The Swing Bike

This is a swing bike, and it’s every bit as fun as it looks. The fun part about this bike is the extra pivot near the seat tube that lets you steer both the front and rear ends independently.

The swing bike takes a little practice to mount, but it's surprisingly easy to ride once you get going. Just twist your body a little and the rear wheel kicks out, almost like drifting but without losing traction. Although the bike is a little heavy, it’s pretty easy to pedal on flat terrain. Do one mean gangster lean around a turn and you won’t want to put this bike down. It’s really addictive to ride.

Besides the frame itself, finding replacement parts for the swing bike is easy. The pivoting rear uses the same headset bearings as the front. The rest of it is made up of beach cruiser parts that can be obtained anywhere. Swing bike frames can be found on eBay, and there are even complete models available with three piece cranks and disc brakes.

If you have the space in your garage, this is a must own bike for cruising around town or the beach. It’s like a beach cruiser but less boring.

As with most novelty bikes, the swing bike turns heads. When someone sees this for the first time they think they’re hallucinating. It doesn’t even look like it would be possible to ride.

My friend Kevin used to own this very swing bike and we would always joke about how difficult it would be for someone to steal. Well this theory got put to the test when Kevin left the swing bike outside his front door and forgot about it. It ended up getting stolen and Kevin was seriously bummed out. A week later while driving, he saw someone zig zagging down Sunrise blvd on his swing bike, not even a mile from where it was stolen. He stopped at the next traffic light, got out of the car, and apprehended the thief. He threw the bike on his rack and drove off to a round of applause from onlookers. The bike has since changed hands, but let’s just say it’s still in the family.

If you can believe it, I’ve actually seen other swing bikes around. I’m fairly sure they’re more popular in places like California and South Florida, as is the case with all cruiser’ish things. I’d be interested to see how a swing bike performs in a place like Vermont though with lots of windy roads and hills.

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