richard thomas
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| posted on 16/1/10 at 09:12 PM |
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Gravity Racing
Anyone been involved with 'kartie' downhill racing? Just wondering if there is a scene in England/Wales - found a reasonable following in
Scotland...Aviemore looks a laugh/terrifying!!!
http://www.soapboxracing.co.uk/main
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rusty nuts
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| posted on 16/1/10 at 09:20 PM |
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Looks like the sort of stuff I used to build way back in the early sixties!Back then a donor vehicle was a pram
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Benzine
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| posted on 16/1/10 at 09:23 PM |
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Looks great, I'd love to have a go 
blake: we're entering. 23rd & 24th July 2010.
[Edited on 16/1/10 by Benzine]
The mental gymnastics a landlord will employ to justify immoral actions is clinically fascinating. Just because something is legal doesn't make
it moral.
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richard thomas
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| posted on 16/1/10 at 09:27 PM |
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It's stirring something deep down inside me.....
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speedyxjs
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| posted on 16/1/10 at 09:40 PM |
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Build your own soap box racer for £2.50
How long can i resist the temptation to drop a V8 in?
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Benzine
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| posted on 16/1/10 at 09:43 PM |
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speedy, you're in mine and blake's team too btw
The mental gymnastics a landlord will employ to justify immoral actions is clinically fascinating. Just because something is legal doesn't make
it moral.
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speedyxjs
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| posted on 16/1/10 at 09:45 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Benzine
speedy, you're in mine and blake's team too btw
kk
How long can i resist the temptation to drop a V8 in?
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Benzine
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| posted on 16/1/10 at 09:47 PM |
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(no jag engines though!)
The mental gymnastics a landlord will employ to justify immoral actions is clinically fascinating. Just because something is legal doesn't make
it moral.
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speedyxjs
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| posted on 16/1/10 at 09:49 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Benzine
(no jag engines though!)
can we at least paint it green???
How long can i resist the temptation to drop a V8 in?
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Benzine
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| posted on 16/1/10 at 09:50 PM |
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Yeah
The mental gymnastics a landlord will employ to justify immoral actions is clinically fascinating. Just because something is legal doesn't make
it moral.
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MikeR
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| posted on 16/1/10 at 10:10 PM |
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if the course is long enough you could use the potential energy from the jag engine and turn it into lots of kinetic energy.
(think thats right, i've not done physics for .... eeek, just counted ..... 20 years).
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MakeEverything
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| posted on 16/1/10 at 10:20 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by MikeR
if the course is long enough you could use the potential energy from the jag engine and turn it into lots of kinetic energy.
(think thats right, i've not done physics for .... eeek, just counted ..... 20 years).
And buy an electrolytic capacitor to plug into it and get further on the tank....
Kindest Regards,
Richard.
...You can make it foolProof, but youll never make it Idiot Proof!...
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 17/1/10 at 07:35 AM |
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I was on that road in September last year - it's VERY steep at the top! And it's a long, long hill after the flat bit at the junction.
I'm amazed that they were doing that with traffic coming the other way...
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Ninehigh
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| posted on 17/1/10 at 10:58 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by richard thomas
It's stirring something deep down inside me.....
Indeed, I hope you're not talking about James May's "fuzzy base of your penis" thing!
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scottishCarties
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| posted on 17/1/10 at 11:39 AM |
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Hope you don't mind me dropping by. I noticed your interest in gravity racing and just wanted to say hello and thanks for the interest in
Cairngorm Soapbox Extreme, which is organised by the Scottish Cartie
Association.
Just to clarify/answer a couple of things that have already come up;
The road is completely closed for the race and there is no traffic apart from the gravity racers. We had a police presence there last year to help,
and marshalls along the length of the course. You've probably seen the "test run" video, which we did some months before the event
just to let people see what they were letting themselves in for. To see some action from the day, have a look at
our gallery.
It is quite steep in places and some part of the Cairngorm course are very fast indeed. A well made cartie will reach ~60mph in places (if the driver
has enough bottle), so you need to make sure it's soundly constructed and has good steering and brakes. Your fondly remembered childhood carties
made of old pram wheels, some planks, a bit of rope for steering and "Fed Flintstone" brakes just aren't going to cut it, I'm
afraid.
As well as the growing gravity racing scene in Scotland, there are plenty of races in England too. You can find links to other races and organisations
on the Scottish Cartie Association web site.
Hope that all useful to you. Let me know if there's anything else I can help with.
[Edited on 17/1/10 by scottishCarties]
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Scottish Cartie Association
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General Bilko
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| posted on 17/1/10 at 02:06 PM |
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A very well organised and supported event in the Cairngorms by the looks of your website - well done! Not only have you got some well heeled corporate
sponsors but have also got part finance from the Scottish Executive and the EU.
Any tips on how to get some money out of the Peoples Republic of Scotland (courtesy of English taxpayers) for my hobby would be most welcome 
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rusty nuts
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| posted on 17/1/10 at 02:33 PM |
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Never had Flintstone brakes on mine, come to think of it there wern't any brakes but thats because it's flat around here. Keep up the good
work
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richard thomas
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| posted on 17/1/10 at 07:36 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by scottishCarties
Hope you don't mind me dropping by. I noticed your interest in gravity racing and just wanted to say hello and thanks for the interest in
Cairngorm Soapbox Extreme, which is organised by the Scottish Cartie
Association.
Just to clarify/answer a couple of things that have already come up;
The road is completely closed for the race and there is no traffic apart from the gravity racers. We had a police presence there last year to help,
and marshalls along the length of the course. You've probably seen the "test run" video, which we did some months before the event
just to let people see what they were letting themselves in for. To see some action from the day, have a look at
our gallery.
It is quite steep in places and some part of the Cairngorm course are very fast indeed. A well made cartie will reach ~60mph in places (if the driver
has enough bottle), so you need to make sure it's soundly constructed and has good steering and brakes. Your fondly remembered childhood carties
made of old pram wheels, some planks, a bit of rope for steering and "Fed Flintstone" brakes just aren't going to cut it, I'm
afraid.
As well as the growing gravity racing scene in Scotland, there are plenty of races in England too. You can find links to other races and organisations
on the Scottish Cartie Association web site.
Hope that all useful to you. Let me know if there's anything else I can help with.
[Edited on 17/1/10 by scottishCarties]
Lovely stuff - I knew this site would come up trumps!!
Does that event get oversubscribed quickly?
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scottishCarties
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| posted on 17/1/10 at 08:35 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by General Bilko
A very well organised and supported event in the Cairngorms by the looks of your website - well done! Not only have you got some well heeled corporate
sponsors but have also got part finance from the Scottish Executive and the EU.
Any tips on how to get some money out of the Peoples Republic of Scotland (courtesy of English taxpayers) for my hobby would be most welcome
Thanks! Without wishing to seem flippant, the trick to getting funding is to apply for it. There are grants available for all sorts of things if you
pitch it right.
Cairngorm Soapbox wasn't oversubscribed last year, but it has a slightly higher profile now and entries are coming in all the time. There are
plenty of places left at the moment, but I don't expect that situation will last forever and we will have to close the entries at some point.
We're hoping for around 30 team this year.
[Edited on 17/1/10 by scottishCarties]
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Scottish Cartie Association
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Volvorsport
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| posted on 18/1/10 at 05:51 PM |
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in the regs , it says the carts have to be 100kg max - is this with or without the driver ?
ive already been looking at wheels and brakes today !!!
www.dbsmotorsport.co.uk
getting dirty under a bus
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scottishCarties
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| posted on 18/1/10 at 06:31 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Volvorsport
in the regs , it says the carts have to be 100kg max - is this with or without the driver ?
That's without the driver. There are no restrictions on the weight with the driver aboard, but the driver can't carry any extra ballast,
so no diving belts, suits of chain mail, etc.
[Edited on 18/1/10 by scottishCarties]
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Scottish Cartie Association
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Ninehigh
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| posted on 18/1/10 at 08:09 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by scottishCarties
quote:
Originally posted by Volvorsport
in the regs , it says the carts have to be 100kg max - is this with or without the driver ?
That's without the driver. There are no restrictions on the weight with the driver aboard, but the driver can't carry any extra ballast,
so no diving belts, suits of chain mail, etc.
[Edited on 18/1/10 by scottishCarties]
Was going to say if it's with driver I wouldn't be allowed roller skates!
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richard thomas
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| posted on 18/1/10 at 09:02 PM |
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Right then, couple of thoughts without trying to get too scientific about this....but I am sure that this forum is the best place to put me
straight!
Bicycle wheels with smooth tyres best? Would a standard mountain bike/similar type of wheel take the load generated whilst cornering without leaning
in to the corner as on a bike? Also would the standard spindles stand the sideways load....
Inertia wise, would it be best to get the lightest wheels possible to gain maximum acceleration from standstill? Or would the advantage come from
heavier wheels?
How long do we think standard wheel roller bearings would run without grease? I assume that a light oil will be necessary to overcome
'stiction'...
Waddya reckon?
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scottishCarties
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| posted on 22/1/10 at 10:25 AM |
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There's lots of fun to be had experimenting to find the answers to these perenial questions, and I don't want to spoil it for you by just
giving you all the answers, but here's a couple of pointers to avoid some of the more painful mistakes...
Standard 10mm spindles are not up to the job if they are stub mounted. You need to support them on both sides (i.e. mount them in forks). The minimum
spindle size for stub mounting is 14mm - quite a common size on BMX wheels.
Large diameter wheels tend to go pringle shaped quite quickly when subjected to typical cornering loads, and unless you want to spend £££ on very high
quality wheels you'd probably be better off sticking to 20" BMX wheels, or smaller. The other advantage of using BMX wheels is that you
can inflate the tyres to a much higher pressure - BMX tyres rated to 100+PSI are common, whereas MTB tyres are knobblier and lower pressure.
Lots more info' and link to other sites on http://scottishcarties.org.uk/resources/construction
Also - check out http://scottishcarties.org.uk/forum/theGreatWeightDebate
[Edited on 22/1/10 by scottishCarties]
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Scottish Cartie Association
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eddie99
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| posted on 22/1/10 at 10:38 AM |
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That looks like serious fun!
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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