The appropriately named Stoopid Tall bike is 14.5 feet high at the seat, making for a wobbly white-knuckle ride — especially if you go under a 16-foot overpass, or get tangled in a kite string, both of which happened to Richie Trimble on his 20-mile ride. But he weathered this ordeal for a reason: to bring humanity video showing what it feels like to ride a Stoopid Tall bike while you’re wearing Stoopid Pants.
Trimble built the bike, which sports a 32-foot-long chain, for L.A.’s CicLAvia bike event — apparently it was the result of a challenge with his friend Rick Hill to see who could build the tallest bike. He acknowledges that it’s a striking event bike, but not much of a commuter vehicle — in fact, on the way home, his chain came off and he had to execute Tarzan maneuvers to save himself, grabbing and sliding down a nearby telephone pole while the bike toppled over. But he doesn’t seem to have been traumatized — he still plans to team up with Rick Hill to build the world’s tallest tandem bike next year.
But maybe they will avoid that underpass.
Spencer Harding
