MOTOR-CYCLING.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18265, 26 December 1924, Page 6

MOTOR-CYCLING.

BABY ENGINES FOR PEDAL

MACHINES.

100 MILES A DAY FOR Bd. A feature of the motor-cyclo section of the Paris motor show now in progress is the extensive devolopment of th© motorassisted pedal cycle (states tho MotorCycling correspondent of tho ""Daily Mail").

During a visit to tho motor salon I was much struck by tlio display of scores of baby engines suitable for attachment without any structural alteration to the oidinary cycle. These ranged in price from about £7 to JCI-1.

The fact that so many French motoroycle firms are showing these engines suggests that they have not only become efficient but also highly popular in. that country. Many of these tiny units look like toys. Some are rated as low as one-half horse-power, but in theso days of potted power there seems no reason why they should not stand up to the work of propelling au ordinary cycle, which is essentially light. They are not designed to usurp the functions of the motor-cycle proper, but to be of service to thoso who like to take a little exercise with their cycling. They are detachable, and if tho cyclist wants exercise pure and simple he can leave his engine at home, a's it can be fitted to the machine in a few minutes. A rider of one of theso little machines told mo that, proceeding partly under his own foot-power and partly with the aid of Tiis baby engine, he could cover 100 miles a day without tho leas* fatigue and at a cost of about Bd. Tho method of drive varies. One engine is attached to the machine above the hack wheel and drives two pulleys which operate on the rim of the wheel. Another has a belt-drive to a pulley fixed to tlio back-wheel rims. .Another drives direct on tho front tyre of the cvcle.

Most of the engines are of the twostroke typo with petrol lubrication, and are fitted with a fly-wheel magneto. They are dainty and self-contained.