Comments on: skybike: the machine can not raise his voice

skybike: the machine can not raise his voice

jessamyn — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:01:54 -0800

The Skycycle (google translated) at Washuzan Highland Park (warning: noisy) in Okayama, Japan is (not) a pedal-powered roller coaster. Video, photos. Other things called a skybike: skybike, sky-bike, skybike, skybike, skybike.

By: Ugh

Ugh — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:17:26 -0800

Oh dear God. I was all for it until I saw the weeds growing through the tracks. That looks terrifying.

By: not_on_display

not_on_display — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:35:06 -0800

This post could use more skybikes.

By: troy

troy — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:00:11 -0800

I saw the weeds growing through the tracks The commentator was saying "安心感のなさ" here; here's your Japanese lesson for today: 安 = AN/yasu "cheap/safe" 心 = SHIN/kokoro "heart" ANSHIN = "safety" 感 = KAN, "feeling" の = no, possessive modifier, similar to the Mandarin 的なさ nasa is the adjective ない nai "not" inflected with さ sa, which is similar to the English "-ness"

By: mattoxic

mattoxic — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:03:37 -0800

Who the fuck stumped up the money for a pedal powered roller coaster? How?

By: Kronos_to_Earth

Kronos_to_Earth — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:13:37 -0800

More skybikes! (Well, one anyway.... From Ring world)

By: troy

troy — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:16:02 -0800

Who the fuck stumped up the money for a pedal powered roller coaster? How? Probably some zero-interest loan money to a well-connected industrial concern via some economic stimulus package from the 90s. I never went to one, but it was my impression that Japan's various regional "theme" parks are almost all uniformly quite craptacular. With Japan's population of kids now nearing HALF what it was when I was FOB in 1992 I don't think these places have much of a future, but part of the theory of the stimulative spending I guess was that Japan needed more places out in the sticks for families and expecially schools to take organized trips to.

By: Xurando

Xurando — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:16:19 -0800

All this stuff looks far too unsafe for use in the safety/litigation conscious USA, except for the tandem zipline.

By: dibblda

dibblda — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:29:31 -0800

uh, rusty bike on a weed covered tracks? no thanks....

By: librarylis

librarylis — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:51:23 -0800

If you want a really, really tame version of the first link, there's always this, which is an attraction at Legoland California. There's a YT video which was apparently taken in the depths of winter, but pretty much conveys the um, fun of the ride. It doesn't have weeds, but it also doesn't have a cool view. If you're looking for peddle-your-ass-off in North America, it's certainly an option!

By: troy

troy — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:05:21 -0800

rusty bike on a weed covered tracks? no thanks.... yeah, the closing statement of the write-up, and this fpp's title is "the machine can not raise his voice", but the actual meaning is something of a pun on the Japanese term for "thrill ride", which is "scream machine". Here the author said this ride is definitely not a "scream machine", it's so scary you can't scream. His judgment: 超・超・超オススメの絶叫マシンです Ultra Ultra Ultra Recommend の Thrill Ride.

By: twoleftfeet

twoleftfeet — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:35:12 -0800

If you have seen this first arrived here, the unconscious, "something cold to run the muscles of the back," I wholeheartedly feel that look. Google translates more than words.

By: Lipstick Thespian

Lipstick Thespian — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 05:44:15 -0800

I HAVE seen this - the First Arrived, here. The Unconcious, that "something cold to run the muscles of the back," oh my brothers, and let me tell you, man to man, you most definitely don't want to feel that look. You all best be moving on now.

By: nomisxid

nomisxid — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 08:18:56 -0800

I want to take one of the bikes and put it on the tracks of the regular roller coaster in the background.

By: adamrice

adamrice — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 08:25:06 -0800

All this stuff looks far too unsafe for use in the safety/litigation conscious USA, except for the tandem zipline. Guess you've never seen Cyclecide. They were at Maker Faire in Austin in '07 and '08. Among other rides, they had a rolling human-powered Ferris wheel. Three riders (and several wranglers) would power the monster over hill and dale. I think everyone who rode on it got more than they bargained for.

By: fixedgear

fixedgear — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 09:33:52 -0800

The tandem sky cycle would probably be similar to my real world tandem experience. "Honey, you still back there?"

By: We had a deal, Kyle

We had a deal, Kyle — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:42:23 -0800

The skycycle definitely has that run-down-amusement-park "it could kill you" vibe going on. But it's the zipline skybike that really scares the willies out of me: Over time I've discovered more and more uses for the skybike. For instance, simply waving your arms and legs in the right motion makes the skybike bounce up and down for a really wild ride. It can oscillate by 10 feet or more in the middle of the cable, like you're bouncing on a giant trampoline. As you pedal toward one side or the other, the frequency of the bouncing increases. As you reach negative Gs, the skybike begins to twist and jolt violently sideways. (Most people really don't care for this last part.) YOU DON'T SAY.

By: popechunk

popechunk — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 20:44:19 -0800

There is only one skycycle.

By: dirtdirt

dirtdirt — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:33:02 -0800

Damn. Now I have to figure out how to get to Okayama. How long you reckon until that thing falls down, 6 weeks?