Alt Bike Culture - Bike with no seat-tube?!

A friend of mine recently saw a guy hopping from log to log on a very strange looking bicycle. There wasn't a seattube at all (I'm not confusing this with a seat post). There was no concievable way that he could have sat while riding this bike. The wheels seemed to be about 25-26", the frame was a near standard length, but everything seemed to be "low". An interesting point is that it was a fixed gear. Hmmm..... This has been driving us crazy. WHAT IS THIS CRAZY BIKE??? I usually ride "conventional" bikes and am largely unaware of any kind of category of bike that this may be (if there is a category at all).

It's called a Softride, NOT a gag bike,a serious performance bike,still around,it's popularity took-off a bit,then faded.A young man I was aquainted with, a serious,successfull triathelete swore by them,he rode a won with it for the three years I was aware of.

Definately not a Soft-Ride. There was no seat. Imagine a conventional bike without a seat tube.

It's a trials bike

http://biketrials.com/review/Product_Reviews/Stock_Bikes__26__/index.html

Kestrel made one
http://files.turbosquid.com/Preview/Content_on_1_21_2003_18_24_45/16.jpeg0F5B0D52-4853-4FA2-BAE1E3905C3F22AC.jpegLarge.jpg

Hopping from log to log on a road-bike?

Doubtful
I know what you're talking about, if it's one of the trials bikes. I've seen a couple displays and shows at car shows and such. Like bunny hopping from one piller to the next, standing on one wheel or another.
Basically, you don't sit down, so you don't need a seat, and the seat gets in the way.... so they removed it from the design.
I know when I raced BMX I might as well have had no seat... if you're sitting down, you're not trying hard enough.

Trials bike
Heres mine:
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i41/FlatFender_2006/100_0405.jpg

wow, i've never seen one of those before

Here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DBOsvSFvuI) is a trials bike in action. The things this guy does make my jaw drop.

I keep telling myself that I'm going to be that good one of these days. Yeah, right.

East Hill

Definately not a Soft-Ride. There was no seat. Imagine a conventional bike without a seat tube.

You may be confused, SoftRide is a bike as opposed to a softride seat post,if it's NOT a softride bike OR the Kestrel a member posted,I'm stumped.
www.softride.com

You may be confused, SoftRide is a bike as opposed to a softride seat post,if it's NOT a softride bike OR the Kestrel a member posted,I'm stumped.
www.softride.com
He said the guy was hopping from log to log, that clue in and of itself points to the fact that he is talking about a trials bike. I do not think Softride ever made a trials bike but I may be confused, I often am.:D

By the way, Welcome to Bike Forums, Benjamino! Nice avatar there--I've got a beautiful Olympic 12 myself :D .

East Hill

I have a trials bike !
Im no trialer but its fun to play driveway games on..
Jumping, pogo-ing...Mines a Monty that came from a Monty team rider
in the mid 90's so it sort of has a history. It has hydro brakes and the rider
gave us a lump of tar to coat the rims with. It will throw you over the bars if you arent ready for that combination :eek:
No seat though....you can be doing outragious wheelies and bunny hops and
all anybody comments on is "where do you sit ?"
:roflmao:

It definetly sounds like a trials bike. I didn't actually get to see it myself, but my friend (who is not exactly a bike fanatic) was mesmerized by this guy. I wish I would've seen it myself. Thanks for the multitude of replies! ;)

Can anyone who does trial biking tell me how many rims they go through? :D

I've seen some in person at exibitions, and the tires are practically flat to gain traction.... not to mention landing on 90 degree angles.
Just curious. Thanks for the vid links... definatly some cool stuff.

Sick Video. Is it possible to get into stuff like that on an urban freeride style bike? (Giant STP 2)

Won't be buying one myself. I need more versatility than a fix-gear can provide I'm afraid

I've had the same dx-32 rim for 3 seasons It's drilled and ground and has a couple of flat spots (lookin' pretty beat) as long as it's laterally true for tight break clearances; that's all that matters at 4mph and 25psi.

what you saw was probably not a fixed gear, however lots of people use a crank mounted freewheel to run low gears (18t) up front, and a fixed rear wheel out back now that UCI is allowing single speed stocks to compete.

Yay, egg coloring kit!

and. "hopping from log to log" i believe is called log jamming.

Sick Video. Is it possible to get into stuff like that on an urban freeride style bike? (Giant STP 2)

Won't be buying one myself. I need more versatility than a fix-gear can provide I'm afraid

I was looking at one of those Giant STP's myself. They're great looking bikes. But I'm new to MTB and I keep getting steered towards full suspension rigs by friends and such.

I kept getting steered towards hardtails. Just test drove mine for the first time today, and it was awesome. You'll love it, trust me

Can anyone who does trial biking tell me how many rims they go through? :D

I've seen some in person at exibitions, and the tires are practically flat to gain traction.... not to mention landing on 90 degree angles.
Just curious. Thanks for the vid links... definatly some cool stuff.

if you build your wheel right and maintain it, it should last a really long time, mine is 40mm wide and the width helps with strength as well as less pinch flats. Mine has lasted for a while, still true and no flat spots ridng at around 18psi

The video was NUTS... Is a trials bike the only way to go doing tricks like that? I'm looking at mountain bikes, but I need something with some offroad utility AND a seat.

Yeah it's a Trials bike. Go on youtube and search MTB, it's like the first result. http://youtube.com/watch?v=mYIKfEU8yl8

LOL, we posted the same link. I knew from the moment I read the title he's talking about trials bikes, and I saw the log hopping video(it was front paged on youtube) and all the ******* are saying "FAKE" WTF? To the dude with the Adamant A1, why not get hydraulic discs and not hydraulic Vs?

Here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DBOsvSFvuI) is a trials bike in action. The things this guy does make my jaw drop.

One pic I saw the guy pedalling backwards, another coasting.
Are these freewheel, fixie or something else?

Every trials bike I've ever seen or ridden has had a freewheel. You still have to pedal backwards if you're MOVING backwards or the freewheel will engage and it will PUSH the pedals backwards. You need to be able to freewheel because if you're hopping you need to put the pedals back in the powerful 2- and 8-o'clock position to get ready for the next hop.

Never heard of tar on the rims! Sounds like it would work though. I used a grinder on the brake surfaces with a Magura hydraulic rim brake (filled with water) and polyurethane pads.

yeah, never ever seen a fixed gear trials bike, however some do run a fixed hub, with the free-wheel on the crank.
Heres my new ride:
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i41/FlatFender_2006/101_0217.jpg
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i41/FlatFender_2006/101_0218.jpg
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i41/FlatFender_2006/101_0219.jpg

This may be the bike you are talking about I have one and love it.
http://www.3gstepper.com/index1.htm

I used to have an old Ibis 20" trials bike..

Fun just to bash around on :D