Weird Bikes

FISMA · 04-02-2011 03:47AM #1

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?

ciclotte-carbon-fiber-penny-farthing-stationary-bicycle.jpg

Bunny Buster · 04-02-2011 03:52AM

What about this one!?

:D

happytramp · 04-02-2011 09:26AM

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

attachment.php?attachmentid=31204&stc=1&d=1285326578

Lumen · 04-02-2011 10:05AM

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

It's not a "bicycle" though.

fat bloke · 04-02-2011 10:19AM

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 · 04-02-2011 10:50AM

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 · 04-02-2011 11:01AM

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 · 04-02-2011 11:06AM

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 · 04-02-2011 11:13AM

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 · 04-02-2011 11:33AM

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 · 04-02-2011 11:35AM

Trad any chance of resizing that image?

jeffontour · 04-02-2011 12:22PM

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 · 04-02-2011 12:38PM

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

biomed32 · 04-02-2011 01:45PM

a Galway Cycle regular!!

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

petethedrummer · 04-02-2011 01:55PM

Good old treadmill bike

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

doozerie · 04-02-2011 02:00PM

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

interbike-2009-14500-moulton-speed-stainless-steel-20bike.jpg

interbike-2009-14500-moulton-speed-stainless-steel-20bike.jpg

04-02-2011 03:04PM

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

SPECIALE+MINIVELO+Burgundy.jpg

trad · 04-02-2011 03:16PM

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Trad any chance of resizing that image?

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

doozerie · 04-02-2011 03:36PM

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 · 04-02-2011 05:12PM

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

BostonB · 04-02-2011 05:22PM

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

trad · 04-02-2011 06:32PM

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 · 04-02-2011 11:47PM

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 · 05-02-2011 12:35AM

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 · 05-02-2011 03:23PM

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 · 05-02-2011 06:23PM

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 · 05-02-2011 07:17PM

"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 · 06-02-2011 11:32AM

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 · 12-02-2011 03:05PM

I actually really like this one

Ghost Estate · 12-02-2011 03:54PM

24798d1274725669-dutch-cruiser-bicycle-rear-engine-spartamet.jpg

used to have one of these..

RobertFoster · 12-02-2011 05:03PM

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.

Weird Bikes

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