Poway Cyclemower Inventor Now in Search of a Manufacturer

Mowing the lawn could be getting a lot more fun in the near future. OK, maybe that’s not possible, but it will certainly be getting a lot easier.

In a venture that started six years ago, longtime Poway resident and former triathlete Steve Hartman came up with the idea for a Cyclemower―a invention he calls the major first advance in lawnmower technology in 20 years.

“Getting the prototype was built was a monumental endeavor,” said Hartman, an insurance adjuster who lives in Poway with wife Laurrie and their seven children. “I’ve managed to get it dialed in.”

Using the same theories that have driven advances in the modern bicycle, the Cyclemower employs a patented lightweight, double-overdrive gearing configuration that produces a blade speed equivalent to a gasoline powered lawnmower―without any of the pollution or noise.

“Lawnmowers are tremendously more polluting that a typical car for the same period of use,” said Hartman, who rivals an encyclopedia when it comes to having historical data about the human-powered lawnmower.

Now on his fifth and rather colorful version, Hartman says the next stage is finding a serious manufacture, one who can make a truly “consumer friendly form” of the Cyclemower―improving on the engineering and design. He admits this phase is proving most difficult.

“Any sane person would’ve taken the money I put into this and put it into a 401K,” Hartman said with a laugh. “But what’re you going to do? You’ve got to be bold in life.”

To contact Hartman, visit cyclemower.com or email lifestylestore@cyclemower.com.