Someone let [Tane] play around with welding equipment and bicycle parts and look what happened! He built a diminutive velocipede. Now that’s just a term for a human-powered land vehicle, but the term fits a bit better as this is missing most of the stuff you’d expect to see on a bicycle.
He started with a mountain bike and a kick scooter, then went to work on both with a hack saw. A bit of welding and angle grinding left him with what you see above. It’s still steerable, but missing are the cranks, chain, and brakes. That’s okay though, the bike is low enough for your legs to reach the ground – you start it up and come to a stop Fred-Flintstone-Style.
[Tane] originally meant to add electric propulsion but didn’t quite get around to it. There’s always the option to add a hub motor to the rear wheel if he has the time and motivation.
Looks like a great way to get a handlebar stem in the nuts.
I don’t know why this comment made me laugh as hard as it did, but even the 2nd time I read it, I’m cracking up just as much. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for the laugh…
+1, that was a good laugh!
Shortbike comes to replace shortbus in a greener world.
As a hack i am not impressed, but there in this area there are impressive “bicycle” hacks. i would recommend something like this if you are trying to get attention, http://umbrelladay.blogspot.com/2007/07/even-though-i-often-bemoan-how-much.html or this http://outhouserag.typepad.com/gizmos/2006/06/index.html
the scooter instead of a bicycle doesn’t seem like a new idea.
Tall bikes and chain-less drives are hardly new ideas either… But they’re still interesting reads.
It may just be me, but i feel that hacking is usually about fixing, modifying, or altering to make something work better. This does make it look interesting, but it is not as functional as either device that was sacrificed. This post is titled chainless bike, it is a scooter with a seat, not a chainless bike.
I thought we were supposed to be nice in the comments now. Looks like some people were not paying attention.
This is practically a penny-farthing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny-farthing
[Note to moderators: I screwed up and hit ‘report’ on the comment to which I’m replying, thinking I was hitting ‘reply’. I don’t seen an ‘un-report’ option, but it’d be neat if somebody were to hack something up.]
All the danger of a Penny Farthing, with none of the authenticity, plus you can actually petal this one
right, it’s like a penny-farthing without pedals. this would be kinda fun to have for level ground but i recommend not using it on hills…
He should get an old chainsaw and use the motor to drive the front wheel like a Velosolex. See picture.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Velosolex.jpg
Basically walking while sitting down. I guess there are worse things for idle hands to come up with. Who knows what items we use daily that began with someone farting around with what they have at hand? Not entirely useless. A volunteer service organization can built a fleet of them to clown around on in a local parades.
How about one with a hubmotor !
http://amymakesstuff.com/2011/06/10/pf-it-totally-works-now/
Man, those are some rough welds…
Back when I was young and couldn’t afford new brake pads on my bmx, I’d just reach back with one leg and stick it between the frame and back tire to screech to a halt. But even that method requires something like a pedal to leverage against – which there doesn’t seem to be any room for ;[ Could always add front brakes…but, no…nevermind – I see that ending badly.
Erm, SHOE between the tire and frame, not my leg
Old… http://www.stridersports.com/strider-bikes-in-action/
I think metallic green is not a good color for it,
something more “steampunk” is needed, like flat black and brown.
RadBrad’ll do ya one better: a swiveling rear wheel. Also check out his plans for the SpinCycle (it’s a three-wheeled, sit-down version of the above).
As soon as this oppressive heat+humidity are gone (I live in the U.S. Midwest), I plan to start making stuff out of bikes. It looks fun!
The SpinCycle looks very nice, i had seen it before and want to make one, they are pretty simple to make. I just have to find the rear wheels somewhere (near the supermarket maybe haha).
Yeah, the picture they used is from near the end of the build. In the last picture you can see it in its current state, stripped back to bare metal.
As for “is it a hack” I put it to you that I made it with a hacksaw. It wasn’t meant to change the world or break new ground in science and engineering. It was meant to be a fun thing to make from some old junk, and it was perfect for scooting around a large indoor venue. :)
How is this worthy of attention?
why would you want a hubmotor on the rear wheel? front wheel drive on a bike is more fun, IMO. what would be cool, though, would be to implement the battery into a backpack, which you plug in to ride, instead of uglying that ugly thing up more with tig ol’ batteries.
Where the hell do you put your feet?