Design, build, race
A group of Tauhara College students have built an electricpowered bike to race in Hamilton against other electric vehicles.
The bike’s design came from a movie about a motorbike, Year 13 Denis Mansell says.
‘‘I was watching The World’s Fastest Indian, and I thought, why don’t we do that.
‘‘It’s all about aerodynamics and having a low centre of gravity. You’ll see some bikes are quite high, so the lower you are, the harder you can turn corners. It’s all physics talk,’’ he said.
Mansell and Joshua LoveParata and five others from their school are taking part in EVolocity Waikato.
EVolocity Waikato is a firsttime competition for high school students to design, build and race their own electric vehicles. The concept is run by the Waikato Engineering Careers Association.
Provided an electric motor by EVolocity, the Tauhara students found an old bike at the local dump.
Mansell said they wanted to be ‘‘eco-friendly’’ since they were using an electric motor.
‘‘We picked up the bike from the dump, the seat fabric and foam were offcuts from the fabric department, and apart from a new piece of tubing, everything else has been recycled.’’
Mansell said a lot of time and love has been put into the bike.
‘‘But when you finally flick that switch and it moves, it will feel good.’’
More than 70 students from 12 schools are taking part in the regional competition. Designs range from four-wheel go-karts to two-wheeler bikes.
Two weeks ago, students had their vehicles were scrutinised and teams were provided with a checklist of fixes required before they can race.
Waikato Engineering Careers Association manager Mary Jensen said the competition was sparking renewed interest in hands-on learning at secondary schools.
‘‘It’s definitely filling a gap in today’s society. It has been a very positive experience for them and, as well as teaching hands-on skills, it also sparking interest in subjects like engineering, maths and science.’’
The regional finals take place today – Friday September 16 – at Kartsport, Hamilton. Regional winners will then compete in the national finals in Christchurch on November 27.