Did it when I was a kid, haven't been tempted since. However I am convinced that mountain biking was invented to replace the urge to build ramps out of cinder blocks and plywood.

OMG, How many skinned up knees and elbows did I endure placing the ramp at the bottom of the hill. I found it all worked better with a solid ramp, as opposed to just leaning the plywood against the block. That did take a few trials to conclude, however. It's a wonder I made it to posting in 50+!

We don't need no stinkin' cards...balloons gave you that throaty exhaust tone! I'm not tempted these days...just something else to piss-off the loose dogs along the way.

Hockey cards?

I had a habit of eating some asphalt each year just as school started up, in September. Walking around with a knee, or two, that had the skin removed was fun, especially when Optimist league football practice was at the same time. We were not allowed to wear shorts past the third grade in our school district back in the 60's so it was denim jeans against those skinless knees, urghhhh. Three years running with this stunt, you'd think I would learn the first time, dang hard headed Marine (to be.)

Bill

There were lots of hockey cards but I never collected any. No interest in team sports. If I "borrowed" someone's precious hockey card to put on my bike, I would have faced severe retaliation. Back then, everyone smoked and Canadian cigarettes came in cardboard packages.

No fenders => no fender struts => nothing to clip the card to. :-(

Did the b-ball cards back in the 50's. Wish I still had the cards as they were probably worth more now than my current ride. Never thought much about it until last summer while camping on PEI. My wife and I heard an interesting noise coming out of a couple of kids bikes. A closer look and discovered they had crushed up plastic water bottles stuck in their spokes I guess that's an updated Canadian version of cards.

Did it just last week but sounded too slow with 16 spoke aero wheels.

I didn't have any interest in team sports then either, except the ones that I participated in such as little league and pony league baseball, but thy is another reason I didn't mind destroying baseball cards in the spokes. Sure had never heard about using balloons.

Balloons were difficult to rig up. If you had the long balloons you tied the end near the dropout, blew a little air in it and tied it off on the stay with the balloon underneath. The spokes dragged the balloon up through between the spokes and stay. The rumble was loud and throaty but didnt last long.

Hey,

I have disc brakes now. Accomplishes the same thing.

On my bike that would drive me nuts, can't stand noises from my bike. Noises from other people's bikes not so much.

Did the baseball card thing. Used to ride down the street with the cards in the spokes and yell to my Mom "look Ma.....No Hands..." She would yell back "No hands...no teeth." I still have my teeth but don't have the cards. Thanks to my Dad I have the baseballs I was able to get signed over the years at the stadiums. You could lean over the walls and the players would sign. I did get Joe Dimaggio's signature on a baseball when I was in my late 20's. I did an extortion of sorts. He was a good sport about it.

Words of Wisdom!

I grew up in Vancouver and had a complete set of Brooklyn Dodgers cards, all my friends bought baseball cards. As late as the '60's, our junior high school used to broadcast the World Series over the PA. That was before our politics got a nasty tinge of anti-Americanism. Go Blue Jays!

They were a nice novelty when I was a kid, but they weren't good enough. I wanted a better sound. So, no, I wouldn't do it now.

I have never been tempted to put baseball cards in my spokes...not as a kid, and certainly not now. Just never got the appeal of all that racket.

However, I would love to have an old Schwinn Stingray like the kind that all the neighborhood kids who did put baseball cards in their spokes had, now. Banana seat, ape-hanger bars, 20" wheels, coaster brake...or, even better, one of their Krates, with the coil spring fork, shock absorbers on the seat supports, 5-speed Hurst-style shifter, drum brakes, 16" front wheel...those were awesome! I'd do wheelies and jump curbs and rediscover what riding sans agenda was all about.

Wonder if Dave Kirk or Carl Strong would make me a custom-fit adult Stingray?

.

It makes your bike sound like a motorcycle.