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Magnetically levitated wheels


TransformerRobot

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if your magnetic bearings are strong enough to suspend the wheel around the axle, then yes to a degree.

however, the biggest speed killer for a bike is the drag coefficient.

the question is whether or not you can keep down your rotational mass.

 

How would they keep down the rotational mass?

 

What could be done to eliminate the drag coefficient?

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Unsure why even bother with wheels if you are going to magnetically levitate the bike.

 

Sounds like the Mag levitating trains that already ride on a magnetic field.

 

Two types of mag lev trains exist. A kind that rides on a cushion of the same polarity (push), and one that is lifted upwards by opposite polarities (pull).

 

By adjusting magnetic angles they can arrive at incredible speeds.

Edited by barfbag
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Unsure why even bother with wheels if you are going to magnetically levitate the bike.

 

Sounds like the Mag levitating trains that already ride on a magnetic field.

 

Two types of mag lev trains exist. A kind that rides on a cushion of the same polarity (push), and one that is lifted upwards by opposite polarities (pull).

 

By adjusting magnetic angles they can arrive at incredible speeds.

 

Because for civilian vehicles magnetic levitation would need a corresponding field generated by a maglev road, but not if the wheels were magnetically suspended around the axles. This would reduce the problem of axel damage by hazards, a smoother ride, and faster acceleration.

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How would they keep down the rotational mass?

 

What could be done to eliminate the drag coefficient?

you will want as much of the working mass as you can get on the axle instead of the wheel. also tires rule this kingdom so you will want razor thin tires with a high thread count.

drag can be reduced by smoothing sharp edges and replacing raised surfaces with flush mounting. the majority of drag comes from the rider so a smooth contoured shell with a small cross section is your best bet.

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  • 6 years later...
  • 1 month later...
On 11/21/2014 at 12:29 AM, barfbag said:

Unsure why even bother with wheels if you are going to magnetically levitate the bike.

Six years on this may be a rhetorical question but...

Have you ever tried to steer a hovercraft?
There's a reason why they use this sort of thing for trains, and the reason is rails.

Magnetic bearings are useful at high speeds and when you want to ensure that grease  doesn't get anywhere you don't want it.

Neither criterion applies to bikes.

The other reason to add absurd bearings to a bike would be so you could add an absurd fee to the price tag.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

hello everyone, My friend and I made a possible design for such and idea to take place. We are doing it as an engineering teenage (15-16yo) porject, which we plan on scaling mass-production.

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