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Freakbikes, choppers, funnybikes, clownbikes, kustoms, tallbikes, swingbikes, lead sleds, chunkbikes, trashbikes, mutant bikes, tallbike jousting, cargo bikes, tallchoppers, and frankenbikes. This is a record of human-powered creativity in Chicago.


-'52 freakin'-
-vintage p-cola freakin-
-zany bikes of redmoon ii-
-zig anime-
-australia freakin'-
-rat patrol russia-
-vintage freakbikes ii-
-skunk's cloudbuster-
-bikes of burning man 07-
-pedal-powered crane-
-rat patrol belgium-
-jet rides-
-fat boy's bikes-
-vintage freakbikes-
-Steinlauf family 1920's-1960s-
-afghanistan tallbikin'-
-india tallbikin'-
-spain freakin'-
-not hard enough-
-porno squad-
-green machine-
-rolling bonfire-
-the human television network-
-zany bikes of redmoon-
-fatback bomber-
-two-wheeled tank-
-precious cargo-
-ghana's national tallbike-
-twang bang-
-trampoline trailer-
-san fran freakin'-
-wooden packrat-
-the loserbago-
-foley freakin'-
-n'awlins freakin'-
-schwinn cycle truck-
-the bike formerly known as the white elephant-
-trashbike 1-
-UV chopper 2-
-gateway drug-
-lee's bent 1-
-trout lake freakin-
-UV chopper 1-
-pipe bomb-
-unicyclin bear-
-a work in progress-
-the chopper-

-pride 07-
-death of a tallbike-
-st ratrick's day 07-
-guerilla floatilla 07-
-st. ratrick's 07-
-bike kill IV-
-hootenanny 06-
-ratification 06-
-5th annual st chino's run-
-sweethearts build day-
-madison art bike parade 06-
-slaughterama 06-
-guerilla flotilla 06-
-st ratrick's day 06-
-the buurn, maaaaan 05-
-rat rides 2005-
-black label bike kill iii-
-pedal pushers-
-ratification 05-
-Guerilla Flotilla 2005-
-St. Ratrick's Day 2005-
-2nd Annual St. Chino's Run-
-rats on the mass-
-gimp haulin'-
-rat patrol vs. human television network-
-monkey tag ride-
-stockyards ride-
-build day 112004-
-magic bean ride-
-puke ride-
-ratification 04-
-rat rides 2004-
-rat race 04-
-clunker classic III-
-ghana freakin'-
-st. ratrick's day 03-
-the stingray kids-
-may day 2003-
-the scallywags come to chicago critical mass-
-a rat retreat to the redneck riviera-
-a visit from the BLBC-
-rat rides 2003-
-rat rides 2002-

-can't you read?-
-rat trikes-
-scratch-made arc welder-



Email and Submissions: johnny@rat-patrol.org

Duane Flatmo's "Badass", the bike that shouldn't be.

The front-wheel-drive, rear-steer bicycle is widely considered to be impossible to ride and has been tried and abandoned by just about every freakbiker I know.

The perceived impossibility has to do with the physics of what makes abike ride. Contrary to popular belief, gyroscopic forces play no role in a bike'sstaying upright. The secret is in the "trail" of the fork, or thedifference between a line through the headtube and the placement of theaxle. A wheel with no trail drives like a bus. A wheel with negativetrail is a smart caster. Rake causes trail, along with the curve in thefork.Because of the trail, a moving bicycle that falls slightly to one side hasits center of gravity shifted slightly to the other side, and all on itsown the bike falls back to upright. This is why you can ride no-handed.Rear-wheel steering is precarious on any vehicle, deadly at high speeds, and itreverses this relationship. As the bike makes a turn, in theory, thecenter of gravity is shifted *outside* the line between the wheels and thebike falls over. That is exactly my experience with every one I've everseen.

From wikipedia's "bicycle dynamics"article:

"Rear-wheel steeringBecause of the theoretical benefits, especially a simplified front-wheeldrive mechanism, attempts have been made to construct a ridable rear-wheelsteering bike. The Bendix Company built a rear-wheel steering bicycle, andthe U.S. Department of Transportation commissioned the construction of arear-wheel steering motorcycle: both proved to be unrideable. RainbowTrainers, Inc. in Alton, IL, offered US$5,000 to the first person "who cansuccessfully ride the rear-steered bicycle, Rear Steered Bicycle I".[29]Examination of the eigenvalues [studies of the physics of bike riding]shows that the rear-wheel steering configuration is inherently unstable."

And yet:
How is this possible? Well, the short answer is that Duane didn't know it was impossible when he built the bike. Like when the Coyote didn't fall off the cliff until he looked down. Bikes work this way. But I suspect the answer is "tuck". I learned from an old pennyfarthing maker thatone of the secrets that makes an ordinary ride is "tuck", the proximity ofthe rear wheel to the front. I suspect that he's brought the rear wheelin close enough that one can compensate for the bike's squirrelliness bysimply turning into the direction of the fall.Here's another bike that is technically rear-steered and allegedly somewhat rideable: