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RSS icon Comments on Fixies Are So 2007

1

Erica is going to vleed straight through her pants.

Posted by Mr. Poe | May 28, 2008 9:54 AM
2

Ok, but what's the fuel efficiency?

Posted by lostboy | May 28, 2008 9:56 AM
3

Yeah and the guy has the gut to show he does not really use his bike.

Posted by Cato the Younger Younger | May 28, 2008 9:59 AM
4

ELECTRIC bikes can go 20 mph.

Posted by max solomon | May 28, 2008 9:59 AM
5

Cato, i know LOTS of daily bike commuters with beer guts. and that's not a bad gut for a 50+ year old.

Posted by max solomon | May 28, 2008 10:02 AM
6

Do I want that thing burning next to my leg? No, I don't.

Posted by Fnarf | May 28, 2008 10:07 AM
7

Answering my own question @2, the article notes:

... pulse jets aren't very efficient. They'll suck down half a gallon of fuel a minute at full throttle ...

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?

Posted by lostboy | May 28, 2008 10:17 AM
8

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!

Posted by Reverse Polarity | May 28, 2008 10:21 AM
9

Impractical! Unsafe! Unusual! Darwin Award!

Posted by elenchos | May 28, 2008 10:23 AM
10

That's a beer gut?

@9,

He'll only qualify for a Darwin award if the bike kills him.

Posted by keshmeshi | May 28, 2008 10:26 AM
11

Finally, combining the efficiency of jet power with the not-getting-laidness of being on a bike.

Posted by Jason Josephes | May 28, 2008 10:27 AM
12

Reverse Polarity @8:

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!

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.

Posted by lostboy | May 28, 2008 10:36 AM
13

I'm going with bad photoshop hoax on this one.

Posted by NapoleonXIV | May 28, 2008 10:52 AM
14

I bet he heard the original JATO urban myth and said lets try it on a bike.

Posted by LMSW | May 28, 2008 10:55 AM
15

@10

But what if the bike gets him laid before it kills him?

Posted by elenchos | May 28, 2008 11:21 AM
16

Finally, a bike a Hummer owner can enjoy!

Posted by inkweary | May 28, 2008 11:50 AM
17

Finally, a bike a Hummer owner can enjoy!

Posted by inkweary | May 28, 2008 11:52 AM
18

No helmet! He'll be sailing through daily sponge baths and physical therapy.

Posted by Vince | May 28, 2008 3:42 PM
19

I wondered what John Ritter had been up to since he died. Now I know.

Posted by Jim | May 29, 2008 1:59 PM

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