– Watch video below-
(Photo © J. Maus)
Wow. It’s been amazing to watch how much publicity The Irondelles have gotten since their big public debut last week.
Since then, they’ve been on the Willamette Week blog, featured in a live, prime time news segment on KGW-TV (NBC in Portland) and they got an above-the-fold spread on the front page of the The Oregonian’s Metro section.
It can’t be just a fascination with the tall bikes. Those have been around for a long time and we’ve got several other groups who are known for riding them. I think it’s more of a tipping point that The Irondelles represent (or maybe it’s the fishnet stockings they wear).
Now, The Oregonian has a how-to video featuring Skye Blue (the group’s founder). Skye explains to reporter Joseph Rose how to mount and dismount a tall-bike. Watch it below the jump:
| Tall bikes |
I like the line where Rose says, “Tall bikes are becoming more popular in Portland. Not just in parades, but in traffic.” Link to video here.
Thanks for reading.
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Ahhhh, the convenience of step-through frames.
Very slick technique, beautiful!, I wondered how you do that. Love the tensioning freefloater chainring idea, brilliant.
Your caption is wrong. 🙂
The vehicle on the right in that picture, and possibly the one on the left, is/are giraffe unicycles. They are very different beasts.
At some point I’d like to try riding a tall bike just for the experience of it. I realize they are particularly customized and personal bikes, but do any of the tall-bikers host practice riding sessions (preferably in a large parking lot or no-traffic area) for newbies?
Whenever were hanging out, ‘we’ tall bike owners, riders, are at a park or hanging out on our rides a lot of people never have ridden a tall bike and a lot of them learn there for the first time, were pretty approachable nice people. just come up and say hi!
+1, its always a tickle to see someone else riding my creations around.
pretty effin rad.
next wed, the IRONDELLES host a bikini bike wash!
http://www.shift2bikes.org/cal/viewpp2009.php#24-667
Step 1: HANDS ON THE HANDLE-BARS, NOT THE SEAT!!!
Step 2: Give it a jogging start, or a few steps for momentum
Step 3: Kick off the ground with your right foot with your left foot on the pedal.
Step 4: Sit on the damn seat and pedal before you fall over because it’s your first time!
It’s just like riding a bike!
but how do you get off on those things?