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Skeleton Sleds Go 80 M.P.H. and Have No Brakes. Here's How They Stop--and Why They Never Show It

This is the Olympics, and that's the best we can come up with?!?

By Rain Noe - February 21, 2018

in Object Culture

A Core77 staffer brought up a great question at yesterday's editorial meeting: How do luge and skeleton riders come to a stop? These things max out at 80, 85 miles per hour and have no brakes.

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So I looked into it--and apparently it's different for luge and skeleton riders. The first part of stopping, for either of them, has to do with the course design and gravity:

Vancouver

Pyeongchang

Bobsled/luge/skeleton track designers always introduce a sweeping turn towards the end of the track, so that the final stretch goes back uphill to scrub off a little speed. After the athlete rockets past the finish line, there's a short uphill run. Luge riders can then sit up to add wind resistance, pull up on the front of the sled to dig the runners in, and put their feet down to add drag. (Here's footage of luge riders coming to a complete stop.)

As for skeleton riders, The Seattle Times had this to say: "Skeleton sleds…have no brakes; racers slow them by sitting up and putting their feet down on the ground over the course of the finish area, which runs back uphill toward the starting position to allow slowing by gravity."

However, when I looked for footage of this, I couldn't find any. Maybe I was looking at the wrong videos, but this morning I pored over footage from Pyeongchang and Sochi and never saw a skeleton rider coming to a stop. Then I found this video from Vancouver's 2010 games, and a couple of frames flashed by where I saw something weird. I had to freeze-frame it:

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Uh, what the eff was that?

I scrubbed through the video carefully to isolate each moment of this, then cut it back together and uploaded it. Here's what I came up with:

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Looks like a thin but long sheet of foam that they throw in front of the rider, like they're trying to catch a wild animal in a net. Talk about inelegant, it's no wonder they never show it.

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Designers, let's hear some counter-suggestions. I'm thinking the rider deploys drag racing parachutes or slides into a Giant Bungie Net, which has huge comic potential.

o

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Comments

Z Hulett

7 years ago

Z

4Z

Reply

1) The track could progressively taper, eventually wedging the sled in place
2) They sprinkle progressively course aggregate into the top layer of the ice to shed speed via friction (inspired from the description of the night's watch from GOT sprinkling rocks on the top of the wall for traction)
3) End the track in a ramp and have the riders do some sweet flips into a foam pit
4) Riders carry down some curling stones and fling these forward when they want to slow down like rocket's reaction mass. Could get bonus points depending on how accurately the stones travel
5) End the track in a frozen funnel that the rider would just sort of spiral around in until they slowed enough to drop into the hole at the bottom with a satisfying "clink" noise.
6) Magnets embedded in the ice
7) Find a way to recapture the kinetic energy to help power the facility
8) Not worry about stopping. I'm sure they can't possibly sled forever. Maybe if it left up to the rider to stop they'll come up with an optimal solution (or suddenly retire)

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- Rain Noe
  
  Z Hulett
  
  7 years ago
  
  Z
  
  1Z
  
  Reply
  
  All of these are awesome! My favorites are 1, 3 and 5
  
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Aaron McGinnes

7 years ago

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1Z

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Hundreds of spectators on either side of the finish line armed with pillows. Oh wacking day, oh wacking day....

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Derek Chan

7 years ago

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1Z

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I was thinking ball pit but a mud puddle works too.

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Juan Cano

7 years ago

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1Z

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I like more of a hook on the track that stops the sled immediately and then the rider flies off into a mud puddle.

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- Rain Noe
  
  Juan Cano
  
  7 years ago
  
  Z
  
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  Like
  
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Jonas Eriksson

7 years ago

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Z

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Magnetic eddy current brakes, such as those in roller coasters or freefall.

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Scott Brown

7 years ago

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Z

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Both tracks end going uphill in the final stretch, followed by a "short uphill run". A steeper or longer uphill run and/or final stretch would stop them.. It's hard to believe that there isn't space or routing for the track that couldn't accomplish that.

Also, it would be pretty funny to have the riders cross the finish line going 5 mph.

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Andrew Maffett

7 years ago

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Z

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Somethin akin to arrestor cables on aircraft carriers?

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