RevoPower

Several years ago, inventor Steve Katsaros started pondering how to come up with a new version of the fuel-powered bike:

So I thought to myself, “How do you power a bicycle with a clean gasoline engine?” I continued to think, “Would it is possible to design abicycle wheel with a gasoline engine built right into the wheel?” The trick was to have the entire engine, geartrain, starter, etc. be so thin that the whole assembly could spin between the forks of a standard bicycle. This spinning assembly (i.e. wheel with engine) could be cooled because it spins and not by a massive flywheel with a fan. In addition, I sought a solution that would allow anyone to install it on most bicycles and be easy to use.

Coming off the production line in early 2007 will be the result of his experimentations, RevoPower, a gas-and-oil powered wheel that can be used to power an existing bicycle. A small motor within the wheel causes it to rotate on a fixed axle, but the engine only kicks in when the bikes speed is slower than the motor is traveling.