The balloon racer is an entirely new bike category. It superficially resembles the heavyweight paperboy cruisers but that's where the similarities end. It seems to be a fusion of the mountain bike, city bike and randonneur/touring bike while having its own look and charm. The specially designed big fast rolling tires make it a unique bicycle. Retrovelo did something no one thought could be done and that was to re-imagine the bicycle from the ground up. Its different from the bikes that are already out on the market.