Thinking about hosting a race event.

[bigmoose]

...IMO, greater interest for these events could be generated by:
Novelty activities (competitive and non-competitive): demonstrations/exhibitions, raffles, kid-stuff, giveaways, swapmeets, fire/explosions...

Too bad the name Burning Man has already been snagged... brings to mind that video of our dynamic duo...and a fire "extinguisher..."

 

[Miles]

Start viewing at 3:35


[youtube]jdlpJqHxLxk[/youtube]

 

[John in CR]

John: you'll need about 50mph to be competitive & considering few cart tracks have a straight longer than 800'.

Thx Thud,

50 in 800ft with a 20mph start is a piece of cake with 250lb me aboard, a single hubbie, and a 125lb cargo bike (incl about 40lb of batts, so one of those in front and a bigger hubbie in back makes conservative tuning to ensure durability a piece of cake.

The 70lb before batts makes fat me want to give it a go as the pilot, but I won't be able to resist the power to weight ratio increase of a much lighter rider to give hubbies the showing they deserve before rules exclude them. Plus I have the advantage of having an easily accessible track an easy ebike ride from my house, so I can prove the bike first under much more difficult real world conditions. ie If it can handle the repeated accel/decel of a cart track with me aboard, then it will laugh at a carrying a much lighter rider.

Luke, thx for the liberal rules this go round. You may have given me the short term window that I can't resist showing up for in person. I'm not a racing guy at all...eg I've never really even given my bike a go at top speed...but I feel that power hubbies really haven't been properly represented. Over-volting a commuter just ain't gonna cut it for racing as Dogman has proven, and you've proven that just going for max power is certain failure, but I feel there's a very large open plane in between that would have certainly won the DR and at least made a podium finish in this last race. The most durable, trouble-free, and easy to implement ebike drive systems should command a lot more respect, since just 10-15lbs weight difference certainly isn't a deal breaker at this stage of the sport.

 

[liveforphysics]

As far as a fun activity, after work today or the next day, we are going to the middle of the nowhere, flying a friend huge and very fast RC glider that he no longer likes, and everyone is bringing pistols to try to shoot it down on the wing, while he tries to fly an evasive pattern. I'm bringing my glock .45cal and my .22cal pistols and about 100rounds for the glock and 1000rounds for the .22cal.

These are just normal days for myself and my buddies.

 

[auraslip]

To be even MORE fair - all riders should have to race the same number of races. You can talk up non-frock motors all you want, but lets see who holds their smoke after five hard and fast races
With all the failures at the ttgxp it seems electric vehicle racing is almost a game of endurance at this point anyways...

 

[fizzit]

As far as a fun activity, after work today or the next day, we are going to the middle of the nowhere, flying a friend huge and very fast RC glider that he no longer likes, and everyone is bringing pistols to try to shoot it down on the wing, while he tries to fly an evasive pattern. I'm bringing my glock .45cal and my .22cal pistols and about 100rounds for the glock and 1000rounds for the .22cal.

These are just normal days for myself and my buddies.

Are you saying we should have a bike/rider that we dislike perform evasive maneuvers on the track while we fire paintballs/bbs at him?

 

[dumbluck]

I shoot at people as often as I can Especially my son we love to play airsoft. There's nothing like lighting up one of your friends when they don't see it coming.

I would bring the 12ga for the glider maybe wait until everyone has had there fun then get the job done.

 

[liveforphysics]

I would bring the 12ga for the glider maybe wait until everyone has had there fun then get the job done.

We made a self-imposed no shotgun rule, and instead everybody is bringing at least 10lbs of ammo. We play games where we throw can's up for each other, and occasionally (maybe 1 in 4) hit them. I think with 4 guys each with 2 pistols shooting wildly at the plane that it will go down pretty fast. The problem is, it has a super fast brushless motor in it and does like 80mph, so it might take some clever leading of shots to nail it properly. lol

 

[TylerDurden]

Maybe Axel can make it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bF3Ogv50JM&feature=player_detailpage#t=47s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHkmX6oo4o8&feature=player_detailpage#t=60s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rY2VDB4Gw4

 

[jonathanm]

Lots of great ideas here! I have a couple of things to add....

Don't hold the race in the middle of the desert...try to find somewhere a little bit cooler....

Make sure there is plenty of opportunities for some good scraps between lower powered bikes - only a very small percentage of ebikers have the time and resources to commit to going all out in an open category...sure, this is the race everyone's going be watching - the headlining act - but if you can work out a format that lets people race their lower powered stuff too, and still be competitive, then I think you will get a lot more people come along....maybe categories for voltage, or bike style, or whatever - i dunno. But if someone can come along and run what they brung, and still win a race, with plenty of time afterwards to kick back and watch the big boys go at it.....sounds like a blast to me.

LFP - I love your offer to fund it all yourself, and I can understand why.....it's your money and do with it as you see fit. But if you want to be generous, I think there are some clever-er ways to do it. Nobody would have a problem with contributing....I probably couldn't come out there, but hell, I would throw some dollars into this...this extra money could be used to do some really cool stuff, like funding airfare for some UK/European/Aussie entrants for example. Or money could go into an R&D fund for the ultimate racing ebike....if a bit of cash plus the resources on this forum could be used to develop a few bikes that consistently and reliably wiped the floor at gas bike races, we would see people turning to ebikes by the thousand....that would be extremely cool.

Also research and choose your date extremely thoroughly. I say this as someone who has some experience promoting hundreds of events myself....no date is gonna be right for everyone, but do everything you can to make sure its the right date for as many people as possible. I have seen many events failbecause the promoter didnt realise there was something else on that weekend....

J

 

[dumbluck]

[youtube]QS31Gm9tIig[/youtube]

perhaps this would be the right answer then. Just your kind of overkill to self imposed limits

 

[Thud]

So we now have the ground work for a motorised Biatholon?

I can handle that LOL

 

[dumbluck]

power sports and guns count me in.

 

[dumbluck]

So we now have the ground work for a motorised Biatholon?

I can handle that LOL

my wife was on the us biathlon team can we make this a team sport

 

[TylerDurden]

These are just normal days for myself and my buddies.

 

[Cold-E-Commuter]

I would be in for damn sure. And if an entry fee were not a part of it than you should think of what to do with all of the "donations".

 

[REdiculous]

not over 70lbs (-fuel weight for gassers, -battery weight for electrics).

Such a high weight limit seems pretty pointless. You want good power:weight so naturally you're going to run as light as possible anyway. It's not like you're gonna show up with a 200lb bike and sink into the asphalt.

My bike+trailer is right around 70lbs and that's with about 26lbs of lead and a 9lb motor. :lol:

 

[amberwolf]

It's not like you're gonna show up with a 200lb bike and sink into the asphalt.

Oh, I dunno about that.

 

[liveforphysics]

not over 70lbs (-fuel weight for gassers, -battery weight for electrics).

Such a high weight limit seems pretty pointless. You want good power:weight so naturally you're going to run as light as possible anyway. It's not like you're gonna show up with a 200lb bike and sink into the asphalt.

My bike+trailer is right around 70lbs and that's with about 26lbs of lead and a 9lb motor. :lol:

YouTube "supermotard race"

I would put working pedals on one. This is why we need a weight limit.

 

[dogman dan]

Got that right. I could see an eventual two weight classes, maybe one at 50 pounds and another at 100? Far in the future though...

Got any date in mind? like pin it down to a season? Or a location? Does Vegas have a kart track? It's about the same travel distance for the So cal bunch and the Phoenix riders.

I found indoor tracks in Vegas, with lots of scary looking roof support poles. This place is close to Vegas. Pricy$$$$$ http://www.springmountainmotorsports.com/contact-us

 

[REdiculous]

YouTube "supermotard race"

I would put working pedals on one. This is why we need a weight limit.

I thought that was part of the reason you said riders would have to pedal a lap within a certain amount of time...it would discourage and disqualify really heavy bikes.

Sounds like you'll have fun with it, anyway.