Well, its about winter again here in Illinois. The snow should be starting any time now, and that means my walks to work are going to be miserable. I thought about getting a bike, then I thought about hitting an ice patch and slamming my face into the tarmac. What I really need is a snowmobile, but one that I can ride on the sidewalk, since they are illegal to ride on the roads. I'm thinking a little stand-on scooter, but instead of a back wheel, there is a little snowmobile tread. Probably about two and a half feet long, a foot and a half wide.The front tire would be replaced by a single, wide ski . The steering would be roughly the same as the original scooter, but would need to be modified so that when turning, the ski would tilt and dig into the snow a bit.I don't know exactly how much work it would be, but I'm pretty sure it could be done.
The misspelling in the title is intentional, wasn't wanting to infringe.-- rascalraidex, Sep 22 2007 (?) visual example http://i62.photobuc...aidex/snowrazer.jpga picture I pieced together just to help kinda visualize it... the engine is just there to show about where the real one would go... [rascalraidex, Sep 22 2007, last modified Sep 23 2007] Scroll down a little to see the mighty Snow cycle. It might be illegal to ride these on the sidewalks but they are going to have fun trying to catch you. http://www.gizmag.com/go/5614/gallery/ [2 fries shy of a happy meal, Sep 22 2007] The Hyanide http://www.popsci.c...004eecbccdrcrd.htmlMan... I am in love with this thing... all I see is the future. [rascalraidex, Sep 23 2007] The Ktrak https://www.ktrakcycle.com/index.htmlNot motorized, so it may be legal on sidewalks [Klaatu, Sep 24 2007] Edited to make the tread bigger.
I don't think that balance would be too much of an issue. With the tread you get a much larger footprint than with a tire. But I figure it would probably go a little slower than a regular ground scooter. In the range of 15- 20 mph max. Meant mainly for personal transportation, not so much for fun. Although, it probably would be pretty fun, too.
I'm gonna try to photoshop an example up real quick.-- rascalraidex, Sep 22 2007 I assume it is motorised? Run two treads the length of the deck, side by side, -still making total as wide as your other single tread (but longer), drive both seperatly or through diff or something and just brake one side or the other, skid steer style. No other steering required.-- the dog's breakfast, Sep 22 2007 //scooters are kept upright either by going at a pretty fast clip or pushing off the ground with your foot.// I don't know if that's right. If you're assuming gyroscopic stabilisation on scooter wheels, I doubt it would be significant (it isn't even for bicycles). I think the stability comes from natural balance, plus the subconscious tendency to steer towards a tilt. But I can see this becoming one of those long arguments about how a bicycle stays upright.
Anyway, I think this sort of mini-skidoo thing would be fun. [+]-- MaxwellBuchanan, Sep 22 2007 Love it. I'll take two.
Check out the link to see the next size up.-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Sep 22 2007 Some people charter helicopter flights to take them to the top of mountains with no ski lifts. Other people can't afford it. When those other people discover that they can ride this thing up said mountain (maybe not the top, but much farther than you'd want to hike), fold it up to backpack-ability, switch to skis, and come sush-booming back down - I think it sells.
It allows cross-country skiers into places with a lot more verticality than they would normally be able to travel. It allows a ski patrol to search areas that would simply exhaust an unpowered skier.
And I am also imagining the avalanche control team not needing any explosives - just have a team of four cruising ridgetops with the mufflers removed.-- lurch, Sep 22 2007 For some reason I'm thinking that another motorized tread would be better than the front ski. I like the stand-up idea either way.-- baconbrain, Sep 22 2007 Wow... this got a much better response than my other idea. Thanks for the buns all.
2 fries, have you seen the Hyanide?.. I think its still just a concept, but that was months ago when I read that.I really REALLY want one.Check the link.It's a real life G.I. Joe toy.-- rascalraidex, Sep 23 2007 I KNOW!!!.. That thing is a freaking BEAST!! It's totally Bond-worthy.-- rascalraidex, Sep 23 2007 Dang, I.. but I
... wow.-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Sep 23 2007 Given that this already exists, what's the inventive bit? Maybe I've missed something, but I would have seen this as an m-f-d ?-- xenzag, Sep 23 2007 it doesn't exist anywhere I have found.The hyanide is more like an ATV that seats two, much like a motorcycle, but WAY cooler. What I am proposing is a single rider, stand on scooter style snowmobile.-- rascalraidex, Sep 23 2007 The engine could be quite small since Illinois has no hills to speak of.-- regehr, Sep 23 2007 random, halfbakery