Air powered bicycle.

Step 3 One person operation.

so it actually worked and moved eric and I along at about 4 miles perhour for about 1 minute. that's all we expected from a 100psi tank. what we really need is a 4500 psi carbon fiber scuba tank. in theory that should give 250 watts worth of power for about an hour. that would be way cool. also need more efficient motor directly in drive train to really accomplish this.

Comments

[BuildIt6000]

The proper way to do this would be to build an air turbine engine and connect that to your tank. Modified tesla turbine maybe?

[uberdum05]

You could use a big propane tank mounted to a trailer attached to the bike?

[jssteinke]

thats what i would do!

[sjo232]

that is AWESOME

[ngenius1]

look for local government auctions of surplus fire department SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus) tanks, AKA "Scott Air Packs". Can frequently be had for a song, after they are no longer usable for their intended purpose. Most city governments have such auctions, at least once a year. (CAUTION: You may end up with more useless stuff than you can possibly imagine! Some of it can be quite dangerous if misused...but then, misuse is just what happens when something goes horribly wrong!)

[normanicus]

I hope you don't mind me suggesting a better way to make an air assisted bike. A compressor is a pump in reverse. So, why not build a compressor/pump into the bottom bracket. Then, when going down hill the unit would act as a pump and compress air. Where to store it? Right in the frame. When going up hill and in need of a boost then switch unit to work as a pump and get some energy back. If it would work then it would add little weight. The big disadvantage compared with your idea is that it means reconstructing the bike.

[inchman]

I have access to scuba tanks and a means to refill them for free so I'll try the next step. My only question is, is the air drill modified in anyway to transmit the power to the wheel more efficently?