< Back to
Human Powered Vehicle
< Back to all News
The Challenges, the Changes, the Competitors
April 11, 2011
View More HPV
News Here
New York Times Blogger, Jim
Motavalli
As they look back on the challenges of last year's HPV
Competition, like the high winds in Connecticut, defending
champions Rose-Hulman Human Powered Vehicle designers Ethan Rockett
and Petras Swissler assess the team's chances this year.
Improvements from last year's car, Ragnarok, to this year's Helios
include the addition of a U-joint and the ability to backpedal.
The latest video, shot in mid-April, catches a candid look at
the Helios in progress. You can also glimpse the humor and
ingenuity behind Rose-Hulman's #1 champion Human Powered
Vehicle.
|
Discussing the rollovers and slides of last year's
races, Rockett and Swissler assess the competition among a
record number of teams.
|
|
Their assessment? Toronto, though relatively new to the
competition ("they did very well" last year, their first year), is
a team to watch out for; Missouri S & T typically takes the
speed competition ("they build black, fish-like things"); Cal Poly
("they went weird last year; their top riders took a couple of
months to learn how to ride it") is a consistently strong
contender; Olin has "good geometry" despite some spectacular design
foibles in the past. And there are always surprises.