Bicycle with steam engine whose creator died on the car

Nowadays electric bicycles with motorized bicycles with a small engine on them and electric bicycles that can easily climb up the slope are relatively popular, but seems there was a powered bicycle even more than 100 years ago from now.

Details are as below.
Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum 1894 Roper Steamer

Weighing 150 pounds (approximately 68 kg) and looking as it is.


There is also a meter.


A plate about the patent.


Coal chamber below.


There is a boiler above.


The exhaust pipe is also tinged.


It was 73 years old Sylvester · Howard · Lauper who produced this bicycle. It is said that it was made to put it on a small bicycle race in Boston. In the end, the average speed is about 40 mph (about 64 km) and it is a bicycle that can run.

However, the incident occurred during training. According to the person who was watching near, the front wheel wobbled out, suddenly the bicycle dropped out of the course and thrust into the sandbox and the roper that was on board was thrown out. Assistants rushed to the roper lying under the wheel, but they had already died. According to the diagnosis he seems to have died of a heart attack during get on.

Article of the time.


Regarding the bicycle with the steam engine, the following details.

Japan Automobile Centennial History Chapter 1 Prehistory - Section 5 Bicycles with steam engines born in the West