Shock absorber/Suspension advice (bike project)

[James...]

After reading an article a few weeks ago about a man who had made a bicycle with a triangular & pentagonal wheel & started doing some reading on the shapes.

Made a model of it but would like to try & make a full size one as we realized that it needs some parts that I couldn't make out of plywood in a little model.

Been thinking how to make it stable & came up with the idea of putting a roller on top of the wheel which is always in contact & fixed to the headstock. This will move the front of the bike up & down.

Next, the bike forks would be mounted on a hinge allowing free movement. I would weld some sort of shock absorber inbetween the fixed roller & the hinged forks which I would aim to make to be able to counteract the up & down motion of the wheel/frame if it is possible.

Any ideas whether this concept might work & any ideas for a shock absorber would be appeciated as I have no expecience with this sort of thing.

Currently doing AS physics in college & my teacher challenged me to make a model which has made me want to make a real one so I can try & overcome the problems.

Starting work on how to make the back stay level now as the article & pictures didnt give much of an insight.

Want something good to put on my personal statement too as I am applying for a physics degree this year.

If I could get it made, the aim then would be to put some dynamos on the wheels to charge a powerpack & make some sort of dashboard with lights, speedo etc on haha! Really getting into the subject & want to try some projects.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks a lot

James

 

[pantaz]

Can you post or link to some sketches or photos?

A conventional "shock absorber" will not counteract movement. It will only dampen sudden movement.

 

[fleem]

Any shock absorber wastes energy. In the case of those funny wheels, it'll be a LOT of energy. You'll be sweating hard after the first 100 meters.