JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #101 - November/December 2015 - 16

mountain

A winter alternative
for downhill mountain biking

Reproducing as closely as possible the sensations
of a regular mountain bike to sport addicts who
want to extend their season during the winter.

mountain one, but that can deal
with a slippery surface.

D

ownhill mountain biking is a well-known and
favourite pastime for
extreme sports aficionados,
but it usually takes place in the
summer, when the ground is
not covered in snow. However,
more and more enthusiasts are
trying it out during the winter.
Traditional mountain bikes are
not equipped to deal with these
kinds of challenges, meaning
suitable bikes must be sturdier.
But in the case of winter downhill mountain biking, snow
and bikes spell disaster. This is
where the Avalanche Project
intervenes: with an adapted
bike resembling the feeling of a

Creating a worthy winter
downhill mountain bike
Coming from a team of future
engineers at Sherbrooke University (Canada), The Avalanche
Project's main goal was to create
a prototype that would enable
bikers to experience all the
sensations and behaviour of a
mountain bike, but without the
dangers of using a traditional
bike on snow. Amongst the
most important criteria were the
following properties: stability,
braking capacities, manoeuvrability and propulsion. Currently,
most of the market's offers are
lacking in these same properties, creating an opportunity to
provide a worthier product. The

3D rendering of the final design of the bike prototype

Dual-ski system

Avalanche Project will conduct
tests both on groomed snow
and in light powder snow conditions in order to evaluate these
properties and make sure this
new bike prototype meets sport
addicts' expectations.

Innovative systems with
the use of carbon fibre
The innovations brought by the
Avalanche Project are two-fold.
First comes a dual-ski system
as seen in the figure below. This
system allows the user to brake
by using a regular brake lever
that activates a small hydraulic

The notched track propulsion system

16 jec composites magazine / No101 November - December 2015

cylinder, which in turn orients
the skis into the well-known
snowplough position.
Second, is the notched track
propulsion system for the rear
wheel. This part is particularly
crucial because it handles most
of the impacts encountered
while going down the mountain. The propulsion system is
thus required to be lightweight
but strong enough to resist
bumps and bangs, and is driven
by an internal geared hub, as
seen in Figure 3. To this end,
the team chose a combination
of layered aluminium, carbon
fibre and a foam core, allowing
for greater manoeuvrability and
resistance, while keeping the
weight light. The student team
plans on bringing this project
to fruition by December 2015
with a full prototype that will
be presented at the "Mecageniale" exposition at Sherbrooke
University. n
More information:
http://projetavalanche.wix.com/
http://projetavalanche.wix.com/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #101 - November/December 2015
