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The Moon Bike! |
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George Barris and Ed Roth are certainly due some kudos for popularizing Hot Rod and Kustom Kulture, but it was people like Dean Moon and other visionary T-shirted engineers who made it a widespread practical phenomenon. It was Moon, Edelbrock, Cragar and others who did the grunt work of setting up shop and making the parts which made it possible for pimple-pussed geeks to build their hot rods. To me the greatest exemplar was always Moon. By taking a typical teenager’s car, spraying it primer gray and fitting it with a set of spun-aluminum Moon Discs, the hot-rod geek of my generation was on the road with a cool set of amazingly-cheap wheels. Engine, body, and upholstery mods could wait while the lawn-mowing money accumulated. In the meantime, you could fly your freak flag. As far as I’m concerned, there’s still no more beautiful a thing you can do to a wheel than fit it with a spun Moon. It’s amazing that the Infiniti crowd haven’t caught on to them. What’s a Q45 if not an updated ’49 Merc, after all? I was thrilled to learn that Mooneyes was selling the famous discs for 20 and 26” bike wheels. You have to send them the wheels for custom-fitting, and they’re kind of pricey, but is there anything so gorgeous? Now, Mooneyes is selling a bike of their own design. It’s in the iconic yellow and black Moon livery. It has the typical Moon attention to detailing, like spun-aluminum chainring, billet-turned stem and front hub, kustom forks, and slick tires. It’s $395, without wheel discs; $695, with them, but what kind of idiot would want one without them? While there, check out all the “BigDaddy” Roth merchandise and the “Von Franco” pinstripe decals, which look amazingly like the “Von Dutch” items of my youth; maybe it’s the Alzheimer’s? |
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Talk About Specialized! |
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http://www.nytimes.com/auth/login?Tag=/&URI=/library/national/science/021699sci-antarctic-bike.html |
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There’s a project afoot to design a bicycle for use in Antarctica. Click on the above URL to go to the New York Times On The Web science article to do with it. |
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Organic Design! |
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No, it’s not some sort of realistic fake paint job. This bike is actually made of bamboo and rattan. Not shown is a woven rattan sunshade which makes it look really silly. No price is given, but how much could they expect for a product obviously made by exploited aborigines? There is an E-address on the site, for getting more info. |
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Jap Flap! |
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For those interested in human-powered flight, Karura is a human-powered ornithopter. This method of achieving flight involves flapping the wings. I always thought the Japanese weren’t overburdened with a lot of free time; obviously, I was wrong. |
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Yikes Trikes, Again! |
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Yet another trike-conversion kit; this one by Industrivel, a Canadian company which specializes in interesting bike technology. Their site is well worth checking out. The TRIBI conversion is claimed to install in minutes on frames from 20” to 26”. The original gear-shifting scheme is retained. |
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Once Around the Park, James, and Pop Some Wheelies! |
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Another Industrivel product: the Doublet. This is a bike for the ambulatorily challenged and an attendent. This would be really cool with full suspension. The racing possibilities boggle the mind! |
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The Bike of the Future! |
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Circa 1955, that is. Designed by noted auto stylist Harley Earl’s studio, Aerocycle never actually went into production. Just as well, as I probably wouldn’t be able to afford one nowadays. I also don’t have a Bowden Spacelander. The fascinating article from Popular Mechanics is available at the above link. |
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All photos are © 1999 by their respective web sites. |
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We Welcome Submissions For Off-Topic. Send Info To: bikerodnkustom@geocities.com |
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