Spectrum: A graphic designer from Singapore is playing interesting mind games in some projects that will certainly make one or the other cyclist smile. Under the fictitious manufacturer name 'Ridiculous Bikes' he presents the mountain bikes of the future - among other things with 39″ tires or a wheelbase of 1,50m. He also takes aim at the industry and its many new standards.
It feels like every year new wheel standards, new wheel sizes, new geometry trends or installation dimensions come onto the market in the bicycle sector. It is becoming increasingly confusing for the end user and one or the other starts to fear that the bike they have just bought will be scrapped (or carbon...) only two years later. Designer Patrick Ng from Singapore picks up on this feeling and put some project studies online under the name 'Ridiculous Bikes'. With a big wink of course.
A 13-speed cassette with 10-53 should have the fictional and for the year 2018 predicted wheel called 'Roost Carbon', also an installation width of 188mm at the rear and a totally modern, very long geometry with a wheelbase of 1500mm. Of course, a new wheel size should not be missing - it should be 28″! Of course, Patrick Ng takes current trends to the extreme with this study and makes fun of the matter. Yes, who knows? We'll see in 2018 how far the wheel was from reality...
39″ wheels – bigger is better!
Another project goes back to wheel sizes but seems a little more serious than the 'Roost Carbon'. The tires in the designer's latest cross-country project are 39″ big – the huge slippers naturally require some contortions in terms of frame shape and design in order to achieve a reasonably rideable geometry. But thanks to the clever deflection mechanism in the head tube area, this should not be dissimilar to current XC bikes.
All it needs is a frame builder who is willing to transform the daring design from the render model into reality. If the worst comes to the worst, we would sign up for a test drive...