Electromagnetic wheels - mechanical doping

[LookBackTime]

Electromagnetic wheels are the new frontier of mechanical doping, claims Gazzetta hello Sport



http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/electro ... llo-sport/

I am not convinced. But what do I know?

[LookBackTime]

One user (leikonic - many thanks!) made this comments one the Cycling News site:
"
Maybe not so far- fetched: Look up "switched reluctance" motor and "watt-hours for 12 V lithium battery" on google . The DC switched reluctance motor uses wound field coils and a magnetic material rotor with no electrical components (I think I see a "Steel" component inside the carbon rim -the "rotor"). The magnetic reluctance of the rotor drives it to align with the nearest stator pole and electronic switching circuit powers and depowers the poles in sequence to "pull" the rotor around. My quick search found a 1.3 pound 12V nominal battery pack that would provide 115 watt-hours or about 2 to 5 hours at 60 or 20 watts, ignoring losses. Lighter options would exist at reduced power output durations -but the battery weight could replace steel crank bottom bracket weights occasionally required to bring bikes up to the UCI minimum. Imagine coils offset in the seat and chain stays, and/or maybe a series in the in the seat tube. As everyone has devices in use that measure wheel speed and electronic shifting is the norm, the switching/control circuit would have inputs available to establish when to start and regulate the required field switching, with the potential of a feedback control/correction loop to reduce drag when coasting. This is just a quick conceptual "noodling" for your entertainment -I'll go back to my day job now.
"

[gruntguru]

The battery capacity limits how much extra energy you have available for the race, but even a small battery offers a huge benefit using regeneration to "flatten" the hills. Basically the rider can charge the battery when going downhill, braking or cruising at the back of the pack. The energy stored in the battery can then be used for the next climb or attack.

[PlatinumZealot]

I am too lazy to follow the link, can someone ELI5?

[langwadt]

The battery capacity limits how much extra energy you have available for the race, but even a small battery offers a huge benefit using regeneration to "flatten" the hills. Basically the rider can charge the battery when going downhill, braking or cruising at the back of the pack. The energy stored in the battery can then be used for the next climb or attack.

looking at the stats for tour de france, it seems even a long stage is roughly 3-4MJ at close 1MJ/kg for good lipo batteries
that's not much extra weight

but it is far too easy to detect to be of any use

[Cold Fussion]

At the cyclocross world championships a couple days ago one of the under 23 french riders got caught having a motor and gear system that sat inside seat tube, which coupled to the bottom bracket. Apparently they're good for around 200 watts, not sure about the battery capacity though.

[wuzak]

The battery capacity limits how much extra energy you have available for the race, but even a small battery offers a huge benefit using regeneration to "flatten" the hills. Basically the rider can charge the battery when going downhill, braking or cruising at the back of the pack. The energy stored in the battery can then be used for the next climb or attack.

looking at the stats for tour de france, it seems even a long stage is roughly 3-4MJ at close 1MJ/kg for good lipo batteries
that's not much extra weight

but it is far too easy to detect to be of any use

Why then do F1 cars have 4MJ batteries that weigh 20-25kg?

[langwadt]

The battery capacity limits how much extra energy you have available for the race, but even a small battery offers a huge benefit using regeneration to "flatten" the hills. Basically the rider can charge the battery when going downhill, braking or cruising at the back of the pack. The energy stored in the battery can then be used for the next climb or attack.

looking at the stats for tour de france, it seems even a long stage is roughly 3-4MJ at close 1MJ/kg for good lipo batteries
that's not much extra weight

but it is far too easy to detect to be of any use

Why then do F1 cars have 4MJ batteries that weigh 20-25kg?

they need massive charge and discharge rates

[Brian Coat]

When teams use (unmotorised) bicycles containing technology which only rich countries can afford, in international competition, is that Mechanical Doping?

[Cold Fussion]

When teams use (unmotorised) bicycles containing technology which only rich countries can afford, in international competition, is that Mechanical Doping?

Is this a philosophical question? Because so long as the bike is UCI legal and approved it doesn't matter.

[Pieoter]

Brian: The rules regarding what is allowed in UCI races is very strict. You can read a bit about it on http://www.uci.ch/mm/Document/News/Rule ... nglish.PDF

It is actually possible to go into a bike store and buy a bike that is more advanced than one used in the Tour De France.

[bill shoe]

Can't go into details unfortunately, but I heard that last year Honda actually did use electromagnetic wheels in Formula 1. However, McLaren installed the wheels backwards which simply slowed the car down to GP2 speeds on the straights.