Pedal car (Dino, Berg,Kettler) questions.

what does THIS button do? said:

Depending on where you are reading this, you may know that one of my
coworkers developed bicycle towed snow plow which he uses to help keep
a MUP open in our car-clogged suburb of Chicago.
(<http://www.google.com/search?q=bicycle+snow+plow> [first link] on the
off chance this is news to anyone). No, the local governmental units
won't remove the snow and yes we've tried to get them to move it. If
we don't do it, it won't get done, period.

The main drawback of the bikeplow system is that the bike needs to be
in front of the plow, towing. Not pushing. In the snow. And the bike
has to be above a certain critical speed for balancing yadda yadda
yadda, the plow has trouble with heavy, wet, or icy underlayers. The
plow is 10^6 better than nothing, but there is a bit of room for
improvement.

It would be better, for instance, if the motivator were on something
more stable than two-wheels, and it might be good if the plow pushed
the snow out of the way, before the wheels ...

Tautological thoughts like this lead me to imagine a sort of
pedal-powered bulldozer or tractor thing, which lead me eventually to
discover these things called pedal cars

<http://www.autoculture.co.uk/Dino%202007.pdf>
<http://www.kettler.net/articles/20050216194000001126/index.html>
<http://www.bergtoys.com/skelters.php?categorie=10>

They seem to be popular(?) in europe, but basically non-existant in the
US. The Dino seems to be the bee's knees (very nice), with a 5-speed +
reverse gear, 200+ kg payload .... very burly, and quite what i'd
imagine i'd like to have to push a little V-plow along the trail.

The only real problems i see are (a) i'd have to import most of them
because of the limited availability in the states (Kettler seems sort
of available, i.e. special order at [censored]'s Sports) and (b) they cost a
lot of money -- 900 Pounds Sterling for the top of the line Dino car!

so i'm seeking information and pointers. I'd like to know of club
websites etc. for pedal-car entheusiasts, hear of people's
experiences/opinions etc.

I've thought of this concept several times. Not just for snow clearing
but lawn mowing, etc. Not being a mechanically inclined sort (I feel a
real sense of accomplishment changing a lightbulb), thought is as far
as I got.

The links you presented appear to be toys. I wonder if they'd be
rugged enough to handle the punishment of snow clearing. You might
need something a bit stronger, a bit more durable.

As an alternative, check out some of the trike manufacturers. A trike
might well be stable enough. And there are probably more manufacturers.

what does THIS button do? said:

Depending on where you are reading this, you may know that one of my
coworkers developed bicycle towed snow plow which he uses to help keep
a MUP open in our car-clogged suburb of Chicago.
(<http://www.google.com/search?q=bicycle+snow+plow> [first link] on the
off chance this is news to anyone). No, the local governmental units
won't remove the snow and yes we've tried to get them to move it. If
we don't do it, it won't get done, period.

The main drawback of the bikeplow system is that the bike needs to be
in front of the plow, towing. Not pushing. In the snow. And the bike
has to be above a certain critical speed for balancing yadda yadda
yadda, the plow has trouble with heavy, wet, or icy underlayers. The
plow is 10^6 better than nothing, but there is a bit of room for
improvement.

It would be better, for instance, if the motivator were on something
more stable than two-wheels, and it might be good if the plow pushed
the snow out of the way, before the wheels ...

Tautological thoughts like this lead me to imagine a sort of
pedal-powered bulldozer or tractor thing, which lead me eventually to
discover these things called pedal cars

<http://www.autoculture.co.uk/Dino%202007.pdf>
<http://www.kettler.net/articles/20050216194000001126/index.html>
<http://www.bergtoys.com/skelters.php?categorie=10>

They seem to be popular(?) in europe, but basically non-existant in the
US. The Dino seems to be the bee's knees (very nice), with a 5-speed +
reverse gear, 200+ kg payload .... very burly, and quite what i'd
imagine i'd like to have to push a little V-plow along the trail.

The only real problems i see are (a) i'd have to import most of them
because of the limited availability in the states (Kettler seems sort
of available, i.e. special order at [censored]'s Sports) and (b) they cost a
lot of money -- 900 Pounds Sterling for the top of the line Dino car!

so i'm seeking information and pointers. I'd like to know of club
websites etc. for pedal-car entheusiasts, hear of people's
experiences/opinions etc.

Take a look at these, .max.

http://www.ktrakcycle.com/

I don't recall...is the trail paved yet?

sticks

"what does THIS button do?" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Depending on where you are reading this, you may know that one of my
coworkers developed bicycle towed snow plow which he uses to help keep
a MUP open in our car-clogged suburb of Chicago.

Has this idiot not noticed the letter 'uk' in the header, and if he has, is
he not aware that these letters indicate that this newsgroup is aimed at the
inhabitants of a small island just off the west coast of europe, that is if
he knows where europe is?

Alan

"Alan Holmes" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"what does THIS button do?" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Depending on where you are reading this, you may know that one of my
coworkers developed bicycle towed snow plow which he uses to help keep
a MUP open in our car-clogged suburb of Chicago.

Has this idiot not noticed the letter 'uk' in the header, and if he has,
is he not aware that these letters indicate that this newsgroup is aimed
at the inhabitants of a small island just off the west coast of europe,
that is if he knows where europe is?

There are several alternative options open to you Alan:

Email him/her directly at [email hidden] with your request

Respond but remove uk.rec.cycling from the list of groups and let the flak
and cross posting continue elsewhere

Ponder on the problem that he faces and make a sensible suggestion on how
the OP might improve the device that (s)he's described.

Merry Xmas ;-)

-=V=-

In article <[email hidden]>,

Alan Holmes said:

"what does THIS button do?" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Depending on where you are reading this, you may know that one of my
coworkers developed bicycle towed snow plow which he uses to help keep
a MUP open in our car-clogged suburb of Chicago.

Has this idiot not noticed the letter 'uk' in the header, and if he has, is
he not aware that these letters indicate that this newsgroup is aimed at the
inhabitants of a small island just off the west coast of europe, that is if
he knows where europe is?

Alan

SCROOGE!

kenji said:

SCROOGE!

Nah, Scrooge was a kind and generous character who gave to the needy
and was concerned with the welfare of the less off.

At least in the latter part of his life.

...d

In article <[email hidden]>,

vernon said:

"Alan Holmes" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"what does THIS button do?" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Depending on where you are reading this, you may know that one of my
coworkers developed bicycle towed snow plow which he uses to help keep
a MUP open in our car-clogged suburb of Chicago.

Has this idiot not noticed the letter 'uk' in the header, and if he has,
is he not aware that these letters indicate that this newsgroup is aimed
at the inhabitants of a small island just off the west coast of europe,
that is if he knows where europe is?

There are several alternative options open to you Alan:

Email him/her directly at [email hidden] with your request

Respond but remove uk.rec.cycling from the list of groups and let the flak
and cross posting continue elsewhere

Ponder on the problem that he faces and make a sensible suggestion on how
the OP might improve the device that (s)he's described.

Merry Xmas ;-)

-=V=-

FWIW, I know the OP and he's a bit of a wacko. He really does want to
plow 15 miles of a bicycle trail's snow using something he and others
would pedal.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Alan Holmes said:

"what does THIS button do?" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Depending on where you are reading this, you may know that one of my
coworkers developed bicycle towed snow plow which he uses to help keep
a MUP open in our car-clogged suburb of Chicago.

Has this idiot not noticed the letter 'uk' in the header, and if he has, is
he not aware that these letters indicate that this newsgroup is aimed at the
inhabitants of a small island just off the west coast of europe, that is if
he knows where europe is?

Alan

Alan,

This idiot did, in fact, notice that the only places in the english
speaking world which carry the Dino Car are in England and Ireland.

This idiot lives in Chicago and is unable to readily visit a dealer in
England or ireland. I hope this clears up any misunderstanding you might
have. Me=Chicago. English speaking dealers = UK, bicycles= duh.

I would have included a fahrrad.de (or ftm, einradder) group, but meiner
deutsch is a little rusty, it having been a few years since i moved away
from Munich.

Thank you for your substantive reply, alan.

..max

Quoted message said:

what does THIS button do? said:

<http://www.autoculture.co.uk/Dino%202007.pdf>
<http://www.kettler.net/articles/20050216194000001126/index.html>
<http://www.bergtoys.com/skelters.php?categorie=10>

Quoted message said:

I've thought of this concept several times. Not just for snow clearing
but lawn mowing, etc. Not being a mechanically inclined sort (I feel a
real sense of accomplishment changing a lightbulb), thought is as far
as I got.

The links you presented appear to be toys. I wonder if they'd be
rugged enough to handle the punishment of snow clearing. You might
need something a bit stronger, a bit more durable.

Some of the Dinos are pretty hefty -- about 100 pounds empty weight.
What i like about the 4-wheelers is that their design would _greatly_
simplify managing a plow mount -- interference problems seem to arise
from pushing in front of a trike mount...

..max

In article <[email hidden]>,

David Martin said:

kenji said:

SCROOGE!

Nah, Scrooge was a kind and generous character who gave to the needy
and was concerned with the welfare of the less off.

At least in the latter part of his life.

..d

what's Alan then?

in message <[email hidden]>, fluffy

bunny (') said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Alan Holmes said:

"what does THIS button do?" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Depending on where you are reading this, you may know that one of my
coworkers developed bicycle towed snow plow which he uses to help
keep a MUP open in our car-clogged suburb of Chicago.

Has this idiot not noticed the letter 'uk' in the header, and if he has,
is he not aware that these letters indicate that this newsgroup is aimed
at the inhabitants of a small island just off the west coast of europe,
that is if he knows where europe is?

This idiot did, in fact, notice that the only places in the english
speaking world which carry the Dino Car are in England and Ireland.

Fear not. Alan is a well-known, errrm, character on certain newsgroups. An
insult from him may be seen either as a rite of passage or a compliment,
depending on your mood.

I have nothing helpful to add regarding pedal cars. The relatively wide
track and low ground clearance may make pedalling them in snow hard work -
you would have to clear a lot more snow to make a useable path for one of
those things.

There are a couple of British made utility four-wheelers, but both of them
are expensive and both suffer from the wide-track problem.
http://www.a-v-d.com/taskmaster.htm
http://www.bikefix.co.uk/index.php?get_ol_id=7&get_gl_id=37&get_sgl_id=78#a37

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
;; If Python is executable pseudocode,
;; then Perl is executable line noise
-- seen on Slashdot.

Can you push/tow a snowblower?

In article <[email hidden]>,

Nexus7 said:

Can you push/tow a snowblower?

I think he wants to pretend he's a frontiersman.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, fluffy

bunny (') said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Alan Holmes said:

"what does THIS button do?" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
> Depending on where you are reading this, you may know that one of my
> coworkers developed bicycle towed snow plow which he uses to help
> keep a MUP open in our car-clogged suburb of Chicago.

Has this idiot not noticed the letter 'uk' in the header, and if he has,
is he not aware that these letters indicate that this newsgroup is aimed
at the inhabitants of a small island just off the west coast of europe,
that is if he knows where europe is?

This idiot did, in fact, notice that the only places in the english
speaking world which carry the Dino Car are in England and Ireland.

Fear not. Alan is a well-known, errrm, character on certain newsgroups. An
insult from him may be seen either as a rite of passage or a compliment,
depending on your mood.

I have nothing helpful to add regarding pedal cars. The relatively wide
track and low ground clearance may make pedalling them in snow hard work -
you would have to clear a lot more snow to make a useable path for one of
those things.

There are a couple of British made utility four-wheelers, but both of them
are expensive and both suffer from the wide-track problem.
http://www.a-v-d.com/taskmaster.htm
http://www.bikefix.co.uk/index.php?get_ol_id=7&get_gl_id=37&get_sgl_id=78#a37

who knew that our .max would create such intercourse with fellow
pedalers from across the big swamp?

That is cool for $300 Sticks.

what does THIS button do? said:

Depending on where you are reading this, you may know that one of my
coworkers developed bicycle towed snow plow which he uses to help keep
a MUP open in our car-clogged suburb of Chicago.
(<http://www.google.com/search?q=bicycle+snow+plow> [first link] on the
off chance this is news to anyone). No, the local governmental units
won't remove the snow and yes we've tried to get them to move it. If
we don't do it, it won't get done, period.

The main drawback of the bikeplow system is that the bike needs to be
in front of the plow, towing. Not pushing. In the snow. And the bike
has to be above a certain critical speed for balancing yadda yadda
yadda, the plow has trouble with heavy, wet, or icy underlayers. The
plow is 10^6 better than nothing, but there is a bit of room for
improvement.

It would be better, for instance, if the motivator were on something
more stable than two-wheels, and it might be good if the plow pushed
the snow out of the way, before the wheels ...

Tautological thoughts like this lead me to imagine a sort of
pedal-powered bulldozer or tractor thing, which lead me eventually to
discover these things called pedal cars

<http://www.autoculture.co.uk/Dino%202007.pdf>
<http://www.kettler.net/articles/20050216194000001126/index.html>
<http://www.bergtoys.com/skelters.php?categorie=10>

They seem to be popular(?) in europe, but basically non-existant in the
US. The Dino seems to be the bee's knees (very nice), with a 5-speed +
reverse gear, 200+ kg payload .... very burly, and quite what i'd
imagine i'd like to have to push a little V-plow along the trail.

The only real problems i see are (a) i'd have to import most of them
because of the limited availability in the states (Kettler seems sort
of available, i.e. special order at [censored]'s Sports) and (b) they cost a
lot of money -- 900 Pounds Sterling for the top of the line Dino car!

so i'm seeking information and pointers. I'd like to know of club
websites etc. for pedal-car entheusiasts, hear of people's
experiences/opinions etc.

Look at this.
http://www.mooncar.dk/

--
Slet transportmidlet før dk
__o
Poul Erik Lindaa === _'\ <_ E-mail: [email hidden]
==== (¤)/ (¤)
------------------------------------------------------------
http://skivsamling.nu/show.pl?id=26228

In article <[email hidden]>,

Poul Erik Lindaa said:

http://www.mooncar.dk/

if it had a grader attachment it looks like that would work.

http://www.lcwhitford.com/JD570_grader_1.jpg

Simon Brooke said:

I have nothing helpful to add regarding pedal cars. The relatively wide
track and low ground clearance may make pedalling them in snow hard work -
you would have to clear a lot more snow to make a useable path for one of
those things.

But if you do manage it, you've made a wider path for other users.

I'm trying to imaging using the wheel of a Wovel
http://www.gizmag.co.uk/go/6490/gallery/
as a direct drive front wheel on a delta trike, but failing.

Back-to-back tandem trike with the front drive chain disconnected
from the wheels and driving a snow-blower?

"what does THIS button do?" <[email hidden]> said in chi.general:

Quoted message said:

The main drawback of the bikeplow system is that the bike needs to be
in front of the plow, towing. Not pushing. In the snow. And the bike
has to be above a certain critical speed for balancing yadda yadda
yadda, the plow has trouble with heavy, wet, or icy underlayers. The
plow is 10^6 better than nothing, but there is a bit of room for
improvement.

Tow the plow with a snowmobile.
--
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."
- Jonathan Swift