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To put that into perspective, here's a cool video of a guy riding through LA on a 14.5' (4.4m) bike. https://vimeo.com/64653759 https://vimeo.com/64653759

by swimfar 10y ago

tomjakubowski 10y ago
This is my go-to tall bike video too. What's especially great is the way he dismounts :-)
Fezzik 10y ago
AND it's a fixie?? Is that the norm for tall-bikes? We have a bunch here in Portland (Ore.) and I always figured they had breaks but never really looked closely... but I see none in the video. That seems 10x as terrifying.
- LeifCarrotson 10y ago
  No, it's a coaster brake single speed. Back pressure on the chain engages the hub brake. You can see him coast at 2:20.
- Tiktaalik 10y ago
  A fixie for a tall bike makes sense because one can (presumably?) track stand to keep the bike upright while stopped. Otherwise you gotta hope there's a stop sign you can lean up against or just never stop...
  - codingdave 10y ago
    Well, his technique of having a crowd of cops and fellow riders to block traffic for you seems to work for getting around without having to stop. Maybe not practical for everyday riding, though...
    - jacquesm 10y ago
      I'm amazed it works as it is, he's going pretty slow at times. All it takes is one person not noticing and it's done.
      - lostlogin 10y ago
        It's a long fall - if vertical that's about 1.7s and if he falls in an arc it would be longer. It could easily kill the person that gets hit too.
  - lstyls 10y ago
    Usually what you do is keep moving and either turn right with traffic or circle around. You can also grab onto something but if you're on the street there isn't really anything within reach. A track stand is hard to pull off for very long for even experienced riders on normal fixies.
- gamache 10y ago
  I've seen only one fixie tallbike. It's a hard thing to pull off because even at very high chain tension, a run of chain that long has a lot of slop. This one is singlespeed (you can see him coast a few times), and I am not even sure it has a brake at all! I didn't see a coaster brake arm at the end of the video where the drivetrain is visible. (EDIT: I am wrong, there is a coaster brake.)
- lstyls 10y ago
  @gemache is right, they're mostly single speed. It's way too easy to have the chain slip off, and when that happens you have no choice but to bail. That happened to me before and I broke my foot. I had one and rode it for years. Single speed, no brakes. I stopped by putting my foot down on the rear tire :)
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
jacquesm 10y ago
That's very impressive, especially the balance so high up. If you'd overbalance even a little bit there is absolutely no stopping it until you hit the ground.
sjburt 10y ago
The creator/rider of that bike recently went to Cuba with a suitcase full of bike part parts to help out.
ux-app 10y ago
This is madness. I recently fell off the second rung of a ladder onto concrete (shoe got caught), and even that hurt, third or fourth rung might have been a broken arm. Falling from this thing is guaranteed serious injury or even death. It would be very easy to add some kind of simple automatic kickstand in case of tipping over laterally.
- Fricken 10y ago
  It's demonstrably not the madness you suggest it is, he's been doing it for decades and he's still in one piece. You see alternative sports athletes walking away from death defying stunts gone awry on a regular basis. Wiping out is a learned skill, and an under-appreciated one. A rough and tumble youth will save you from needing hip replacement surgery when you slip on an icy step when you're 80.
- flukus 10y ago
  Bikes are even worse generally because you fall laterally and we don't have the neck muscles to stop the head hitting concrete. When you fall off a normal bike it's not normally the speed that determines the head injury.

To put that into perspective, here's a cool video of a guy riding through LA on a 14.5' (4.4m) bike. https://vimeo.com/64653759 https://vimeo.com/64653759

by swimfar 10y ago

To put that into perspective, here's a cool video of a guy riding through LA on a 14.5' (4.4m) bike. https://vimeo.com/64653759 https://vimeo.com/64653759

tomjakubowski 10y ago

This is my go-to tall bike video too. What's especially great is the way he dismounts :-)

Fezzik 10y ago

AND it's a fixie?? Is that the norm for tall-bikes? We have a bunch here in Portland (Ore.) and I always figured they had breaks but never really looked closely... but I see none in the video. That seems 10x as terrifying.

LeifCarrotson 10y ago
No, it's a coaster brake single speed. Back pressure on the chain engages the hub brake. You can see him coast at 2:20.
Tiktaalik 10y ago
A fixie for a tall bike makes sense because one can (presumably?) track stand to keep the bike upright while stopped. Otherwise you gotta hope there's a stop sign you can lean up against or just never stop...
- codingdave 10y ago
  Well, his technique of having a crowd of cops and fellow riders to block traffic for you seems to work for getting around without having to stop. Maybe not practical for everyday riding, though...
  - jacquesm 10y ago
    I'm amazed it works as it is, he's going pretty slow at times. All it takes is one person not noticing and it's done.
    - lostlogin 10y ago
      It's a long fall - if vertical that's about 1.7s and if he falls in an arc it would be longer. It could easily kill the person that gets hit too.
- lstyls 10y ago
  Usually what you do is keep moving and either turn right with traffic or circle around. You can also grab onto something but if you're on the street there isn't really anything within reach. A track stand is hard to pull off for very long for even experienced riders on normal fixies.
gamache 10y ago
I've seen only one fixie tallbike. It's a hard thing to pull off because even at very high chain tension, a run of chain that long has a lot of slop. This one is singlespeed (you can see him coast a few times), and I am not even sure it has a brake at all! I didn't see a coaster brake arm at the end of the video where the drivetrain is visible. (EDIT: I am wrong, there is a coaster brake.)
lstyls 10y ago
@gemache is right, they're mostly single speed. It's way too easy to have the chain slip off, and when that happens you have no choice but to bail. That happened to me before and I broke my foot. I had one and rode it for years. Single speed, no brakes. I stopped by putting my foot down on the rear tire :)
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

jacquesm 10y ago

That's very impressive, especially the balance so high up. If you'd overbalance even a little bit there is absolutely no stopping it until you hit the ground.

sjburt 10y ago

The creator/rider of that bike recently went to Cuba with a suitcase full of bike part parts to help out.

ux-app 10y ago

This is madness. I recently fell off the second rung of a ladder onto concrete (shoe got caught), and even that hurt, third or fourth rung might have been a broken arm. Falling from this thing is guaranteed serious injury or even death. It would be very easy to add some kind of simple automatic kickstand in case of tipping over laterally.

Fricken 10y ago
It's demonstrably not the madness you suggest it is, he's been doing it for decades and he's still in one piece. You see alternative sports athletes walking away from death defying stunts gone awry on a regular basis. Wiping out is a learned skill, and an under-appreciated one. A rough and tumble youth will save you from needing hip replacement surgery when you slip on an icy step when you're 80.
flukus 10y ago
Bikes are even worse generally because you fall laterally and we don't have the neck muscles to stop the head hitting concrete. When you fall off a normal bike it's not normally the speed that determines the head injury.