Photo Essay: 20 of the Freakiest Custom Bikes on the Road
1. Built by Gabriel Amadeus, a Portland-area designer extraordinaire and fun-enthusiast. When not riding bikes or organizing bike events you can find him building and welding every sort of bike imaginable. And some that aren’t.
Photographer: ichad
2. “This is Sailor Neale, with another of his crazy creations. This particular bike is jointed in the middle, just behind the handlebars. It folds fully in half if you don’t pay attention. You steer by using your hips to swivel the central joint, and then using the handlebars to simultaneously steer the front wheel.”
Photographer: doviende
3. The Reverse Cowgirl, built by Mark Veno. “It was displayed at PDX Airport when they had the Oregon Handmade Bicycle Exhibit. I was the only non-professional builder exhibiting.”
4. “West Coast Chopper”
Photographer: tinou bao
5. The Ross Island Explorer, a fully amphibious human-powered tallbike-paddleboat.
Photographer: megulon5, member of C.H.U.N.K.
6. Burrito-recumbent, complete with suspension and sound system / Builder: Doc
Photographer: Mark Veno
7. For when you really don’t want to worry about getting a flat.
Photographer: RJL20
8. “A rock n’ roll/punk kid rode this to the Coffee Bean in Playa Vista the other day. Love that it has an old-fashioned horn on the handlebars.”
Photographer: pink_fish13
9. Good for carting around…whatever. / Builder: Chris Martin
Photographer: Mark Veno
10. Alan Sikiric’s Mutandem: “Only from the fields of muck and hazardous grime known as the Jerz could something so horrifying arise!”
11. The very definition of an art bike.
Photographer: anarchosyn
12. One of the craziest tall bikes out there, and pannier-ready to boot!
Photographer: doviende
13. A burrito built by Mark Veno: “When I moved to Portland I was inspired by the existing bike culture and built my first tallbike. I try to make my freakbikes as usable as “real” bikes. Soon I’ll be moving to San Diego to spread the freakbike love to SoCal.”
14. “No idea about who this is riding the chopper, just happened to snap it on Wells Street. I think he is part of the Chicago Critical Mass group.”
Photographer: swanksalot
15. Not quite training wheels…
Photographer: BruceTurner
16. Five bucks to anyone who can categorize this bike, being paraded by a member of Rat Patrol.
Photographer: JOE M500
17. When two wheels just aren’t enough, you need the Six Wheelie.
Photographer: bilbord99
18. There are choppers, and then there are these.
Photographer: tandemracer
19. Not exactly a freak bike, but there is something freaky about these kids and their penny farthings.
Photographer: Mild Mannered Photographer
20. Tank! / Builder: Sailor Neale of the East Vancouver PedalPlay metal studio.
Photographer: Foxtongue
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#16? Why, its a (below)
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Di-ger-i-bike. (as in digeridoo)↵ -
Muahahahahahahahaha *cough* hahahahahahaha!
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I love that some of these seem positively normal when put against the others. I’m calling #16 a Bong Bike.
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heh, these photos are amazing!
that bike with the tail made out of wheels is pretty cute. i think it’s time for me to upgrade my bike.↵ -
I think that 1st picture is outside Hollywood Theater at the Premiere of Veer. Gabe is talking to the filmmakers who followed him around documenting his absurdity.
http://www.veerthemovie.com/beautiful shots. thanks for sharing.
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Oh my god, that shoes-as-wheels one is amazing!
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The shoes-as-wheels bike was part of the freak bike corral at last year’s Tour de Fat. I think #15, the training wheels one, was also.
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all of the sudden my tired old Haro seems well, ordinary… I saw a video where guys made a bike from a picnic table!
My vote is for the shopping cart!↵ -
You could create a category called WTF?! and place #16 there.
These are awesome…the creativity! The sneakers one made me laugh out. And that paddlewheel-pedaler is just downright brilliant.
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And I see what you mean about #19. That will give me nightmares…what’s that Stephen King movie with those creepy kids…I never watched it, but the ads always frightened me.
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#12 is Tall Pol, owner of the Bike Doctor http://www.thebikedr.com in Vancouver. that must be a pretty old photo because his tall bike doesn’t look like that anymore. currently a part of the Velo-City exhibition at the Vancouver Museum this summer http://velocityvancouver.ca
and Sailor Neale lives in San Francisco now and PedalPlay no longer exists (except in our memories).
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I remember making some of the chopper bikes when I was a kid back in the late sixties and early seventies….
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Wow! The shoe-tire bike is my favorite.
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Hey these are hilarious bikes.
Love the two in the tank track like recumbent type bike thingy.
Have a good one.↵ -
You gave me a sweet 20min =)
Perfect !
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A lot of those look like they wouldn’t be very comfortable rides. Also, #20 is just pure win!
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Wow, that is truly amazing! Cool stuff dude!
RT
http://www.whos-watching.mirrorz.com↵ -
A trailer for a video shot by a guy riding a tall bike across Africa. There’s some footage of the tall bike towards the end of the trailer. Excellent Stuff.
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need. to. build. a, bike. !!!
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I would like to submit two of my bikes for #21 and #22
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2267/1862392626_3147e08a2e_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3118/2803152895_8477755924_o.jpg
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Very cool. If you like this check out the book: New Orleans Bicycles
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Thanks!
I was gonna say you should check out NOLA bikes, but here it was at the bottom.
We have more rad art/homemade (not to mention Plan B, YAY!) bikes than this in the Marigny/Bywater alone!
Gosh, I miss home….
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#11 isnt an art bike.. its a low rider bike. They are all over the place. My friend has one.. Thats a very nice one.. But so is his.
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check out this picnic table bike!
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LOL, check out Doc. Oh, I miss Portland and all it’s freaks. *siiiigh* Hi Doc. Hi Zoobombers. Hi Portland.
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I nominate my chopper for #23 or so.
http://heartlessmachine.com/artwork/24403_Bondo_Bike.html
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#16 is an underslung chopper called Long Chainey
was made by Johnny Payphone, http://www.johnnypayphone.net/2008/06/long-chainey.html
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No.18 is right at home on the Westside of Bend , a crabon-fribe Cannondale Raven no less .
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Two of these I’ve actually seen in person. Great article!
I hate to be one of those “how the hell did you forget blah-blah-blah bike” people, but there are a few I know of (built by people that I know personally) that are really at home in this gallery:
Four-bike tall bike, built by RichToTheIE, who created the C.R.A.N.K MOB ride in Los Angeles:
http://midnightridazz.com/viewPhoto.php?galleryId=35093&artistId=273&pgnum=1
(sorry, tried to find a better photo, but that’s all I could find at the moment)Brassknuckle and Yetiman with their bike:
http://midnightridazz.com/viewPhoto.php?artistId=6&galleryId=35046
(Photo is shot by my friend Sarah Sitkin, who can be found on http://www.flickr.com/photos/sleepallday/)And Yetiman again with a home-made (geared!) penny farthing bicycle with a rear disc brake:
http://midnightridazz.com/viewPhoto.php?artistId=6&galleryId=35272
(also shot by Sarah)↵ -
I’m loving the new additions, people. Keep ‘em coming! If we get enough we may just have to run a sequel…
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Oh man I love the tankbike.
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actually…both the sweet freakbikes in the first pic are gabe’s, the other was being piloted by his roomate, buffalo dave.
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Check out this one…similar to the tank
http://www.instructables.com/id/The-SteamRoller/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uokr7WmQKOQ
Below is me trying to embed a yout tubee video
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I live near East Van, and there are lots more like this (though without the tank treads)…
Not many tallbikes this far up the coast though…
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What I loved about the Portland custom bike culture was how it was like a bike-fungus. Run in the right circles and these bikes started to haunt you. Go to a party at the Fridge, get drunk & ride a tallbike home. Wake up to find a few orphan choppers & bouncy bikes in the back yard days after your roomie had a private, er, party with some C.H.U.N.K. boys. Lurking from the roofs of SE Division businesses. Abandoned behind dumpsters. Ubiquitous as hell at Critical Mass and Last Thursday. An unescapable force of questionable transport. Oh to be young & alcoholic in that rainy city…
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#14 is Michael X from Rat Patrol Chicago on his “G-1263 (V.1)”
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I fave the art bike… Then again I am a crafty person.
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Some of those are truly awesome. IMHO Mutandem wins for best photo, and maybe reverse cowgirl for best bike.
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These bikes are cool! And for some extra fun and bikes to add to the photo essay the authors should come check out the Kinetic Sculpture Race in Arcata, CA.
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The only thing missing is a submission from Red Green at the “Possum Lodge”.
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