1951 York Bicycle with Lohmann engine
My Lohmann, pictured here, is mounted on a postwar German York bicycle.
Both the Lohmann engine and the bicycle were sympathetically restored by my good friend Patrick in France.
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The following is taken from The Cyclemaster Museum website http://Cyclemaster.co.uk
Lohmann 18cc ‘Bicycle-Diesel Engine’
The 18cc 2-stroke Lohmann engine was officially described as a ‘mixture compressing self-igniting two-cycle motor.’
It fixes under a bicycle’s pedal crank and operates the rear wheel by roller.
When it originally went on sale in Great Britain, the price was just under £25 10/-
There’s neither carburettor nor ignition system. Instead the engine works on a variable compression ignition system, which is moderated by the twistgrips.
Inventor and designer Hermann Teegen (1899-1962) is the spiritual father of Lohmann engines. He designed several similar engines, 3 of which were patented.
From one of these prototypes, over a period of 3 years, the current 18cc Lohmann engine was developed. It first appeared in 1950.
51,000 were built by August 1954.
Although in test reports of the time, it was specifically pointed out that the engine was not a genuine diesel, Lohmann advertising subsequently marketed it as a ‘bicycle-diesel engine’ (ie ‘Fahrrad-Dielelmotor’ in advertising leaflet below)
The article below appeared in ‘The Guardian’ newspaper.
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I had a stall at the Sunbeam Club Veteran Pioneer Motorcycle Run in March 2008 on Brighton seafront, and I took the Lohmann with a few of my other motorcycles. It attracted a lot of interest.
www.Oldbike.eu 