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'Underwater bicycle' propels swimmers forward at superhuman speed

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Re: 'Underwater bicycle' propels swimmers forward at superhuman speed

#71

Post by grayrest »

bilsbie wrote: post #14

There are a bunch of small watercraft I really want to try. It’s hard to justify the expensive. The hydrofoil board with a prop and motor looks really cool. Just not sure what the learning curve is like and kind of worried about hitting something and flying off.

There's a DIY forum for building those[1] but I think tow boogies[2] are more practical as a project. The idea is a battery box, controller, and motor on a boogie board and shifting the weight of the person being towed allows for steering.

[1] https://foil.zone/ [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9z6BP8Y42U

Since the original article is about human power, I'll also link to this foil[3] which is for pump foiling long distance. I had run across the channel well before that and thought his goal for a half hour was goofy when people were getting 90s or 2 minutes so I was quite shocked when it actually got built.

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfJbF0xkUOY

Re: 'Underwater bicycle' propels swimmers forward at superhuman speed

#73

Post by cassianoleal »

xmonkee wrote: post #52
bluefirebrand wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not true if your feet are clipped to an object heavy enough to keep you under the water though

This device is buoyant, according to the article

Which will make your feet float, driving your head underwater.

Re: 'Underwater bicycle' propels swimmers forward at superhuman speed

#76

Post by uncertainrhymes »

gklitz wrote: post #51
uncertainrhymes wrote: post #35

I swim because I enjoy it, not because I'm trying to get somewhere fast. This seems awkward and I bet you have to use your arms just to counterbalance the twist you'd get on each 'stroke' of the leg. So even though I think it's goofy, I bet I'd like whoever came up with this. Someone who put a ton of effort into building something they thought would be interesting despite a thousand people telling them it's goofy. Go…

> I swim because I enjoy it, not because I'm trying to get somewhere fast. I run because I enjoy it, not because I’m trying to get somewhere fast. But I also bike because I enjoy it, not because I’m trying to get somewhere fast. You seem to assume that because this thing is faster, it must automatically be less enjoyable. That’s not the case for bikes, why should it be the case here? In my opinion it sounds fun, and…

That's a fair point. My (untested) assumption would be that it would be cumbersome and weird, and I wouldn't be 'swimming'.

If I were to guess at their motivations, it might be 'what could make me go faster in the water and also be enjoyable'? I'd try it out of curiosity, sure, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't last beyond the novelty for me.

Re: 'Underwater bicycle' propels swimmers forward at superhuman speed

#78

Post by danielvaughn »

loeg wrote: post #47
danielvaughn wrote: post #24

At first glance, the idea of clip-ons in the water seems quite dangerous.

Can you elaborate on that?

clip-ons lock your feet to the device. If you find yourself needing to suddenly swim away from the device for any reason, you better hope that you can easily clip out. On a bicycle, you can do this fairly easily because you're on ground with gravity. In water, it could be much more challenging to clip out.

Re: 'Underwater bicycle' propels swimmers forward at superhuman speed

#79

Post by s1artibartfast »

simonbarker87 wrote: post #48
vitiral wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really, why? Because you might drown? Try holding your breath and just floating, arms at your side and legs not moving. You will bob to the surface. Then quickly release your breath and snap your neck back to take a new one. Repeat. That's all it takes to not drown. You could almost do it as a quadriplegic (though I'm not 100% on "water balance" in that case).

Some people (myself included) don’t float like this. I try basically every time I get in the water and my legs drift down to just after 45 degrees and then I slip under completely and don’t resurface until I give in and swim back up. People who can float never believe me, but enough have now seen me in the water that I know I’m not “doing it wrong” I just don’t float. The people who’ve seen me try it in water always…

Does no part of your body stay on the surface?

On average, people stop floating around 10-15% body fat, but this varies based on lung capacity and bone size.

Lung capacity is often an under appreciated factor

Inflated Lung density is about 25% relative to water, fat is 95%, organs are around 105%, and bones are about 185%

Re: 'Underwater bicycle' propels swimmers forward at superhuman speed

#80

Post by 4gotunameagain »

a_c wrote: post #60
404mm wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Balancing this device must have been a good problem to solve! All I can think of is “where does the other end that stick go?”

Two propellers spin in different directions might solve it I guess

That will counter the rotational force, but not the transversal up your butt.
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