BY-09 : Forward Thinking

Development of 'BY-09' began in the later stages of 2008. 
Soon after last year’s event at Murray Bridge, it was decided that the team would enter a 2009 team with the plan to completely re-design the entire vehicle. Original development was centered on the radical new drive system that would be required to lower the seat as close as possible to the ground.

Forward thinking :: Front Wheel Drive System

Amazingly, plans were put in place to develop a system that would put the lowest part of the seat within 50mm of the ground and still maintain high efficiency. The radical thinking required us to design a system that would drive the front wheels, such systems had been developed by teams before with limited success such as Flora Hill's 'N4Sir' in 1999 and Bendigo Senior's 'Moby Diff' in 1998. Our prototype is pictured here.

Obviously such a system would require almost every part to be constructed in-house, including

• hubs,
• swivel hubs,
• drive shafts,
• brakes,
• universal joints, and
• a central drive mechanism that would divide the power from the chain and deliver it to the two front wheels.

Easy, really!

An enormous amount of time and effort was dedicated to this task by Cal and we were able to get a prototype up and running around 13 weeks ago. (Cal is pictured early in our campaign working on the gig) Unfortunately the drive system suffered some technical problems that were considered too difficult to solve within the time frame that remained.



So,  rear wheel it is!
In the end, the backup plan was deployed: The same canopy, but a slightly higher centre of gravity with rear wheel drive, front wheel steer.

BY-09 – Piece by Piece:

The final vehicle features a full composite frame and seat, as well as composite steering components.

The driveline has a multi point roller setup as well as custom built, narrow-spec front wheel hubs, based around a Sturmy Archer setup.

The drive is delivered through ‘SRAM Red’ Cranks and Derailleur with a ‘double tap ‘ flat bar road bike shifter. Although it uses 10 Speed equipment, the cassette only has 6 cogs, this is to provide space for the fully enclosed rear wheel guard and because so many gears are unnecessary.

Anti-Fog Solution

The vehicle has been tested over the past 6 weeks with significant time dedicated towards the development of anti fogging systems. The final design introduces fresh air as well as removing used air with the use of a series of vent’s and high flow fans. Under testing situations, the screen was able to remain un-fogged through conditions that dropped below freezing and in steady rain. In both circumstances the rider clocked over an hour in the vehicle at race pace.

Daryl's final thoughts on BY-09 as a package

From BYR Inc 2009 Campaign

In the end, the resulting vehicle will have hopefully come a long way towards solving some of the many problems that have affected BYR in the past.

Many thanks must go to all the members of the team for producing what I see as an incredible vehicle.

Thanks must also go to our fantastic sponsors who have also helped out with the construction of the vehicle by supplying materials and parts.

See you all in a few days time

- Daryl King

Technical Director

Bendigo Youth Racing Inc

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Changing shapes from BY-08 to BY-09

Two weeks ago, we unveiled our latest vehicle ‘BY-09’ for the upcoming 2009 Australian International Pedal Prix (AIPP). It’s been our most popular blog post yet. Whilst we’ve worked on all areas of the vehicle, the most visible change is to the vehicle’s aerodynamics. This new shape has come about through some fresh thinking with the aim of reducing the overall width, height and length.

Here’s some insight into our canopy development process…

Looking back before moving forward

Early concepts began towards the end of 2008, when as a team we reflected on the performance of ‘BY-08’ during the 2008 AIPP. The main conclusions pointed towards three areas:

• the need for a reduction in width, so that the vehicle would be more maneuverable through traffic.
  
  
• Improved visibility was another key objective, so that riders could see hazards in all conditions.
  
  
• The third and perhaps the biggest weakness was the strength of the canopy. In the past BYR has suffered from having an incredibly fast aerodynamic vehicle at the start, but little more than a sack of Kevlar and race tape come Sunday morning! 

How do you reduce a vehicle’s width and know it won’t tip over?

The first aim was to design a vehicle that could be a considerable amount narrower and still offer satisfactory level of stability around the bends.

From here we constructed a number of prototype frames before we were satisfied with the performance in terms of stability and drive system efficiency. From the final prototype, that I will talk more about in the coming weeks, we were able to determine the exact clearances and sizes required both to meet the event regulations and the ergonomics of each rider. At this point we worked closely with Bendigo South East College (BSE – formerly known as Flora Hill Secondary College) to ensure that the canopy would work for both teams. The school’s prototype chassis was more advanced earlier in the year and so it used to determine the canopy specifications.

A New Shape (but with some elements of old)

The shape is quite different from our BY-08 shape, but features some traditional BYR characteristics:

• The tail is pointy much like all previous designs however the keen observer may have noticed the absence of the integrated rear wheel pod.
• The profile, when viewed from the front or behind, follows the trend of tucking in over the top of the wheels, however the tuck is much more gradual compared to previous designs.
• The front of the vehicle is much more abrupt, this is to keep the vehicle to a length of 2700mm and maintain a crank length of 175mm.
• You will also notice that the windscreen is a lot further forward and is constructed from a curved piece of plastic, this has also helped to alleviate the fogging problem that has plagued BYR like a sick dog for a number of years.
• The roof is also lot flatter, enabling the rider just enough room to pedal and corner. The need for an arc or a parabolic type profile from the front is not necessary as it creates a large amount of excess frontal area.
• The other key difference is an elongated access door. This door is almost twice the size of previous designs and improves the serviceability of the internal workings.

 From CAD to polystyrene foam…

The design was completed on CAD using a series of lofts, the design itself took many hours to complete and was certainly a challenging task for resident CAD man Crowey. Once completed the design was sent to a Melbourne firm to machine the profile out of a large block of polystyrene foam. Astoundingly in only three days, over the Easter weekend, the plug was machined and ready for pick up. This was a little more efficient than the three months that it had taken with the 03, 04 and 06 plugs and the cost was quite reasonable too!

… and from plug to mould
Once the plug returned home the task was to give it a light sand to remove any blemishes then seal the plug in a coat of Epoxy resin before a coat of build primer was added. This was promptly rubbed back waxed up and a PVA release agent applied. The plug was then shipped to BSE were the students constructed the mould, released it, rubbed back any blemishes and waxed it up. This process from the completion of the design took only two weeks.

First Canopy

The first canopy was produced by students at BSE. This enabled them to effectively prototype our canopy as well as enable the students to complete their vehicle a little earlier. From the school’s design, we opted to make a number of small changes to increase the strength of the vehicle but generally the two canopies are very similar. This project has been a great way to develop skills and connections between BSE and BYR.

The finished product:
a Canopy of Carbon, Kevlar and Foam Core

The final design of the BYR canopy features a layer of carbon fiber as well as Kevlar and a polyurethane foam core. The critical areas towards the front, around the wheel and the roll bars all feature a foam sandwich construction with both carbon and Kevlar on either side of the foam. In the les critical areas foam ribs have been used with a single layer of Kevlar. Throughout the canopy west system epoxy resin has been used and the whole project has been vacuum bagged, reducing the resin content and forcing all the little fibers together.

Daryl’s final thoughts

"Overall I think the profile is reasonable as always if it was to be done again things would be done differently. The size is interesting I would think that the height of the vehicle would not be a lot more that other teams perhaps it is slightly wider than other vehicles but not by a significant amount." - Daryl King, BYR Chief Engineer

BY-09 Canopy Specifications:

Length	2700mm
Width	770mm
Height (floor to roof)	740mm
Height (ground to external roll bar)	930mm
Ground clearance	40mm
Materials	Carbon, kevlar, epoxy, polyurethane foam
Weight	6.8kg

Feel free to compare the table above and post a comparison with your vehicle’s canopy.

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How do you pick a team?

In Human Powered Vehicle racing, you only have 8 riding positions.
So how do you choose the riders from 10 fit, experienced and committed guys?

Our 2008 Australian International Pedal Prix Team. Pic from Pics08 Gallery

It's just not cricket...
It's not like footy or cricket where you can miss a week or a test and be back in the team for the next game.
We only race once or twice a year at best and we spend up to 10 months building our vehicles from scratch too. There's too much riding on it to sit one out. (pun intended)

We're not in the pro-peloton
It's not like a pro cycling squad either, who can pick their teams for the Classics, Tours or One-Day races based on riders strengths and race styles.
We are all HPV racers.

History Repeating?
In the past for Bendigo Youth Racing, we've rarely had an issue of too many riders.
In fact, Wonthaggi in '07 is the only time that we can recall where one rider elected to sit out.
In most cases our teams have come together in the final few weeks when the top 8 has become kinda obvious.
At other races, we have taken members to ride who were underdone fitness-wise because we simply didn't have a fully fit eight.

With 6 weeks to go, we've got 10 - 11 guys pushing for selection:
(in alphabetical order)
- Adam 'Gavin' King
- Cal Ridge
- Daryl 'Daz' King
- Dave Maud
- Deven Pearce
- Nige Preston
- Jarrod 'Chooka' Henderson)
- Troy Hutchins
- Charles (Mark Anson)
- Matt Anson

Here's some selection models we're looking at:

• What do you think is the best method?
• What experience have you had with your teams?

1. Team Poll
   Each team member nominates their top 8 riders - either rated 1-8 or simply 8 names on a slip. The votes are tallied and the results announced. Daz suggests that people need to be "honest and ‘think of the victory" when selecting their preferred rider line-up. They should choose "the 8 quickest riders who will bring the vehicle home safely."
   
   
2. Selectors Panel
   Similar to Cricket Australia I suppose, where a group of senior team members, ex-riders and neutral team friends choose the 8. "It's tough to do this way because you are choosing between friends and we're all deeply committed mates who have put in loads of work. It could be very personally scaring."
   
   
3. Ride-Off
   Either in a vehicle, on a road bike or on a wind-trainer, each rider is subjected to individual tests. Best 8 times get the places.
   "I don't really want to have one hour time trials in the race vehicle, because it will just end up on it's lid." BYR President Jarrod Henderson explained.
   
4. Self-Select
   We could simply wait until the final few weeks of our lead-up and those who are illness and injury free would either 'self-select' or 'self-omit'.

So, there's a few models we could use to pick our team.

• What do you think is the best method?
• What experience have you had with your teams?

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Daryl King

1) Age?
24 (I think)


2) Where do you live?
Axedale (winner of tidy town 1972)


3) What is your job and where do you work?
Technology Teacher at Bendigo South East College (Flora Hill)


4) Number of 24hr Races?
7 raced, 13 as manager or pit crew

5) As a HPV teacher at Bendigo South East Secondary (Formerly Flora Hill) your job is partially based around teaching Students how to design and construct a HPV and race it at all the major races. What is it that you enjoy most about your job?
It's great to work with young people who are incredibly enthusiastic about designing and constructing HPV’s. I get a real buzz out of seeing there ideas come into reality and knowing that they have achieved them of there own accord. It is also fantastic to see that they can be so successful in vehicles that they have produced against some opponents who rely heavily on teachers and parents to design and construct there vehicles.

6) As Technical director of BYR since the team was formed in 2003 you have designed and built some very quick vehicles. What is your best memory/moment from a HPV race?
Would have to be the finish of the 03 AIPP. To win on debut by only 10 seconds was remarkable and I don’t think that we will see that again.

7) As a member of the team since 2003 what is it that motivates you to come back to BYR year after year?
It’s just a fantastic engineering challenge. To work with like minded people who have common aims is a real motivator.

8) What is the Hardest part about BYR?
I think the hard yards, the long nights building the vehicles, the hard days out training and also coordinating people from across the state.

9) And Finally BYR don't promote crashes but they are an unavoidable part of our sport. What is the most spectacular crash you have been involved in or seen?
Would probably have to say that the most interesting crash that I have been involved in was at Wonthaggi in 06. The vehicle was BY-04 and I got in during the heaviest rain I have ever seen at a race. I got through the first hour without any dramas but into my second I came down the hill through the twisty section and round the corner I was greeted by around half a dozen vehicles that were mostly upside down and I joined them. By the time I was put up the right way I was facing up the track and noticed that at least a dozen other vehicles had also joined me on my ceiling.
Top Stuff!!

Stay tuned for more team profiles as we continue our long journey to Murray Bridge.

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Training Ride: Daryl's Loop

This Training Ride, unofficially called Daryl's Loop is a great 40km hit out around Bendigo which includes a number of hills to test the legs and the option of a few sprint points if your crew is feeling frisky.

Despite it's length it is challenging to get a 30 km/h average on this course as the terrain is constantly up and down.


View Larger Map

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A story of a Training Ride: January 2, 2008

As we (Big Deano, Daryl, Deven, Cal, Mark Anson and Nige) rode our first group ride for 2009 today, we enjoyed some warm hit 20' degrees temperatures and a chance to catch up on all of the happenings over Christmas and the New Years.




Apart from the sprint point near the Emu Creek Tennis Centre, a highlight was Daryl breaking a spoke clean out of his rear wheel. Cal was volunteered to return back to Maccas to pick up Daryl's car and head back to pick him up. Nigel also scored a slow leak in his rear tyre, so not particularly good omens for the start of '09.

• Check out Daryl's Loop here on Google Maps
• Check out more training rides
  

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BYR help out at the RACV Energy Breakthrough

A whole host of Bendigo Youth Racing guys will be rolling up our sleeves and giving some back at the RACV Energy Breakthrough later this month in Maryborough, Vic.


We all cut our HPV racing teeth at the 'Breakthrough and feel as though we are now in positions to 'give something back' to the sport that has given us so much. (yup, that's pretty cliche, but I think that's how it is.)

Daryl King, is Team Manager / Co-Head Honcho now at Flora Hill SC, and will be inspiring a whole crew of young people on the journey.

Rowan will be helping out with the Try-athlon, Anson will be helping out with some judging and many others will be in support roles with a range of teams or being extra hands.

Me - well - I pretty much work on the 'Breakthrough all year round, putting in between 8 - 15 hrs a week. I do it because I love it and it's this time of the year when everyone starts getting excited about the 'great race'.

It's really different from the AIPP, it's the vibe, the school spirit, the team morale - it's a festival atmosphere that gives everyone HPV racer - BYR and beyond - a rush!

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Old Bearded Mate wins pursuit race!

Bendigo Youth Racing's.....uhhh....hmmm- "Old Bearded Mate", has won the 1st Annual Cartridge World Bendigo HPV Pursuit Race. The event was a support race for the Bendigo International Madison, a world renowned event that features elite cyclists from around the globe.
With rego, scruteneering and rider briefings out of the way, the event finally started, but not before BY-06's..... uhhh......Old bearded mate's RH wheel was replaced due to several broken spokes- a remenant of the previous weekend.
10 qualifying rounds were held from 1130am, featuring 4 HPVs per round. The 4 fastest runs from each class would then make it to the final later in the day.
The field was quite large and of a high quality. BSSC had an off day, with none of their runs fast enough to make the finals. Instead these positions were taken by the Weeroona faired vehicles in the field- The above mentioned were very much in their comfort zone: the sleek shape which lacked the frontal area of the other Bendigo trikes excelled on the smooth, broad cornered velodrome. So much so that each class final was dominated by them!
BY-06 and BY-03 qualified easily for the community class. The Old bearded mate had 2 runs with Cal Ridge and Mark Anson at the wheel, whilst BY-03 had 1 run courtesy of Daryl King. Cal and Daryl qualified for the final.

The community final was a no-brainer for most. Cal the miracle child wasn't known for being slow, and neither was the vehicle he was piloting. The other no brainer was that Daryl loves a good pie, and thus wasn't in contention for the win. Sorry mate.

The final went like clockwork, with Cal easily accounting for the Ziptar vehicle and the Silver Bullet. Daryl finished 4th in BY-03.

Thanx to Cartridge World there were cash prizes on offer. Cal recieved $100 for his win and was quite estatic....until everyone realised he was still owing money from the Wonthaggi campaign. Cal was promptly rushed by the team.

Bendigo Youth Racing played other roles on the day. Several team members volunteered as race marshals, whilst others lended their legs to BSSC's vehicles for their runs in the community and secondary sections.
Bendigo Youth Racing would like to thank the organisers and Cartridge World for organising the event. It was run in a very professional, sorted manner and reflected the sport of Human Powered Vehicles in a very positive light. It was a fine day had by all!

The competitors line up for presentations

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