Fan Powered Bike Travels At 15 mph

Fan powered bike travels at 15 mph FARM HOME Miscellaneous 17-1-18 "It gets a lot of strange looks but I like it because it goes up to 15 mph without pedaling," says Dave Aardema, Doon, Iowa, about his 3-speed bike fitted with a big engine-powered fan on back. The 2-bladed "swamp boat" fan is powered by a 2 hp rope start gas engine. It's mounted on a frame that Aardema built from steel tubing, plywood, and fiberglass. The base of the frame is secured to the rear forks of the bicycle with two set screws. "It works great and virtually eliminates pedaling under most conditions," says Aardema, who works as a freelance jet aircraft mechanic. "One drawback is that the fan is noisy and causes a lot of vibration. It takes a while to get used to driving it. Also, I have to take it easy going around corners because it's so top heavy. I got the fan from my Dad who used it on his canoe. "The fan is equipped with a throttle lever that I can reach from the seat to control speed. At top speed it goes about 15 mph on level ground when there's no wind. When I'm going with the wind I can really go fast. However, when I'm going into the wind I sometimes have to pedal." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dave Aardema, RT. 2, BOX 90, Doon, Iowa 51235 (ph 712 726-3307).

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