Member
In case you wanted to take a peak at an old STEAM powered cycle.
Roper Steam Velocipede
- Thread starter Email
- Start date
Mountainman
Active Member
hey Email
that's a very cool looking old steam cycle there
I stared at that for a while -- kind of takes one back in time
a MB time machine...
I was just thinking -- what if Mr. Roper could see one of our MBs of today
that's the MB time machine coming this way...
ride that thing Mountainman
that's a very cool looking old steam cycle there
I stared at that for a while -- kind of takes one back in time
a MB time machine...
I was just thinking -- what if Mr. Roper could see one of our MBs of today
that's the MB time machine coming this way...
ride that thing Mountainman
bluegoatwoods
Well-Known Member
yes, this Roper fellow was ingenious. No doubt about that.
And my happy time engine looks like advanced engineering in comparison.
I'm kinda glad I live in the 21st century.
And my happy time engine looks like advanced engineering in comparison.
I'm kinda glad I live in the 21st century.
Mountainman
Active Member
yes - bluegoatwoods I am with you
a lot to be said in regards to our (advanced engineering)
as cool as that old steam MB is -------- VERY COOL
thinking that the top speed was -------- VERY SLOW
in Roper's day -- anything above walking speed
with an engine pulling or pushing one -- WAS A BIG DEAL !!!!
I am building up some steam wishing to ride that thing - Mountainman
Member
Just a heads up, the guy is dead.
Roper was killed on June 1, 1896, while testing a new steam motorcycle at a bicycle track in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
... (from link below)
By 1896, Roper felt he had his new machine perfected. On June 1 of that year, he took the steamer to the Charles River bicycle racetrack in Boston to test its viability as a pace-making machine for bicycle races.
Roper made a few exhibition laps around the track and several bicycle racers attempted to keep up with him but were unable to do so. Initially, Roper covered a mile in two minutes and 12 seconds. He was so elated, that he decided to try for an even better time. He scorched around the 1/3-mile wooden track, but he went into a big wobble on the back straight and was thrown off the track and into the sand surrounding it. When the spectators rushed up, it was apparent that Roper was dead. It was later determined that he had died of heart failure, not as a result of the accident itself.
(ADDED NOTE: 1mi/132 seconds *60sec/min*60min/hr = 27.27miles per hour! Not bad for a 72 year old man utilizing steam power! I wonder how fast he got it going that second time around.)
LOL, even this guy had a run in with the local police:
"Roper was once arrested on one of his rides, but quickly released when it was determined that he had broken no laws."
Also of interest (because of high MPG):
The collection is completed by a 1982 Rifle/Yamaha, highly modified for fuel efficiency. Powered by a 185-cc, 4-stroke engine and completely enclosed in a 19-lb. aerodynamic fiberglass fairing, the 175-lb. bike achieved an astonishing 372.22 mpg at the 1983 Vetter Fuel Economy Contest in California.
Roper was killed on June 1, 1896, while testing a new steam motorcycle at a bicycle track in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
... (from link below)
By 1896, Roper felt he had his new machine perfected. On June 1 of that year, he took the steamer to the Charles River bicycle racetrack in Boston to test its viability as a pace-making machine for bicycle races.
Roper made a few exhibition laps around the track and several bicycle racers attempted to keep up with him but were unable to do so. Initially, Roper covered a mile in two minutes and 12 seconds. He was so elated, that he decided to try for an even better time. He scorched around the 1/3-mile wooden track, but he went into a big wobble on the back straight and was thrown off the track and into the sand surrounding it. When the spectators rushed up, it was apparent that Roper was dead. It was later determined that he had died of heart failure, not as a result of the accident itself.
(ADDED NOTE: 1mi/132 seconds *60sec/min*60min/hr = 27.27miles per hour! Not bad for a 72 year old man utilizing steam power! I wonder how fast he got it going that second time around.)
LOL, even this guy had a run in with the local police:
"Roper was once arrested on one of his rides, but quickly released when it was determined that he had broken no laws."
Also of interest (because of high MPG):
The collection is completed by a 1982 Rifle/Yamaha, highly modified for fuel efficiency. Powered by a 185-cc, 4-stroke engine and completely enclosed in a 19-lb. aerodynamic fiberglass fairing, the 175-lb. bike achieved an astonishing 372.22 mpg at the 1983 Vetter Fuel Economy Contest in California.
Last edited:
s_beaudry
Member
Now thats the way I would want to leave this world....
Setting a new land speed record on my steamer bicycle and not regretting a second of it...
Respect, true respect for Roper!
Setting a new land speed record on my steamer bicycle and not regretting a second of it...
Respect, true respect for Roper!
S
SirJakesus
Guest
I wonder what our PD would have to say if we were shoveling charcoal into our bikes rather than filling them with gasoline. Very cool stuff thanks for sharing.
bluegoatwoods
Well-Known Member
Think of the Wright bros. A couple more ingenious guys. Bicycle mechanics who were also into gliding. then comes the internal combustion engine and they started thinking, "Hmmm....I wonder if...." and so on.
But what if they hadn't been into gliding and were only interested in bicycles?
I can guess what they might have invented.
___________________________________________________
"shovelling coal into our bikes, instead of gasoline".
It's good for a chuckle, isn't it?
But what if they hadn't been into gliding and were only interested in bicycles?
I can guess what they might have invented.
___________________________________________________
"shovelling coal into our bikes, instead of gasoline".
It's good for a chuckle, isn't it?
Similar threads
