speyfitter

There tends to be common themes you see amongst certain categories of bikes. For example touring bikes will have construction, components, and accessories that tend to lend themselves to comfortable long distance riding while loaded up. Road bikes often use space age materials and designs that reduce their weight for improved performance. Overall, there tends to be symmetry to some degree, and consistency towards a goal you want to achieve with a type of model bike and it's intended range or type of riding.

And then there are the bastards. Unconventional, unorthodox, inconsistent, irregular, and in some cases, insane? Things that might not make sense or lack symmetry, to stuff you wonder if the person was either insane or maybe a genius ahead of his or her time? Stuff that makes you question everything you've learned, seen, or been told about cycling. Franken bikes? A 2 stroke kit on a carbon bike? A CB radio mounted to a bike?

I'm curious what you have seen out there.....

dabac

Well, there was this guy with a DIY, weld-free SWB, FWD ’bent, where the owner/builder had forced a derailer gear rear wheel into a SUSPENSION fork, spreading it considerably. It was a 24” too.
Or the guy who’d lowered his handlebars by welding some iron strips from fork crown to a length of pipe clamped in the stem, then using pipe clamps to hold his bar to the iron strips running vertical from old bar position to fork crown. And it was a quill stem w/o removeable face plate.
Mostly though what irritates and amazes me are those who build expensive,(illegally) high powered ebikes based on department store bikes hardly fit even for human power output. And as if to add insult to injury, many of them simply unhook the front brake entirely.

freeranger

Nothing too unusual. But I used to live near the NCR (now called York Heritage) rail-trail. Liked riding by the Emu "farm" on the PA side. Also the gnome display on the MD side.

CAT7RDR

I came across a group of lowered chopper style adult sized bikes on the local MUP. Just cruising around 10 mph. Very cool IMO.

indyfabz

Cant imagine anything could make me do that.

rydabent

I have posted about it many times, but what I find insane is the number of cyclist that are suckered into ever increasing number of gears on a bike. And too the insane prices of CF (plastic) bikes. Those bike will NEVER last like a metal bike. The plastic gasses of in time and becomes very brittle. There are Wright Bros steel bikes around, and with new tires would work just fine. I would willing to bet that if one of todays CF bike if kept around would be so brittle in 100 years a good thump would break a big hole in it.

Doc_Wui

Last seen in 2014. Good welding.

woodcraft

Century rider



One of local fellow's rides

tomato coupe

Yeah, there's nothing worse than buying a new bike and having the frame crack after only 100 years. I'd never buy another one if that happened to me.

P.S. Yawn.

wolfchild

That is a pretty good description of recumbents.

indyfabz

You’re in for a lecture on how uncomfortable you are when riding. 😀

JanMM

I about fell asleep yesterday while riding my recombinant bike. Soooo comfy.

downtube42

Roadside nap on a 1000 km brevet last year. My upright buddies were trying to sleep on the cold concrete, gravel or wet grass. I was comfy.

downtube42

The Alt Bike Culture subforum is pretty quiet, but that's were we post our creations.

veganbikes

A whole thread on something pretty crazy: New Fixed Gear (Newfix)

Wildwood

nahbs

veganbikes

Do want very much maybe minus the drop bars, I would probably go for something sweepy though and would put some brakes on the rear.

Wildwood

Jon will build it, if you come.

shelbyfv

You don't have to go far to find "just plain insane." Several proudly posted right here on BF....

Paul Barnard

Kinda related. I was cycling down our local MUP a few weeks back. In the distance was a runner/jogger coming at me at a very good clip. Smoking a cigarette as he ran.

Paul Barnard

It's about time someone congratulates me for my body of work here.

mack_turtle

there's a subred_dit page called "just riding along" that is a steady stream of weird stuff.

a friend of mine who works in a shop privately shares the weird stuff he sees every day, but it's best to not share those publicly. in short: some riders should not be working on their own bikes without supervision.

for some wild bikes that look unconventional but probably function wonderfully, check out:

• Mone Bikes
• Moonmen

ClydeClydeson

Partner and I used to play a game called 'Trash Factor' where we sat near a busy bike path and looked for cyclists with ridiculous clothes and accessories.

High points were given to people smoking while riding or with a deck of smokes under their t-shirt sleeve, large radios haphazardly taped to the handlebars, and expensive bikes paired with a $14 helmet from Walmart, among others

Squeeze

People removing their second and third chainrings and front derailleurs.

mstateglfr 

Nobody is riding a Wright Bros bike though. Its neat that they could be ridden, but they wont be ridden so they are effectively just as useless from a riding perspective as a broken carbon frame.
If someone is looking to ride a bike for the next 10 decades, then sure- maybe they shouldnt choose CF. For the other 100% of cyclists though, that isnt a concern so your point sucks.