Pocket bikes
June 25, 2004 11:39 AM   Subscribe

Little toys for big boys. With video too!
posted by xmattxfx (23 comments total)
 
Boston under siege by circus clowns
posted by adamg at 11:48 AM on June 25, 2004


I work with a guy featured in some of these photos, the top picture along with others.
posted by MrMoonPie at 11:49 AM on June 25, 2004


I broke a bone for the first time in my life riding one of those things.
posted by linux at 12:00 PM on June 25, 2004


I saw a couple of kids sitting at a red light on these things a few weeks ago. Obnoxious as they may be, the kids were actually wearing helmets and protective gear and obeying the traffic laws. Couldn't have been a day over 14, either of them, but at least they were well-behaved.

The bikes are noisy as all get-out, though.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:12 PM on June 25, 2004


These are all the rage these days out here and the cops hate them because people keep riding them on the streets (totally illegal) without helmets (totally stupid) and with little regard for traffic or pedestrians (totally irritating).

Sad thing is that I still want one of my own.
posted by fenriq at 12:14 PM on June 25, 2004


They're also not street-legal anywhere I know of. Those kids were breaking more laws than you could count. But nice of them to wear the gear, it makes them easier to spot.
posted by tommasz at 12:15 PM on June 25, 2004


I can't stand these little bikes. They seem to be everywhere all of the sudden, and they tend to be ridden illegally on sidewalks ("lookout!") or in the streets ("did we just run over something?").

The cops are already starting to crackdown on them in both Northern and Southern California.
posted by emptyage at 12:21 PM on June 25, 2004


Okay, so next time I see those kids I'll wave my cane at them and shout, "You whippersnappers'd get off the road if'n you knew what was good for you!"
posted by uncleozzy at 12:24 PM on June 25, 2004


Yeah, but they're fun as hell to ride. Those of you moto-heads who ever rode a YSR on a track will appreciate them.

As an ex-rice-rocket-rider (I took up golf after I married) I'm quite taken with these little guys.
posted by TeamBilly at 12:26 PM on June 25, 2004


These have been around for 20 plus years. Why is the law craking down now?
posted by thomcatspike at 1:04 PM on June 25, 2004


Saw a guy on one in Seattle yesterday. I thought he looked...silly. Of course, at the time I was busy putting nearly $50 worth of gasoline in my van.
posted by vito90 at 1:17 PM on June 25, 2004


They look rather uncomfortable...
posted by Orange Goblin at 1:25 PM on June 25, 2004


Here in Massachusetts the push is on to ban them. They don't belong on the streets anymore than Quads do.

What I want is on old Lambretta or Vespa scooter. My buudies older brother had one that used to belong to the NYC PD. Street legal, total blast to ride.

Happy weekend.
posted by a3matrix at 1:34 PM on June 25, 2004


Thomcatspike, I think there's just a huge proliferation of them now with lots and lots of cheap knockoffs for sale everywhere. They had them at the local Kragen the other day.
posted by fenriq at 2:23 PM on June 25, 2004


Kragen - theirs are electric – heh!...perfect for indoor use off the streets, problem solved.
posted by thomcatspike at 2:31 PM on June 25, 2004


i hate these fuckin things.

they're incredibly loud and the kids in my neighborhood ride them up and down the block incessantly.

they also look absurd.
posted by Miles Long at 2:34 PM on June 25, 2004


There are no words harsh enough to properly admonish these people.
posted by xmutex at 2:36 PM on June 25, 2004


http://pocketbike.com was running Microsoft-IIS on NT4/Windows 98 when last queried at 25-Jun-2004 22:35:01 GMT

Hrm, is that an embedded 3 meg *.wmv? Oh this won't take long.
posted by loquacious at 3:39 PM on June 25, 2004


Pocket bikes have their time and place. I'd love to have one for the local racetrack.

But, no, they shouldn't be on the streets and roads at all.

Vespas and scooters and such, though, I'd love to see legalized for 14+ year old teens. It would make them better future car drivers, for starters.

Or, rather, the ones that survive would be better car drivers...
posted by five fresh fish at 4:36 PM on June 25, 2004


Yeah, I hate these fucking things. Some little fucker rides his noisy little bike up and down my street at all hours. I've asked him to stop but he speaks no English, so who knows. Whatever the case, he hasn't stopped. I'm going to start taking pictures of him the next time I hear him out front. Then I'm going to call the police.

There is a place for these things. On the street in front of my house isn't it.
posted by mrbarrett.com at 7:09 PM on June 25, 2004


This will all be solved once they redesign the cities around Segways.</2001>
posted by dhartung at 11:06 PM on June 25, 2004


So, if men with small penises drive big cars, then these guys must be huge! How do they manage to sit on those tiny bikes, then?
posted by dg at 1:50 AM on June 26, 2004


You have not lived until you have seen a gaggle of these things coming down the street. Annoyingly loud, laughable to look at and they do not look comfortable for adults. I was in Minneapolis three weeks ago and a group of about 15 drove by - I still find it hard to believe it was the nightly pleasure ride by a group of men.

I didn't check, is there a Kevlar section of riding wear on the website?
posted by fluffycreature at 6:09 AM on June 26, 2004


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