Motorpacing Roller, Whattaya Think About This?!

[baldkingpin]

I've got a nice 125cc scooter on the way that a team-mate and I are going to motorpace with. I'm considering something like the above. I've motorpaced before and know it's not necessary, but happened upon the picture, thought it was very cool and a nice touch. Wondering if anyone has ever paced behind a scooter/motorbike with a roller? Obviously, tapping the roller would be better than tapping the scooter's rear wheel, but does a light tap at 30 mph really spin the roller? I was thinking something with an inch or two of spring action built in (to the arms holding the roller) would be better.

My other thought is to forget the roller altogether. I'm an experienced motorcyclist and rider (so is my buddy), I'm not sure it's necessary and if I get pulled over it'll be hard to argue to the cop that we weren't motorpacing with a roller attached to the back. I'm in CA and a cop could write us up. However, it's unlikely given the remote area we'll be using where cops are very seldom seen.

Thoughts?

[Tapeworm]

At my local velodrome they use a motorbike with a roller very similar to the one you have pictured. I like it. You never know what may happen and its nice to have a little "safety net" incase the bike slows a tad too much or the rider goes a tad too fast.

'Course I won't mention anything about the legality of motorpacing on open roads or anything like that, cuz I've never done anything like that....

[Caveman]

125cc! Tad bit overkill don't you think?

As for the roller, in my experiance, I've never felt the need for one since I usually stay back about a foot off the scooter which has always given me enough room to play around with. But that roller does look oh so pro, and judging from the marks, I'd say that particular one has seen some use.

As for the police situation, tell him it's a wheelie bar.

[Cyco]

125 isn't overkill. The local Velodrome has a 600, and I used to pace behind an 800 on an outdoor flat track and on the road.

Springs could be used, but take away one of the training tools that the bike can be used for.

Whatever you use make sure the roller itself is very stiff, and that the bearings allow it to spin freely. Last thing you want is a roller to seize during a work out....

Other than that pretty much anything goes

[dee]

125 is perfect. Mine goes about 55mph but it's an older one. The only problem with the roller i see is in big cross winds. And eve nslight cross winds is hte roller long enough to ride to the side a little.

[11.4]

We motorpace all the time, both track and road.

First, on the bike: You need enough power so you aren't struggling to modulate speed. The ideal is a slightly bigger bike (not 800 cc but perhaps 250 or so) that's been geared down. If the exhaust is up high, consider repositioning it. And definitely get a simple Cateye cyclometer and mount it on the front wheel -- the motorcycle speedometer isn't accurate enough to set an even pace, but a cheap bike cyclometer does perfectly.

On the roller: The drum from a set of cycling rollers does pretty well. Definitely make it a rigid mount. You can ride with your front tire right on the roller -- in constant contact. If it can move at all, it can shift at an angle and rapidly drive your front wheel off to the side, causing a crash. The only improvement I might suggest is simply to use a 1-1/2" materials handling roller. These are about 20 inches wide and because they have much less mass than the cycling roller drum, have much less inertial mass so they spin much more easily when you touch them. Much cheaper too. If you go to a materials handling equipment supplier they will also have all kinds of brackets and stuff that you can use to mount the roller on the bike.

[Geoff]

We have a similar set-up for track. I have hit that roller more times than I would like over the years. It is a precaution that I would recommend, as it is not the rider of the bike that is the issue, its the derny itself.

The issue is that bikes designed for road use tend to 'hunt' a bit on the throttle. That's why six-day dernys have a 70x11 fixed-gear, too. I think that the only derny manufacturer today is Arie Simon. He makes a 98cc fixed-gear derny like the attached photo. They are good to about 90kph. The last time I checked, they were about $2,600.

[Caveman]

We motorpace all the time, both track and road.

First, on the bike: You need enough power so you aren't struggling to modulate speed. The ideal is a slightly bigger bike (not 800 cc but perhaps 250 or so) that's been geared down. If the exhaust is up high, consider repositioning it. And definitely get a simple Cateye cyclometer and mount it on the front wheel -- the motorcycle speedometer isn't accurate enough to set an even pace, but a cheap bike cyclometer does perfectly.

Okay, I see what you mean by "enough power to modulate speed" I use a 72cc scooter, and I think the overdrive must have been set to kick in around 36mph, and when it dropped below about 35mph, it would bog down to about 29mph in the matter of a second. 34-36mph was my "sweet spot" too, so it always keeped me on my tows.

What does everyone motor pace at and how close when on public streets and a stock geared road bike?

[dee]

Honda Elite 125 Aero. I'll run right on the bumper. I've had to replace several.

[Tinea Pedis]

OP pic is down.

Looking for an easy solution for a roller bar (or alternatives to one) as I now have a scooter for motopacing...

[prendrefeu]

Perhaps contact the person behind this video?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI3MdhXABK4

- EDIT! - it turns out the author is a member of WW, he started a thread on the Tachyon camera, which is over here:
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=95374

Contact: baldkingpin


-EDIT #2 - Just realized that the author of this thread is baldkingpin.
now laughing at myself.

[nathanong87]

lol'd hard at this

[Tinea Pedis]

That moped set up is pimpin!

(but seem to have missed the significance of baldkingpin being the OP...?)

[prendrefeu]

It was a roundabout thing:
I searched on le Google, found the youtube video (linked), then I suggested you send a message to that person, meanwhile I found that the youtuber uploaded another video about a Tachyon video camera. I immediately recognized the video from an older thread, found that thread, realized that baldkingpin = the youtube guy because of that thread, suggested you PM baldkingpin... then I scrolled up to realize this thread was started by baldkingpin... and of course, the easiest thing would have been to PM the OP.

It's just a series of events that sort of turned out like this:


So I'm laughing at myself at that.

[boots2000]

I agree on the roller drum from a conveyer belt. That is what I have on my scooter.
Yes a drum is nice for motorpacing, but refine your technique and try to ride as close as possible without touching.
At one point I got super comfortable with constant contact with the drum- this allowed me to get super close and actually made it easier to go fast behind the scooter. You can't do that in races- so best to train yourself for a small gap.