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Jet Powered Bicycle Hits 73mph

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A while back, Bob Maddox hit 50mph with a single-engine jet powered bicycle that had to be started with a leaf blower.  This one is a dual engine pulse jet powered bike that runs fatter tires pumped to 65psi with heavy duty tubes.

Watch to the end…it’s only a test fire of the engines, but it shakes the whole ground and causes the camera, which is a good 20 feet away, to blur.  Freakin’ awesome.  Word on the street is Maddox is working on a bigger engine that would produce 1400 pounds of thrust for a drag bike…which is exactly the right idea as far as we’re concerned.  Here’s hoping he exhibits at Interbike and starts selling these kits through bike shops rather than just on eBay.

Pulse jets, by the way, originally came from the German army who used them to propel buzz bombs during WWII, which flew at low altitudes before dropping to earth and exploding.

Hit ‘more’ for a photo of the bike…

bob maddox bike pulse jet powered rocket bicycle

The new dual engine model is built on a 2005 Electra cruiser. This bike is headed to a collector in the Netherlands.

bob maddox bike pulse jet powered rocket bicycle

Those tuner kid’s import car exhaust ain’t got nothin’ on this…

As quoted on Wired.com:

“This bike has two [engines], although it is really one engine with two tail pipes,” Maddox said. “I stacked two 60-pound thrust engines and opened a hole between the combustion chambers and that makes them cycle as one.” The new engine also has a push-button starter and throttle.

bob-maddox-pulsejet-bicycle3

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Ron
Ron
14 years ago

I wonder if the engine intake will be forgiving of water or particles in the air. Notice the imbalance of the thrust as it only acts on the left side. It’ll be interesting to see if he’ll be able to corner well with the burners still going.

Ron
Ron
14 years ago

Ofcourse, when gas prices rise, he may want to ditch the whole setup and just use human power. 🙂

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