When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Steam Cycle

#eBayPartner    Most Recent BUY IT NOW Items Listed on eBay
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
Steam Tandem - The Cycle Age late 1899

Interesting read about the things that can go wrong while riding one of these in competition....

Screen Shot 2018-03-10 at 16.01.27.png

Screen Shot 2018-03-10 at 16.19.37.png

Screen Shot 2018-03-10 at 16.01.37.png


__________________________

Screen Shot 2018-03-10 at 18.09.37.png


Screen Shot 2018-03-10 at 18.10.09.png

Screen Shot 2018-03-10 at 18.10.02.png
 
Last edited:
I talked to a guy at the (now defunct) Castle Hill Concours in Ipswich, MA who drove a 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Stanley down from Maine. I watched it nearly launch up the hill on its way to the main field. He said kids in Camaros and such would sometimes rev at him, likely as a joke, and he would destroy them in a (short) drag race. Made so much torque from 0 rpm that the rim could spin inside the tires. IIRC, 750 lbs/ft. The later Doble Steam cars were something like 1000. People think of steam today as slow, but of its many issues, power wasn't one of them. Horsepower is a measurement of applied power times engine speed, so the higher an engine revs, the higher peak horsepower will be, but that tells nothing about usable power at lower engine speeds. These steam engines rarely exceeded 1000 rpm (and gas engines of the day weren't much better), so the low horsepower numbers people sneer at today don't actually reflect their usable performance. I'm not saying a 1912 Cadillac can run with even a new Ford Focus, but higher end cars (read: most of them at this time besides the Model T) would hold with modern traffic pretty well outside of an expressway (and some of them could manage that, too).

A few photos from the Collings Foundation Greatest Races a few years back:

Steam vs horse & carriage vs electric vs gas. IIRC, the Stanley Steamer won.

549734_10151033896703191_1515052472_n.jpg


Stanley Steamer and, IIRC, a Stutz Bearcat racing a thoroughbred pulling a gentleman who is applying natural pre-aerodynamic downforce to the sulky(?). This horse was pretty awesome—stomping impatiently before the race and visibly happy when it realized it was winning.
558597_10151033898763191_445582636_n.jpg


This woman raced the Bleriot XI. She didn't win, but lost quite stylishly.
527198_10151033902243191_1968359261_n.jpg


559249_10151033905543191_397648643_n.jpg
 
Back
Top