Background

The construction of mountain bike trails can be an extremely difficult and tedious process. Beyond the laborious nature of making a section of dirt ridable, trail construction and maintenance often pose a range of logistical roadblocks, including the need to move material and tools to and from trail sites. After completing a number of interviews with trail building companies and foreman, several issues made themselves known, but the Trailblazer team is focused on one in particular: the access to and maneuverability of fuel and tools.

This project is in its fourth semester, and development of the second prototype is well underway. Major design changes from the first and second iterations are: reducing the number of wheels from two to one to smooth ride quality, changing the frame material from chromoly steel to Aluminum, using mesh side walls instead of expanded metal to reduce weight, and the addition of a surge break mechanism to increase safety. Both designs can be seen below.

Our team is comprised of four students, two MEs and two METs, and we all have a passion for bikes. This project has offered many opportunities for both learning new skills and applying a wide range of engineering principles encountered in the classroom. The Fall semester of 2024 has primarily focused on CAD modeling, issue resolution related to the first prototype, part research and budgeting. In previous semesters, the project also covered generating engineering requirements, machining, welding, drawing, and testing, among others. If you are interested in any or all of these areas, please contact the Velovations advisor, Steve (sdlehman@mtu.edu), because we are always looking for more enthusiastic engineers to join the team 🙂

Figure 1: Trailblazer prototype 1 in use

Figure 2: Trailblazer V2 CAD Model