Bill & Tel
From Ireland
October 27th, 2004
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| Bill & Tel's Excellent Adventure! |
Ireland, as you are have doubtless heard,
is a great place to visit - but perhaps not
the best place to live all year round! -
Rain, freezing winters, short winter days
and long nights…and of course, those green
rolling hills - not so great if you want
to use a cycle to get around…enter the Golden
Eagle cycle engine!
Myself and Terry had previously used a couple
of 33cc Campian engines sourced from Spain
- great little machines but rather dirty
in operation and hopeless in the rain (typical
of the friction roller design). Having searched
the planet for a suitable replacement we
came across a forum contributor who spoke
very highly of the design, performance, and
reliability of the Golden Eagle, and it was
at this point that the search for the holy
grail of cycle engines came to an end.
The first thing you discover when you Golden
Eagle is that they are just really nice folk
who have a real interest in their customers
- a very reassuring observation when you're
about to fork-out the best part of a £1000
'quid' to someone on the other side of the
sphere!
Tel had damaged his back during a weight
lifting episode a few years ago and had some
reservations about the degree of advantage
the Golden Eagle would present over our existing
engines - He had nothing to fear! After an
almost effortless 30mins to secure the engines
to our bikes, we set off for test number
one - the Flush road in the Belfast hills.
Even with the standard gear attached we had
no difficulties getting over the hills -
something we had never previously managed
to do!
A few observations at this point - The engine
improves dramatically after about 200 miles,
so be patient and you will be richly rewarded.
And whatever you do… don't compromise on
the quality of 2 stroke oil - the engine
is designed to maximise performance with
minimum emissions - it can't spit out the
rubbish you put into the tank like older
conventional 'dirty types'! Courtesy demands
that I refrain from telling you which of
the two cyclenauts was guilty of this error
of judgement!…lets just say, Tel has now
learnt his lesson (Gloat)!
Slemish Mountain was for us the ultimate
test. Budding historians will recognise it
as the place tradition states St Patrick
spent his servitude after his captivity from
mainland Britain prior to his conversion.
After a terrible summer we finally made our
way in mid August to the foothills of Slemish,
some 35 miles north of Belfast, traversing
several demanding hills in the Glens of Antrim
along the way. The engines proved superb
in every department - quiet, responsive,
and very easy on the leg muscles (and the
back)! After about 2 hours we reached the
foothills of Slemish - great fun.
We had some reservations about how well the
bikes would perform in normal cycling mode
- Yes, there is a little drag, but it won't
hinder the pleasure of a typical journey
for the majority of cyclists. The only 2
adjustments we've had to make since the purchase
was to lift the rear wheel a tad to tighten
the belt, as this will stretch a little initially
and come off occasionally in 'standard cycling'
mode. And secondly, a simple adjustment to
the throttle cable to stop the rear wheel
spinning completely when the throttle is
off.
In conclusion then, a super little engine,
very well designed with remarkable power
for its size. As Tel & I parked at the
foothills of Slemish Mountain we couldn't
help wonder how much more dramatic St Patrick's
escape would have been with the assistance
of a Golden Eagle cycle engine! - I think
there's a Monty Python sketch in the making
here - the idea certainly kept us amused
all the way back to Belfast!
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