When it comes to producing sheer horsepower, there is nothing else, pound-for-pound, that can even step inside the same zip code as rocket engine. Certainly, we all know what they can do on a grand scale, as those giant rocket boosters strapped to the back of NASA’s space shuttles delivered an estimated equivalency of almost 40 million horsepower.
But even on a small scale, they’re untouchable. Sure, you could stack up a few internal combustion motors and equal out the horsepower, but not only are you talking more space requirements (and weight), but at the end of the day, the rubber has to meet the road.
Not a problem with a rocket, which is purely propulsion. Which means you could make a skinny bicycle tire hook up. Literally.
Last week, bicycling enthusiast Francois Gissy did what many of us would never have the fortitude to do, when he saddled up on a modified bicycle equipped with three small rocket thrusters fueled by hydrogen peroxide. Those three small boosters, when lit, deliver an estimated 566 horsepower equivalency. That’s about 200 more horsepower — give or take a few — than a Pro Stock Motorcycle produces, in a package that is much smaller overall.
Gissy rocketed (pun intended) to a world record speed of 207 miles per hour on his one-off bicycle on the front stretch of the famed Circuit Paul Ricard road course in Le Castellet, France, doing so in a reported 4.8 seconds. Gissy achieved the mark in roughly 820 feet, which means he covered an eighth of a mile in about four seconds. The bike has, in the past, traversed the quarter-mile in just over seven seconds, although the math would indicate it can already go much quicker. But here’s a bicycle that can nearly hang with a nitro-burning motorcycle — for at least 800 feet anyway. Granted, there’s a slight difference in weight-to-horsepower ratio, but nonetheless, that’s pure madness.
A 650 horsepower Ferrari 430 Scuderia was lined up alongside the bike for a ‘drag race’ of sorts, but in all reality, the flashy sports car was just there for the cameras, as it never really stood any shot once Gissy lit the fuse. And just for shits and giggles, the bike still has the cranks, pedals, chain, and every other component in a mountain bike drivetrain, just in case the going gets tough (meaning it runs out of fuel).
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