Whacky Races

So clukasik posted an interesting question about the kickbike & kicksled, which got me thinking, and noodling around youtube to see if there was anything similar to see in action.

Turns out that these two kickmobiles are only the sensible end of the lunatic fringe of cycling.

First we have the bouncebike:

Nice. I was a little puzzled about how the front brake would work on the eccentric hub / rim. But then I realised that there isn’t one. So that solves that problem, I guess.

Next on the list is the treadmill bike:

We get lots of these around here - since Segway’s aren’t legal on the UK public highway, there’s been a niche left open that the treadmill bike has come to dominate. They’re especially popular in Chiswick, where Timothy Dalton used to have one for popping to the end of Airedale Avenue on a Sunday morning to pick up his newspaper.
Next up, seeing as its soon to be winter (have I mentioned that I’m going skiing in January? :-D ), we have some entertaining icebike racing. The vid’s intro is a little long winded, but stick with it:

Then again, there’s also the snowbike:

. . . which DOES look like fun. But I really like skiing, so I think I’ll stick to that. (When I’m skiing in January).

And finally the kickbike in action:

oh, and how not to kicksled:

Workout:

  • Type: Swim
  • Date: 10/12/2007
  • Time: 12:51:30
  • Total Time: 1:00:00.00
  • Distance: 692.02 m
  • Average Pace: 8:40.22/100m

Filed under: Cycling, Swim, Technology

2 Responses to “ Whacky Races ”

  1. Brad Hefta-Gaub on October 13, 2007 at 4:49 am

    Don’t forget the RowBike!!!!!

    http://www.rowbike.com/

    My wife is out of town this week, and so I’m playing Mr. Mom… tonight the girls and I decided Mexican food (substitute tequila for dairy for Dad) would hit the spot. Luckily we have a nice little mexican place about half a mile from our house. Why do I mention this, because my oldest decided she wanted to take her Razor Scooter as her selected mode of transport. Younest attempted the bike with training wheels but only made it half a block before we decided to return it to the home and walk the route.

    As whacky as some of these devices may seem, they have a common feature to a traditional bike… BALANCE… and frankly I think that for kids, learning to feel your body in an unsupported manner is the most important element to learning many essential life lessons… from cycling, to swimming, to yoga. So if they want to “Bounce Bike” then I say… Go for it!

    But frankly… the treadmill bike is nuts. ;)

  2. Hobbes on October 13, 2007 at 7:51 am

    That balance thing’s right on the nail - Daughter was really struggling with her bike, so we got her a scooter. I figured that with one foot pretty much on the ground the whole time anyway that she’d get the hang of things a whole lot quicker, while having fun. And it worked - it still took her a while to get the hang of the balance & be able to coast along without putting her feet down . . . but as soon as she’d got the hang of that, she was away on her bike too.

    After your suggestion, I had a look for the Rowbike , and found this film

    Stranger and stranger. I’ll stick to my treadmill bike, thank you!