[i love to hate cars] I don't need a Tesla to take big loads

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > C-SPAM > [i love to hate cars] I don't need a Tesla to take big loads

the bitcoin of weed: Nov 1, 2014

if you do any looking at all you can find videos and stories of white people doing the same and worse. the common problem is cars. people really did come out of the woodwork to be wildly racist about that video though

good series of youtube searches to infuriate yourself:

# ? Nov 6, 2021 18:05

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# ? May 28, 2024 00:00

lobster shirt: Jun 14, 2021

going to take my kid for a walk today, sharing the road with drivers because of lovely or non existent sidewalks, wonder how many people will slow down as they pass me. probably not that many!

# ? Nov 6, 2021 20:18

Blackhawk: Nov 15, 2004

Obligatory posting of the fully faired e-bicycle I built to commute to work with:

Uses a New Zealand legal e-bike motor (250W max continuous power but no speed cut-out unlike in Europe) which means if I pedal hard I can hold a constant ~50 kph on flat roads. It weighs about 33 kg so accelerating and going up hills is a little slow, but it's so much more comfortable in bad weather than a regular bike and I can carry quite a lot of luggage. With LED strips down the sides and back and the ability to keep up with city traffic I actually feel more safe than on a normal bicycle, it's low down but much larger visually and unusual enough that people actually notice and pay attention. Also the fact that it looks like a little car short-circuits the cyclist rage part of most motorist brains and the average sentiment I get from drivers is extremely positive.

I need to build a better one sometime though, the current design has lovely steering, no rear suspension and is very draggy and inefficient compared to what it could be. I wish that something like this could become more main-stream, but I'm realistic enough to know that 99% of people would never even contemplate having to change their behaviours to suit a new mode of transportation (e.g. having to leave more time when travelling, sweat a bit from pedalling, get exposed to the elements more etc.)

# ? Nov 6, 2021 21:10

lobster shirt: Jun 14, 2021

walk update: as usual, most cars did not slow down and a few passed us dangerously close. very discouraging that even a stroller isn't enough to make most people slightly delay their trips lol

# ? Nov 6, 2021 21:13

Dolphin: Dec 5, 2008; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

Blackhawk posted:

Obligatory posting of the fully faired e-bicycle I built to commute to work with:

Uses a New Zealand legal e-bike motor (250W max continuous power but no speed cut-out unlike in Europe) which means if I pedal hard I can hold a constant ~50 kph on flat roads. It weighs about 33 kg so accelerating and going up hills is a little slow, but it's so much more comfortable in bad weather than a regular bike and I can carry quite a lot of luggage. With LED strips down the sides and back and the ability to keep up with city traffic I actually feel more safe than on a normal bicycle, it's low down but much larger visually and unusual enough that people actually notice and pay attention. Also the fact that it looks like a little car short-circuits the cyclist rage part of most motorist brains and the average sentiment I get from drivers is extremely positive.

I need to build a better one sometime though, the current design has lovely steering, no rear suspension and is very draggy and inefficient compared to what it could be. I wish that something like this could become more main-stream, but I'm realistic enough to know that 99% of people would never even contemplate having to change their behaviours to suit a new mode of transportation (e.g. having to leave more time when travelling, sweat a bit from pedalling, get exposed to the elements more etc.)

What are the fairings made from?

# ? Nov 6, 2021 21:44

Jokerpilled Drudge: Jan 27, 2010; by Pragmatica

lobster shirt posted:

walk update: as usual, most cars did not slow down and a few passed us dangerously close. very discouraging that even a stroller isn't enough to make most people slightly delay their trips lol

thinking of an anti-car campaign where people with empty strollers "demonstrate" to closer passers the consequences of their reckless driving

# ? Nov 6, 2021 21:47

sat on my keys!: Oct 2, 2014

Jokerpilled Drudge posted:

thinking of an anti-car campaign where people with empty strollers "demonstrate" to closer passers the consequences of their reckless driving

https://twitter.com/TransAlt/status/1437786057483898894

# ? Nov 6, 2021 21:49

Jokerpilled Drudge: Jan 27, 2010; by Pragmatica

sat on my keys! posted:

https://twitter.com/TransAlt/status/1437786057483898894

okay but push the strollers around and instead of dodging it out of the way of a dangerous passer let them hit it and maybe they will feel something

# ? Nov 6, 2021 21:53

Boywhiz88: Sep 11, 2005; floating 26" off da ground. BURR!

lobster shirt posted:

walk update: as usual, most cars did not slow down and a few passed us dangerously close. very discouraging that even a stroller isn't enough to make most people slightly delay their trips lol

At least one of them was thinking you were on the wrong for daring to walk on the street.

My first day w a bike after a decade, and I�m not great but I�m going down a sidewalk that is 2 ft removed from the curb. No interaction w traffic. But that didn�t stop someone in a pickup from yelling �gently caress you!� to me while driving by at 40+ MPH.

Oh and this is in a suburb where they get apoplectic if you bike in the streets. Loved going by that road almost a decade later and seeing the city had elected to put stop signs on the sidewalks. Because dumbass motorists can�t handle stopping AT a stop sign.

# ? Nov 6, 2021 21:56

God Hole: Mar 2, 2016

Jokerpilled Drudge posted:

okay but push the strollers around and instead of dodging it out of the way of a dangerous passer let them hit it and maybe they will feel something

except fill it with bricks

# ? Nov 6, 2021 21:58

Blackhawk: Nov 15, 2004

Dolphin posted:

What are the fairings made from?

In my case the fairing is made of corflute (that corrugated plastic material they use to make election signs out of) and it's very non-structural, only used as an aerodynamic fairing and weather shield. The actual frame of the trike underneath is carbon tubes glued together. The 'commercial' velomobiles are full carbon monocoque structures which are much lighter and stronger but also way more expensive and time consuming. My plan for the next one is to make it out of plywood, if you're careful and use good wood you can get a monocoque structure down to similar weights of the commercial ones (around 21 kg) and a rigid body would be much better in strong wind than my current floppy plastic shell.

This is the inspiration for what I'm currently designing:

So far the design is going very slowly though as it's pretty low down on my priority list.

Also my partner would kill me if I tried to build another one, we don't have a ton of space and my last build took up a big chunk of our living space for years, and we definitely don't have space to park two of them so I'd have to do something with the current one.

# ? Nov 6, 2021 22:00

ArmedZombie: Jun 6, 2004

Blackhawk posted:

Obligatory posting of the fully faired e-bicycle I built to commute to work with:

Uses a New Zealand legal e-bike motor (250W max continuous power but no speed cut-out unlike in Europe) which means if I pedal hard I can hold a constant ~50 kph on flat roads. It weighs about 33 kg so accelerating and going up hills is a little slow, but it's so much more comfortable in bad weather than a regular bike and I can carry quite a lot of luggage. With LED strips down the sides and back and the ability to keep up with city traffic I actually feel more safe than on a normal bicycle, it's low down but much larger visually and unusual enough that people actually notice and pay attention. Also the fact that it looks like a little car short-circuits the cyclist rage part of most motorist brains and the average sentiment I get from drivers is extremely positive.

I need to build a better one sometime though, the current design has lovely steering, no rear suspension and is very draggy and inefficient compared to what it could be. I wish that something like this could become more main-stream, but I'm realistic enough to know that 99% of people would never even contemplate having to change their behaviours to suit a new mode of transportation (e.g. having to leave more time when travelling, sweat a bit from pedalling, get exposed to the elements more etc.)

ok this is an acceptable ebike. i was wrong

# ? Nov 6, 2021 22:05

Fitzy Fitz: May 14, 2005

It's like a slot derby car. Very cool.

# ? Nov 6, 2021 22:07

an actual frog: Mar 1, 2007; HEH, HEH, HEH!

Blackhawk posted:

Obligatory posting of the fully faired e-bicycle I built to commute to work with:

This honestly owns and if I had space to store one I'd be asking if you had plans to share :v:

# ? Nov 6, 2021 22:11

Blackhawk: Nov 15, 2004

Cheers, pretty much everyone I meet loves it but would also never consider using one lol. They're a lot more common in european cities with decent cycling infrastructure, weird how there are plenty of alternatives to cars for short single-person trips when your government puts even a few seconds of effort into making it safe and relaxing.

# ? Nov 6, 2021 22:16

Dolphin: Dec 5, 2008; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

Blackhawk posted:

In my case the fairing is made of corflute (that corrugated plastic material they use to make election signs out of) and it's very non-structural, only used as an aerodynamic fairing and weather shield. The actual frame of the trike underneath is carbon tubes glued together. The 'commercial' velomobiles are full carbon monocoque structures which are much lighter and stronger but also way more expensive and time consuming. My plan for the next one is to make it out of plywood, if you're careful and use good wood you can get a monocoque structure down to similar weights of the commercial ones (around 21 kg) and a rigid body would be much better in strong wind than my current floppy plastic shell.

This is the inspiration for what I'm currently designing:

So far the design is going very slowly though as it's pretty low down on my priority list.

Also my partner would kill me if I tried to build another one, we don't have a ton of space and my last build took up a big chunk of our living space for years, and we definitely don't have space to park two of them so I'd have to do something with the current one.

have you considered skin on frame construction, like a kayak? you could probably achieve weights similar to carbon or even lighter while still being quite strong

# ? Nov 6, 2021 22:16

Blackhawk: Nov 15, 2004

Dolphin posted:

have you considered skin on frame construction, like a kayak? you could probably achieve weights similar to carbon or even lighter while still being quite strong

Yeah I've thought about it. There's one commercial design that has been around for ages but still doesn't seem to be available called podride: https://www.mypodride.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lKq1fGtXFM

It looks like awesome fun, although definitely a lot slower than what I'd want. Seems to be plastic tent-like material stretched over a metal frame (but you could do a similar thing with thin carbon tubes).

There's also the mosquito velomobile, which is a more traditional fabric on wood frame:

Overall it looks like a huge amount of work and quite fragile though. In the plywood design I'm looking at the skin is quite thin (3mm thick, or about 1/8") and only takes shear forces. Bending loads are taken by larger structural members, and the box sections of the total structure give it overall stiffness. So in a way it's very similar to modern monocoque car construction, and it's effectively a skin over a frame except the skin is thicker, bonded to the frame and provides a significant portion of the overall strength and rigidity.

# ? Nov 6, 2021 22:32

Cugel the Clever: Apr 5, 2009; I LOVE AMERICA AND CAPITALISM DESPITE BEING POOR AS FUCK. I WILL NEVER RETIRE BUT HERE'S ANOTHER 200$ FOR UKRAINE, SLAVA

Boywhiz88 posted:

Oh and this is in a suburb where they get apoplectic if you bike in the streets.

Drivists will alternate between "loving cyclist, get off my road!" and "loving cyclist, get off the sidewalk!" with zero shame or self-consciousness. They straight up do not want you exist because it harms their ego to see someone self-confident and ambitious enough to do a milk run without cowering in a 5-ton steel assault vehicle.

# ? Nov 6, 2021 22:35

ArmedZombie: Jun 6, 2004

with wood prices so high i wonder if fiberglass and epoxy is cheaper than plywood per square foot

# ? Nov 6, 2021 22:48

Hubbert: Mar 25, 2007; At a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

Blackhawk posted:

In my case the fairing is made of corflute (that corrugated plastic material they use to make election signs out of) and it's very non-structural, only used as an aerodynamic fairing and weather shield. The actual frame of the trike underneath is carbon tubes glued together. The 'commercial' velomobiles are full carbon monocoque structures which are much lighter and stronger but also way more expensive and time consuming. My plan for the next one is to make it out of plywood, if you're careful and use good wood you can get a monocoque structure down to similar weights of the commercial ones (around 21 kg) and a rigid body would be much better in strong wind than my current floppy plastic shell.

This is the inspiration for what I'm currently designing:

So far the design is going very slowly though as it's pretty low down on my priority list.

Also my partner would kill me if I tried to build another one, we don't have a ton of space and my last build took up a big chunk of our living space for years, and we definitely don't have space to park two of them so I'd have to do something with the current one.

if this was an e-bike with a battery behind the seat and cargo space in the front, i'd buy it

# ? Nov 6, 2021 22:49

Blackhawk: Nov 15, 2004

Hubbert posted:

if this was an e-bike with a battery behind the seat and cargo space in the front, i'd buy it

https://www.katanga.eu/waw/

You can get an e-assist version of the WAW which has good luggage space and as a bonus uses mostly 'normal' bicycle parts so it's easier to maintain and repair compared to some others. Unfortunately you're really going to pay with the commercial ones, because production quantities are so low and because human power is so limited they're all hand-made and all use lightweight composites to get the most out of the limited power available.

They're never going to be significantly cheaper while production quantities are so low and they're never going to produce many of them while the infrastructure and people's lifestyles don't allow for it. Ultimately human power (and legal e-bike power) is so low they're always going to be niche as people want to A) keep up with traffic and B) not sweat wearing normal clothes. I think something a bit larger with a few kW of electric power would be perfect as a single-person vehicle, but vehicle road-worthiness laws don't really allow for such a device.

# ? Nov 6, 2021 23:03

Dolphin: Dec 5, 2008; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

Blackhawk posted:

This is loving sick

Not a huge fan of the single front wheel but it's low enough that rolling over is probably unlikely

Also it looks like it's designed to grind your balls off

# ? Nov 6, 2021 23:08

Sphyre: Jun 14, 2001

Blackhawk posted:

Insanely sick :cool:

what city are you in?

# ? Nov 6, 2021 23:36

Blackhawk: Nov 15, 2004

Sphyre posted:

Insanely sick what city are you in?

Auckland (lol?)

# ? Nov 7, 2021 01:10

ate shit on live tv: Feb 15, 2004; by Azathoth

lobster shirt posted:

walk update: as usual, most cars did not slow down and a few passed us dangerously close. very discouraging that even a stroller isn't enough to make most people slightly delay their trips lol

Were you walking in the road? If so you should be walking against the flow of traffic, not with it.

Blackhawk posted:

Obligatory posting of the fully faired e-bicycle I built to commute to work with:

Uses a New Zealand legal e-bike motor (250W max continuous power but no speed cut-out unlike in Europe) which means if I pedal hard I can hold a constant ~50 kph on flat roads. It weighs about 33 kg so accelerating and going up hills is a little slow, but it's so much more comfortable in bad weather than a regular bike and I can carry quite a lot of luggage. With LED strips down the sides and back and the ability to keep up with city traffic I actually feel more safe than on a normal bicycle, it's low down but much larger visually and unusual enough that people actually notice and pay attention. Also the fact that it looks like a little car short-circuits the cyclist rage part of most motorist brains and the average sentiment I get from drivers is extremely positive.

I need to build a better one sometime though, the current design has lovely steering, no rear suspension and is very draggy and inefficient compared to what it could be. I wish that something like this could become more main-stream, but I'm realistic enough to know that 99% of people would never even contemplate having to change their behaviours to suit a new mode of transportation (e.g. having to leave more time when travelling, sweat a bit from pedalling, get exposed to the elements more etc.)

This just seems like a shittier car?

# ? Nov 7, 2021 01:17

Sphyre: Jun 14, 2001

Blackhawk posted:

Auckland (lol?)

Ah, I knew you were a kiwigoon but I didn't know where abouts. I'll keep my eyes peeled 👀

# ? Nov 7, 2021 01:33

Sphyre: Jun 14, 2001

ate poo poo on live tv posted:

Were you walking in the road? If so you should be walking against the flow of traffic, not with it.

This just seems like a shittier car?

it doesn't take up a stupid amount of space and is thus better in every way!!!

# ? Nov 7, 2021 01:34

Blackhawk: Nov 15, 2004

ate poo poo on live tv posted:

Were you walking in the road? If so you should be walking against the flow of traffic, not with it.

This just seems like a shittier car?

I mean it's pedal powered in addition to the motor (and trust me I'm sweating buckets to go fast) so overall energy use is on the order of 8.5 Wh/km with the motor at full power and keeping up with traffic. That's on the order of 20 times less than a typical electric car. It also weighs about 50 times less than a typical electric car and takes up about 1/6th of the space or less. So overall it uses a shitload fewer resources to accomplish the same job as a car (getting me to work or the shops), doesn't make any noise, zero emissions (NZ's electricity is largely renewable but you could easily charge it from a small solar panel), poses significant less danger to pedestrians or other road users etc. I wouldn't be that surprised if overall it was even environmentally better than taking a bus or train to do the same job, it's also great for my physical and mental health.

So yeah overall actually significantly way better than a car.

# ? Nov 7, 2021 02:04

actionjackson: Jan 12, 2003

I really hope this happens in my city because gently caress cars. The 81 new miles of protected lanes would all have physical separation from cars

https://go.minneapolismn.gov/final-plan/bicycling/strategy-1

I'm reading the whole transportation plan for what they want to do by 2030, it's pretty awesome but who knows what will actually happen

# ? Nov 7, 2021 02:57

Nitevision: Oct 5, 2004; Your Friendly FYAD Helper
Ask Me For FYAD Help
Another Reason To Talk To Me Is To Hangout

https://twitter.com/BrentToderian/status/1457119407721705473?s=20

# ? Nov 7, 2021 06:28

Alobar: Jun 21, 2011; Are you proud of me?

Are you proud of what I do?

I'll try to be a better man than the one that you knew.

one time i was sitting on the curb at a bus stop in san francisco and a guy almost hit me taking a right turn. i yelled at him "this is a bus stop, rear end in a top hat!" and he parked, got out, and came and got in my face.

he was all shaking and stuff and i calmly asked him "does this seem to be a smart thing to be doing?" and he was like "n-no, actually, this feels kind of stupid" realizing he made a Mistake. it's ok. people make mistakes. i like it when people learn from mistakes.

i got him to calm down some, and i asked him what was up. he said he was on his way to spread his grandmother's ashes or whatever. i asked him "is this what your grandmother would want you to be doing right now?" and obviously he said no.

dude insisted on shaking my hand. lol dork

i'm not sure if i've told this story before on the forums. maybe. dunno. i haven't in this thread, at least.

the guy who got out of his car in the bike lane video is one dumb motherfucker. i can usually tell by how someone approaches if they actually know how to fight or if they're relying on intimidation, and he was looking like more bark than bite. the better someone is at fighting, the more reluctant they are to fight. it's a complete give away. if the guy actually knew how to fight, he would have had a much more relaxed demeanor. source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k_5vIjjWVo

it's really important to not gently caress with someone you don't know, because you don't know how strong or how long they've been training, even if they're some dorky white guy. also, some people are tiny with small muscles and extraordinarily strong.

Nitevision posted:

https://twitter.com/BrentToderian/status/1457119407721705473?s=20

this has to be stopped

# ? Nov 7, 2021 06:42

Milo and POTUS: Sep 3, 2017; I will not shut up about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I talk about them all the time and work them into every conversation I have. I built a shrine in my room for the yellow one who died because sadly no one noticed because she died around 9/11. Wanna see it?

God Hole posted:

except fill it with bricks

Gimage search: CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATON OF REALTORS got a laugh out of me

# ? Nov 7, 2021 07:06

Boywhiz88: Sep 11, 2005; floating 26" off da ground. BURR!

Milo and POTUS posted:

Gimage search: CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATON OF REALTORS got a laugh out of me

The gif is from the movie, Speed, if that�s what you were trying to check.

# ? Nov 7, 2021 07:39

Dolphin: Dec 5, 2008; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

ate poo poo on live tv posted:

Were you walking in the road? If so you should be walking against the flow of traffic, not with it.

This just seems like a shittier car?

my rubric for car is "if it hits you, will you die" and in most situations the answer is no for this thing

the most basic argument against cars is that they're human meat grinders patrolling human living spaces and that's not a good thing for human beings

# ? Nov 7, 2021 07:49

Milo and POTUS: Sep 3, 2017; I will not shut up about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I talk about them all the time and work them into every conversation I have. I built a shrine in my room for the yellow one who died because sadly no one noticed because she died around 9/11. Wanna see it?