Good God - someone in Manchester is actually riding this !!!

Saw this in Manchester today and couldn't believe my eyes. Surely the steering must be unsafe?
I checked and there isn't a circus in town so I guess this really is someones pride and joy.

Ian.

I've seen a few fixie bikes like this around town, probably another hipster fad. Unless someone can explain a reasonable rationale for this then I must conclude it is completely daft.

Back-to-front AND bent?!?

So gae.

Its okay there's nothing wrong with it....

Its a collaboration between Pinarello and Raleigh.

Otherwise known as a Pinaraleigh..

At least they had the nous to lock it up, so some poor scumbag theif can't hurt himself

Fearless hoiking out of the stem too. The fork has a kind of bendy elegance to it....

riddim-track":35s4mfoc said:

I've seen a few fixie bikes like this around town, probably another hipster fad. Unless someone can explain a reasonable rationale for this then I must conclude it is completely daft.

Click to expand...

Presumably a solution that has come about when the inexperienced
hipsters invevitably crash their fixies and need to keep using the bent
fork :roll:

I'd love to ride it just to see how it handled. ('cos I'm not trying in on my own bike)

Bates did it years ago

riddim-track":3dbaxog3 said:

I've seen a few fixie bikes like this around town, probably another hipster fad. Unless someone can explain a reasonable rationale for this then I must conclude it is completely daft.

Click to expand...

So are you saying people do this intentionally? I can't see any possible reason for doing it. The wheel centre is behind the steering axis so the steering must be really really odd.

The Bates Diadrant forks mentioned by Bagpuss still kept the centre of the wheel in front of the steering axis and basically just put the rake in a different position of the tube. There is definitely a Bates look about them though, lol. I believe that the Bates fork design came about because makers were not allowed to fit transfers to bikes used in races so the Bates brothers came up with them so as to be easily recognised as one of their bikes.

I saw a bike in the Transport Museum at Coventry recently and that had reversed forks. Seems it was a "Stayer track bike" and they had reversed forks. They weren't bent though! Thread I started about it here http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... highlight=

Ian.

GrumpyOldMan":11gk2yqc said:

riddim-track":11gk2yqc said:

I've seen a few fixie bikes like this around town, probably another hipster fad. Unless someone can explain a reasonable rationale for this then I must conclude it is completely daft.

Click to expand...

So are you saying people do this intentionally? I can't see any possible reason for doing it. The wheel centre is behind the steering axis so the steering must be really really odd.

Click to expand...

Well I do live in London which is officially the worlds capital for stupid fashions, seems like Manchester are a bit slow to catch on.

If it was a new Carrera I'd just assume it was bought at Halfords and the mechanic put them on backwards due to not being a real mechanic but the fact it's a old steel bike with one gear makes me think... its a completely daft fashion statement