Jet-powered Raleigh shopper bicycle tops 50mph

A British inventor has built the world's fastest and loudest shopping bicycle.

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Shopper bikes are the ideal vehicle for short-distance errands; robust little work vehicles long loved by those for whom the bicycle is about function rather than form. They are bikes that cannot be described as fast, until now.

V1 doodlebug-powered bicycle

Colin Furze is self-confessed ‘garage inventor’ who salvaged a Raleigh Shopper after it was discarded by his friend’s mum and decided to upgrade its performance.

After lengthening its frame, and unfortunately doing away with the definitive wire mesh shopping basket usually fitted above the front wheel, he added a 5ft-long home-built pulse jet.

Pulse jets were fitted to the German V1 ‘doodlebug’ rockets that terrorised England during WWII – they get extremely hot, make a horrendous amount of noise and are very rarely fitted to bicycles!

A standard Raleigh Shopper usually cruises at about 15mph, but with the help of the propane-powered pulse jet it is claimed this speed is boosted to a wobbly 50mph.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bKHz7wOjb9w

Insure your own custom bicycle

If you have bought or built a custom bicycle, get an insurance quote from the ETA. We cover many unusual, non-standard bicycles and as a company that has been known to indulge our own passion for customising bikes (the uninitiated can search Google for the BOND bike or the Hornster) we have a sympathetic policy towards home builds. If you have any questions, please get in touch for a chat.

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Every cycle insurance policy from the ETA protects against theft, accidental damage, vandalism and includes £2m third party cover. If you are unfortunate to be injured while cycling, it boasts personal accident and a specialist legal team is ready to spring into action on your behalf to safeguard your rights. Other benefits of the insurance include Cycle Rescue – a recovery service for your bike should you break down – and cycle hire to keep you on the road should your own bike be unavailable following a claim.

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