How fast do you think a bicyclist can go while riding a bicycle? 50 mph …? 93 mph …? 127 mph …? Nothing is impossible. But French cyclist François Gissy has broken the land speed record on a bicycle by attaching a hydrogen-peroxide rocket to the frame and reached to a top speed of 163 mph (263 kmph)!
In 2002, François Gissy made a world record by reaching a top speed of 150.74 mph or 242.6 kmph riding on a rocket-powered bicycle. And by reaching a top speed of 163 mph or 263 kmph, Gissy beat his old record and set a new world record. He rode the bicycle at an abandoned runway located in Munchhouse, Haut-Rhin department, Alsace, France. Swiss company Exotic Thermo Engineering made the rocket named “ecological monopropellant motor” according to Gissy’s specifications and that runs on hydrogen peroxide.
The concentration is fed from the tank into a secondary chamber that houses a catalyst — usually silver. When the reaction takes place, the hydrogen peroxide breaks down into heat, water and oxygen to create steam that’s 650 degrees Fahrenheit. That steam is then pushed through a rocket nozzle, giving the bike its thrust. Watch him making the new world record in the video below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh3yZ5aSApw
Unfortunately, François Gissy’s top speed could not beat the fastest cycling record created by Fred Rompelberg, a Dutch cyclist who was able to reach a top speed of 268.8 km/h in 1995 in slipstream.
Source: CNET
Thanks To: Daily Mail
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