Nothing to do with the Jeep, but interesting never the less. Trying to do my bit to save the planet, (Waste of time.... obviously. We're all doomed) I have taken to using my electric bike and charging its two 12 volt batteries via the two 40 watt solar panels on the roof of the Land Rover. Squeaky clean power. The bike itself dates back to the 30’s and is a Philips Gent's with rod brakes and a Sturmey Archer three speed with original cross bar mounted changer. The electric bit comes from a 24 volt electric shopping bike discarded by none other than Ron Combo’s elder brother. It’s remains were in a lock up in London when Ron quit this sceptered Isle. I welded the mounting bracket to the bike frame, made a battery rack and fitted a Bakelite switch offering ‘on’, or ‘off’. I even managed to rig it to run through the Sturmey Archer three speed, thus giving comfortable cruising speeds of 100 mph. No room for the back brake, but any fool can make a bike stop. Added advantages are one can quite legally ride it back on the cycle lanes having had one or two too many in town and whizz up behind pedestrians in silence giving them a huge fright!
8 comments:
What a great bit of kit. And standing there in your cobbled yard a la France. Are you sitting looking at it whilst eating le pain avec Bonne Maman Raspberry Conserve? Probably not.
I bought a black Raleigh policeman's bike in the 70s from a bike shop in Leicester. When I asked if I could spread the money about a bit the bloke said "Of course mate. There's more ways of skinning a cat than shoving dynamite up its arse".
What a marvelous quote. I shall use it a lot! I seem to remember you photographed a similar bike it that very spot in my yard 100 years ago. Close with the jam. I actually had two pieces of wholemeal toast topped with.... yes.... Bon Maman Apricot Conserve. Delicious and within 10 minutes of taking the picture.
What a bike! And a great mix of old and new. That reminds me i have got about four Velo-Solex in various states of repair....must get them going.
I might venture that the Diplo workshop is in the process of installing a little 3.5 horse B&S side valve motor to a push bike. I will report on progress via SS&G with accompanying hospital pics. More Gas !
My Mazda E2200 panel van, with rare twin-sliding doors and sunroof option, and which is for sale, is powered by the triple-rotor, twin turbocharged Wankel engine from the Le Mans' winning Mazda Group 'B' 787 from a few years back. I picked up this engine for a very reasonable price at a car boot sale in Chiswick. The vendor had labeled it thus: 'one washing machine motor, noisy but otherwise ok'. After some experimentation, I subsequently fitted a pair of contra-rotating McCullough chain-saw motors driving a pair of large, ducted, fans which suck the vehicle to the ground at speeds above 120mph.
Although the short wheelbase can give cause for concern on motorways, this is easily outweighed by the van's ability to arrive at one's destination before one has actually left, such is the prodigious power available.
ps I have ridden Toby's marvellous electro-retro-and-oddly-hetero push-bike and I can confirm, absolutely, that it's a sight scarier than its innocent olde worlde looks might suggest. 'White knuckle ride' doesn't begin to describe it. Give me my Napier-Hillman and a pair of stout moleskins any day.
I can't find my moleskins anywhere. I wanted them this morning in order to look the part as I strode down the village street through the snow with my Hardy-Lawrence sledge piled with boys and Easter eggs. But alas, no. So I stayed in bed until it had all melted.
I say, what a very fine piece of engineering! My Grandad would have approved - much more fun than that ghastly Toyota Priapus.
And such neat welding! You must be an expert: what position do you take on fluxing?
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