MQ Speed Team

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MQ Speed Team A team of students from Macquarie University aiming to build the fastest bicycle in the world. We are the Macquarie University Speed Team.

We comprise of a diverse variety of Macquarie University students who believe that the opportunity to design, construct, fund, promote and compete in the Human Powered Vehicle Speed Challenge will provide us with a unique opportunity to apply the theory that we are learning through our degrees to a practical, exciting and dynamic project. In the process, we are aiming to break the human powered vehicle (HPV) land speed record (LSR). Currently we are aiming to complete our first fully faired human powered vehicle in 2016, with the hope of setting an Australian record and then going on to compete at the World Human Powered Speed Challenge in September 2017.

📊 Introducing MarkTec!MarkTec is a custom data-analysis program designed and coded by the team to transform our testing ...
05/10/2026

📊 Introducing MarkTec!

MarkTec is a custom data-analysis program designed and coded by the team to transform our testing and race data into clear, practical performance insights.

The software processes speed, power and acceleration data collected from our onboard telemetry, GPS & Hall-effect sensors. This is used to provide insight into how both our rider and the bike performed at any given point in a run. With a single run generating up to 500,000 data points, the program condenses a vast amount of raw information into clear graphs that the team can easily interpret and compare.

These outputs make it easier to assess real-world performance, identify trends and compare our measured results with our simulations. The insights will help the team validate our models and make more informed decisions throughout future testing and development.

🚴‍♀️🔥

Macquarie University Engineers Australia

📊 Introducing MarkTec!MarkTec is a custom data-analysis program designed and coded by the team to transform our testing ...
05/10/2026

📊 Introducing MarkTec!

MarkTec is a custom data-analysis program designed and coded by the team to transform our testing and race data into clear, practical performance insights.

The software processes speed, power and acceleration data collected from our onboard telemetry, GPS & Hall-effect sensors. This is used to provide insight into how both our rider and the bike performed at any given point in a run. With a single run generating up to 500,000 data points, the program condenses a vast amount of raw information into clear graphs that the team can easily interpret and compare.

These outputs make it easier to assess real-world performance, identify trends and compare our measured results with our simulations. The insights will help the team validate our models and make more informed decisions throughout future testing and development.

🚴‍♀️🔥

MQ Engineering Macquarie University Engineers Australia PROK

⚙️ Manufacturing the MQ2 Rear Forks!Following on from our last post, here is a closer look at how our newly optimised re...
14/09/2026

⚙️ Manufacturing the MQ2 Rear Forks!

Following on from our last post, here is a closer look at how our newly optimised rear forks were manufactured!

After developing a fixturing plan and gaining manufacturing approval, the aluminium stock was cut using the bandsaw. Mounting holes were then drilled through areas that would eventually form pockets in the finished design. This allowed the stock to be securely bolted down while maintaining access to the required machining surfaces.

To establish an accurate reference surface, the team used an aluminium wasteboard and machined it flat relative to the CNC spindle. The stock was then secured to the wasteboard before the rear forks were machined to their final shape over two CNC operations. 🔧

Once machining was complete, the forks were sent to the awesome team at METS for finishing and precision reaming of the bearing seats.

Congratulations again to Pat and Leho! Thank you to everyone who helped bring the forks to life! 🚴‍♀️🔥



🔧 Introducing our new rear forks! Last semester Pat and Leho were hard at work developing and manufacturing our newly op...
26/08/2026

🔧 Introducing our new rear forks!

Last semester Pat and Leho were hard at work developing and manufacturing our newly optimised rear forks — starting from hand calculations and computer simulations, over the course of the semester they were able to produce a finished and machined assembly!

The process began with them learning ANSYS Structural Topology Optimisation and calculating the major loads that act on the rear of the bike. These include pothole impacts, the combined weight of the bike and rider, braking reactions and cornering forces.

After evaluating these loads and conducting an analysis on the weaknesses of the previous forks, the team established two clear objectives:

1. Achieve a weight comparable to our previous forks.

2. Significantly increase torsional stiffness.

Many design iterations followed, including the creation of a complete model of the available space inside the rear fairing. This gave the topology-optimisation software maximum freedom to identify an efficient structure.

The final design achieved the lightweight result we were looking for while also reaching 153% of the torsional stiffness of the previous forks per FEA validation! 📈🔥

A fantastic effort from Pat and Leho, and another exciting step forward for the team! 🚴‍♀️💨

Stay tuned for more info on how the team manufactured the forks!

If you are interested in working on similar engineering projects reach out to the team and get involved!

MQ Speed Team MESS - Macquarie University Engineering Student Society Macquarie University Engineers Australia PROK

This Saturday come down to the Macquarie University open day and say hello to the team in the foyer at 9 Wally’s Walk! B...
13/08/2026

This Saturday come down to the Macquarie University open day and say hello to the team in the foyer at 9 Wally’s Walk!

Both MQ1 and MQ2 will be on display alongside our simulator, CAD models and a few other surprises. Whether you are interested in joining the team, learning more about the bike, or curious to chat all things engineering, the team will be happy to meet you.

We look forward to see you on Saturday!

MQ Engineering Macquarie University Engineers Australia PROK

📢 A recap on an eventful March and April. Behind the scenes, we’ve been busy up-skilling our members by hosting CAD desi...
20/04/2026

📢 A recap on an eventful March and April.

Behind the scenes, we’ve been busy up-skilling our members by hosting CAD design sessions, GitHub workflow training, soldering training and teaching our manufacturing processes. The team has also designed and manufactured various new components, expanded our data analysis capabilities and made strides in system reliability. Together, our members are developing new skillsets that will take us to the next level.

We have also had a large focus on testing, with weekly mechatronics tests to ensure a system that runs 100% of the time, all the time. This ensures we can maximise our on track time and prepares us for future competitions where teamwork is essential.

Stay tuned for our next updates!

This women's month, we are proud to celebrate our incredible MQ Speed rider, Lizanne Wilmot! Environmental scientist and...
31/03/2026

This women's month, we are proud to celebrate our incredible MQ Speed rider, Lizanne Wilmot!

Environmental scientist and multi-world record holder in penny-farthing cycling and human powered vehicles, this Canadian Bumpkin is an inspirational woman that empowers the people around her.

Having joined the team in 2019, Lizanne has become a central part of the team, and we wish her the best in the World Penny Farthing Championships!



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Macquarie Park, NSW
2113

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