Mark T wrote:
> Bottle dynamos - all they do is suck power and make a funny noise. Today I
> saw a reverse bottle dynamo; one that ADDS power. The working mechanism
> sits stealthily over the front wheel - might be good for the peeps worried
> about their TT times
>
> <www.flickr.com/photos/86862441@N00>
Looks rather like a Velo Solex, French manufactured. I remember them
being popular in Dublin in the late 1950s and early 60s.
The V.S. had pedal power too. The clutch was a sort of lever + ratchet
arrangement allowing the drive wheel to drop onto the front tyre.
I was a child and didn't know much about engine sizes at the time, but
I'd guess the engine was about 30 c.c. Probably not as much as 50 c.c.
I one I saw operating hadn't the power, as we say here, to pull the skin
off a rice pudding. Had to be supplemented with pedal power on even
modest gradients.
The drive wheel looked to me to be like a small (2.5" diameter) grinding
wheel.
Best regards,
Jon C.
P.S. After that, the NSU Quickly was popular, and a Puch something. Then
came the Honda 50 and that was that. j.c.