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WHO RIDES THE TALL BIKES?

Special to the TC Daily Planet

by Ken Avidor

Last week I reported that the city of Minneapolis is looking to
regulate tall bikes. Tall bikes are made by welding two conventional
bike frames together.

I talked to a city employee who explained to me that he had received
complaints about the tall bike riders. He asked a city attorney to
research whether there were existing statutes that would apply to
tall bikes. He also expressed concern that the tall bikes were
unsafe.

The city attorney found a state statute that said a street-legal
bicycle needs to be low enough to be straddled with at least one of
the rider's feet planted firmly on the pavement. The law also
required a bicycle to have a brake. These regulations may not extend
to bike trails in parks.

Officials hope to clarify the city policy on regulation and
enforcement of tall bikes in the coming weeks.

I decided to see for myself whether tall bikes were as unsafe as the
city official I talked to claimed they were.

I biked over to the Hard Times Cafe which is where tall bike riding
members of the Black Label Bike Club meet. I talked with several
members of the club about the city's plans to regulate the tall
bikes. They shrugged and said it was nothing new; they were used to
being ticketed and having their tall bikes confiscated.

I asked them if the tall bikes were unsafe. They said tall bikes were
actually safer because of the increased visibility to both the rider
and motorists. They also said that in the event of a collision with
an automobile, a tall bike rider would more likely fall onto the hood
of the car or fall clear rather than be thrown under the wheels of
the car.

They also explained that some tall bikes had brakes and some didn't.
They pointed out that many of the standard-sized, fixed-gear
bicycles, which are becoming more popular, don't have brakes.

I was given a demonstration how tall bicycle riders easily stop and
dismount. I made a small movie and you can see for yourself here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8Y4G0xQEqc

It isn't clear what would be gained from a crackdown on the tall-bike
riders. They seem determined to ride their bikes at all costs. Police
enforcement of a tall-bike ban will likely be a wasted effort at a
time when serious crime is on the rise.

The Black Label tall-bike riders reminded me of the descriptions I've
read of bicycling in the 19th century, when nearly all bikes were
tall. Often referred to as "penny-farthings," the popular tall bikes
of that time were fixed gear and most did not have brakes. If the
Black Label bicyclists sported handlebar mustaches and straw boaters
instead of piercings and tattoos, the city would likely celebrate
them as re-enactors of Minneapolis's colorful bicycling history.
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I'm glad Pinga found this. I'm wondering if it's just a matter of time before we start to get hassled. At Critical Mass I remember a cop car driving by me and I could clearly hear an officer on the radio asking the others "Did anybody get the tall bikes yet?" and a few seconds later they did stop the two of us on tall bikes. My friend got a 160 dolla ticket for no rear reflector.
So they had planned to stop us anyway. I hate that they did that to us but I'm glad to see people making plans and seeing them through.


The cops that I run into every day are always either non commital, ignoring me or pointing and laughing. At least one cop I know of noticed how traffic slows down when tall bikes come around, they see us exact expert control over our bikes.