Alternative Braking System:Parachute

A few weeks ago I posted a video that I found showing some kids drag racing with their bikes from way back when. Watch the video and check out :40 seconds…the dude with the long hair had a drag chute on his bike!

I thought to myself, that having a drag chute to slow me down after a downhill session or trail ride is just what I need. Shoot I’ve been going through brake pads/rotors on a weekly basis because I can’t slow down enough due to my incredible speed!Having this problem is much like Spider Man’s powers…its a curse and a blessing.

You see, being a rider with bad-assery talent and skills, I am wicked fast, in fact, I’m straight-edge FAST. PITEW! That’s me making a laser sound, cuz that’s how I sound as I am hauling past people. PITEW-PITEW! But the bad part, or in this case, the curse of it would be my ability to stop my bike. It’s just not safe to ride fast if I can’t stop or slow down when needed. But there’s one thing I do stop for and that’s for rainbows. Any how, moving right along, let’s go back to my parachute…

I ended up calling my brother who happens to be a SSgt and HALO Instructor in the US Army . If anyone would know anything about parachutes, it would be him. With that in mind he suggested that I use a Throw-Out Pilot Chute due to its size.

Once I acquired a Throw-Out Pilot Chute, my brother showed me how to pack it.

We used one of the e-bikes we’re testing for BikeCommuters.com as our guinea pig. I tied down the cord to the rear rack and we attached the pilot chute with a rubber band.

Then we found a stretch of road to test the chute.Notice how I’m reaching behind my right leg, once I had gained enough speed and I wanted to slow down, I grabbed the chute and threw it out…thus the name, Throw-out Pilot Chute.

Chute has been deployed! By the way, you like my helmet? $7 from Wal-Mart!

Pilot chute catching some air and boy did I feel it! The force pulled the bike back hard!

I know what you’re thinking, “This RL fella is pretty darn good looking and SMART!” Thanks, but I must give some credit to my brother Randy for his parachute consultation. If it wasn’t for his expertise, this project wouldn’t have happened. Oh and I also need to give credit where its due…that long haired kid in the video Mike Dunn!