Weird Bikes

FISMA

Another post made me think of some of the stranger ideas that I have seen in bicycles. Please share anything you've come across. Here's a few I remember.

I see they are still making the slingshot - instead of a downtube there's a cable. I have never seen one, has anyone?

Also remember this one by Cannondale - nice to accelerate, just watch those potholes.

Finally, is this even a bike?

Bunny Buster

What about this one!? :D

happytramp

and I honestly don't know what this one is?

Lumen

That four seater scaffolding construction is absolutely magnificient. Got any links?

It's not a "bicycle" though.

fat bloke

Saw this in a bike shop in California.

All proper campag kit on it and all.




Bamboo frame! :cool:

I'd love to have had a spin. Think it was around 2500 or 3000 dollars or something.

happytramp

I wonder how heavy a bamboo bike is? No Lumen, afraid I couldn't find the original link to 'Scaffold' bike (I thought it might qualify as a recumbent) I just noticed that it has a fire extinguisher attached!! Why??

doozerie

Sidewaysbike man has some very odd designs. I think he is an Irish guy, he was featured on George Lee's RTE Radio 1 program last week I think. I've seen him ride one of his bikes in Dublin traffic, one with separate steering/handlebar for front and back wheels (a little like the one below). It looked fun but seemed to require too much room when stopping (the frame essentially moves sideways) to be safely usable on congested streets. Still, he was managing, but possibly because everyone, me included, gave "the crazy man" plenty of space.

doozerie

I thought that bamboo bikes were originally developed to provide a cheap and easily-made (and locally-made) form of transport in third world countries. From what I've read, bamboo frames are quite strong and have good natural vibration-damping characteristics. Assuming that those were really the first bamboo bikes then it's a bit odd seeing what looks like a vanity version of the idea in a western bike shop.

Lumen

doozerie wrote: »

I thought that bamboo bikes were originally developed to provide a cheap and easily-made (and locally-made) form of transport in third world countries. From what I've read, bamboo frames are quite strong and have good natural vibration-damping characteristics. Assuming that those were really the first bamboo bikes then it's a bit odd seeing what looks like a vanity version of the idea in a western bike shop.

From what I've read, in order to make the bamboo bikes perform adequately (i.e. not fall apart, rot, or ride like a flexy piece of crap) a considerable amount of the structure is actually epoxy resin.

For environmental friendliness I'd guess that steel is superior.

doozerie

Lumen wrote:

From what I've read, in order to make the bamboo bikes perform adequately (i.e. not fall apart, rot, or ride like a flexy piece of crap) a considerable amount of the structure is actually epoxy resin.

For environmental friendliness I'd guess that steel is superior.

You may well be right. Reading again the original news article I read on bamboo bikes it's a bit light on detail. They mention there that the joints are bound with sisal soaked in epoxy, at the same time as referring to the bikes as being environmentally friendly. They also refer to using "wood glue" for the joints which is entirely vague as there are many types of such glue. So it's not clear from that exactly how much, and what type, of glue is used which makes the claim of the bikes being environmentally friendly a bit of a leap.

That article also seems to suggest that high end bamboo frames preceded the cheaper locally-made ones so I was wrong about the order in my previous post. I do wonder how the ride of one of the high-end frames compares to a more conventional high-end bike.

Kintarō Hattori

Trad any chance of resizing that image?

jeffontour

I remember stories of my grandfather racing a bamboo frame or rims on grass track. Can you imagine the splinters in a crash? Ouch.

mo_bhicycle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6zvJtCkwOw

biomed32

a Galway Cycle regular!!

http://s10.thisnext.com/media/largest_dimension/F024572C.jpg

petethedrummer

Good old treadmill bike

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hmVQc91yVE

doozerie

These days it looks a little tame by comparison to some others but a Moulton would probably still raise a few eyebrows:

Yi Harr

doozerie wrote: »

These days it looks a little tame by comparison to some others but a Moulton would probably still raise a few eyebrows

Maybe not that weird but I do love the mini velo style

trad

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Trad any chance of resizing that image?

Can't figure out how to do it, if anyone can offer assistance?

doozerie

trad wrote:

Can't figure out how to do it, if anyone can offer assistance?

You could upload it to a free image hosting service, such as www.img.ie, and provide a link to the image in your post rather than pasting the image itself. That's probably the simplest and quickest option, though it'll still leave people seeing a huge image when they click on it. Or maybe some of the free hosting sites will provide a thumbnail of uploaded images that you could link to, or paste directly into, your post.

Alternatively, if you have appropriate software on your own computer then you could save the image as a smaller size and upload the smaller image instead. There are probably lots of image processing software packages that'll do that for you - if you use Linux, them Gimp will work.

trad

Is this better? THis is the whacky bike I own.

BostonB

Trad. What is that? What do you use it for?

trad

BostonB wrote: »

Trad. What is that? What do you use it for?

It a baoer, a copy of a Strida designed by some ex Rolls Royce employee. It folds like a buggy, has disc brakes front and rear and a belt drive.

At the moment I use it to collect dust, way too wacky for me to use to work, especially now that I can bring my carrera on the dart.

tomasrojo

doozerie wrote: »

These days it looks a little tame by comparison to some others but a Moulton would probably still raise a few eyebrows:

I think I've only ever seen one in Dublin. But in York I saw one the moment I got off the train, and a few others during my sojourn there. Cycling is really popular in York, and you see a great variety of bikes there.

recedite

biomed32 wrote: »

a Galway Cycle regular!!

http://s10.thisnext.com/media/largest_dimension/F024572C.jpg

That looks very sociable; its even got the makings of a coffee table or a cocktail bar in the middle

sweetswing

Bunny Buster wrote: »

What about this one!? :D

A couple of years ago I would have rode that every day, I suppose I would still take it for a spin but it just hasn't aged well, over hyped over priced over the hill:D

rubadub

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/02/street-flyer-a-hang-glider-for-the-ground/

The Street Flyer is a hang-glider for the streets. It’s like an oversized tricycle, but instead of sitting on top to pilot it, you hang beneath. To propel the vehicle, you run and then just drop into the harness and cruise. This obviously works better on a downhill stretch, and uphill runs are probably best avoided altogether, unless M.C. Escher designed your city’s streets.

The design comes from an old Gadget Lab friend, Dr. Carsten Mehring, last seen here on video with his wearable computer. Mehring has several prototypes for the Street Flyer. The one seen here is steered with a pair of handgrips connected to the two front wheels, but other designs could let you steer by moving your body in the cradle, hang-glider-style. Dr. Mehring also suggests that his invention could be used by the injured to walk suspended from its frame without any pressure on the legs. Think of it as a baby-walker for cripples.

Mehring’s Street Flyer is clearly not meant for daily transportation, but as a weekend leisure toy, it could be awesome. Imagine bombing down steep hills and slaloming just three-feet from the ground. That has to be a rush.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPabf7d2fcE

This is what I want a go of

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aABFs6oYJbU

recedite

"Think of it as a baby-walker for cripples".
More like a baby walker for retards. Water bike looks better, but AFAIK it sinks as soon as you stop bouncing. Not good if you are out in the middle of the lake at the time.

CramCycle

biomed32 wrote: »

a Galway Cycle regular!!

http://s10.thisnext.com/media/largest_dimension/F024572C.jpg

You used to be able to rent this from the Bike Shop in UCD, not sure anymore.

happytramp

I actually really like this one

Ghost Estate

used to have one of these..

RobertFoster

Lumen wrote: »

That four seater scaffolding construction is absolutely magnificient. Got any links?

It's not a "bicycle" though.

It's got something to do with Burning Man it seems. It's called the BigDog and it's the third iteration the guy has made, starting out with the DogSled. I've not read fully into them, but they look interesting.

doozerie

happytramp wrote: »

That one looks like the StringBike which I'd like to see in the flesh as it is an interesting idea.

coolbeans

FISMA wrote: »

Another post made me think of some of the stranger ideas that I have seen in bicycles. Please share anything you've come across. Here's a few I remember.

I see they are still making the slingshot - instead of a downtube there's a cable. I have never seen one, has anyone?

Also remember this one by Cannondale - nice to accelerate, just watch those potholes.

Finally, is this even a bike?

The last one reminds me of this.

Lemag

tomasrojo

Lemag wrote: »

Reminds me of this:

Riding with the saddle too low is like walking with your knees bent (as Groucho Marx often did for comedic effect.) If you walked that way all the time, you'd also get used to that, but you'd think that half a mile was a long walk.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html

paddyduc

That's a seriously big 'big ring'

Tonyandthewhale

Lemag where did you find that thing? And what's the idea behind it? A bike that'll fit no one?

Lemag

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

Lemag where did you find that thing? And what's the idea behind it? A bike that'll fit no one?

A friend posted the link to me. The subject of his email was "your next bike". My response was "eh,.................. no."

vektarman

I'm sure I saw one of these recently

Tonyandthewhale

Well it does match the cayon colour scheme...

Lemag

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

Well it does match the cayon colour scheme...

True that. I suspect that this is why he came across it. He's supposed to be taking some arty photos of my Canyon. He probably googled something like "orange handlebar bike" ?

vektarman wrote: »

I'm sure I saw one of these recently

How does that even work? Where's the propulsion mechanism and where do the feet go? Perhaps it was designed for DH :eek:

tomasrojo

It's a velocipede, isn't it? You move by pushing your feet along the ground. It's the next trend in simple clean lines now that the fixie movement is flagging.

doozerie

Cycling along Westland Row recently I saw a car coming the other way with a huge wheel visible above the roof. Turns out it had a penny farthing mounted on the boot, with the large wheel sticking up in the air. It was basically just a bike being transported on a car, but it was a very strange sight.

I haven't actually seen a penny farthing being ridden here, but they do seem to have a following and people still race on them too. Could be the provisional wing of the fixie crowd, I guess, an internal fixie faction rebelling against those that favour high gears and rims that have been decorated as part of a (failed) Blue Peter experiment.

Captain Havoc

Here's some photos I took at a cycling museum last year:

roboshatner

in the bottom pic there is a guy in dublin city that cycles that bike down henry street and o connel street sometimes.

doozerie wrote: »

Sidewaysbike man has some very odd designs. I think he is an Irish guy, he was featured on George Lee's RTE Radio 1 program last week I think. I've seen him ride one of his bikes in Dublin traffic, one with separate steering/handlebar for front and back wheels (a little like the one below). It looked fun but seemed to require too much room when stopping (the frame essentially moves sideways) to be safely usable on congested streets. Still, he was managing, but possibly because everyone, me included, gave "the crazy man" plenty of space.

BostonB

doozerie wrote: »

Cycling along Westland Row recently I saw a car coming the other way with a huge wheel visible above the roof. Turns out it had a penny farthing mounted on the boot, with the large wheel sticking up in the air. It was basically just a bike being transported on a car, but it was a very strange sight.

I haven't actually seen a penny farthing being ridden here, but they do seem to have a following and people still race on them too. Could be the provisional wing of the fixie crowd, I guess, an internal fixie faction rebelling against those that favour high gears and rims that have been decorated as part of a (failed) Blue Peter experiment.

Someone in my estate has one, its a reproduction. Goes a spin every now and then on it.

tomasrojo

Bikesnob identified this breakaway faction a while back:

http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2008/11/penny-ante-ordinary-trend-moves-up.html

As the fixed-gear trend arguably reaches the point of total mainsteam absorption, the penny-farthing trend appears to be taking its place. On Monday I pointed out that penny-farthings not only trump the fixed-gear in terms of zen-like simplicity, but are also "chick magnets." Since then, my assertion has been borne out, as photos of modern-day penny-farthings (or "p-fars," if you're the type of person who says "fixie") continue to pour in from around the world

AstraMonti

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqCueUsZ7rg

Lumen

Cruzbike Sofrider V2

petethedrummer

doozerie wrote: »

I wonder what this bad boy is like on rollers.

kumate_champ07

not a bike, but funny!