Monsterbike: the modern-day penny farthing?

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Monsterbike: the modern-day penny farthing?

By Loz Blain

20:58 May 30, 2010

9 Comments

2 Pictures

Monsterbike: you won't even hear the screams of the taxi drivers that cut you off

Image Gallery (2 images)

Ask people why they ride their bicycles to work and they'll tell you it's because they enjoy the physical exercise, the exertion, a morning workout that gets them awake and feeling sharp for their 9am meeting. Why, then, would you spend 10 grand on a bicycle that makes cycling easier and less strenuous, giving you less exercise per mile? We reckon this guy has the right idea - he's built a modern day penny farthing called the Monsterbike using a massive monster truck tyre as the front wheel. Sure, it seems to have a top speed just above walking pace, and it looks like a heck of an effort to ride - but the exercise factor is huge, and you'll never feel intimidated in traffic again!

User Comments (9)

The guy on the bike that rides by does not even look back!

Druid

- May 31, 2010 @ 12:05 pm CDT

Needs to raise his seatpost!

Druid

- May 31, 2010 @ 12:05 pm CDT

Judging from the picture, this isn't a bicycle, it's a tricycle. And presumably it's foxed by any kind of uphill gradient, imaginative but flawed.

peterraymondsharpe

- May 31, 2010 @ 04:05 pm CDT

On a dead flat road - that could be great fun.

But - the common "diamond frame" bicycle was initially called "The Safety Bicycle" on account of the number of penny farthing riders who broke their necks and or suffered serious injury - head height - 9 feet up, speed face plant = fatal.

But the mass and inertial of this front wheel - at the mere prospect of blundering into a gradient of significance, I'd be bailing out, and trying to aim it at a solid object to stop it's self on - because I'd be frightened to death of being on it, and it being so dangerous to rider and all, when out of control - which would occur so easily down said hill.

Mr Stiffy

- May 31, 2010 @ 08:05 pm CDT

Looks like Holland. Gradients aren't a problem there XD

felix

- June 1, 2010 @ 06:06 am CDT

Just brilliant!!!

The guy should win a Nobel prize for "Whimsy"

Steve Braithwaite

- June 1, 2010 @ 08:06 am CDT

" on account of the number of penny farthing riders who broke their necks and or suffered serious injury - head height - 9 feet up, speed face plant = fatal"

Wrong. You have clearly not seen Jackass 2 in which Johnny Knoxville does that exact thing and comes out of the experience with nothing more than a headache LoL

Kirby Christopher

- June 2, 2010 @ 04:06 pm CDT

A pogo stick is a flawed form of transport too but bloody good fun :)

Top work chaps!!!

Craig Jennings

- June 6, 2010 @ 01:06 am CDT

@felix: yup, it's Holland... at the end, the guy says "uhhhh, ik kan niet meer" which translates to "uhhhhh, I'm finished". This little ride drained him!

BoilingOil

- June 16, 2010 @ 06:06 am CDT