Piers Prendergast, a 2009 graduate of Transport Design at Coventry University, sent me these images of his final year project. It’s a fuel cell motorcycle concept with hubless wheels which are kind of unique:
The hubless wheels work though a fixed inner rim and a rotating outer rim that spins on internal bearings. The concept doesn’t technically have any motors; the rear wheel is a sort of exploded brush less motor. The rim mount (where the swingarm is attached to the inner wheel) houses an electromagnet which when magnetised with a current spins the magnet track which is mounted on the inside of the outer rim. This makes the outer rim spin on its internal bearings. The rear wheel is in fact a giant bearing with the tyre fitted to the outer rim. The electromagnet makes the outer rim spin while the centre remains fixed. This gives the appearance of a floating wheel. The electromagnet also helps recover a small amount of electricity through regenerative braking.
Compressed hydrogen cylinders are in the usual fuel tank position to supply a 5kW fuel cell having a range of around 150 miles. Piers anticipates performance would be comparable to a 125cc/250cc sports bike.
Obviously, these computer images are far from a real bike at the moment but I think the hubless wheels that act as the motor are interesting. With all of the TTXGP interest from recent weeks, this could be a possible direction for future developments, or for any electric motorcycle, for that matter.
The fuel cell idea might help with extending range, though fuel cells seem to be always on the verge, never actually getting here. Maybe one day they will but government support of the idea seems to be slowing and without it, they may never be competitive.
Piers has some nice ideas and dressed up in Kawasaki colors, it looks pretty cool.
pabs says
great work ! congrats
the hubless wheel is a non starter for efficency but the rest is very nice indeed and for the concept the hubless does look awesome
for those interested its a friction, heat and efficiency thing, a bearing a the middle rotates much slower than multple bearing at the outer edges, the multiple bearing x spinning a bazillian times faster (technical term) = not good
curious as to the modelling program is it SW ?
kneeslider says
pabs, isn’t “bazillion times” a universal constant?
Bob in FL says
All those spinning magnets sound like a super doper nail finder to me 🙂
laurent says
Yeah, great, and it might even work if we get rid of gravity.
Tin Man 2 says
The Idea that Fuel Cells may never reach the competitive stage without Government Subsidies is true. Petroleum Energy works so well that No alturnative source can compete, That is why it needs to be subsidised. Green power/Political corectness is forcing us to subsidise these pie in the sky ideas, When they make no sense economicaly. Drill Baby Drill!!!
Benjamin says
Why hasn’t anyone invented electromagnetic ‘frictionless’ bearings yet? Seems to my limited engineering/physics knowledge that if you used a system similar to maglev trains (or permanent opposing magnets of suitable strength) you could force the outer rim away from the inner. Hey presto no mechanical bearings!
smithmotorwheel says
This design looks like it could spawn a two-wheel drive version.
I love seeing the concepts on the Kneeslider website. Although I always feel sorry for the creators when their design needs, or at least appears to need, an invention to come to life and the ‘why it won’t work’ comments start pouring in. No offense to anyone, there are always problems to be solved and they have to be identified. But, isn’t that the fun part of designing/engineering?
It is for me.
I wonder if the Wright brothers were avoiding that type of criticism by developing their flying machine in secret.
rafe03 says
The wheel drive is sort of like a linear motor bent around in a circle. Proven technology + clever application = WOW! I wonder if these wheels could be fitted onto any of the TTXGP contenders?
As regards the friction etc of a hubless wheel, back in the 60’s we had air bearings that worked at high &/or low speed to the point where we had to fit “retarders” (brakes) to prevent overspeed problems. Again, simple proven appropriate technology; the best kind!
I like the idea of 2 wheel drive. Yamaha/Olins seem to have backed off on hydraulic FWD but they did prove the benefits of an AWD motorcycles on the Dakar a couple of years ago
New Ideas + Established Practice = Negative Reaction (98.4%) + Bright Light Comes On (14.05%) + How can I Make Bucks From His Idea Before He Can Get It To Market (Bazillian %)!! I think the Brothers had it Wright!
Stephen Williams says
If it would work it would make a two wheel drive bike practical, I wonder if it would be better than rear wheel only. Anyone remember the US DOT taxpayer experiments with rear wheel steering bikes?
Kenny says
Benjamin,
They already have magnetic bearings, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_bearing , they’re a pretty cool piece of kit, originaly designed for high speed centifuges meant for uranium enrichment as far as I understand it, but from what I gather they’re use is resticted to a stationary bearing, usually in a vacum.
But I can’t really see how this is a huge problem, and with enough development I could easily see this becoming a reality.
Hello, note to self, thesis idea, frictionless hubless awesome looking wheels like in those japanese cartroons.
David says
We are far closer to workable fuel cells than the quantum leap that is needed for batteries to ever be viable IMO. The trouble is and will remain trying to match the incredible amount of energy available in one gallon of gasoline. I think we are on the cusp of incredible advances in new materials and manufacturing that would make the rest of this machine possible with a reasonable curb price. I am still an advocate of attempting to capture the huge amount of energy wasted in that gallon of gas. If these brilliant young minds were allowed to follow that train of thought instead of being censored for not being “green” we would find very little carbon footprint from a 75 to 80% efficient ICE engine using new designs and materials
Tin Man 2 says
David, You Sir are correct!! The IC engine is far from dead, and for good reason.
Wave says
I like the look of this, but I would like it much better without the cylinders of compressed hydrogen at awesome pressure wedged between the rider’s legs! Manufacturing defects do happen, and at the ludicrous pressure that this would need to get good fuel range, one’s ability to produce offspring could be severely compromised.
I have to say though, I never understand how a nice looking drawing constitutes a final-year uni design project. It seems to be completely unrideable, especially regarding the hand-grip position.
Wave says
Also David, I’m pretty sure that an 80% efficient ICE is thermodynamically impossible, but that’s not really on topic. A small, light bike with a small electronically-injected diesel engine would return ludicrous milage using currently available technology, but it probably wouldn’t sell. I see no reason why 100mpg shouldn’t be commonplace in motorcycles. In fact, the biggest thing holding them back is probably aerodynamics, but making bikes aerodynamic kind of requires wild full-faired recumbent designs, which aren’t exactly practical.
nobody says
“Anyone remember the US DOT taxpayer experiments with rear wheel steering bikes?”
YES:
http://www.motorcycleproject.com/motorcycle/text/claybrk.html
There has to be more out there on this one……..
Alex says
Unfortunately hubless wheels are for designers only, but not for engineers…
David says
Wave I am sure we can never approach those percentages with a 200 year old design and materials and 4 stroke or 2 stroke ideas. Gale banks as an example is getting tremendous horsepower to BTU efficiency with old technology for the most part. What if we develop High temp, high strength materials that have low friction coefficients ,extreme pressure fuel delivery into high compression combustion chambers at near plasma temps, solid state cooling systems that capture heat loss for electrical generation. And its all powered with one of the safest BTU packed fuels we have, diesel. I am just thinking out loud. I know just enough to see certain research directions I would investigate but I am far outside those loops and way behind the bell curve on the latest unobtainium. In 40 years I have seen a lot of what was thought to be unobtainium become common place. I just think we are closer to super tech fossil fuel use as a society than the technologies that are in infancy now.
carboncanyon says
I agree with Alex. Hubless wheels are silly… Not new, not unique (on concept bikes). I saw a chopper with a hubless rear wheel.
Get rid of the hubless wheels. They look cool but function sucks. They’re heavy (LOTS of unsprung weight) and give no performance benefit.
putra says
i agree with you alex but with chain or belt or shaft drive?
Kenny says
I dissagree. If engineers don’t design this then we’ll never get to know the possibilities. Everyone complains that superbikes all look the same, when BMW released the pics of the S1000R is a case in point. But when someone tries something different from the trend people jump up and shout “That ain’t gonna work and even if it does ‘this’ works perfectly well as it is”.
Personnally I’d relish the challenge of getting hubless wheels and the (frame centre steering?) to work just as well as, if not better than a conventional telescopic front end.
And carboncanyon, they would make the aerodynamics of the system a lot simpler without 2 great big tubes sitting above the wheel
Gzues says
The hubless rear wheels of today are a pain in the ass as they makes a simple chore like changing a tire a major pain. While they look nice they are not really a very practical/good idea. Plus the expense of those large bearings is astronomical. As a moter it would further complicate an unrequired expense!
MORRIS says
I have been doing a bit of searching not enough i suppose would anyone know whether one of the many variations of the HUBLESS wheel has had a pressurized liquid injected? a sort of lubricant that could possibly work by creating an inner cushion with this amazing concept by Pendergast?
Chris Kleczynski says
Hate to burst some people’s bubbles on one thing… but you can’t have bearingless magnetic vehicle wheels. The repulsion force is not strong enough to keep the inner/outer rings from hitting during harder bumps. That concept only works for stationary applications.