We have all had to deal with headwinds at one time or another . In south Lincolnshire we have no hills . The headwinds are our hills . As a child I was fascinated by sailboats , but disappointed to hear that it was impossible to sail head wind .My dad said it was impossible for anything powered by the wind to progress in an upwind direction .I was only 12 , but was determined to prove him wrong . I built a small four wheeled vehicle from Meccano , and added a windmill and a rubber band transmission driving the front axle . The drive was geared down by about six to one . To the amazement of everyone , it would make steady progress against the wind . I have since discovered I was not alone , and not the first . Several people have built trikes and quads with a wind rotor on the front . An american patent from about 1890 shows a bicycle fitted with such a device . It is obvious that there is a severe limit to the size of a wind rotor that can be fitted to a bike . In my opinion though , you could fit a rotor as wide as the handlebar . In a head down riding position, this would cover about 70% of your body . It would not be expected to propell the bike on its own [ although I have proved that with a bigger rotor that would be possible ,] but the question is , would it provide enough energy to the front wheel to cancel out the effect of the headwind ?
Tilting at windmills .
- Thread starter neptune
- Start date
Not impossible for a sailboat although it's what you might call an indirect solution.
Don't forget that sailors have been doing exactly that for hundreds of years! They call it 'tacking' which involves having a keel which makes the boat travel in a straight(ish) line relative to the water and following a zig-zag course. Not directly into the wind, of course, but the end result could be precisely that. It's not the same as what you describe of course but just goes to show that the physics was always known.
Rog.
Don't forget that sailors have been doing exactly that for hundreds of years! They call it 'tacking' which involves having a keel which makes the boat travel in a straight(ish) line relative to the water and following a zig-zag course. Not directly into the wind, of course, but the end result could be precisely that. It's not the same as what you describe of course but just goes to show that the physics was always known.
Rog.
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It's errr... beating upwind and tacking is the manoeuvre of changing course to enable the craft to continue to beat upwind before travelling too far laterally or to avoid a hazard or acknowledge a marker such as a buoy. In my case it was usually to avoid running aground on the fast approaching shoreline.
With full respect to you sailors , I did a bit of dinghy sailing and windsurfing when I was younger , so I understand tacking . This is not a manoever that would make you popular on a bike , though ! It is interestng to note that there is a guy on youtube who has built windmill powered boats , both models and fullsize , that are capable of sailing in any direction relative to the wind , without tacking . Go on Youtube and search for Windmill Driven Boat.
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A fellow windsurfer! ( well ex windsurfer like me). Sometimes I really miss it but then I remember how I mostly used to sit around freezing my ....... off waiting for some bloody wind!
It is different in South Lincs . You spend most of the time waiting for the wind to die down enough before you dare to hoist your sail ....
Which gets us back on course (so to speak) with this thread. We have hills and you have wind (well not you personally. At least I hope not).
I saw not that long ago a recumbent trike I think with a sail on being tested in Velovision magazine.I thought then a brilliant idea with electric wheel as well, think sail was about 6ft will try and look up which month it was
Fatts
Fatts
Some cyclists very occasionally still do it on steep hills, and years ago when there was much less traffic it wasn't uncommon to see a cyclist climbing a steep hill in small zig-zags. I've even done it myself!
I still do - mostly off-road. Even on e-bikes it can be useful, on a very steep hill, to keep the speed up in the sweet spot. I even do it when walking up long flights of wide steps or steep gradients. Some people think I’m crazy but it does help my dodgy knees.
Not sure if it’s tacking in the nautical sense though.
What happens to your windmill-powered bike when the road changes direction? Do you find your motor powering your rotor and making it act as a propeller? Or do you just fall off?
@bode , if you are going head wind , and the road changes direction , the wind becomes less of a problem . If the wind rotor is a "cretan " type with cloth sails , you could furl the sails or quickly dissassemble the rotor and put it in your panniers . If you want to use a sail instead of a rotor , a sailwing is better . It need only be one third as big for the same effect . Find the video I mentioned on youtube , and follow the link . There is a catamaran with a sailwing that looks so small as to be ridiculous , but it works well , and can sail much closer to the wind than a sail .
When I was a lad we used to travel for miles on the lonely Lincolnshire backroads on home made land yachts . The Police pulled us a couple of times , but admitted that they could not stop us as there was no law against it . They strongly advised us to fit brakes , but said that legally they could not insist on it . We had loads of fun , but grew out of it by the time we were 50 !
You woudn't want to do that or its reverse on every bend in a winding road! I know that roads in flatter areas like the Fens or Lincolnshire tend to be straighter, but even so...
@bode . It is right what you say . But there is a difference between commuting , say , and taking a leisurely ride out as I do every day , purely for exercize and recreation . Unlike a commuter , I can choose my destination , and journey times . It might never replace the diesel engine , but it could still be a lot of fun .Actually , it could be a bit hazardous , riding head down with your skull only a couple of inches from the rotor . I`ts enough to make you think about wearing a you-know-what .
Oh NO.......NOT a 'you know what '
Trust you to spoil a good interesting discussion LOL
Lynda
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