General Cycling Discussion - post your incredibly unusual ideas here

has anyone ever thought of making a harp out of a bicycle wheel using variable spoke tensions?:confused:

Well ... ahhh ... mmmm ... actually no.

There was a show a few years back where a couple of guys had a coffee table made from a bike. What was that show?

I'd like to do that one day.

(In case you're wondering, and as far as I can remember, the bike was on its side with some kind of flat surface put on the wheels so they could be used for the usual coffee table kind of stuff.)

Had a friend that took a hammer to his road bike that had crashed. He flattened the frame and hung it on the wall. Nice, strange sculpture.
I've been thinking of utalizing all the old steel/chromed wheels form the dumpster diving I've done as wind chimes, sort of like the stuff in "Twister."
By the way, this old moteorcyclist told me that is how he trued his wheels on his cycle, with a pitch fork and a wrench. I don't know what the key, or how it all worked. I've heard bike spokes at the right tention will emit a certain key too.
There have been utilitarian ideas too, like a "rear extention." Haven't figured the mechanics of it yet, or the why. I have seen the idea on the net, I can't remember it though.
Of course there is always the idea of building a double tall bike. Ever since I saw HTBC in Minneapolis riding them, I've wanted one.

has anyone ever thought of making a harp out of a bicycle wheel using variable spoke tensions?

I had a friend make one of those last summer. I'm not sure how it worked but he did try it. I believe he used brake cables though.

There's a place here called "bikeworks" where backyard bicycle mechanics can work in a fully equipped mechanics shop with dozens of old bikes and parts. This friend of mine built a fully functional bicycle powered blender out of a bicycle too. It was all contained on a bicycle trailer of course. The other odd invention I notice was this huge bicycle trailer covered with solar panels. I'm not exactly sure what it powered but it was impressive. The entire thing was build from scrap bicycle parts.

http://www.killyourcar.org/criticalmass/Aug2000Ravegallery/images/The_Banana_Shake.jpg

I love the coffee table idea. I may try it when I move to my new place.

A bike-powered blender? Now there's appropriate technology, folks! I always figured Frappucino was an Italian frame maker anyway...

I got the idea a few years ago to build a bicycle trailer with a solar panel on the back that could be used to run a vegetable juicer. It took me a couple of years but I built it in the end and ran a sucessful juice operation for a year, all on my bike and trailer.

I have used the panel to run sound systems as well. I also used it to pull a local hip hop artist around as he did his thing in the back using a solar powered sound system. I have been trying to come up with more and more ideas and then actually building them.

I now build the trailers all the time and actually get a lot of interest from people who have pretty crazy ideas... how about a mobile solar powered embroidery business anyone!

andrew
http://www.cargotrailer.ca

The blender idea has already been commercially realized...

http://www.xtracycle.com/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=81

I'd like to collect up a bunch of those awful old "comfort" bike seats (like tractor-seat style) and use them as seats for something like bar-stools. Wouldn't that be great? I think if I re-do the breakfast nook in our house, I might put a high counter and have some stools with bike-seat seats.

http://conventioncostumes.asyoulikeitkc.com/gallery/albums/PersonalPics/bigbuttseat.thumb.jpg (http://conventioncostumes.asyoulikeitkc.com/gallery/albums/PersonalPics/bigbuttseat.jpg)

Whoa! This thread has arisen! Praise Jesus! WHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

:D

I was at the Park Tool rep's workshop, and he did that- took bike seats and made stools out of them. They were aweful comfortable.

Koffee

OK, you asked for it. I've always wanted to ride across the US. Since I'll never do it, when I die, I want to be cremated and my ashes put in to top tube of a bike and then have the bike shipped to Anacortes, WA, and have people ride it across the US. Each rider would do 25-50 miles and hand it off to the next person. :)

- handlebars offering storage for DC voltage batteries (unused space, aside from rear LED blinkies)...

- bike frame used as RF groundplane for HF communications (already do this w/confirmed contacts to Veneuzuela, Virgin Islands, Delaware, and Michigan)...

- industry-standard in-frame wiring w/connectors for lights, other accessories...

- squeeze actuation for derailleur and/or braking functions built into sensor pad beneath select portions of grip tape on bar...

- tire pressure indicators on bar LCD/LED via remote sensors...

- electrically adjustable seat positioning (fore/aft/up/down/left/right)....

- widely available leather (not cork) bar tape (note: not eat mor chikin'!)

- integrated cables/housings (single item attachments)...

- LCD/LED speed/trip/odometer functions in handlebar using remote sensors....

- auto-in/deflating grip tape to adjust grip and road buzz...

- acid-etch fingerprinting on frame for owner...

- integrated 1GB (or more) flash RAM in frame/bars for music storage/playback ('pod bike frame?)

- adjustable fork rake or frame wheelbase...

- hidden alarm/motion sensor relay/contact/set switch on frame

- built-in APRS/GPS tracking module (for more expensive bikes?)

- automatic 911/emergency message/location transceiver built into bar/frame

- push-button tire pressure adjustment for road surface/ride...

... and more?

--- Retractable brushes to remove sharp road debris from bike tires while on the fly.

--- Retractable brushes to remove sharp road debris from bike tires while on the fly.

- could have used this last week when i had a 1/4" screw embedded in rear tire (which did not flat!)

- had a set of 'nail pullers' on my Viscount back in the late '70s... but haven't seen these accessories for years... (bolted to brake bolts, wire rested on top of tire; rotation of tire removed debris)... they were cheap, IIRC - only $3 or so for a pair...

http://www.worldskycat.com/markets/skyyacht.html

that **** is the ****!