bicycle design

In the back to back tandem, riders face away from each other for an aero position. It's pretty much the opposite of social biking.

What's up Bike People? Hope you had a good long weekend. I spent Martin Luther King day in the workshop, organizing, replacing cardboard boxes with stackable, dividable plastic bins... and sketching out a full sized drawing of a new tall party bike concept that I'm calling The Tree.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Tandem Tall Bike as seen during Critical Mass, Sept 2006

Originally uploaded by georgeaye

I've been thinking about building a Tandem Tall Bike. I like the up-down potential. This tandem shot at Critical Mass in Chicago, is an absolute stunner, and hints at the potential impact of a top-bottom tandem.

We're entering the Innovate or Die competition. We'd really appreciate it if you would view, forward, rate, and comment on our YouTube entry.

Also, please take a look at the other submissions in the contest. There are some cool ones, particularly the Pedal Powered Zoetrope, and the Dual Purpose Bicycle (for powering tools in the developing world).

With its bulging top tube and kinked handlebars, Monroe's new ride shouts 'Stretch Chopper.' Even the large front wheel, while certainly outside of the standard chopper aesthetic, seems pleasantly contrary.

Dave's new Bionx installation. Looks like it was made for it, huh?
Originally uploaded by Rock The Bike Dave gave me a chance to test the Bionx on his Jai Bike prototype. It has four assist settings. Even on the lowest one, "1", I felt a very solid boost.

"4" just made me laugh. It was so different from regular bicycling, I didn't know what to make of it. But Dave's analysis (and Todd's from Clever Cycles) is that the electric assist is more for carrying heavy loads up hills than 'cheating' on the flats.

The problem is that once you have the 18 pound Bionx system installed on your rig, it will feel, well, 18 pounds slower unless you use the boost. So you'll probably end up boosting all the time. The battery is easy to remove, but not the hub motor, obviously.

A Bike Wedding Parade

Kipchoge and Eco invited me to a hard-rocking Manu Chao show on Wednesday night and uncovered a new use for the Down Low Glow. Our group of eight people was dancing in an enormous crowd at Bill Graham Auditorium. The room was dark, save for the strobe lights coming from the stage.

A few minutes into the show, we were already dispersed through the crowd. I caught a red glow in the corner of my eye and saw Kipchoge holding this intensely bright red line in his hand. It took me a minute to figure out he had grabbed the Down Low Glow from my bike. Our group came together and danced for a few songs before splitting apart again. Later we put the Down Low Glow on the floor and had a great disco circle a few minutes before a really hard moshing number came up and I grabbed the lights so they wouldn't get kicked.

Thanks to Bike Rod N Kustom for posting this amazing cruiser, Elliot Norris' Full Tilt. If you've never read BR&K before, it's highly recommended. Great community site for the custom chopper and cruiser scene. A new 'edition' of this web magazine comes out, roughly, three times a year. And the editors host a cool series of events in Louisiana and New York.