Scraper bikes an Oakland original

Right out of Oakland, CA: Scrapers in bike form (scraper bikes; pic) make bikes look good. These two-tone bikes have colorful rims that remind me of a low-fi version of monkey electric LEDs. Most bikes from stores have boring colors and lack a personal touch. These scraper bikes fix that and bring culture to two wheels. See more pictures on the California Report.

Something similar that I saw in Durham, NC was a group of kids that turned their bikes into low-riders by replacing the rear wheel of their (usually) mountain bikes with a kids rear wheel. I worked on one at the bike co-op where we took an old Schwinn cruiser and put a 27” road rim on the front and a 20” BMX rim on the back. Pedal strike on the turns but the rest was ok. Another personalized bike that I saw had animal bones zip-tied to the frame– one bone for each tube. Each bone was supposed to represent the strength of the tube. Including a skull on the front and it was both intimidating and intruiging.

More on Scraper bikes

• BikePortland.org
• Scraper Bike King on Myspace
• Make magazine

DIY bike lights

I came across these do-it-yourself LED bike light projects on Make. I have build Make projects before and they seem to come out great, so will probably give it a shot.

A brief description:

“Here is how to add safety LEDs to your bike helmet using conductive paint. I was always losing those lights you clip on to your bike, and they’re not cheap or good quality.”

image from Make article on bike lights