Tall bikes? [Archive]

MacG

10-02-05, 08:16 AM

You can see over the top of lines of cars and in parking lots, nearly eliminating the worry of a car appearing unexpectedly.

Riding in the wet or rain keeps more of the wheel splatter off of you as you're further from the wheels.

Most dogs can't reach the legs of a rider on a tallbike to bite them.

Those are the only three "real" advantages I can think of. It's just a good time. Some people like riding recumbents or tandems or trikes, but some people like riding a but further off the ground.

I do a 20 mile (each way) trip from my home to the U of M campus in Minneapolis to visit friends about once a week on a tallbike. The only problems I encounter are the occasional height obstruction (usually trees) that needs to be ducked beneath.

Next up I should to build a recumbent fixie trike tandem tallbike...

Dark Arrow

10-02-05, 02:58 PM

Tall bikes make you go faster. I heard that Team Discovery was planning on using them to replace Lance next year. The underground has it that T-Mobile is working on one as well.

:roflmao:

Chris

sheriff bill

10-11-05, 08:41 PM

Why tall Bikes? The view is great! you're your own parade, Can't help but smile... check out the Tall Bike Possse (http://www.flickr.com/photos/69986935@N00/) at the San Luis Obispo October Bike happening.

The Wheelist

10-13-05, 07:53 AM

What about mounting/dismounting? Any tips?

andrew young

10-13-05, 09:08 AM

I learned how to ride a tall bike over a year ago when I lived in Mpls. Some guys from Black Label showed me. Give the bike a little running start, with one foot on the middle tube or whateva, and just climb up.
Very scary at first, but it does'nt take long to get your balance right, you already ride a bike, right.

The Wheelist

10-14-05, 08:32 AM

And to get off?

Just let gravity take its course perhaps?

ArizonaAdam

10-14-05, 01:11 PM

And to get off?

Just let gravity take its course perhaps?

This has always been my hang-up. I love the look of the tall bikes but I'm ever conscious of the two most important things in my life, lefty and righty.
Adam

-=£em in Pa=-

10-14-05, 07:01 PM

MacG

10-15-05, 09:00 AM

Getting off is amazingly simple. Much easier than getting on. You just continue rolling and steering while standing up and swinging one leg around the seat. Now bend the knee of the leg holding you up and pretty much step right down while applying the brakes to bring the bike to a stop. As long as the bike is in motion and you have a hand on the handlebars, it's pretty easy to keep it balanced and upright.

jeff-o

10-15-05, 01:07 PM

Meh.... I'd rather be 6" off the ground on a recumbent.

It's very interesting to watch OTHER people riding them, though!

humancongereel

10-15-05, 02:43 PM

Did anyone else see the Coke commercial whereas the young
kidlettes traversing the USA taking film footage for thier movie
come across what appears to be a CHUNK 666 type tallbike joust ??
Does this ad make tall bikes for posuers now ? :p

i didn't realize chunk 666 was known outside of portland surrounding areas...i was going to bring up jousting, though...definitely a reason to ride tall bikes. same reason i want to build one soon as i can find someone who welds.

what about bike polo on tall bikes?

andrew young

10-15-05, 08:45 PM

And to get off?

Just let gravity take its course perhaps?

Pretty much what MacG said. But make sure you're not close to a car the side you're dismounting on. Or a ped.

The Wheelist

10-17-05, 09:41 AM

i didn't realize chunk 666 was known outside of portland surrounding areas...i was going to bring up jousting, though...definitely a reason to ride tall bikes. same reason i want to build one soon as i can find someone who welds.

There are a couple of us who are big fans of Chunk 666 over here in the UK. Words spread fast. Good words spread faster! :D

Thanks all for the practical advice everyone - now where did I put that welding torch?

ohthatkate

10-31-05, 11:54 AM

Speaking of CHUNK 666 tall bike jousting: http://www.nerve.com/regulars/sexadvicefrom/bikejousters/

CHUNK tall bike jousters were just interviewed on Nerve.com for sex advice.

treechunk

11-18-05, 09:36 PM

I used to put 100 or more miles on my tallbike every week, in addition to two tallbike centuries and several stages of the annual Tour Da Chicago.

They're fun. You ride them like any other bike, but you've got to be prepared for people to react to them in unexpected ways. Like almost running into stopped cars because they're too busy staring at you.

I HIGHLY recommend it.

knifefight

11-19-05, 10:23 AM

We have chapters in Portland and Brooklyn and that was certainly not CHUNK in a coke commercial. However, at the last chunkathalon in Portland there was an "event" where we had to write an essay about "what if" we were approached about corporate sponsorship.

sheriff bill

12-19-05, 10:48 PM

Here's a link to the new world wide web homestead of the Tall Bike Posse (http://www.tallbikeposse.com). We have a growing scrapbook of bikes in our stable, stories, quicktime movies to share and events to announce. Cheers, Sheriff Bill

bentrox!

01-14-06, 01:35 AM

And to get off?
Just let gravity take its course perhaps?

I have to believe this guy uses a parachute.
There are Tall Bikes and then there are Tall-Wheeled Bikes.

meb

01-16-06, 07:12 AM

I have to believe this guy uses a parachute.

Nope- a pitchfork.

hound-dog

02-02-06, 09:48 AM

Check out these tallbikes:

http://www.atomiczombie.com/gallery/brad-graham/skywalker.htm
http://tallbike.net
http://www.bikeforest.com/homebuild13.php

garden_lark

07-09-06, 05:47 PM

C.H.U.N.K. is known (and admired) worldwide via their website. our tallbike / chopper / alt club in australia was inspired by them. and some of our bikes are well over 6' before you put a rider on them.

____________***__________________***____________
as for getting off... so long as you're on the flat, my trick is not to slow down, just give her a good pedal then start climbing down. she'll be slowing up by the time you're near the ground. different skills for the hills.

the other tip for dismount is if you can't reach the handlebars from the ground, don't be holding them when you jump off. sounds simple, eh? we've all done it.

Johnny Payphone

07-18-06, 12:10 PM

In part the point is to make your own transportation without buying anything, in the same spirit of self-sufficiency that the Amish have. Many people in Bike Club have tattoos on their face and live a life entirely outside of most folk's experience or conceptions... so there may be a cultural rift in that question that translates to "if you have to ask..." My personal experience with Bike Club is one of a process of destroying the Sports Industrial Complex for inserting a monetary barrier between the people and bicycles. Of course we all try to do that more with honey than with vinegar but you have to understand that when there are piles of bikes and bike parts laying around it seems rather silly to some folks to go to a bike store.

randya

07-18-06, 04:04 PM

That little red bike would be an awesome ZooBomb bike!

Re-Cycle

07-19-06, 11:57 AM

I carried 15lb of lawn fertiliser, a garden hose and a bag of misc stuff home from the hardware store this weekend. It's quite the truck.

garden_lark

07-20-06, 04:33 AM

ha ha, i biked my sewing machine to the shop to have it serviced. i thought that was heavy!

KickerFilms

06-13-07, 05:29 PM

Sherriff Bill - They have a website now - http://www.tallbikeposse.com/

kemmer

06-13-07, 11:02 PM

I bet you'll never see a bored look on a tall bikers face. Drunk maybe, but not bored.

Or to answer your question another obnoxious way: Why ride a regular bike? Why row a boat? Why sing? Why read a book?

As far as antagonism towards other kinds of bikes, I can't really answer that. I own two of the three tall bikes in SLC and I am involved with many other types of cycling. The other guy here seems to like other kinds of bikes too.