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to the Archive indexFollowing a bit of dicky ticker restoration I have been attending exercise classes at the hospital twice a week. One visit, without thinking, I wore my Trojan sweatshirt and on arrival was asked by two of the group what type of Trojan I had. It turned out that Steve (aged about 40) has an uncle who owned a Trojan 200 when Steve was just a lad and would give him rides in it. But he said he could never come to terms with entry and exit of the vehicle (maybe his legs were too short).
Maurice (known as Maurice Major as there is another Maurice in the group known as Maurice Minor because of their respective ages) who is now well into his ’70s, had a Trojan Mini-Motor when they were new. It seems he tried several of the bicycle motors including Power Pak, Cyclemaster, and an Italian make which kept breaking down.
He said he found two faults with the Trojan version. One was that the petrol tank kept cracking. However, by going in person to the factory at Croydon he would be given a new one free of charge.
The other problem was that the cycle brakes were no match for the speed that could be obtained on a bicycle with Trojan Mini-Motor, assisted by the hills around Redhill and Reigate. He told me of one occasion when following a lorry, which stopped suddenly, he had to take to the pavement and eventually came to rest in line with the lorry cab and a rather surprised driver.
Happy Trojaning
Peter Redman
Dear Ed,
Another peculiarity of a Mini-Motored bike is that when it is raining the brakes don’t work because the roller drive is sending a constant stream of water on to the rim. Consequently, when on a Lands End to John O’Groats stunt some years ago and we topped a hill to tind a farmer leading a herd of cows across the road, I know that it is not your whole life that flashes in front of you but: “which is the softest part of the cow to run into?”
Regards,
Nick Hands
This editorial extract and letter were both first published in the January 2000 edition of Trojan, the magazine of the Trojan Owners’ Club. Peter Redman is the editor of Trojan; Nick Hands is the TOC’s Vice-President