has all the food, fuel, and gear that he needs. A pound or two in the panniers or around his belly will Not make or break him. (In fact, his whole rig will probably weigh as much as he does.)

Seriously, unless you have ever done extensive fully loaded touring, you might think about say ... ultramarathoners or something. But they are doing one huge effort. This guy is doing probably a few dozen days of riding.

He will probably lose weight from his belly ... and from his stores, as he depletes them ... but he would rather have an extra uneaten pound of food at the finish than run a couple days' worth of food short. That could literally kill him, considering the calories he will need to burn just to avoid hypothermia.

I have done extended fully loaded touring and I agree, saving weight is important ... but not as important as having everything you need---even if you don't need it This time. if you are crossing the Mojave desert or something and find you left behind some essential part or tool to save a pound ... suddenly carrying a pound of prevention doesn't seem like such a burden.

If this guy has the lungs, the legs, and most of all, the will to press on when the mind and body say "Stay in the sleeping bag, in the tent ... every joint and muscle is sore, the goal is too far away, it is too cold, this sucks ... " then I don't think a couple pounds of extra Anything will break him.

Look at polar explorers pulling multi-ton wooden sledges across the ice back around the turn of the 20th century, when going to either Pole was something not yet done or only by a very few ... the furs alone that they wore probably weighed more than all the food and clothing and the bike that this guy will be using --- yet those guys actually made it to the Poles On Foot, dragging supply sledges (at least, the Norwegians: Roald Amundsen was a big proponent of having the dogs pull the sledges, then killing and eating the dogs so that they could use the food for the human crew, which would then pull their own sledges.)

CliffordK

If the dual tire config is laced to a single hub, then one might be able to argue that it is, in fact, a single wheel. One could even weld the rims together to make the wheel solid.

One would get some redundancy from the double tire, so if half blows, the wheel would still have some air/support. Plus, it would be easier to carry a spare than carrying a lawn mower tire or dune buggy tire.

How does the IGH deal with really cold weather? Perhaps flush it and lube with kerosene?

coominya

First off, modern insulated clothing weighs nothing compared body fat, and all the while he's pedaling across the snow his heart has to pump blood through all that fat, it will slow him down. Long distance swimmers can't simply grab a snack and eat it on the go which a cyclist can. You are grasping at straws, have a look at the physiques of some long distance marathon cyclists. he is proporting to set off on an endurance ride that covers hundreds of miles in some of the most inhospitable terrain on the planet. It's a nice story, but I doubt he'll even go. Probably just a publicity stunt designed to sell his contraption to overfed northerners.

And how the hell is the bike supposed to stay upright in a serious crosswind? It won't, not with those wheels. Antarctica has the worst winds on the planet, in excess of 100 miles/h on occasion, with the record being nearly 200 miles/h. The whole venture is a joke.

2manybikes

I didn't mean to imply that he should lose body fat. I certainly didn't say it. I didn't say a heavy bike is bad either.
Nor did I say he needs to go fast. I did not say things should be left behind if they are needed.

I know that having something needed for the trip can be more important that reducing overall weigh. I didn't say
anything about being fast or being a weight weenie. Only the rider can decide how important the weight of something is vs. needing it for the trip. That's very subjective. I do lots of long distance riding too. The speed of travel changes the overall time for a trip. I'm trying to say that some small changes will add up over a few days.
Every gram changes the amount of work done if you are riding a 120 lb rig or a 17 lb race bike.
If one is riding right at the limit of your ability for a few days then small changes are important. If you're not then more weight can be carried. You assumed a lot of things I did not say. I still stand by what I said.

dabac

Thing is, it actually doesn't snow that much in the antarctic. 2-3 feet of fluff would be very rare.
And while you indeed need to be fit for such an adventure, going out with a bit of padding can often be a good thing. It's the easiest and most reliable way of carrying some extra rations.

CliffordK

Are those tires studded?

Fat is also insulating. Not a bad thing when a warm day might be -30°.

SloButWide 

The third sentence in the article.

Dpburton

I've talked with Hank and I'm sure he is perfectly aware of Maria's trip. It will be cool to watch Hank's adventure. He is going the opposite direction, from pole to coast. The nice thing about going that direction is it is generally downhill with a tailwind. His route is about twice as far as Maria's route, and he will be alone, whereas Maria was supported by a truck on a compacted "snow road". Both great expeditions.

Dpburton

The weight will be a great asset. Biking in Antarctica is harder than you can imagine. It is extremely difficult to eat enough calories on an expedition like this. It is common practice to try and gain weight before doing an expedition like this.