Have you heard of Francois Gissy? No? Well, he has just done 333 km/h on a rocket propelled push bike.
The bike, designed by Gissy’s friend, Arnold Neracher, reached its top speed of 333 km/h in just 4.8 seconds and 250 meters.
“In the moment, it is scary, but as soon as you stop, you also realize how amazing that was,” Gissy said of the experience in an interview with the technology website Gizmag. But he said the wind is extremely powerful when travelling above 300 km/h. “I’m lucky my head is still bolted on the body!”
“Blown” bicycle!
Gissy sits just above the rocket, which has three thrusters and is fastened to the frame. (Exotic Thermo Engineering/Swiss Rocketman.)
This was not his first time; Gissy’s previous speed record on a similar bike in 2013 was 263 km/h.
Exotic Thermo Engineering’s other inventions include a rocket-powered go-kart, a rocket car, and a jetpack called a “rocket belt.” (The latter must get the sphincter well and truly puckered!)
According to Guinness World Records, the fastest speed ever for a bicycle that wasn’t rocket powered was 268.831 km/h by Fred Rompelberg of the Netherlands, riding behind a wind-shield fitted dragster in 1995 and assisted by the slipstream of the car.
The current unassisted bicycle speed record is 133.8 km/h – a record that a team in Toronto is trying to break.
