All of us have ridden a bike in our life, but have you ever reached a speed of 85.71 mph (nearly 138 kph)? Definitely not! But the Canadian company has made an Aerovelo Eta bike, which has achieved it and has become the world’s fastest human-powered vehicle.
At the 2015 World Human Powered Speed Challenge competition, taking place in Battle Mountain, NV, Aerovelo founder, Todd Reichart pedaled his way to a new human-powered speed record while riding the Aerovelo Eta Bike.
The previous record for the fastest human-powered bike was set by Dutch cyclist, Sebastian Bowier in 2013. He reached the speed of 83.13 miles per hour (nearly 133.8 kph).
Aerovelo wrote in its official YouTube channel about the world’s fastest human-powered vehicle:
“Named after the Greek symbol of efficiency, Eta is designed to be capable of speeds in excess of 140/km/hr. With it’s aerodynamic shell giving it 100 times less drag then a modern car, the ultra-efficient design makes Eta capable of exceeding highway speeds using less than 1 horsepower.”
This isn’t for the first time that Aerovelo team has earned such a distinction. In 2013, the company made a human-powered helicopter which maintained a successful flight for one minute and they won the Sikorsky Prize. In 2010, the company built the Snowbird Ornithopter, a custom-built flapping wing craft, which recorded the world’s first sustained flight of its kind, staying in the air for 19 seconds.
Aerovelo Eta Bike: The world’s fastest human-powered vehicle has been built by a team of 14. The record may have been broken, but the event is still running and it may be possible that the other competitors break the record.