I couldn't help laughing at this headline.
Mechanic builds record-breaking 50mph wheelbarrow
Dylan Phillips ... has just set a Guinness World Record for the fastest wheelbarrow after clocking speeds of 52mph (84km/h) during Straightliners Speed Week 2024 at Elvington Airfield in Yorkshire.
He built the motorised contraption in his shed in Crymych, Pembrokeshire, and, when push came to shovel, smashed the previous record of 46mph (74km/h).
The 38-year-old said it felt "fun and surreal".
There's more at the link.
Having observed several building sites where records might have been set for the world's slowest wheelbarrow (or wheelbarrow operator), this one definitely made me chortle. I wonder what builders' trades unions might have to say about that? And I wonder how tightly it can corner?
Peter
7 comments:
Now he has a fund of knowledge he can apply to his wheelchair.
Make an electric one. No problem about a 40+ Kw bike wheel-see aliexpress issue of course is some form of steering control.
Looking at the photo - the bit after the front wheel under then under the bin is that a gyroscope with I*omega^2 with omega=big
Regarding autonomous killing machines, 2 stories I recall, both published in the '60s (before the required tech was even remotely possible), seem appropriate to mention; I'm sure there are many more, given the subject:
"Gottlos" by Colin Kapp
"Watchbird" by Robert Sheckley
The warnings of SF anticipate reality yet again...😒🤢🤢
Put some wings on it and it would easily be one of the first flying wheelbarrows.
Richie, that's the risk that comes with--well, risks, sometimes. I have a leg full of steel from a bike wreck, & that knee doesn't work; I spent quite a bit of time in wheelchairs, & still have to from time to time.
Of course, I now have 3 more bikes than I owned at the time of the wreck. I'm still going.
--Tennessee Budd
haven't you heard the expression "Shop fast while the shops last"? He can do his shopping and get home in no time flat in that contraption. >};o)
Phil B
"Fastest Wheelbarrow"???
That's either Not So, or Not So For Long.
Allow me to introduce anyone unfamiliar with genius-level lifework of Colin Furze:
https://www.youtube.com/@colinfurze
52MPH??
Feh.
He got his jet bicycle up to 50MPH before he melted the tires.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKHz7wOjb9w
He got a baby stroller up to 53MPH.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba24BJ7eS6I
A jet-powered go-cart that hit 60mph.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsXWspo5hrc
He got a mobility scooter up to 71MPH.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqdDjzIjTlE
I'm betting he could crush that "world record" in a couple of hours of tinkering, on a Saturday.
He should either be in a mental hospital, or have his own weekly cable show, with a budget close to unlimited.
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