I saw a photo of what I'm guessing is a Quax 36" modern pennyfarthing with an add-on motor in front of the front fork. (Here, second row down, far left. And do look around the site; Rideable Bicycle Replicas appear to be America's most prolific manufacturer of old-fashioned bicycles and offer plenty else besides.)
Neat idea -- but only for an expert, as "header over the front" is the standard failure mode* for a high-wheel "Ordinary" bicycle and adding even more weight up top is a recipe for instability.
Fear not; no less a personage than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle helped back the company with the answer to that problem: The Wall Autowheel a/k/a Smith Motor Wheel in the States, by either name a self-powered wheel that attaches beside the bicycle's rear wheel! I have only ever seen them on modern style "safety" bicycles, but darned if I can find a reason to not try it on an Ordinary. The added weight is all at the very back, where it'd do the most good. In fact, it's been done as recently as 1922 -- scroll almost to the very bottom of the linked "Wall Autowheel" article and there it is!
...Not that it's safe. Or especially street-legal, unless there's an exception for a 118 cc 19-teens gasoline engine. But by golly, you'd be the only one like it on the road.
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* So much so that it's where the term "header" for a forward fall entered the language. Oh, and "breakneck speed," too.
Showing posts with label INTERNAL COMBUSTORS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label INTERNAL COMBUSTORS. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Monday, October 3, 2011
DREAM CAR
Proud of your new minivan, are you? The one with a flexible interior: repositionable seats, maybe a table? The nice flat-floor unibody automobile, all streamlined and with excellent visibility?
Yes, a heck of a vehicle -- as good an idea now as it was in 1935, when the Stout Scarab first rolled out. What, you've never heard of it? Most people haven't, despite contemporary articles describing it as the coming thing. They were very expensive and only a few were built.
But, allowing for stylistic differences and engine placement, you'll see plenty of its distant descendants on the road today.
(Stumbled over the Scarab looking up the Dymaxion car. Did you know a new one was finished just last year? And they're still tricky to drive).
Yes, a heck of a vehicle -- as good an idea now as it was in 1935, when the Stout Scarab first rolled out. What, you've never heard of it? Most people haven't, despite contemporary articles describing it as the coming thing. They were very expensive and only a few were built.
But, allowing for stylistic differences and engine placement, you'll see plenty of its distant descendants on the road today.
(Stumbled over the Scarab looking up the Dymaxion car. Did you know a new one was finished just last year? And they're still tricky to drive).
Saturday, July 16, 2011
RETROTECHNOLOGIST VISITS NATIONAL MOTO+CYCLE
After a thoroughly satisfactory breakfast at a local diner, Tam K and I set out to visit National Moto+Cycle, whose storefront may be found in the same 1920s building as Luna Music and Indie Bike (around the corner).
They already had eye-candy waiting out front:
It's even prettier up close, though the guys were quick to point out that this is a prototype, lacking the custom paint and trim the production models will have. (Notice the helmets in the window, of which I should have taken a closer photo).
Inside, Chief Designer Matty Bennett and his partner-in-vehicularity were waiting and filled with enthusiasm.
National's basic product is a bicycle, but one that hearkens back to the first two decades of the 20th Century, as the "safety bicycle" was at its peak and the first production motorized versions were appearing. But they use modern materials with far better strength-to-weight properties, to produce a bicycle of reasonable weight and retro looks. The race-style turned-down handlebars can be flipped, resulting in a classic recreational/practical bike, or replaced with even more upright "beach cruiser" style handlebars. The bike has a multi-speed kickback hub and optional disc brake system.
...Or you can add a motor! Matty describes it as "like an early production motorized cycle. They're not intended to go superfast," running at the same speeds as city traffic. He plans to add an electric version as well. (More info at this link). The internal-combustion version has a standard twist throttle, kill switch and hand brake.
Sidecars will be available for all versions -- they'll be kept lightweight, in keeping with National's goal of attractive, retro, useful vehicles.
As you can see, even the showroom is something of a design engineer's dream.
Both the name and the logo are not a new invention but the return of a very old Indianapolis automaker: between 1900 and 1924, the National Motor Vehicle Company built a successful line of internal-combustion and electric vehicles in their plant at 22nd and the Monon (rather a lot of photos here); the building still stands and is presently The Project School.
Matty himself is the eye and hand behind the look of a number of Broad Ripple institutions, not the least of which is Taste. Between that talent, his background in bicycling, enthusiasm for these bikes and the history of National, I think we're looking at a winner.
I've more photos, from National Moto+Cycle's secret basement proving grounds, but they must wait for another day.
They already had eye-candy waiting out front:
It's even prettier up close, though the guys were quick to point out that this is a prototype, lacking the custom paint and trim the production models will have. (Notice the helmets in the window, of which I should have taken a closer photo).Inside, Chief Designer Matty Bennett and his partner-in-vehicularity were waiting and filled with enthusiasm.
National's basic product is a bicycle, but one that hearkens back to the first two decades of the 20th Century, as the "safety bicycle" was at its peak and the first production motorized versions were appearing. But they use modern materials with far better strength-to-weight properties, to produce a bicycle of reasonable weight and retro looks. The race-style turned-down handlebars can be flipped, resulting in a classic recreational/practical bike, or replaced with even more upright "beach cruiser" style handlebars. The bike has a multi-speed kickback hub and optional disc brake system.
...Or you can add a motor! Matty describes it as "like an early production motorized cycle. They're not intended to go superfast," running at the same speeds as city traffic. He plans to add an electric version as well. (More info at this link). The internal-combustion version has a standard twist throttle, kill switch and hand brake.
Sidecars will be available for all versions -- they'll be kept lightweight, in keeping with National's goal of attractive, retro, useful vehicles.
As you can see, even the showroom is something of a design engineer's dream.Both the name and the logo are not a new invention but the return of a very old Indianapolis automaker: between 1900 and 1924, the National Motor Vehicle Company built a successful line of internal-combustion and electric vehicles in their plant at 22nd and the Monon (rather a lot of photos here); the building still stands and is presently The Project School.
Matty himself is the eye and hand behind the look of a number of Broad Ripple institutions, not the least of which is Taste. Between that talent, his background in bicycling, enthusiasm for these bikes and the history of National, I think we're looking at a winner.
I've more photos, from National Moto+Cycle's secret basement proving grounds, but they must wait for another day.
Friday, July 15, 2011
RETRO WHEELS
I have recently found a couple of builders of classic bicycles, one British (Pashley Cycles) and one American (Worksman Cycles, who even make pennyfarthings). Each one offers wonderful bikes, delightfully characteristic of their national traditions. I was thinking it couldn't get any better.
It got better.
Just down the road from my 1924 bungalow -- well, just down the road, around several corners and a few blocks over, which is still quite close -- is a brand-new business, gearing up to offer a product right out of time: National Moto+Cycle builds motorized cycles of the sort that haven't been made in nearly a hundred years. Just click through their "wall photos." You'll see.
My lodger says I stared at the screen, stunned, when I first saw them.
We're got an invitation to stop by tomorrow. I can't make any promises but I will be bringing my camera.
It got better.
Just down the road from my 1924 bungalow -- well, just down the road, around several corners and a few blocks over, which is still quite close -- is a brand-new business, gearing up to offer a product right out of time: National Moto+Cycle builds motorized cycles of the sort that haven't been made in nearly a hundred years. Just click through their "wall photos." You'll see.
My lodger says I stared at the screen, stunned, when I first saw them.
We're got an invitation to stop by tomorrow. I can't make any promises but I will be bringing my camera.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
A REALLY BIG RIG
I don't know how I missed it! A friend posted photos several weeks back of a 1917 IHC "Titan," in as-new condition, and I've just now found them. Have a look. And if you're into the numbers, try these on for size: two cylinders, 9 3/4" bores, 14" strokes. Now that's big iron indeed.
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