Riding TALL in Aberdeen: Unique Changes Made to Bicycles By Young Adults
By Scott Waltman, American News, Aberdeen, S.D.
May 12–Trips to the dump have yielded a unique form of transportation for some young adults in Aberdeen.
Bikes left at the dump, as well as long-forgotten cycles found in garages, provide the primary parts for about a half dozen so-called tall bikes that can be seen cruising down city streets. The tall bikes are easy to pick out because they feature two frames welded together one on top of the other. The 4- to 5-foot-high bikes give the rider a loftier-than-usual perch from which to steer.
A small fleet of the high bikes have been built during the past two months by a group of friends. But 20-year-old Trevor LeBeau said the first time he customized a bike, he didn’t build a tall bike. About two years ago, he found a beach cruiser — a bike with two wheels in front and one in back — at the dump. He altered it by equipping it with a small tire in the front and dirt bike-style handlebars. The creation is called FrankenBike.
Jeremy Burkhard, 18, and LeBeau worked last summer on a somewhat similar contraption called the ShrineCopter.
Those undertakings have led to work on the high bikes. LeBeau said he got the idea for the custom bikes by seeing such creations during visits to Minneapolis.
LeBeau was the first who tried to build a tall bike, but he struggled with making it work. That’s when Chad Pederson, 22, decided he would see if he could succeed in the endeavor. He did.
“Mine stayed together because I added braces (to the welded bike frames) after it fell apart a couple times,” Pederson said.
To make the tall bikes work, their chains need to be hooked together, pedals from the frames of the bottom bikes need to be removed and their handle bars have to be adjusted and aligned so they can be controlled while being ridden.
“It’s like you’re riding a palm tree on a windy day,” Burkhard explained of piloting the tall bikes.
Using the bikes: Getting on the tall bikes takes a little help — a boost from a friend or a bit of a running jump. It’s done, as LeBeau says, “very carefully.”
Steering is sometimes a challenge, too. So is stopping because, 20-year-old Christina Pederson said, some of the tall bikes don’t have brakes. The friends say there have been some minor mishaps while riding the bikes.
Chad Pederson, Christina’s brother, said he had some gravel embedded in his knees and hands after one crash.
“I always seem to catch myself, but you fall pretty hard,” said Catherine Freeman, 20.
Attracts attention: For Tony “Hobo” Ulrich, 18, his tall bike is his primary form of transportation. It works well but, he said, he sometimes hears disparaging comments directed his way. Christina Pederson and Freeman said that people sometimes hum clown or circus music when they pass by.
The most amusing incident for LeBeau was when a bus passed, then pulled over in front of him. He heard the driver tell his young passengers to look at the crazy bike that was about to go by. Moments later, LeBeau said, the bus passed him again and the kids got another look at his bike.
LeBeau is now working on a tall bike that will have four frames between the tires and seat. When finished, it’ll be about 7 feet tall. LeBeau still hasn’t figured out how he’s going to mount it.
Chad Pederson said he’s done making tall bikes and now wants to customize bikes in other ways. One idea is a souped-up toddler bike, complete with training wheels.
The group has given some of the modified bikes to relatives. There are plans for group rides, and the friends have formed an informal “biker gang” called the Loch Ness Monsters. Members say, their building, riding and experimenting will continue.
“It’s addicting,” Freeman said. “It’s really cool.”
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Copyright (c) 2006, American News, Aberdeen, S.D.
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