Gearless Magnet Bike

I guess the next step is to build a superconductor clutch to avoid the heat issues. That'll totally work.

The positioning of the weights at 7:44 is such a pleasing real-world representation of a log graph, I love it

The comparison shots of the falling weights was incredibly well done

Magnetic coupling is very useful for underwater applications, where you want to disconnect the propeller from the internal electronics. Back when I was in highschool, we built an autonomous underwater vehicle and faced a real problem with isolating the propeller's entrance.

I'm a physics professor and this whole project is incredible! That's one whole chapter of the textbook in a single short video!

The side by side comparisons are astonishing, it’s amazing to visualise the different behaviours induced by different configurations of magnets and weights

That was a brilliant, thoroughly well-thought and very well executed way to find out something is a not such a good idea. The effort put into this is admirable!

I was very dubious at the start, thinking, “oh, yeah, another magnets perpetual motion scam”. . . but no. I learned a lot from this. . . an honest presentation. Nobody’s going to win the Tour de France with this setup (especially me, a 79-year old time triallist)😊 Well done, sir!

As a bicycle mechanic over in Germany I gotta say, I really love your bike related videos. They give me great aspiration, sadly I lack the funding to copy your concepts for my own fun. But they make great talk in the break room!

As a retired engineer who cycles a lot, I enjoyed this immensely!

I think - The reason why flipping the center magnet works better is the field gets conentrated closer to the disk. Also the eddy current created by the first pair runs opposite to the one the second pair creates. The checkered pattern may be creating less field near the disk. Nice idea and nice video!!!! Really enjoyed!

"...and this result wasn't linear" @7:38 Beautiful visualization. Nicely Done!

Those calculations with the dropping weight videos were awesome, such an excellent visualization.that section was great!

The alternating magnets for stronger eddy currents was a great idea! You might want to look into the Halbach Array (a specific way of alternating magnets) that makes the field strength even higher. I think it might perform better than only alternating the magnets.

Very good job on your thorough research and impressive fabrication skills! You essentially created the opposite of a magnetic braking system like on the Telma system. I drove heavy vehicles with a Telma and they work really well but they generate a lot of heat so you had to mind how much they had been applied.

I just discovered your channel and I love it! Your editing, your ideas, your explanations — incredibly well done! Thank you so much and this is so cool

Tom again shows us not only how clever and creative he is, but also just how great YouTube can be with the right content providers!

I think you may have missed a trick. Putting an iron backing plate on both back sides of the magnets (ie facing opposite the copper disc) would give you two additional advantages. One being the flux would be more constrained and not grab the chain/spokes and the field facing the copper disc would be more intense. However the heat due to loss will definitely be more severe when the clutch starts slipping and will equally affect the magnets, which in your case, due to their size might have been a bit cooked too, but cooled faster due to less thermal mass. But in theory, the increase in efficiency would mean less slipping. Another factor is that neodymium magnets permanently lose their magnetism when heated to approximately 85deg C, which is why when these types of clutches are used in industrial applications, there is usually a significant liquid cooling system that either flows through the clutch components, or the clutch is immersed in it. They are very precise and consistent (repeatable) clutch designs that can absorb massive dynamic changes in force, so they are very useful in other applications, where longevity and smoothness are more important than efficiency in the force transfer. They are also used as brakes and dampers for similar reasons and also have more traditional lockup mechanisms and or clutches for greater efficiency when output (or input in the case of braking) has reached a certain speed. Obviously these are stupid expensive, mostly due to materials, proper matching of the specifications, and definitely being customised for the application, not to mention bulky, but sometimes they are worth it, to solve particularly difficult problems where traditional force coupling mechanisms don’t work as well. Anyway, sorry for being “that guy” at the party, great video and demonstration of a very useful and niche device!

You are much more analytical than I. I like trial and error. That said, I do something similar using neodymium magnets mounted on disks. I machine my disks out of plastic cutting boards using a lathe. I mount magnets about the flat circumference of the disk, then use either live steam or compressed air to spin it through a pick-up coil to generate electricity. I arrange the 1/2" magnets all facing the same direction (for d.c.) or facing n-s-n (for a.c.). I use both piston as well as turbine homemade engines. I build windmill-driven air compressors as well as small air engines as a hobby. Great fun! Thanks for your VERY ENTERTAINING channel.

Every time you have some different ideas, we see it implemented within seconds in the video. As an engineer, I know the pain anxiety of the challenge to go through implementing ,and the excitement during the test, and of course the joy when the idea works.