Pedal-powered tennis ball launcher
Daniel Bauen made a nifty pedal-powered tennis ball launcher
Both cleanly powered and built from 2 recycled bicycles, scrap steel and wood, leaking 5 gallon water jug and a lacross stick, our pedal powered tennis ball launcher was created as a unique entry for the Innovate or Die pedal powered machine contest.Link (via Treehugger)It allows players varying in skill levels to practice to be better at both tennis and cycling. The launcher is towed to the court on its built-in bicycle trailer. A bike is secured to it and functions to drive the device. Pedaling the cycle as one would on a trainer drives the two launcher wheels. The cyclist then aims and pulls the lever to launch balls to the hitter.
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This is awesome. Not to get up on my biketivist soapbox or anything, but this is a perfect example of how so many really mundane objects can be retrofitted to bicycle power. Big kudos to the builder(s).
A fine idea...and if you used it in front of a wall...you could practice the new sport of Bicycle Tennis Ball Polo...which I just invented.
Side note: Reminds me of the water pump idea used in the book The Ugly American. Anyone else?
Two problems:
1) Since you need someone else to powere the bike, why not just play tennis?
2) How can one resist the urge to bean the shit out of the person on the bike?
It's not about playing the game. It's about practicing a particular part of the game, to perfect your technique (in this case, it looks like returning a serve).
You don't use a pitching machine in a baseball game because you don't have enough players to have someone on the pitchers mound. You use a pitching machine to practice your batting without boring a human to tears asking them to throw balls at you exactly one way, all day long.
You can't even find someone who needs to practice his curveball and pair up, because if you learn to bat against someone who throws crappy curveballs, you don't know what to do against someone who throws good ones.
This seems really well thought-out -- I really like the attention to detail. The fact that it transforms from bike-trailer to launcher in about two steps, with any sized bike is great. The fact that the aim is controlled by steering the front wheel is also really smart.
It's these kinds of details that would have made this thing impossible to invent by a large company.
The only thing that seems unfortunate is that you appear to have to lower and raise the large bar every time you want to shoot a ball. I think instead the bar should be connected to the upper wheel, as it already is, but that the ball-release should be controlled by something simpler like a trigger. Oooh-ooh!!! The arm should remain locked up, and the trigger should be on the front break! Masterful!
... they should hire me to back-seat-design.
It's a beautiful thing. Nice!
Nice touch, wearing the helmet!
i want this to be mobile for drive by tennis ballings