By Cam Engineering / YouTube.com
In California, an American YouTuber has succeeded in developing an innovative device for riding a bike on disused railroad tracks. The concept, which allows users to ride their bike on the road as well as on rails, could offer a new way of repurposing out-of-use railroad tracks worldwide.
In California, an American YouTuber has succeeded in developing an innovative device for riding a bike on disused railroad tracks. The concept, which allows users to ride their bike on the road as well as on rails, could offer a new way of repurposing out-of-use railroad tracks worldwide.
An American YouTuber has succeeded in riding his electric bike nearly 200 km along old disused railroad tracks. To be able to ride on the rails, he developed an ingenious system of stabilizers. It consists of a guide at the front, responsible for keeping the bike on one of the rails, and a support arm at the back, which rests on the outer parallel rail. Once off the tracks, these two stabilizers retract, making the bike a perfect hybrid vehicle, capable of riding both on the road and on rails. A drone recently filmed its exploits in action.
Note that this YouTuber has been working on this concept for a long time and had already tried it with a regular push-bike in the past. The idea here is to cover long distances relatively quickly, without being bothered by road traffic. Still, it is always essential to use abandoned tracks, and it's advisable to seek out lines with infrastructure (rails) still in good condition.
Those who wish to do so can already pedal on rails using railbikes or draisines, which can be found at various locations worldwide. These take the form of carts placed on the rails and equipped with two or more driving (pedaling) seats. Sometimes passengers can be carried at the back.
The repurposing of disused railroad tracks represents a real challenge. In France, many soft mobility projects are being developed on this theme. For example, the national railway company, SNCF, is working on Flexy, a small shuttle capable of switching from rail to road and vice versa without stopping. A first trial is planned for 2024. In a different style, SICEF, the Engineering, Construction and Operating Company of the Ferromobile, intends to rehabilitate abandoned railroad tracks in order to run a strange kind of electric vehicle, inspired by the Micheline railcar. This solution is intended to be modular, low-carbon and low-cost.
