Military Partnerships
In 1997, Montague received a two-year grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), who recognized the importance of folding bikes, to work with the United States Marines in developing the Tactical Electric No Signature (TENS) Mountain bike, it was not general issue. For this project Montague developed a new folding design, enabling the bike to fold faster for Paratrooper exit from military aircraft while also increasing its load bearing capacity. This gave rise to the Paratrooper folding Tactical Mountain Bicycle, Montague’s non-electric Military Mountain Bike. The folding Montague Paratroopers were issued on a test basis for a very short time, and withdrawn from service due to rampant theft issues within the units that they were issued to. MCX and AAFES continue to sell the bicycles as authorized equipment items but often proved to be the less convenient source for the bikes since many of the regular dealers have proven eager to ship the bikes to deployed troops overseas. While several other makes and models have been used by European troops, the Montague Paratrooper has been the most popular among US troops and sought after by others.
The following diagram demonstrates the efficiency of Bike/Electric Bike Infantry:
| System | Load Capacity | Daily Range | Speed | Daily Consumption | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel | Food | Water | ||||
| infantry | 50 lb | 25 mi | 3 mph | 3 lb | 24 lb | |
| bicycle infantry | 50 lb | 75 mi | 10 mph | 3 lb | 24 lb | |
| horse cavalry | 100 lb | 100 mi | 15 mph | 40 lb hay | 3 lb | 164 lb |
| electric bicycle infantry | 50 lb | 100 mi | 15 mph | electric charge station | 3 lb | 24 lb |
| motorcycle infantry | 100 lb | 300 mi | 40 mph | 55 lb gasoline | 3 lb | 24 lb |
| medium truck | 10,000 lb | 400 mi | 40 mph | 350 lb diesel | 6 lb | 48 lb |
| APC | 10,000 lb | 300 mi | 35 mph | 665 lb diesel | 6 lb | 48 lb |
Read more about this topic: Montague Bikes
Famous quotes containing the word military:
“[I]t is a civil Cowardice to be backward in asserting what you ought to expect, as it is a military Fear to be slow in attacking when it is your Duty.”
—Richard Steele (1672–1729)