Video: A Home Made Air Powered Bike

Mar 18, 2019
by James Smurthwaite  

Tom Stanton's mad bike mods continue with his latest creation, an air powered bike. Fitting a piston, an air tank and a drive sprocket to the frame, he makes a bicycle that is powered by compressed air alone. Testing starts at around 8 minutes into the video for those who want to skip the engineering nerdery.

It's good, but for me the original and best air propelled bike comes from none other than Rob Warner:


Previously from Tom
• Wheelie Cheat Device
• Home made ABS

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66 Comments
  • 27 2
 Just launch a big 5 seconds fart while riding and you'll get the same effect, true story.
  • 10 1
 Toretto: "Too soon."
  • 26 0
 In recent News: Ryno Taco Bell collab supplements banned by UCI
  • 40 0
 A 5 sec. fart may well end up with more than just air.
  • 2 0
 @WAKIdesigns: I've heard these will also be explicitly banned in an update to the Geneva Protocol.
  • 4 0
 @Konyp: it violates Both Kyoto and Paris protocols for minimizing green house emissions
  • 2 0
 Hm. I wonder how many languages the word “shart” can translate to.
  • 1 0
 You just had to blow there Smile
  • 2 0
 @lRaphl: Thrust is equal to rate of change of mass in time, so the more reaction mass you expel in the 5 seconds the better your acceleration.
  • 6 0
 @Konyp: you have to translate it to us monkeys - how many burritos to win 5 seconds, or how many burritos to propell yourself to 60Mph and in how many seconds. At worst, how many Burritos to cover the distance to the moon and back? I must tell you though, farts DO NOT improve my max squat, even if I time it perfectly with the push upwards. And some people on the gym can fart all the way down.
  • 5 0
 Insane wid da methane.
  • 2 0
 @WAKIdesigns: not if you set it alight.
  • 1 0
 That's Bean Power right there.
  • 2 0
 Perfect! At least someone who knows what a true gas propulsion is! Smile
Here is Toulouse, South-West of France, we have a good fuel for that: le cassoulet: a delicious plate with beans that provides the best propulsion on climbings. Gas masks hightly recommended though for those who stay behind...
  • 1 0
 @Franzzz: sounds like you're from Ypres though
  • 1 0
 @WAKIdesigns: Swedish nerd humour? Didn`t get it sorry...
  • 22 0
 Are A-bikes going to get a bad rap in the PB comment section too?
  • 15 2
 Damn.. That blew me away (.. Sorry)
  • 4 0
 I feel quite deflated, cheat
  • 3 0
 @sewer-rat: You guys really suck the air out of the room.
  • 5 0
 @DaFreerider44: go and air your views elsewhere, we don't embrace pneu technologies lol
  • 5 1
 O Brother, where fart thou?
  • 10 0
 Warner was cutting edge on air technology a few years back....
  • 6 0
 Earthed Europa, classic. Added in now.
  • 4 0
 @jamessmurthwaite: Still no match for Colin Furze's Jet Bicycle...
  • 7 0
 This guy has an IQ that is equivalent to Boost 157, awesome engineering!
  • 3 0
 Looks like he used four electronic valves... why not just use a two electronic valves and two check valves? Then it always exhausts to atmosphere.

That said, using four valves would allow him to use the cylinder as a compressor if he wanted. Capture energy on the downhill and use it on the ups!
  • 1 0
 I was thinking he needs to use the shock/forks action on a full-sus bike to recharge the tank.
  • 3 0
 @number44: turn the whole frame into the air tank, and allow for reinflating tires with the compressed air too.
  • 5 0
 i think he grew up with watching a lot of macgyver and a-team
  • 2 0
 "I chose to use electronically controlled solenoid valves because I'd like to keep my input effort to a minimum".

Goes on to do more in a 19 minute video than I'll do in my entire life.
  • 1 0
 This guy has been street preaching about air bikes for a few years in the northwest: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Urf0dVvrfIc
Not intended for riders with thighs or baggy clothing
  • 4 0
 Needs an old-timey train whistle.
  • 2 0
 I thought it would be more in-line with this insane engineering www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GlocFzRqQw
  • 2 1
 Or this nutbag:

youtu.be/WREyAicJXkM
  • 3 0
 I raise you this: youtu.be/bKHz7wOjb9w
  • 2 0
 @ratedgg13: Furze is hands down the best at insane bike mods.
  • 2 0
 @ratedgg13: Necktie by Leatt.
  • 4 1
 Its an air powered motorcycle, not a bicycle.
  • 4 0
 You`re actually right. That`s the thought I`ve had as well. A bicycle is litterally a bicyclette in french, which is an old word btw, as we mainly call that a ``vélo`` coming from ``vélocipédus``, which means ``velocity with the legs``litterally. So a bicycle remains a machine dedicated to get more speed and go faster with one`s legs.... not with compressed air. Smile
  • 1 0
 I was really hoping for an adaptation of one of these: www.stringbike.com

This is really the perfect platform for an air powered bike.
  • 1 0
 This dude is some crazy kinda of steam punk engineering wunderkind. Really cool concept. I love it. Wait till he hits gen 5 with this thing.
  • 3 0
 sausage
  • 1 0
 Clever design. I was expecting him hitting warp though, not just chugging along.
  • 6 7
 Still better than an ebike.
  • 1 0
 @colincolin: Totally agree with you
  • 2 0
 It's cool, but it'll never be Colin Furze ROCKET powered bike cool.
  • 2 0
 He needs one of those 3500 psi bottles we have at the fire department.
  • 1 0
 Cool to see Brooklyn Machine Works is still around making bikes and has never strayed from their aesthetic.
  • 1 0
 I feel like that dude at the Portland Saturday market did this way before this guy, but this guy def stream lined it!!
  • 2 0
 Perfect bike for cheating in road racing.... Almost invisible.
  • 2 0
 Arduino!
  • 2 0
 How big is his garden???
  • 1 0
 Also missing the moles` bumps to make a real pinkbike crash test, no?
  • 1 0
 9:05...careful with the daffodils mate! His mum will be livid Smile
  • 1 0
 He needs a train whistle to go with that classic steam engine sound.
  • 1 0
 I produce the same result organically by consuming a pre-ride burrito.
  • 1 0
 Always assess ballsack damage before innovating.
  • 1 0
 This guy needs a test pilot , one who can ride a bike!!
  • 1 0
 you should get a job and or girlfriend
  • 1 0
 This guy grew up but kept his child like imagination; my new hero.
  • 1 0
 Totally gonna follow your channel, very interesting Smile
  • 1 0
 damn, it didn´t blow
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