Hey YouTube, Jim here!
Welcome to Top10 Archive!
Not all bike designs make it to mass market and thankfully, for good reason.
Could you picture what grandma would think if she saw one of these contraptions at a
yard sale?
Ya know what, maybe it's best not to answer that.
So today, we'll be looking at our picks of the top ten weirdest bikes in the world - aka,
bikes you shouldn't show your grandma.
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in the comment section which bike you would ride!
10.
Attack Bike We don’t know much about this horrifying-looking
bicycle, but we do know that it looks like something straight out of Mad Max.
When photos of the mean machine surfaced a couple of years back, the internet was confused.
The chainsaw that you can see jutting out at the front actually works, and when the
bike is powered up you don’t want to get in front of it.
Is this an attack bike, or was it just designed for ‘cutting through traffic’?
It’s not that abnormal to use a chainsaw engine to power a bike, but usually, people
remove the actual saw part, first.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, it was built in Russia.
Where else!?
9.
Fliz Bike When you think about the elements of a bike,
what do you think of?
Wheels?
A seat?
Pedals?
Well usually you’d be right, but not this time.
Allow me to introduce the Fliz bike, which doesn’t actually have pedals or a seat.
Thankfully it does have wheels, though.
The Fliz trades its seat for a torso harness which sort of hangs the rider from the bike’s
frame and the rider must then use their feet to run along until the bicycle is up to speed.
Once at an acceptable speed, the rider can then tuck their feet up and enjoy the ride
as they dangle precariously hurtling headfirst along the road.
Cause, you know, safety first!
8.
Chainless Bike Speaking of bikes that are missing integral
parts, this one has no chain!
What is it with people messing with a system that works?
This is the Bicymple, which is like a bicycle but simplified.
Built by Josh Bechtel in Washington, the bike’s pedals are on the rear wheel of the bike and
they directly turn it to propel the bike forward.
This design is actually super practical when you get over the fact that it looks a little
weird.
It’s more compact than a standard model so is perfect for taking on public transport
or being stored away if you have a small place.
There’s also no chance of your chain coming off and covering you with grease while you
wrestle to get it back on.
We’ve all been there, right?
7.
Bike with Triangular Wheels This one has all the usual bits, but with
one key difference: the wheels are triangular.
Now I know what you’re thinking: the wheel is one of the greatest inventions of all time
and has been key for our progression as a human race.
So why mess with it?
Well, why not?
Phil Miller, a mechanical engineer who developed artificial hearts, designed this bike for
fun and took it to Burning Man festival to test it out.
It’s perfectly rideable and looks pretty funky too, so maybe it’ll catch on?
Ok, probably not.
Although it looks like a bouncy ride, if you look carefully you’ll see that the frame
and the ride don’t move at all.
As long as Phil sticks to experimenting with bikes and not the artificial hearts that he
builds, I say let him do what he wants.
6.
Long Bicycle This bike has all the pieces you’d expect,
and more!
Back in 2015, members of the Dutch cycling organization ‘the Mijl Van Mares Werkploeg’
built what was, at the time, the longest bicycle in the world.
It measures at an incredible 35.27 meters, or 117 feet and 5 inches, long.
It was built using the same aluminum trusses used for lighting rigs at concerts to keep
the long frame nice and rigid.
The bike has to be operated by two people, with one steering at the front and another
pedaling from the back.
Other than its obnoxious length, it actually functions in exactly the same way as a regular
bike, with just two wheels and no stabilizers.
Apparently, it’s pretty easy to ride as long as you don’t try and turn any corners!
5.
Dinosaur Bike Technically this is a tricycle rather than
a bicycle, but who cares when it’s also a dinosaur.
This incredible creation was originally built for an art project by Norwegian artist Markus
Moestue over a six month period.
The dino-cycle is constructed from the frames of several bikes that have been welded together
to support the dinosaur’s body.
He then used a kitchen knife to carve the dino-shape out of Styrofoam to resemble a
Coelophysis.
Although the bike technically works, it’s not ideal for your daily commute to work or
a day out in the countryside.
It can’t handle steep inclines very well, either.
It also attracts a lot more attention than most people would probably like - which is
exactly why I want it!
4.
Flying Bike Next on our list is a bike much more modern.
It actually flies!
The bike transforms into an easy-to-operate aircraft that doesn’t need a license to
fly, and it’s capable of going up to 4,000 feet.
British designers Yannick Read and John Foden spent two years working on the prototype,
and it can travel 15 miles per hour in the air or 25 miles per hour on the ground.
When it’s on the ground it tows a small trailer which contains a powerful electric
motor and a biofuel-powered fan.
The designers say that they had both dreamed of flying and had wanted to be pilots since
they were kids.
One of the biggest barriers to flying is how expensive it is, so their plan for the bicycle
was to make the experience more affordable and accessible.
Sadly, their project failed to get the funding it needed on Kickstarter, so perhaps it’s
not that affordable after all.
3.
Soft Ride Bike Rubber is usually the material of choice for
bicycle wheels, but Ron Arad had another, much less conventional idea.
He chose to make the tires from steel!
Now that might sound a little bonkers, but Ron has a history of bending steel to make
items like chairs.
This bike uses the same type of bending steel sheets to construct the wheels, which is said
to deliver a comfy and cushioned ride.
The bike was designed specifically for the W Hotels group and was revealed in London
as part of an event for the hotel chain.
Guests of the hotel had the opportunity to take it for a spin, and the bike was then
auctioned off at a fundraiser for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
It looks great, is apparently fun to ride, and it made money for a good cause.
I tip my hat to you, Ron!
2.
Opposing Tandem Bike How many times have you been out for a bike
ride with your best friend or a significant other, only to get into a disagreement during
the trip?
This back to back tandem bike is made for exactly that purpose!
Patrik Hultberg revealed the creation on his YouTube channel back in 2006 and the internet
went wild for it.
The concept works exactly as a regular tandem bike would: both parties pedal and the front
rider steers.
There’s just one significant difference though, and it’s that the person on the
back never gets to see where they’re going.
It must feel very strange to be totally at the hands of the person riding on the front,
so I’m not sure I’d enjoy being the back seat rider.
Although, I guess you could just pretend to pedal and enjoy the scenery: your bike-mate
would never know!
1.
Ferrari Bicycle You would be forgiven for doubting whether
number one on our lists is even a bicycle at all, but I can assure you that it is!
This pedal-powered version of a Ferrari sports car was created by Austrian artist Hannes
Langeder, who is widely known for the lightweight Porsche driven by Top Gear’s Richard Hammond
back in 2010.
This super sleek bike has the red paint job that Ferrari made famous, but underneath that
sporty shell lies a lightweight frame and a quad-bike.
Constructed from plastic and lightweight steel, the entire thing only weighs 100 kilograms.
It’s apparently a pleasure to ride or drive, depending on how you look at it, and has an
11-speed transmission.
The model took a year to create and is designed to look like the Ferrari FXX.
Hannes called his construction Fahrradi Farfall, which is derived from an Italian butterfly.
The name came from a comment that a passer-by made when they saw the vehicle, describing
it as “moving silently and with the weightless elegance of a butterfly”.
Never has a bicycle been so poetic!