Tech Fixies Are So 2007
posted by on May 28 at 9:47 AM
Jet-powered bikes are where it’s at now…
The thought of bolting a jet engine to an old Schwinn cruiser came to him about six months ago when “I wanted to throw the engine onto something that would get me around.” The bike engines provide 50 pounds of thrust. They weigh 13 pounds apiece, but Maddox says you hardly notice it when you’re on the bike. Get it going, though, and things get interesting.“It accelerates pretty quickly,” he says. “It’ll hit top speed in about 7 seconds. But even at high speed, it feels very stable. You’re just being pushed along on a column of air.”
More here.
Erica is going to vleed straight through her pants.
Ok, but what's the fuel efficiency?
Yeah and the guy has the gut to show he does not really use his bike.
ELECTRIC bikes can go 20 mph.
Cato, i know LOTS of daily bike commuters with beer guts. and that's not a bad gut for a 50+ year old.
Do I want that thing burning next to my leg? No, I don't.
Answering my own question @2, the article notes:
Using the maker's estimate of a 75 mph top speed, we get:
0.5 gal/min * 60 min = 30 gal/hr
75 mph / (30 gal/hr) = 2.5 mpg
That's a quick and dirty calculation, and efficiency will likely be higher at part throttle and less insane speeds. Still, we're talking monster SUV territory at best.
Given the 150 db noise and short thrill ride nature of the beast, though, who really cares?
Great. Way to turn the most efficient green method of transportation into something with a worse carbon footrpint than a Hummer. As a bonus, it will blow out your eardrums and scorch your leg too. Awesome!
Impractical! Unsafe! Unusual! Darwin Award!
That's a beer gut?
@9,
He'll only qualify for a Darwin award if the bike kills him.
Finally, combining the efficiency of jet power with the not-getting-laidness of being on a bike.
Reverse Polarity @8:
This misses the point.
Fuel efficiency was just a curiosity. The bikes don't carry but 1.5-2 gallons, so almost any trip long enough for the jet to be worthwhile is beyond the bike's range.
A bike with a jet engine has ceased to be a mode of transportation. It is a toy, to be used infrequently for short duration and in limited conditions.
I'm going with bad photoshop hoax on this one.
I bet he heard the original JATO urban myth and said lets try it on a bike.
@10
But what if the bike gets him laid before it kills him?
Finally, a bike a Hummer owner can enjoy!
Finally, a bike a Hummer owner can enjoy!
No helmet! He'll be sailing through daily sponge baths and physical therapy.
I wondered what John Ritter had been up to since he died. Now I know.
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