Bike-Mad Man Makes 90-Speed Racer

Bike-mad Alec Morton has built his own two-wheeled speed machine capable of travelling at more than 50mph!

The 26-year-old dad-of-four has transformed a Raleigh pedal cycle into a 90-gear racer that can overtake cars.

Alec,from Swindon,Wilts,has spent the past ten years planning and building the super cycle.

But it is not quite finished - Alec still has to upgrade the brakes to match the speed.

"I have overtaken mopeds a few times and have even overtaken a few cars as well" he said.

"The reaction from drivers is quite funny.They just look and try to catch me up."

Alec clocked up 53.9mph when he took it for a run down the A419 dual carriageway wearing helmet and goggles.

He is not allowed to compete in races with the bike but uses it for touring and weekend rides into the country.

It is capable of taking him up the steepest of hills because of the extremely low gear ratio.

The bike looks like a normal drop handlebar racer.The frame is a 1987 gold and black Raleigh Record,but Alec had to order many of the specialist parts from London.

The most important components are a three-speed rear hub and a rare dual control gearing system once found on the Raleigh Bombers of the early 1980s.

He got the idea for the 90-gear cycle while on work experience in a Swindon bike shop ten years ago.

So far it has cost him £675 but he is considering buying another frame which would add a further £350.

He's been a cycle fanatic since the age of 14 when he discovered a way to make his BMX run more smoothly.

Originally he planned to make a bike with 100 gears in time for the Millennium.

But the birth of his son Rhys five weeks ago meant his time was taken up elsewhere.