Precursors Rowingbike
January 8, 1986
The very first rowingbike
The very first Thys Rowingbike was made out of carbon.
May 1987
The second version
Based on the experiences of the very first model, a second version was quickly designed and created
November 1988
The third version
In the beginning this carbon bike had a 24'' frontwheel and ''outboard'' steering with 2 windsurfing boom rods. Later on a 28'' front wheel was mounted and a steering bar with pivoting point just above the head set. A sailcloth fairing…
november 1988
The streamline fairing
This is also the third version of the first series of rowingbikes. At the background the fairing which provided a strong improvement of the aerodynamics of the rowingbike. The other picture shows the same fairing, put on the rowingbike
Fourth rowingbike: stainless steel
This version was made from a stainless steel pipe that came from the demolition of a milking installation. It was a round pipe, I believe with a diameter of 45 mm and a wall thickness of only 1 mm. A…
THYS 220 prototype in steel
Wheels were often fully made of carbon or Kevlar in the late 1980s. To cope with strong crosswinds, the front fork was positioned quite upright. However, this made the bike rather nervous. Nowadays, rowing bikes have a front fork that…
1990
THYS 220: production model
With the THYS 220, the first production model became a reality. Between 1990 and 1998, about 50 were made.
Early cable drive on THYS 220
Already in 1990, the first cable-driven rowing bike showed the potential of a steel cable instead of a chain. However, the hub gearing proved to be insufficiently efficient and consumed quite a bit of energy. The rider could not afford this loss of power.
Rowingbike for children
Left on the picture you see a rowingbike for children made around 1990. On the left an M5 recumbent for children. Of both bikes only one prototype was ever made.
1993
The low and long THYS 280 prototype
With this very low rowingbike, equipped with a fairing, Derk won the 1994 edition of the Paris-Amsterdam human power race. Technically this is a three-wheeled rowingbike, since there's a skateboard wheel mounted on the lowest part of the bike to cope with speed bumps.
1994
THYS 280
A very low rowingbike, of which only around 11 were produced. Build from 1994. A few of these 280 models were equipped with a sailcloth fairing that made it very fast. In 1994 it won the first Paris - Amsterdam bike race in awful weather.
1995 / 1996
Production line
All 220 and 280 models were handmade and welded in Derk's small workshop. This is one of the rare occasions with a lot of finished bikes on stock.
1997
THYS 240, prototype
It is possible to add a fairing to this rowingbike. On the photo you can discern six water bottles of 0.75 litres each. According to Derk, this is not enough for a 6 hour race like the one on Cycle…
juni 1998
THYS 240 with fairing
The Thys 240 (prototype) with fairing (rubber/carbon) during the 6-uurs race in 1998 (Cycle Vision, Lelystad). Thijs accomplished an average speed of 47.9 km/hour! He also did the one-hour race. Result: 53.8 kilometers.
1997 / 1998
First versions of the snek transmission
The concept of the Snek transmission was designed by brothers Bert and Derk Thijs around 1992. It took until 1997 before Derk bought his first lathe and he actually started to make prototypes. This very first Snek was made out…
september 1998
Thys 240 Paris - Amsterdam
Concentration at the start of the Paris-Amsterdam race (start at Eurodisney). Derk covered the distance of 510 km in 13 hours 53 minutes. This record only lasted one week- thank you Ymte Sijbrandij- but it was still pretty fast.
First prototype THYS 222
The first 222 model was made in 1998 after the 240 model was thought of as a bit too extreme for the large public. Therefore a somewhat higher and less reclining model was designed. That was a good choice for…
2000
Gold nugget (Goudklompje), the first RR version
This gold coloured 222 was the first prototype for the RR version. A lot of modifications were made on the standard 222 frame to hold the asymmetrical home-made rear wheel. The hub contained the roller ramp freewheel clutch that improved…
2001
THYS 222 RR version
The RR version of the 222 has the THYS design rear hub with roller ramp freewheel clutch. This -very expensive- clutch ensures a direct grip on the rear wheel in the beginning of the stroke. The shifting system has improved…
2001
222 RR Tour de France version
Picture: Derk Thijs ascending the Alp d' Huez For the Rowingbike Tour de France an intermediate Snek was added to achieve the highly desired low gearing. However, this system shifted very poorly and it was never sold. It's a small…
Winter 2001/2002
First CVT version on Gold nugget (Goudklompje)
After my Tour de France experiences with a very poorly working intermediate Snek it was clear to me that I had to principally change the gearing system. The CVT was a nice solution although the first version with the round…
2002
Thys 230
The THYS 230 with 20 inch rear wheel and 16 inch front wheel. This is one of the first CVT's.
2003
THYS 222 prototype with two 28 inch wheels
Sometimes tests of extremes can help you further. After the compact THYS 230 with 20 inch and 16 inch wheels it was interesting to know how two large wheels affect the speed and handling of the rowingbike. I suspected it…
Special rowingbikes for use with one leg
It turned out that the rowingbike is a great solution for people that can only use one leg. There are over a dozen rowingbike riders that only use one leg to propel the rowingbike. Starting off is hard to learn,…
THYS 240 production model
This picture below shows the improved second version of the wedge housing of the CVT system. On the first round shaped wedgehousing you sometimes needed a hammer to unlock the wedges :-( All clients received this new wedge housing with needle bearings free of charge.
april 2002
Rowing trailer
It was a nice try but it did not work; very unstable.
2002 / 2003
THYS 245 prototype
Ed Komen ascending to Males, Crete on his 245 model. The 245 is a lowered 240 prototype with symmetrical front wheel. The seat is approximately 4 cm lower than the 240 series.
2003
THYS 250 very low & long
The THYS 250 was an ongoing study for a follow-up model for the 222. After the THYS 245 prototype I tried to build a similar very low and fast rowingbike, but with the addition of an asymmetrical rear wheel. The…
2003
THYS 250 45.1 km/h on one hour time trial
After the 250 prototype was converted to a normal rear fork , the new one hour time trial record was set at Cyclevision 2003 at 45.1 km/h
2005
Thys 222 Revolver
The THYS 222 Revolver with 2 x 20 inch wheels. A precursor of the 220 mm snek was the 178 mm snek on a 20 inch rear wheel. A desirable gear for really steep slopes like Calibier and L'Alpe d'Huez.…
2006
Tandem 2006 , Steel CrMo frame
After the introduction of the revolver system there were no wishes left at the field of shifting mechanisms, it is a perfectly working system. This gives opportunity to go to the next challenge: how to build a effective rowingbike tandem.…
2006
THYS 209 prototype steel 2006
After the experiences with the low and long prototypes a more compact model, similar to the 222 model, was designed, build and tested. This was the steel version with aluminium steering bar, weighing 13 kg.
2007
THYS 209 prototype aluminium
Another improved and lighter 209 prototype was made in 2007, weighing just 11 kg. Martijn Mateman confirmed the importance of weight during ascends. He improved his time to Males, Crete by 5 minutes, getting there in 40 minutes on a 5 kg lighter rowingbike.
april 2007
Aluminium Tandem
It is a low, light and fast tandem with two 20 inch wheels. Cables from the rear rider go straight to the left snek, without intermediate axle. The tandem performed really well on long distance tours and races. Long distance…
2007
Focussing on optimal carbon bike
After the 209 prototypes it was clear how the follow-up for the 222 model should look like. It took a lot of time to find the right production company and to study their production process. Subsequently the 209 design was…
2008 / 2009
Carbon tandem
During the winter of 2008 /2009 the carbon tandem frame was designed the old fashioned way: take a piece of balsa wood and foam and shape it as you want it to be. It took more than a year to…
2017
Carbon 209 Ertro 540/571
An experiment from a few years back repeated in 2017 for a race in the park, Meppen, Germany. A carbon 209 equipped with a carbon 24’’ front fork, 24 ‘’ front wheel with 24 aero-spokes, Ertro 571 rear wheel with…
1986