Video: Hack Bike Derby

Oh, now this looks like fun. Earlier this year, a select group of frame-makers were tasked with a mission – make a bike out of scrap, get together with a bunch of similarly fleet-fingered friends, and race the heck out of what you brung. There were also huge possibilities in the beer and coffee stakes too, natch. And Alex Rankin (he of Sprung and Earthed) made a film of it:

There were 17 frame builders in total. Last November they’d been given instructions – build a klunker out of scrap, inspired by designs of yesteryear. And back in February, these bikes and their makers got together in a middly piece of woodland in Somerset.

Andrew Denham from The Bicycle Academy is the event organiser: “It’s an opportunity for builders to make some bikes for the hell of it, to get creative in a less formal way, and most importantly have fun”

It was all on the hush-hush, says Alex. “No one but the people involved knew the date or location. It was all about the atmosphere, having a nice time with friends, we didn’t want it to be a show thing…”

And there’s lots more planned. The idea is to keep going with this, and with weird and wonderful variations on the klunker theme every year… looks pretty good to us. Check out Adam Gasson’s pics:

Event sponsors:
Break Fluid Coffee Co
Bell Bike Helmets

Bontrager

Barney Marsh

Barney Marsh takes the word ‘career’ literally, veering wildly across the road of his life, as thoroughly in control as a goldfish on the dashboard of a motorhome. He’s been, with varying degrees of success, a scientist, teacher, shop assistant, binman and, for one memorable day, a hospital laundry worker. These days, he’s a dad, husband, guitarist, and writer, also with varying degrees of success. He sometimes takes photographs. Some of them are acceptable. Occasionally he rides bikes to cast the rest of his life into sharp relief. Or just to ride through puddles. Sometimes he writes about them. Bikes, not puddles. He is a writer of rongs, a stealer of souls and a polisher of turds. He isn’t nearly as clever or as funny as he thinks he is.

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