Ristretto
Speedbike
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Designed and built by Francesco Russo |
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Francesco is from
Switzerland. He designed
the Ristretto fairing using CAD, then used a series of templates to create
the sections that made up the foam plug. Here's the Ristretto plug after all
the layers were glued together and placed on the form that kept them all
straight.
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| After many days of sanding,
here's the Ristretto plug, looking very Aero. |
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More sanding and filling were
done until the shape was perfect. |
| Here's a front view of the
bike, which was completed in 2006. |
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Here's the side view.
What a pretty vehicle. |
| 3/4 front shot. |
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Side view #2. I like the
highly stylized cutout for the clear canopy. |
| Francesco Russo (designer,
builder and rider) and his Ristretto speedbike. That's a tiny bike. |
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Francesco and his father, who
helped him build the fairing. The completed bike weighs 20.4kg, or only
44lbs. |
| Francesco
demonstrates the riding position.
Check out the big intermediary step up gear. This bike is designed to go
fast, and he is planning record attempts in 2007. |
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Francesco
is sealed into the bike.
The canopy is fogged in these pictures
because it was raining at the gathering and they had the bike open, so
it rained into the bike and when the top was closed it fogged up.
Francesco says he has never had problems with the canopy fogging while
riding the bike. |
| A 10 year old boy looks into
the fogged Ristretto. Look how small the Ristretto is when you compare
it to the boy.
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The tube from the front of the
bike is designed to give the rider a little air. Enough to breathe in a
tightly sealed bike anyway... |
| This is
Rosemarie Buhler, posing with Francesco's new RekordMachine. |
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Wow, that's laid back.
Rosemarie's legs are way too short... |
| Fransesco gives
Rosemarie the full experience. |
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The extremely laid back seat,
visible just above the rear brake cable, is laminated into the fairing.
It's molded to Francesco backside so he does not need a pad when sitting
in the bike. When riding the bike, his helmet rests directly on the rear
wheel-fairing |
| Here, Francesco tests the bike
for the first time, without the canopy. |
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8/15/2007
Francesco sent the following in German, I translated it via Google, then
fixed the syntax of most of it as best I could. I think I got the gist
of things anyway...
"On the 11th & 12th of August have we made 1 hr world record attempts on
the test track in mortefontaine (40km north of Paris). Unfortunately
still unsuccessfully however with good perspectives."
Video of Attempt |
"On the running
day we installed ourselves and I warmed up. At the end of the warm-up,
the chain jumps off of the chain ring into the transfer gear. The guide
roller was broken and so we had to tape and cable tie it temporarily.
When we started the record attempt it was windless, at around 20.10h 22°
however over 80% air humidity.
In 1200m I accelerated to 87km/h, the first 3km went by in 2.34 minutes
and then the canopy fogged up in a flash, which flattens the sunlight
directly into the speedbike and within a few seconds I could not see
nothing anything. I was driving blind at 90kph (55 MPH), and fell at
60kph. The vehicle got some scratches, I was unscathed.
On Sunday the 12th of August we had permission to use the test track all
day long! Around 11.00h we arrived and prepared the vehicle and start a
rehearse-round. I drove with a pulse rate of 171 which is still under my
maximum. I went 1 or 2 laps with speeds scarcely under 90km/h without
ever correctly clipping into the pedals. I smelled a rubber stink when
the tire began to rub the fairing and at nearly 90km/h (55 MPH) the rear
tire burst. I fell at 87km/h. The fairing is more scratched up and I
received a 1cm scratch on the wrist.
We prepared the vehicle and tested it again. I ran at 85km/h without
large effort and it was clear to me that theoretically the record could
be broken. I rode for the first time without falling.
I ate and slept then warmed up for for the next attempt at the record.
This time it was unofficial because the timing people did not come due
to inclement weather forecasts.
After 700m I was already at 75km/h and then I smelled the rubber stink
again, or maybe I was a little sensitive to rubber smell. In any case, I
broke off the attempt immediately. 10 minutes after that abort came a
violent thunderstorm.
All those who were present know that the record is feasible.
Francesco Russo"
More information available at
http://russo-speedbike.com
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