JayButros

These were a new one to me, I imagine there is some benefit to them other than fun per se.

...not that I'm against fun.

Has anyone here ever seen or actually ridden one?

I'm not sure how you get back on the bike after you dismounted anywhere without a ladder.



https://tiny.cc/TallBikes

hairnet

You don't need a ladder to get on, just roll the bike and hop on.
I ddon't have one yet, but plenty of people here do and I've ridden them many times. The biggest advantage is that they make people smile


edit: ha, did't see the giant bike

lz4005

They were supposedly used by lamplighters back when street lights used natural gas. That's about the only practical use for them I've ever heard.

jtgotsjets

I've heard people justify their use by saying it's easier for cars to see them—I feel like the danger of falling off (not that it's necessarily more likely, just that the potential consequences increase at that height) exceeds any safety gained.

Mostly, they're just awesome.

lz4005

That's the same logic recumbent riders use when they say they're safer because people notice them more because they're unusual looking. Except recumbents aren't awesome like tall bikes.

gavtatu

[QUOTE

Mostly, they're just awesome.[/QUOTE]

TOTALLY they're just awesome !

Dave Armstrong

This one is my is my first attempt at building a tall bike. It's still a work in progress.

jtgotsjets

^Crazy derailleur!

Bradley P

I made a couple back in the 60s, though a different style than those you linked. I flipped the frame over, flipped the crank and the fork. Extended the steerer and added a seat post. With the stacked frame style I'd be a little concerned about the CG moving too far aft. They're dicey enough to manage as it is. OTOH it could make a rear dismount easier - pop a wheely and step right off as the bike shoots out front.

hiltonhead

I did exactly as you described when I was about 15...what a piece of stuff that was! Had to get on it next to the back porch and jump off when I got home. But it got a lot of weird stares.--Dave

APER, Man!

My first (and only) tall bike sighting was in San Luis Obispo, CA. It was parked at the local bike kitchen and had a sticker that said "Tall Bike Posse," a term which I Googled to find more info.
Their website: https://tallbikeposse.wordpress.com/

I'd like to try riding one.

APER, Man!

Even with their windows rolled up? Most be some really funky riders.

frameteam2003

Join Date Jul 2010
Location Florida's Space Coast
Posts 9 Originally Posted by JayButros
Has anyone here ever seen or actually ridden one?I made a couple back in the 60s, though a different style than those you linked. I flipped the frame over, flipped the crank and the fork. Extended the steerer and added a seat post. With the stacked frame style I'd be a little concerned about the CG moving too far aft. They're dicey enough to manage as it is. OTOH it could make a rear dismount easier - pop a wheely and step right off as the bike shoots out front. Reply Reply With Quote

You didn't live in Dallas back in the 60s did you?Were you one of the kids I saw on flipped frame tall bikes riding around the Parkland area?
The last one I built:

My son riding it:

gavtatu

love my two talls, orange MTB was the easiest, just dropped swing-arm, added a tube, and welded one fork on top of another other !

gavtatu

i dont do a lot of street riding on them, i have a MUP that leads into town, so easier to use that.
maybe not the safest of bikes to use on car shared streets, but along the seafront MUP, its perfect, i love it !

ahson

Do people just jump off the bike when they need to dismount from it? I can't imagine that

lz4005

You can climb down carefully if you have time.

luv2ride

seems like it might be a safer bike to get hit by a car with. the car might pass completely under you without hitting you.

Motopecane

Tall bikes are a blast I built one by flipping a frame I don't have pics at the moment but I will snap some later.

ukny

Simple observation.. seen many of these nutty Tall Bikes in Brooklyn, NY. Never seen anyone wearing a helmet while riding one. According to the National Highway Statistics. 97 percent of cyclist deaths are head injuries. Question is how damaged are the brains of these nutters before they even get on these death traps.

Sure they are awesome.. so are clowns and high wire walkers.. and they also belong in the circus.

chuben

When I was young some of the older kids would do this. lol, I thought this was super cool

lz4005

fixed it for ya

CritEastwood

Tallbikes are a lot of fun. A friend in Grand Junction, CO cobbled one together and any time anyone rode it around there, instant rock star status was achieved. His latest incarnation is three frames high and he uses it to commute. I liked the old version better because one could add to the rock star status by riding wheelies on it:



I currently have a couple of old Schwinn Electro-Forged frames from basket case bikes that are waiting to be joined together.

ukny

OK lz4005 so it's perfectly fine riding intrinsically unsafe tall bikes around really busy streets with no helmet. And I am a jerk for reminding you how really dangerous this can be. There are too many white bicycles in my neighborhood already,,

lz4005

It is perfectly fine. Yes, you are.