banerjek

Fixed

banerjek

We have time travel figured out. When I moved out here in '96, anyone could visit 1968 simply by going to Eugene. A new TV program is based on time travel possible in Portland.

pgjackson

I went to college in Washington...so many freaking hippies in that area, especially Oregon.

keisatsu

all the hippies are in southern oregon, closest you get to a hippie in PDX is a sellout yuppie living in beaverton...

FunkyStickman

That is freaking awesome. It takes gonads to pull off something like that. The photo description says they finished the century halfway in the pack of 3000 riders... and if you'll notice, all of those bikes are skinny-tire road bikes. They probably aren't as slow as you'd think.

Thank you, we have a winner! It takes lots of skill to build, and even more skill to ride one.

Waxbytes

Be interesting to see the tall bikes going up a steep grade, or maybe not...



It does look fun, in the daredevil sort of way.

Halebopp

If you think the tall bikes are neat, you might like this other Portland related article I read about in the paper a few weeks back. I like the recycling bike trike thing in the photo!

https://www.oregonlive.com/living/ind...ntastical.html

rooftest

Why do you hate America so much?

Rowan

He's the third poster who has come up with poor-and bitter-are-good posts -- one in Long Distance, one in Touring and this one in Road.

I'd hate to think the fun has gone out of living for you folks after the GFC.

Hey, like that dude with the unicycle! I'd like to say he has balls, but...

CyciumX

Yeah, like post on a message board with no relevant input... 'least crack a joke!

Its a hobby. Everything you do that doesn't make your living is a hobby. If you are gonna waste your time trashing people who don't put their "skills" to use... how about you trash the fools that have yet to develop them in the first place.

+1

Most weld a foot peg right above the rear wheel

In case anyone cares to actually want a real reason why these have advantages....

1) More visibility. They can be seen easier for their obvious size and for their non conformity. Its simple real.
2) If a car t-bones them or side swipes them, they get hurt falling, but not from a 4,000 pound impact.

....and no, I don't own a tall bike or want one.

Essex

There's an interesting psychology associated with BF. Schooling and some weird-ass behaviors/responses noted.

The anecdotal information provided seems to indicate a demographic connected to tall bikes. Observations: Under 35, caucasian, urban areas of the United States with a concentration on the West Coast (milder weather promotes more road opportunities?), predominantly male and available free time to pursue this niche-related cycling activity. Having lived through the hippie generation - I can almost say I see repetitive behaviors that I saw as a kid walking the Haight-Ashbury, or Telegraph Ave. during the 60's, or 70's. Heck, Tall Bikes are cheaper and more ecological than buying a schoolbus, or van. Bad thing is you can't easily take all your friends with you - so I guess you have to travel as a troupe to make a statement.

I still see little purpose in Tall Bikes other than the need to either tinker with something mechanical in a creative bent, find a new way to bust through a shop glass window, audition for the circus, or participate in a activity that says "see me." Ultimately this is a narcissistic activity - go do something that actually means something like volunteer at an old folks home, help build a house, pick up trash at the beach, or tutor a struggling kid at your local urban school.

FunkyStickman

Never doing something "just for the fun of it" must really suck. How's that working out for you?

For the rest of the adventurous folks out there, here's some tallbike photos scraped from where else, but the FreakBikeNation forum (which I'm a proud member of)







(Yes, this one is supposed to be hard to ride)

Essex

Pretty good. How's it working for you?

FunkyStickman

Couple more for good measure. This one's a girl's, they painted it with hearts for a Valentine's Day underwear ride.




Not a tallbike, but I absolutely had to throw this in there...

FunkyStickman

Freaking awesome. I have an absolute blast everywhere I go, and I don't have to worry about dying of stress-related causes when I'm 45.

Just for you:

StephenH

I love the John Deere tractor one!

Tall bikes look like fun. "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how!"- Dr. Seuss. Part of it's the attention, part is just being different. It's part of what what makes a front-loading tricycle or unicycle fun to ride, too.

I've seen a few tall bikes around here. They're not common, but not unknown, either. There were a couple on the Denim Ride up in Denton, I believe. My dad has seen one in Clute, Texas.

I have noticed in some of the youtube videos where people were riding tallbikes in traffic, especially with supertall ones, that they would have a number of other riders running interference for them at intersections and all. There was some thought that went into riding them; they didn't just take off willy-nilly. I know around here, there are places where you can ride where you'd have to stop every mile, and other places where you can just go and go, so you just pick your route accordingly.

On the safety issues, probably one thing that helps is limited mileage. Suppose a tallbike is 4 times as dangerous as my bike. Well, if I ride 5 times as many miles, I'm at greater risk than the tallbike guy.

Essex

Humor noted. Sarcasm embedded. I like the cat jpg. Still freakin' waste of time.

DXchulo

As mentioned before, to some people this can perfectly describe road cycling. Some may think we just like to wear tight clothes and show people our package as a cry of "look at me". Why go through all the trouble of buying a nice bike and fancy clothes when any crappy MTB and jeans would work? Donate that extra money to some bum on the street so he can go buy beer with it instead.

There's a time and a place for making the world a better place and there's a time and a place for making your own life more enjoyable.

Essex

This is absolutely true!

I don't donate money to people on the street. Last guy on the Bowery swore up and down he'd get a sandwich. I saw him with a pint of Thunderbird within minutes. I also learned lessons about panhandling in India too - don't do it.

Yaniel

is there any point to any hobby except to do something you enjoy? look at all these cyclists with so much endurance, i think that energy would be better spent plowing fields and digging ditches than riding silly bikes. see how that works?

Essex

You're missing the point. My observation is that we have a whole lot of folks (young especially) obsessing/blowing off their time doing things of an inconsequential nature. These Tall bikes (in my opinion) are a small subset of American culture which spends it's time pursuing things which are nearly purposeless. Much like watching the drivel on television, texting BS on phones, or spending time on the net*. I don't see this type of frivolity, or narcissistic pursuit in other countries. Especially, poorer, or up and coming nations.

As someone who now spends a fair amount of time dealing with social issues - the lack of insight, or mindful allocation of human resources towards making this society better, or re-establishing American values of generosity/benevolence bugs me. In short - I don't see a whole lot of young folks (under 30 in the demographic) doing anything for anyone else. Building these bikes, jousting, or parading up and down a boulevard seems trivial pursuit.

* last post on this thread - because I am wasting my time

z90

Dude, you are spending your time posting on an internet message board about your hobby. Don't you see the irony there?

z90

Well, I'm off to the volunteer at the old folk's home I built with my bare hands. I'm gonna bring the juvenile delinquent I've been working with me, so we can pick up trash along the beach on the way there. Oh, yeah, we're planning on riding our tall bikes.

surgeonstone

surgeonstone

Take the cost of your 4 bikes. Maybe you could fund a house for habitat for humanity with the amount spent.