LEW wheels

[alienator]

In keeping with the thread re: the Lightweight breaking in the collision with the dog, there is this:

LEW wheels has asked me to be their official, uhm, Crash Test Dummy. LEW wants to demonstrate, in real world conditions, the durability and repairibility of their wheels. As such, LEW would like people to suggest real world tests they'd like to see done. Note that these tests are not lab tests. They'll have a quasi-real person, i.e. me, on the bike, performing the "test." The vids will be posted to YouTube.

Creativity is encouraged, but there are some limits. No animals can be harmed or violated. Tests cannot involve any nuclear materials or ionizing radiation. Felonious tests are extremely discouraged. And while I know the love for me, the world around, very nearly exceeds all human bounds, keep in mind that I would like to see my daughter's graduation from college in 13 years or so, and I'd also like to walk her down the aisle at her wedding.

So there. We'll look at the suggestions and pick the best ones.

 

[ScienceIsCool]

Heh. This could be fun... What about a real world impact test to show toughness/durability? You could ride into progressively deeper potholes until something breaks.

On a related note, on a washed-out rainy day in March, this is exactly how I found out that my wheel is tougher than my fork... I rode smack into a 12 cm deep rain-filled pothole and wrecked the steerer tube. I damaged the headset so badly that the bearings couldn't be removed.

John Swanson
www.bikephysics.com

 

[ScienceIsCool]

Take some sweet jumps... C'mon people! There must be -someone- on this forum that wants to see Alienator do something risky and potentially damaging!

It's incredibly rare that a manufacturer would allow something like this. Well done. Just don't sugarcoat any embarassing results, if any should occur (I'm not saying they will!). Explain what went wrong and what LEW will incorporate into their next design - that will garner untold amounts of respect.

John Swanson
www.bikephysics.com

 

[bobbyOCR]

I say put you and, lets see, Stefan Behrens in a head on with him riding a bike with lightweights, and you with lews. Not sure how you'd get the wheels to contact perfectly, but god the crash would be funny and we'd see which is stronger.

This is assuming it is the same frame/fork and build with the total weight the same.

The fine details could be worked out later, and if you must, you could wear body armour.

 

[ScienceIsCool]

Oh! I've got another one. You ride along with your LEW's and a bunch of us take turns rolling bowling balls at your wheels as you glide past us. Points for knocking you off the bike. Triple for breaking the wheels!

John Swanson
www.bikephysics.com

 

[ToffoIsMe]

Hop a curb and hit a tree around 30mph.

 

[bobbyOCR]

If you are actually serious, I rould suggest real-world tests such as speed bumbs and pot holes. But that is so boring.

Buy a set of MTB tubbies and run them on a 29er.

 

[Thylacine]

How about putting them on the roof-rack of a Porsche and driving them into the garage?

 

[alpha2k]

Actually, all component producers do the real world tests by sponsoring cycling teams.

 

[sogood]

Ok, here's my input...

Stack up a pile of competitors' wheels ie. Zipp, Lightspeed, Mavic, Campagnolo etc and then ride straight into it. This is a simulation of race crash condition where there are competitors' equipments strewn across the road. Then it's a question how well Lew wheels can slice through progressively more obstacles put up by the competition.

Otherwise, just stack some bricks in the middle of the road and ride through them at high speed. Make sure they are nice looking bricks.

 

[alienator]

Okay, let's make this clear: this isn't going to be Jackass On Wheels. The tests should be relevant.

Actually, all component producers do the real world tests by sponsoring cycling teams.

True, but do you get to see the results? Do you get to know what the equipment has been subjected or the amount of time it's spent on the road?

This is an opportunity for the public to ask for certain tests and see them being done.

 

[sogood]

Real life? How about repeated curb jumping? Ride down a flight of stairs... Spanish Steps (Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti) in Rome comes to mind. Maybe LEW can sponsor you for a trip there for the testing.

 

[kleng]

Drop a bar bell onto the carbon rim with the tire on, from the front on, side on.

Drop the wheel with tire from a height to simulate frontal impact, see how well it bounces.

Put the wheel in a vice and twist to show torsional tolerances.

Show the wheel in a wind tunnel with the smoke vortices to prove the aerodynamics.

Do a wheelie on the bike and slam it down again, to test rear wheel strength.

Get a large rider to climb a steep ascent out of the saddle in the 53, really leveraging the frame and wheels from side to side

 

[bobbyOCR]

Drop a bar bell onto the carbon rim with the tire on, from the front on, side on.

Drop the wheel with tire from a height to simulate frontal impact, see how well it bounces.

Put the wheel in a vice and twist to show torsional tolerances.

Show the wheel in a wind tunnel with the smoke vortices to prove the aerodynamics.

Do a wheelie on the bike and slam it down again, to test rear wheel strength.

Get a large rider to climb a steep ascent out of the saddle in the 53, really leveraging the frame and wheels from side to side

all good, but you'll provide bigger lateral stress spikes (???) if you get them to climb a really steep hill in the 39t. Just like you are much more likely to snap a chain in a low gear.

 

[Powerful Pete]

Do repeated rides, video-ed and youtube-ed, on longish cobble stretches (à la Roubaix) at full speed. Also consider riding 'em up and down muurs to show their reliability.

That will satisfy real world riders.

 

[sogood]

Where can one find cobbles there in Tucson? That might be a problem.

Alternatively, ride the LEW on rocky mountain passes or in the high deserts. That should give the wheels and rider a real beating.

 

[kleng]

all good, but you'll provide bigger lateral stress spikes (???) if you get them to climb a really steep hill in the 39t. Just like you are much more likely to snap a chain in a low gear.

Yeah in 39t, with close ups of the brake pads to show the rims rubbing.

 

[bobbyOCR]

Yeah in 39t, with close ups of the brake pads to show the rims rubbing.

worst feeling in the world......

I race with my brakes open 76% of the time...

 

[kdelong]

Have you done your tests yet? I have been looking for them on YouTube but haven't seen them. I know, I watch Nascar just to see the wrecks too!

 

[alienator]

Have you done your tests yet? I have been looking for them on YouTube but haven't seen them. I know, I watch Nascar just to see the wrecks too!

There are two and one half hold ups right now:

1. LEW hasn't delivered the wheels to me yet.
2. My doc won't let me ride right now. As a result of a broken neck in '97 and a subluxated cervical vertebrae (same one that was broken 7 years later) in '90, as well as the fruits of several hard motorcycle racing crashes, my neck has been in spasm for the better part of a year. So I'm doin' the PT thing in concert with weekly trigger point injections in my neck and upper back. The goal is to improve the neck/core strength so that the stretched tendons at injury sites--C5, C1-2--and the spine can be better supported.
3. When I'm back on the bike, the tests will have to be worked in between my research.

The first test is set, though, and that will be riding the wheels down the fire road on the back side of Mt. Lemmon. It's about a 30 mile descent, with the first 20 miles or so being very unroad-like.