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Q Bike

April 11th, 2009 Leave a comment Go to comments

A monowheel-like vehicle, but with 5 wheels altogether.

Datasheet:

Completion date: 11/04/2009
Power: electric (Power Functions)
Dimensions:  length 32 studs / width 19 studs / height 28 studs
Weight: 0.69 kg
Suspension:  none
Motors: 2 x PF Medium

Once in a while I get a spontaneous idea, which seems so little time-consuming that I build it right away. So it was this time – the Q Bike was built in just two days. I was initially going to call it an O Bike, but then I thought that the little rear wheels deserve a mention too – hence the Q.

The idea was simple – since I couldn’t build a real monowheel (it only becomes stable at large speed), I cheated a little. The addition of small rear wheels not only allowed to steer easily, but also provided a satisfactory stability. You may note that they are, perhaps unexpectedly, facing forwards – it makes it easier for the bike to reverse. The vehicle’s center of gravity is moved to the back, which prevents it from gerbiling forward when stopping. All the electric elements which form most of the vehicle’s weight are located symmetrically, except for the wires which are somewhat counterbalanced by the fake exhaust on the other side. The vehicle only becomes unstable when stopped suddenly while making a tight turn.

It was my goal to create a vehicle looking more realistic than my Diwheel, which had no place for driver whatsoever. Hence only a minimal amount of the main wheel’s internal space is taken by mechanics, so that there is a place for a large seat and a handlebar (which can be folded forwards to access the seat).  I have added an upper set of headlights plus side view mirrors to make the front and the rear of vehicle easier to distinguish. The front part of the vehicle is empty – I felt it would not be realistic to put there anything that may block the driver’s view.

I was happy with the bike’s performance (and the visual side was, well, satisfactory), as it showed a good stability and an excellent manoeuvrability. I only regret that I wasn’t able to make the handlebar really work – but I feel justified given the limited amount of space and the very inconvenient location of the motors.

Photos:

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Video:

Categories: Bikes Tags:
  1. Sariel
    February 18th, 2010 at 21:04 | #1

    @Joe
    Yes.

  2. February 18th, 2010 at 20:56 | #2

    is that willis dee talking about the large gray wheel?

  3. Sariel
    November 7th, 2009 at 23:47 | #3

    @Willis dee
    You’re perfectly right, I got my wheels along with the whole set (a used one) for roughly $30.00, which was a great deal.

  4. Willis dee
    November 7th, 2009 at 21:36 | #4

    I found the wheel on brick link and people want like $20.00 for 1 wheel. But i found the whole set for $50.00 which comes with two wheels and a bunch of other parts so it is a better deal in my opinion.

  5. legobuilder
    July 9th, 2009 at 17:31 | #5

    ok thanks:P

  6. Sariel
    July 8th, 2009 at 20:21 | #6

    @legobuilder
    4481.

  7. legobuilder
    July 8th, 2009 at 19:31 | #7

    which set has that big wheel? I can not find him 😀

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