Aerovelo would like to thank Cervélo, this week’s featured sponsor! This awesome Canadian-based bike company has donated an R5ca bike frame to the Atlas Human-Powered Helicopter Project. The lightest production road frame in the World, the R5ca will form the foundation of Atlas’ drivetrain and control system.
The R5ca frameset (photo credit Cervélo)
This frame is unbelievably light! In our application, where every gram matters and we’ll do anything we can to reduce mass, having such a lightweight component made available to us off-the-shelf has been a lifesaver! The all-carbon composite construction is a work of art, and we’re extremely excited to integrate it with the helicopter. The pilot controls, crankset, and flywheel power-smoothing system will all be effectively plug-and-play with the frame.
Furthermore, Cervélo and Vroomen White Design’s engineering and design strategies align very well with ours at AeroVelo. This is especially true in the case of our streamlined recumbent bicycle projects (“Human-Powered Vehicles”), where composite structure design, aerodynamic analysis, and ergonomic concerns are paramount. We hope to continue a relationship with Cervélo into the future on forthcoming projects!
Thanks again to the excellent folks at Cervélo for all their help!