Quite a few of my bikes have been relegated to the dungeon.
I don’t ride them often.
If these bikes were in junior highschool, they’d sit at their own lunch table, with
all the other freak bikes.
Today we’ll take these bikes for a spin and then talk about what makes them different,
starting with the least weird of them all.
Despite the fact that unicycles are a very established category, the fact remains that
you don’t see them every day.
Even rarer are mountain unicycles like this one.
With a 27.5 plus tire and a hydraulic disc brake it’s clear to see that this was made
for offroad use, and that’s exactly what I did with it—the last time I rode it.
They say you never forget how to ride a bike, and I’d need to say the same for unicycles.
Its been over 6 months since I really took this one for a ride, and I don’t feel that
I’ve lost any ability.
I got this Nimbus Oracle last year as part of a series, where I learned how to ride a
unicycle for the first time.
From there, it was baptism by fire as I immediately committed to a ride through the city streets.
It wasn’t long before I was riding it on XC trails, and even attempting to climb with
it.
I still have around 12 hours experience on a unicycle, so there are a lot of things I
still need to learn.
One thing I had a lot of trouble with was free mounting, or getting on the unicycle
without a wall to grab on to.
And just in case you were wondering what this brake is for… well it’s probably better
on prolonged descents where you have no hope of stopping with just the cranks.
Unicycling is an interesting sensation to experience, and it’s a lot of fun.
You can also do it almost anywhere.
Still, I don’t find myself craving a unicycle ride often enough to stick with it.
So Unicycling will remain a discipline that I only practice sometimes.
Next is the Half Bike.
The halfbike has a fixed stem and handlebar, with a flexible body and steering linkage
on the rear.
It looks easy and intuitive to ride, but it’s not.
It actually takes a fair bit of practice to get the hang of, and even then the handling
is sketchy on all but the smoothest surfaces—and that’s being generous.
I learned to ride the halfbike in a very old video, and had a lot of fun doing so.
But the novelty wore off rather quickly.
It feels weird to always stand there like a meerkat, and no amount of practice inspires
the confidence you get on a normal bike—at least for me.
With that said the halfbike has its benefits.
You can fold it up and easily take it into your workplace or apartment.
It also appears to be pretty reliable.
This three speed hub requires basically no maintenance, and the brakes are so useless
that it would be foolhardy to try adjusting them in the first place.
Despite my harsh criticisms the half bike has a small but loyal following.
And to them, I say good for you.
One less car is always a good thing.
Next is the SE Fat Ripper, which is a fat tire BMX bike with really loud retro styling.
From the nut guards to the wheels, you can see SE’s BMX Racing heritage on full display.
Because the Fat Ripper was conceptualized by Todd Lyons, it’s actually battle ready
and prepared to deal with anything a proper BMX is.
In my original video, I terrorized the streets of Miami Beach with it, essentially taking
it out for the first time.
It took a ton of muscle to throw around and my arms were sore for days, but it actually
felt pretty natural to do BMX stuff on.
SE did a great job with the geometry, knowing that its potential buyers would likely be
adults who appreciate BMX, but also have the coin to buy a really fun spare bike for cruising
around on.
Because it’s bulletproof and has fat tires, the ripper can be used to dadonk curbs and
other obstacles.
You can also use it to monster truck staircases and mounds of whatever.
On ramps and jumps its huge wheels are like gyroscopes, keeping it straight as an arrow
until it smashes through the concrete like the Hulk.
It’s truly a unique machine with unique capabilities.
Out of all my novelty bikes the Fat Ripper is the one I take out most, but here in Asheville
it’s not the most practical thing on the block.
It thrives in the street, in cities, where you can ride out somewhere and make trouble
along the way.
For that reason I’m planning on leaving it in South Florida where I can actually get
some use out of it again.
Speaking of bikes that belong in Miami, check out the all new Swing King.
I would call the Swing Bike a red blooded beach cruiser.
It has a hinge on the seat tube which allows you to sort of drift around and steer with
both wheels.
If you think it looks easy and intuitive to ride, you may be surprised to hear that it
is.
With very little practice you can learn to get wreckless on the swing bike.
When you see it from afar, it looks to be drifting around maniacally, as if to taunt
all the other boring beach cruisers.
While beach cruisers are actually a comfortable way to cruise down A1A, it feels too much
like sitting still to me.
The swing bike solves that problem no matter what speed you ride it at.
Despite the fact that there’s a hinge in the middle of the frame, the swing bike is
actually fast, maneuverable, and quite comfortable to ride for hours at a time.
As a bike for social rides it sits at very top.
Not only does it automatically start conversations for you, but it’s hilarious to watch people
try riding it.
Good luck getting them to give it back though.
So those are my weirdest bikes.
If you’re trying to figure out the practical application of these bikes you’re missing
the point.
These are toys and they’re designed to put a smile on your face.
Nobody rides a unicycle for the purpose of traffic safety and nobody rides a swing bike
to train for a triathlon.
Haters are gonna hate, but I’m glad these bikes exist and I’m happy to own them.
What kind of freak bikes do you like the best?
And do you know any killjoys who hate on them?
Let me know what you tell them to go do.
Thanks for riding with me today, and I’ll see you next time.