Artistic Cycle wanted

Great video clip! Flatland BMX is starting to look more and more like BC
wheeling with handles. The tricks are amazing in both sports; this is a
great example if you haven't seen one or the other.

Yes, there's always someone trying to get their hands on an artistic
bike here in North America, and still no import channel that's known to
me. If anyone has a used one, or information about ordering newer ones
we'd love to hear about it.

--
johnfoss

John Foss
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"The worst thing you can do on a unicycle when you land is stop dead."
-- Kris Holm, world's expert on high-consequence unicycling
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Is it really a special kind of bike? It looks like a normal fixed-wheel
bike with a very small chainring, straight forks and the handlebars
turned upside-down. I suppose the frame geometry of a normal road
frame may not allow straight forks without the wheel touching the
downtube when it is swivelled right round... is that the problem?
If it's just a case of frame geometry you ought to be able to get a
framebuilder to make you a frame like that for nowhere near the sort of
money you're quoting.
Or am I missing something? Nice riding though - reminds me of the
Swedish Cycle Act clip somebody posted on here some time ago.

Rob

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this one (from the wiki link above) does look quite a bit different from
a normal road bike...

[image:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Saddle_handlebarstand.jpg]

looks like a 1:1 ratio drive, both tires are very close to the tubes,
it is very tall, etc.

I didn't watch the video to see what other ones look like.

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squirrel said:

this one (from the wiki link above) does look quite a bit different from
a normal road bike...

looks like a 1:1 ratio drive, both tires are very close to the tubes,
it is very tall, etc.

The back end is just like a normal road frame (racing frames do have
the wheel close to the seat tube). The drive ratio is just a case of
using a small chainring. As for very tall... I suppose modern road
frames do tend to be "compact" design, but what I consider a "normal"
road frame looks just like that. The difference is the front fork
(straight, with no rake) and the stem with no reach. It's got quite a
short top tube as well to give it that very short wheelbase. But a
normal framebuilder should be able to build one like that without any
problems - and it would cost a few hundred dollars, not thousands -
that seems ridiculously expensive.

Rob

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Yeah, that was my next avenue to pursue should I be unable to find a
proper one. I've got a few contacts in montreal (where it is practiced
as a performance art) as well, I'm just exploring every avenue to try
and find one, they're really quite rare machines.

--
flyer
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the only part that seems specialized is the frame. aside from that you
just need a 1-1 fixed gear drivetrain.

--
koebwil

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squirrel said:

this one (from the wiki link above) does look quite a bit different from
a normal road bike...

looks like a 1:1 ratio drive, both tires are very close to the tubes,
it is very tall, etc.

I didn't watch the video to see what other ones look like.

Actually, it looks just like the bike that they paint on to cycle paths
here;

[image: http://www.andypreece.co.uk/cycling/images/post.jpg]

Except maybe the forks are a bit straiter than the first image I found
on google.

Maybe you should try asking road workers where to get them, as they
must see loads of them to be able to draw them so good!

STM

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semach.the.monkey
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koebwil said:

the only part that seems specialized is the frame. aside from that you
just need a 1-1 fixed gear drivetrain.

As stated above, the main feature of the frame is a super-short
wheelbase. The front tire will hit your toes; barely misses the pedals.
Then you need an absolutely straight fork, otherwise the wheel won't be
able to face backward. Add some indoor pedals (rubber ends) and small
pegs on the axles (also with rubber coating/ends). The handlebars are
similar to a road bike handlebar turned upside down (though not quite).
Lastly, you need a seat like the one on that Walther pictured above.
It's not like any other bicycle seat. The seat's shape and location are
important for lots of tricks.

--
johnfoss

John Foss
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-- Kris Holm, world's expert on high-consequence unicycling
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John - how big are the wheels on the cycle? 700c? Would I be able to use
smooth road tires for something like this, or should I look into
properly specialized tires? I know about how the front fork has to be
and I'm sure I could get the point about frame geometry across to
anyone putting the frame together..

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I didn't notice the freaky saddle. Still, I reckon with all the
specialist parts (saddle, stem, frame/fork, possibly handlebars) it
shouldn't cost anything like as much as you feared.

I got interested and had a look around... the bikes they use for cycle
ball are _really_ strange - make the artistic ones look completely
normal. The seat post comes out of the _back_ of the crossbar and the
rear triangle is a weird shape (i.e. not triangular). Freaky.

Rob

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weekend in May 2006
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Langenberg is one of the best know brands of the moment.
You can call them at +49-561-495155
...because none of their domains work properly:
http://www.radsport-langenberg.de/
http://www.langenberg-fahrradmanufaktur.de/
http://www.langenberg-manufaktur.de/
Same for Walther:
http://www.fahrrad-walther.de/
So try:
http://www.otoupalik-bikes.cz/
http://www.starbicycle.com/
http://www.radball-mlady.de/

flyer said:

John - how big are the wheels on the cycle? 700c?

I'm not John, but 'here' (http://tinyurl.com/y843wg) are some suitable
tires.
(indoor cycles have "tubes"; tires that have the inner-tube stiched in
the inside, and are glued at the rim)

Further I was kind of planning on maybe visiting the
'worldchampionships' (http://tinyurl.com/ym8wyw) in Chemnitz next
month.

And hey, have a look at the sponsors of the 'Swiss championships'
(http://www.kunstrad.ch/) (Erdgas was also main sponsor of 'unicon13'
(http://www.unicon13.ch/))

--
leo

Leo Vandewoestijne
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flyer said:

John - how big are the wheels on the cycle? 700c?

700c would be too big. My bike used to have old-school 26" rims with
special indoor, tubular ("sew-up"😉 tires. Like the example in the link
from Leo. Since those tires wear very poorly on concrete, mine had been
"upgraded" to some regular 26" rims with cheap, narrow tires. These
were too big, and tended to rub the down tube and get bent, so a few
years back I had new 24" wheel laced up and used a couple of 1.75"
Miyata tires on there (no floor marking). Those wheels are fatter and a
little heavier than the originals, but they're a little smaller so my
toes don't hit as much. In any case, don't go bigger than 26x1.25" or
so.

If you have a frame custom made, I highly recommend digging up a set of
dimensions somewhere. There was a set in an old issue of the Unicycling
Society of America Newsletter, but it was from an earlier generation of
bike, with a more "normal" fork angle. It wouldn't fit with today's
list of figures.

--
johnfoss

John Foss
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com
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"The worst thing you can do on a unicycle when you land is stop dead."
-- Kris Holm, world's expert on high-consequence unicycling
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Would this be considered an artistic bike? I found it on one of the
websites Leo posted. [image:
http://www.otoupalik-bikes.cz/fotogalery_otoup/kola/1203_panda.jpg]

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ntappin

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that's a cycleball (radball) bicycle. That's pretty awesome too. just
look up 'radball' on youtube.

edit: leo - almost forgot to add - THANK YOU so much for all those
links. I just picked around all the pages, and provided I either find a
german student or they speak english, when I get some funds together I
might just be able to snag myself a bicycle. This is great! So
appreciated.

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flyer
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flyer said:

leo - almost forgot to add - THANK YOU so much for all those links. I
just picked around all the pages, and provided I either find a german
student or they speak english, when I get some funds together I might
just be able to snag myself a bicycle. This is great! So appreciated.

Well, I realize artistic cycling is a closed world, like figure skating
is.
And so a Google search on "buy artistic cycle" will return only 1 hit
(this page).
I don't think I've ever would have found those sites without know some
names. Most brands don't have a website at all.
Make sure to get in contact with Langenberg. I think he's market leader
by now, and so has a lot of experience.

If you let build something; make sure you got sizing correct. Cause if
you're spending money anyway... you might like to have it according the
rules. Unless you for sure wont bother competing, then you rather take
sizes you feel comfortable with.

And so one more important link: 'the UCI rulebook on indoor cycling'
(http://www.uci.ch/imgArchive/Rules/8arti-E.pdf).
And before you start saying the competition is much like
unicycle-standard: yes, standard came kind of from these rules.
Including the floor-marking. And the early IUF rulebooks had kind of
simular pictograms drawn by a fanatic unicyclist.

--
leo

Leo Vandewoestijne
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nice to see that there are a few people in North America that are
interested in Artistic Cycling... I just got the itch to get into it a
month or two ago...

I was in touch with John Foss who was nice enough to email me and give
me some direction...i posted a "WANTED: Artistic Bike" in the Trading
Post and no one responded.

i spent close to a month on-line trying to gather info and it was
fruitless trying to find anyone in Canada or the States that could get
me or sell me a bike.

i emailed all 4 manufacturers of artistic bikes...Langenberg, Walther,
Star & Otoupalik. Only Star & Otoupalik ever responded back. Petr
Otoupalik was very helpful and very nice. I was impressed with his
company and just ordered a 25" Butterfly Artistic Bike from him. His
prices are reasonable. My bike is costing 1260 Euros + shipping. It
would probably be smart to order a few extra tubular tires as well,
like i did... it is hard to find obscure Euro sizes in stock in North
America.

My bike will be here in about two weeks... can't wait...

--
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This is incredibly encouraging. Once I get a steady income, it's on the
list of stuff to buy, behind plane tickets and just ahead of a new
laptop.

Thanks for letting me know, it's great to hear someone managed to get
one over here.

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flyer said:

This is incredibly encouraging. Once I get a steady income, it's on the
list of stuff to buy, behind plane tickets and just ahead of a new
laptop.

Thanks for letting me know, it's great to hear someone managed to get
one over here.

you gotta move that bike up on your list of things to buy! sadly for me
my list is long... after the Artistic Bike i will probably get the itch
to start riding Flatland again (did for 10 years) and pick up a BMX,
plus i want a track bike, a trials uni, etc (to go along with my road
bike, cyclocross bike, mtn bike, etc...)

i'll let you know how the "Butterfly" is when i get it... i'm a good
judge of quality (worked at/managed a bike shop for 4 years and been
into bikes for my entire life... a good 30+ years)... obviously i will
be experiencing something new with an Artistic bike but alot of my
flatland tricks sort of translate across (time machines, boomerang,
grip rides) so i have should have an indication of how well it rides in
regards to ride quality/performance, if you are interested..

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That'd be great. I was thinking I might see if one of my friends has a
BMX I can borrow for a while. I think that the skills between artistic,
unicycling, an flatland all really flow together. That is a large part
of my wanting to try this out.

Definitely post in this thread or something when the cycle comes in,
I'd love to hear about it!

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