I got the idea, that when I have a bicycle, with rear-suspension, I just might make some use of this (or rather of the fact, that the spring is moving, when getting compressed, and decompressed).
Having gotten the idea, of making some fun of this, the idea to apply my vacuum pump to the suspension, making it 'pump' while driving, was not far away - and as it usually is with me - there were not far from the idea, to the actual project.
As you can see from the picture, the hinge, connecting the rear-wheel suspension to the 'main-frame' of the bicycle, is located just behind the crank axle bracket.
The spring, intended to give a more smooth ride, is located a little higher, than the crank axle bracket .
Finally I've mounted the vacuum pump (using plastic strips), from the rear of my luggage carrier, to the 'main frame' of the bicycle, just below the saddle post.
The (obvious) point is, that when I drive over either a bump or a hole, the piston-action of the pump will inevitably create vacuum.
The reason why I have mounted the pump, as far up, from the hinge, as I could possibly get, is thar the further you move away from the centre of a circle, the bigger the movement, for a given alternation (in degrees).
As you can see from the above graphic, where I have placed a 'measure' at the height of the spring, and (the same) 'measure' at the height of the pump, I get twice the action, at pump-height, compared to 'spring height'.
This means, that if the spring is compressed ¼", the piston, inside the pump, will be moving ½".
The details of the pump can be found here.
The "Suction Tube" attached to the saddle, is also an old invention of mine, which you'll find the details about, here.
The point in combining the pump and the display tube here, is, that whenever the pump is compressed, some air will pass the valve inside the pump.
When the pump then is uncompressed, air will be drawn into the pump, through the valve, at the tip of the pump.
This will then have the effect, that air is pulled into the tube, from the display-tube, attached to the saddle - and as the air (because of the valves) only can flow in ONE direction, the result will be, that the vacuum in the display tube will increase.
Here I've cut two pictures into one, something like a "before-and-after", with the result of the videoed ride displayed, with the "before" at the left side of the picture, and the "after" at the right side of the white line.
You'll find the video, if you click the image here:
Having gotten the idea, of making some fun of this, the idea to apply my vacuum pump to the suspension, making it 'pump' while driving, was not far away - and as it usually is with me - there were not far from the idea, to the actual project.
As you can see from the picture, the hinge, connecting the rear-wheel suspension to the 'main-frame' of the bicycle, is located just behind the crank axle bracket.
The spring, intended to give a more smooth ride, is located a little higher, than the crank axle bracket .
Finally I've mounted the vacuum pump (using plastic strips), from the rear of my luggage carrier, to the 'main frame' of the bicycle, just below the saddle post.
The (obvious) point is, that when I drive over either a bump or a hole, the piston-action of the pump will inevitably create vacuum.
The reason why I have mounted the pump, as far up, from the hinge, as I could possibly get, is thar the further you move away from the centre of a circle, the bigger the movement, for a given alternation (in degrees).
As you can see from the above graphic, where I have placed a 'measure' at the height of the spring, and (the same) 'measure' at the height of the pump, I get twice the action, at pump-height, compared to 'spring height'.
This means, that if the spring is compressed ¼", the piston, inside the pump, will be moving ½".
The details of the pump can be found here.
The "Suction Tube" attached to the saddle, is also an old invention of mine, which you'll find the details about, here.
The point in combining the pump and the display tube here, is, that whenever the pump is compressed, some air will pass the valve inside the pump.
When the pump then is uncompressed, air will be drawn into the pump, through the valve, at the tip of the pump.
This will then have the effect, that air is pulled into the tube, from the display-tube, attached to the saddle - and as the air (because of the valves) only can flow in ONE direction, the result will be, that the vacuum in the display tube will increase.
Here I've cut two pictures into one, something like a "before-and-after", with the result of the videoed ride displayed, with the "before" at the left side of the picture, and the "after" at the right side of the white line.
You'll find the video, if you click the image here: