ok, you're biking along a a reasonable pace after a long day, when suddenly a huge dog starts chaseing after you cause some idiot forgot to lock him in. because you have little energy left because of your long day, youv'e gotta do somthing to get away from that darn dog! so, with my idea, you flip a switch cover on your handlebars, push a button, and hang on for the 5-15 seconds the multiple model rocket engines burn. when you get home, just insert new cartriges, because most model rocket engines have a reversed direction burst to eject the parachute, or in this case, themselves. and in addition to the extra burst of speed, you would also have a cloud of smoke behind you as a screen, and leave behind several smoldring tubes of cardboard for that dum mutt to bite. of course, the engines in the front wheel would have to be bigger or more numerous then the ones in the back, to avoid flipping on your head. could also be turned into a new sport, street drag biking!!! of course, there would be the problem of the spokes melting, so they would have to be made more heat resistant. now have fun, and wear a Helmut!-- Cracked Helmut, Dec 05 2002 Jet Bike http://www.amtjets....lery_jetbike_md.htmSimpler solution, put a jet on the back [PiledHigherandDeeper, Oct 04 2004] Rocket Powered Luge Board http://www.the-rock...n.com/luge2001.html119 mph on this machine..... [normzone, Oct 04 2004] I have a squeeze-bottle of ammonia handy in a second bottle cage, just for situations like this... it seems to take the "fight" right outta' almost any dog. (Even the really stupid ones.) Have you considered simply strapping on the ACME™ jet backpack instead? (ala Wyle E. Coyote) meep-meep!-- X2Entendre, Dec 05 2002 I dunno, 7 pounds of thrust for 4 seconds sound like a pretty good kick to me.
You'd probably want to chain them in series rather than parallel; it's the burn time you want to increase, not the thrust.
I'd like to see someone try this -- from a distance. It's hard to imagine that some bored and foolhardy teenager hasn't done so at some point; Estes rocket engines are pretty widely available... the biggest concern I have is not that anything would catch fire or melt but rather that once ignited you can't turn these engines off, so I hope you don't need to stop.-- egnor, Dec 05 2002 [thcgenius] for those people who are poor and can't afford expenses like that,then they can go to a indian reservation and buy them, or the manufacturer of the rims would almost certainly provide a source for the propellent. and for those people who are REALLY rich, a special bike that holds high octane gasoline and NOS, for pulse-jet rims. or people could try making their own rim engines with re-useable casings. but pulse-jets might be a little rough and heavy, and hard to ignite on a bicycle size scale.-- Cracked Helmut, Dec 05 2002 Are you sure you wouldn't rather attach the engines to the frame? Or are you after a pinwheel effect?
It seems like ordinary brakes should be able to cope with an extra seven pounds of thrust. If you get something more powerful in an arms deal or use a bunch together, maybe you could have them held in brackets that clamp onto the brake cables when you push the red button and then release the engines if you touch the brakes -- hopefully sending the engines flying harmlessly ahead into whatever you were braking to avoid.-- Monkfish, Dec 10 2002 //It's hard to imagine that some bored and foolhardy teenager hasn't done so at some point// I hate to admit it, but I did it once, and only once! Had 2 pices of pipe bolted to the spokes of the back wheel, sliped in 2 class-D eng's and let them rip. The boost sucked, plenty of smoke, hit the speed bump I was going to launch a jump off, and poped the back tire when I landed. It was the funniest thing in the world to see, at least to every one watching. Hurt my pride a bit =o( from experiance may I sugest angleing the rockets away from the tire. Just wondering, how exactly will you ignite them? We did it from a stand still.-- Chaos_5, Dec 10 2002 And here I thought I was the only one looney enough to do this. I plan to use two D's, (that's all I have right now, later I wanna make home-made)strapped to the frame, and ignite with a small battery and switch. I'll do this on the fly, after I get up close to 30mph or so.-- Darknight, Jan 01 2003 Hear's some math to dampen your spirits!
7lbs./150lbs*5seconds*32=8ft/sec. speed increase=~5MILES PER HOUR!
Ha ha ha ha...
Presurized gasses and air moters are more effective...-- my-nep, Jan 22 2004 See link for rocket powered luge board speed record .......-- normzone, Jan 22 2004 random, halfbakery