Thursday Video - The $50 Amphibious Bicycle

PVC Tubing and Foam Provide Flotation

This week's video has a Part 1 and a Part 2. It features a couple enterprising young men developing a low cost amphibious bicycle. In Part 1 the flotation system, which uses foam panels for buoyancy, mounted onto PVC tubing with zip ties, seems to work fine. The problem appears to be driving the bike forward when it's in the water.

In Part 2 they attempt to solve this problem with an electric drill mounted in the stern. Unfortunately, they have a very tiny propeller attached to the drill bit. It must have been the only propeller they could find. It doesn't generate much forward velocity, and eventually there is a catastrophic failure, which results in the bike sinking. They don't show the actual failure, just the aftermath with the bike in the water. Anyway, it's back to the drawing board for these two after this field trial.