The Hudspith Steam Bicycle is a fully functioning, steam-powered
bicycle
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
Bic ...
, designed and made by Geoff Hudspith.
It first ran in October 2000
and was first exhibited publicly at the 2001
Great Dorset Steam Fair
The Great Dorset Steam Fair (abbreviated GDSF, and since 2010 also known as The National Heritage Show) is an annual show featuring steam-powered vehicles and machinery. It now covers and runs for five days. This used to be from the Wednesday ...
.
It has since been exhibited - and ridden - at other rallies, including those in Denmark France and Germany.
It is an ordinary pedal bicycle, based on a restored 1949
VéloSoleX
VéloSoleX is a moped, or motorised bicycle, usually just referred to as 'Solex', which was originally produced by the French manufacturer Solex, based in Courbevoie near Paris, France. The company manufactured centrifugal radiators, carburetors ...
frame, modified to carry and use a home-made
steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
, and has a range of around on one tank of water and a top speed of .
Hudspith has also built a steam-powered
gramophone
A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
.
References
External links
*
* {{YouTube, RX5T73DfS9s, ''The Hudspith Steam Bicycle at Kiel''
Motorized bicycles