It's a better, faster, funner scooter. Ready for Maker Faire 2010!
Combining the front end of a mountain bike with the back end of a kick scooter makes a high performance scooter that is easy to ride.
The high wheel shape (aka penny farthing) hearkens back to the 1880s when big wheels ruled the roads. They too were pursuing greater comfort and more speed.
Video of synchronized scootering at youtube: www.youtube.com/watch
Materials:
Dumpster rescued items including: scooter, mountain bike front end, floor boards, spray paint.
Store bought items: 4 nuts and bolts, 2 grips, varnish, 3 feet of 1.5" steel tube
Other unusual bikes located at: www.woodenbikes.com/
Combining the front end of a mountain bike with the back end of a kick scooter makes a high performance scooter that is easy to ride.
The high wheel shape (aka penny farthing) hearkens back to the 1880s when big wheels ruled the roads. They too were pursuing greater comfort and more speed.
Video of synchronized scootering at youtube: www.youtube.com/watch
Materials:
Dumpster rescued items including: scooter, mountain bike front end, floor boards, spray paint.
Store bought items: 4 nuts and bolts, 2 grips, varnish, 3 feet of 1.5" steel tube
Other unusual bikes located at: www.woodenbikes.com/
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Signing UpStep 1: Layout using the RAD system (Reality Aided Design)
Reality Aided Design refers to laying the parts out and eyeballing the geometry. (no software needed) Here I'm setting up the basics of a scooter body behind a mountain bike front end. The yardstick represents the steering axis (center of the head-tube). Note the steering axis intersects the ground ahead of the front tire contact point on the road. The tire contact point 'trails" the steering axis. As a side note to bike designers... The bend of the fork blades produces "rake" aka "offset" that consumes part of the trail to shorten or snug-up the trail for a certain head angle and wheel diameter.
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front tire is 700c-35, The rear is 355x40.
It is a much harder workout compared to biking, especially in urban areas, where you need to stop every block for cross traffic on a bike.
my heart rate is much higher , than on my recombents. Usuallt around 130 plus on the flats without really pushing it when using the kick bike.
they make all kinds, so imagination and terrain is the key. serious off-road ones with higher clearance and beefier set ups. Racing types that , are super lightweight.,with fast tires, The first time i met a guy with one he had kicked to s place called bear mountain from central park,NY . 100 miles round trip, and far from flat. A lot of nordic skiers and ultra marathoner use them.
The nice think about this set-up. is the size and big front wheel , prevent you from do a header in a pot hole or when you catch the plate on a tar heave on city streets
It feels like more workout per mile than a bicycle and somewhat slower at same effort level. Hundreds of people enjoyed riding it at Maker Faire.
I think this could be even better combined with an electric hub for some shenanigans...
That's an easy thing to do with most stems, and I've done it on another bike. (The stem connects the handlebar to the steering tube.) This particular stem has the complication of the front brake cable running through it. so I may just swap in bent handlebars from an old 3 speed bike where the grips are moved back closer to the rider.