I will answer this question as quickly and truthfully as possible:
"Do you use any pictures from yahoo's image search?"
thanks,
darrin
Umm...NOOOOOO! Now dear readers I am going to go on one of my rants. I get pictures from all over the net. This means whether the URL ends in .com, .net, .us, .info, .org, .au, .in, .cc or whatever, I grab it and feature it! I also get images from Google's Image program. But Yahoo! seems to have some sort of SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP with Flickr which to me, small time Blogger, STINKS! It stinks because after going sometimes 20-30 pages back, EVERY PHOTO is from users of Flickr. This tells me a few things;
1. Yahoo Crawlers aren't gathering the largest and best assortment of relevant results! I found that Photo Bucket and Flickr LACK the photos that fit the vision of my blog although they are HUGE Online Photo Sharing services.
2. If you favor, say, Photo Bucket or other service for online photos, Yahoo! doesn't give a darn how relevant your photos are to the search query...They are going to scratch Flickr's back..Regardless of the cost in terms of a credible product!
Example:
Do a Yahoo Image Search on the term 'Unusual Bike Design'. You will find EVERYTHING except unusual bike designs.
Google still has work to do on their image searches also, but I tell you what...THEY ARE GREAT...Compared to Yahoo! Image Search which, after over 14 years in Business, is down right embarrassing...I have said this before and I will say it again. Yahoo needs a FACE LIFT more desperately that any other Internet behemoth on the web. The first step is to get rid of Jerry Yang..whose time has passed!
The celerifere - one of the earliest bike prototypes - had no pedals or steering.
The first contraption that can realistically be said resembles a bicycle was constructed around 1790 by Comte Mede de Sivrac of France. Called a celerifere, it was a wooden scooter-like device with no pedals or steering. A similar model, improved with a steering mechanism attached to the front wheel, was created in 1816 by German Baron Karl von Drais de Sauerbrun. He called it a Draisienne, after himself, though popular parlance also dubbed it the hobby horse.
When using either of these devices, the rider perched on a seat between two wheels similarly sized wheels, and using the feet, propelled the bicycle a bit like a scooter. Drais exhibited his bicycle in Paris in 1818, and while popularly received, its design limited its use to really just flat, well-groomed paths through gardens and parks, which were off-limits to a good portion of the population in those days.
When Pedals Were Added - A Big Improvement
A FEW historians credit the invention of the pedal bicycle to Kirkpatrick MacMillan, a Scottish blacksmith who lived from 1812-1878. One day back in 1839, MacMillan was out watching people riding bikes, which at that time were driven by kicking the ground with your feet. Thrilling, eh? Seemed to him that there must be a better way.
According to later research done by family members, after musing on the matter a bit MacMillan came up with an idea for the first pedal set-up that could more effectively drive the bike. Using his blacksmith tools, he put his idea into place, and voila! bicycling suddenly took a giant leap forward.
Macmillan's contraption had a wood frame and iron-rimmed wooden wheels. The front wheel, which provided limited steering measured 30 inches (760 mm) in diameter, while the back had a 40 inch (1016 mm) wheel and was attached to pedals via connecting rods. In total, Macmillan's bike weighed 57 lb (26 kg). His creation gathered a lot of attention, and Macmillan helped generate additional publicity when he rode the bike 68 miles to visit his brothers in Glasgow. Copies of his invention produced by other firms soon appeared on the market, and Macmillan saw little profit from his innovation.
The line is being blurred between bike design and artwork at a really rapid rate these days. The above pictured...ummm...bike..I guess is probably the most unusual design I have seen that that hovers in the gray area that is bike design and artwork. Gismo Rocket Powered Bicycle It is powered by two 75lb. Thrust Hybrid Rocket Motors. The frame is made of lightweight T6-6061 aircraft aluminum. “Gismo” features a unique front suspension system designed by Michaelson.
Your fearless blogger must give the big ups to the creator of this particular design in that as I look at it, alot of thought went into designing and creating this...ummm...bike! Truthfully, I love the color, the rims, the back..ummm...fender and the handle bar and steering column overall are kind of..umm...NASTY..This bicycle is rocket powered and 150 lbs. of thrust will 'Push your wig back'. In conclusion..I have used the word UMM in this post because I am struggling to understand IF this is..ummm..bike design or artwork!
Bicycle History is a Debatable Topic
Some history books will state that Pierre and Ernest Michaux, the French father and son team of carriage-makers, invented the first bicycle during the 1860s. Historians now disagree and there is evidence that the bicycle is older than that. However, historians do agree that Ernest Michaux did invent the modern bicycle pedal and cranks in 1861.
Baron Karl Drais von Sauerbronn - Early Bicycles and History
The German Baron Karl Drais von Sauerbronn invented the "Laufmaschine" or "Running Machine", a type of pre-bicycle. The steerable Laufmaschine was made entirely of wood and had no pedals; a rider would push his/her feet against the ground to make the machine go forward. Sauerbronn's bicycle was first exhibited in Paris on April 6, 1818. The celerifere was another similar early bicycle precursor invented in 1790 by Frenchmen, Comte Mede de Sivrac, however, it had no steering.
The Penny Farthing is also referred to as the 'High' or 'Ordinary' bicycle, and the first one was invented in 1871 by British engineer, James Starley. The Penny Farthing came after the development of the 'Hobbyhorse', and the French 'Velocipede' or 'Boneshaker', all versions of early bikes. However, the Penny Farthing was the first really efficient bicycle, consisting of a small rear wheel and large front wheel pivoting on a simple tubular frame with tires of rubber.
African American inventor Jerry M. Certain patented a parcel carrier for bicycles, on December the 26th, 1899 (U.S. Patent #639,708 )
Marshall Major Taylor has begun to creep into the public eye with the unveiling of a Statue made in his likeness that now stands outside of the Worcester, MA. library. Nicknamed the Worcester Whirlwind, Taylor was much loved by his adopted hometown where he moved to with Louis 'Birdie' Munger, his mentor, in the late 1800s. To think that he did this in the late 1800s when African-Americans couldn't even drink out of the same fountain as whites makes this athlete's story even more incredible!
On another video interview, his Great-Great grand-daughter and Grandson said something that was almost Prophetic; "No one really knows him now but I hope Major Taylor is a household name in my life-time!" Fear not young ones, soon, your relative will get HIS DUE and in a way that every household in this country will scream the name "Major Taylor!"
Once again I ran across this design that is, well...JUST DUMB! As has been my practice, this guy get's my Fred G. Sanford "You Big Dummy" Award. Listen to the Song and you will have to agree!
I ran across this ARTWORK and I must confess that it is very interesting to look at...no BIG DUMMY AWARD HERE, just weird and very creative I must say!
Lisa...My Design Style when I made my Pee-Wee Herman was..like the above song:
GHETTO SUPERSTAR!!!!!
I got a very interesting question from a reader concerning a post from a few years back. Her question was "You said you made a ghetto version of the Pee-Wee Herman back in 1985...what was your design style then compared to now?" The answer to that is multu-layered I guess, however, back then I lived in the ghetto so my designs reflected the things that I held dear. Our values, good or bad, are almost always learned. Back then, I had a hero who happened to be one of my sister's boyfriends. His name was Jerry Sallis who we simply called 'Jay Sal'. At that time (most certainly not now) represented EVERYTHING I wanted to be:
1) He was one of the few men I knew who had a job (granted he was stealing $$$ from both of them)
2) He was always dressed nice and had $$$ in his pocket.
3) His car was always clean and he LEANED so hard in it!
4) Jay Sal could cook too!
5) His command of ghetto slang was unmatched. I can still hear him saying "What up cuz?" In the drawl that was uniquely Jerry.
Jay Sal was GHETTO FABOLOS nad I wanted to be also. He was my role model and growing up in such an environment, positive role models were rare. Our sense of what is and what isn't important, our values are sensory driven in our formative years. When many of you hear this, you will think "Oh my goodness, how could he believe that?" Next time you see one of those programs on TV where they are asking you to give $23.00 per month to help feed a hungry child, notice that some of those children are drinking polluted and discolored water while others are eating spoiled food from garbage dumps. They do this, like I, because if that is all you see and are looking for a way to survive or fit in, you work with, eat, and imitate those around you!
Cadillacs, chrome, and FLASH was the order in my neighborhood, and my bike design reflected this. I tell you what, I will remake that bike EXACTLY as it was then and post it this spring. Until then, for those of you out there who feel like an outsider because of the way you dress, act, or other, be who you are because the worst thing any one of you can do is to not be......UNIQUELY YOU!
"Complain if you want..BUT THIS BLOG IS MY PARTY AND I'LL WHINE IF I WANT TO"
Every once in awhile and even though I am a design genius, I give an opinion, which 99% of the time turns out to be fact. However, although you may not believe believe this, 1% of the time I am wrong! Keeping my term Provolution' in mind, I am VERY HARD on those clowns who design stupid looking bikes in the name of INNOVATION. 99% of the time, the only thing they are innovating is the tooling that it takes to make their wacked out designs. This tooling tends to be expensive, which wouldn't be a problem IF their designs had any hope of seeing the marketplace where they could recoup the investment in tooling.
In this case, IF isn't even relative! I thought about posting a few of these idiotic designs but I have determined that my blog space is to precious to put forth such stupidity. Well.....now that I have that off my chest, back to the subject at hand. I found a rendering of one of these designs (futuristic) which my dear readers falls into that 1% category described above....but the design....DANG! This blog is 2.5 years old and I do not remeber saying this about ANY futuristic looking design, but I have to say this about the above design: "I saw the funk, and it WUZ GOOD!"
Yeh, I know, me, your fearless Blogger has to eat CROW. Me, your fearless Blogger has to admit this thing. But as I always say "A brotha like me didn't know what he didn't know." To you Bicycle Design Innovators (or so you call yourself)- Please don't email me waxing philisophical again about the value of what you do! Cause...as that song says "This is MY PARTY and I'll cry if I want to!"
"This was so true-WE LOVED US SOME Donkey Kong & Pac-Man"
Since I bought a home in a suburb of Denver, Colorado, I often look out
but the window and have been very disturbed at the lack children playing outside on warm days. There was a time when that is what we did, we played outside, made up games to play, and usually, especially in summer, outside from sun up to sun down. Those days are long gone I guess. When dealing with our youth today, I found one of the reasons why. VIDEO GAMES! If you are 30 or over, you may remember your 1st experience with video games. They were typically in stores, laundry mats, or small arcades. 3 of my favorites were Bezerker, Frogger, and Donkey Kong. I still remember the music that played on Donkey Kong, it was funky! In the late 1980's. Superstar Will Smith came out with a Rap called 'Donkey Kong' and the music was that of the video game.
In one part of the rap Will said "I brake into the arcade, screamin and hollarin anticipating putting $25 dollars in." He went on to say "I was out of control, I didn't bring quarters, I bring $10 dollar bank rolls." Real or not, this same addictive behavior has gotten a grip on many of our children today. They don't have to go to the store or arcade to play anymore, the addictive product is in their homes. I am not hear today to 'Wax Philosophical', but there has to be a connection between the kids today not going outside to play, ride bikes, childhood obesity at an all-time high, and video games. As off base as it may seem, I believe the biggest competition facing the kid and junior bicycle markets is the advent and growth of home video games and gaming systems!
O.k., video games are here to stay, we know that. Nevertheless, I believe that there is an opportunity for the big boys, IE Pacific Cycles (They own the Schwinn and Mongoose brands among others) Huffy and the like to take back some of that market. The video game industry in the U.S. generates anywhere from $3.4 Billion to $11 Billion per year depending on what expert you choose to listen to. The way our culture is today, if parents give most kids a choice between a video gaming system that costs $300 (not including a variety of games) and a $100-200 bicycle, kids are going to choose the video game. MOST HAVE BOTH!
There is a way to take back a fair portion of that market though people! I wrote in an earlier posting that the bicycles today do not line up in style with an Urban audience in fashion, music, hairstyles etc. What if someone could come up with bicycles that line up with this audience's taste in culture. When I say line up, I mean in "Name, imagery, mags and wheels, floss, HISTORY" and the like? Bicycles will never fit in with this audience if when they go to purchase it, the attitude is "Oh, that is a nice bike" as opposed to "Dang, I gotta have that!" What type of product that isn't being currently produced can get that type of reaction? I will let you know in my next posting.
WOW! I ran across these bicycles in my search for great bicycle design. The company is called The Little Bike Company and they are based in the U.K. I must say that these bikes for small kids are HOOOTTTTT! 
I like these designs for a number of reasons, but the main reason is their SIMPLICITY! I have been telling yall since the beginning that simplicity is where it is at. Gadgets and all that other stuff really takes away from the greatness of the base design.
There is an emerging market that I spoke about some time back in 'Track Bicycles'. These things hearken back to the days of old when the Safety Bicycle was a new thing and the biggest sports stars, like Major Taylor, were men on bicycles! Track Bicycles are some of the most elegant machinery you will ever see folks.
More about that in another post! In other Marshall Taylor News, I am almost done with the design of my new website which will be found, when launched, at www.lemajor.com. Le Major, is French for The Major! This website will be a monster yall! Talk at ya soon.
I agree Sameer....I agree!
Article courtesy of: Sameer Kumar
There have been ample instances when I have been really hard on those who have created concept bikes and designed amazingly improbable concept cars. The reason for that is simple and it is the fact that I really do not see how many of these actually ever making it on to the road and in 99% of the cases they indeed are relegated to the drawing board. But this cool new concept bike design from Eric Zhang is an absolute novelty and something I strongly feel has a great future if taken up and fine-tuned by one of the big boys of biking world.
The ‘Modulated Bike’ is practically the best design one can get in terms of a modern city bicycle that acts both as a green, pollution free bike and a transporter which has a wonderful module to stay connected when you are on the move. The bike has basically three modules which can be easily inter-changed for our convenience. We have the communication mode in which you cans stay connected with all your wireless gadgets, you have the transportation mode which allows you to carry stuff in a custom made box which even comes with a freezer and then you have the engine-propelled mode which allows you to attach a fuel-cell powered engine for faster transport.
The modulated is one concept bike which has its wheels in reality and hence I fully expect it to hit the roads some time in the future. Eric Zhang has done an incredibly good job with a fundamentally sound design by adding great improvisation to it.
Designer:Eric Zhang
Things that make you go HMMMM? Check the video out and then the bike designs!
Hubless what?
People, IF you are SO IN LOVE with cycling that you buy Bicycle Furniture..2 words "GET SOME HELP!"
WOW!(And I don't say that in a complimentary way!)
And you thought the Old High Wheels from the late 1800s were DANGEROUS!
QUIT PLAYIN! The FABRICATOR OF FUNK sent me the link to these Wood Rims by Ghisallo classic wood rims (tubular and clincher). I am sittin here TRIPPIN right now because these things are just so bomb! I have been to Bike Swaps and shows and have seen rims that look like wood, and they look good but these wood rims are the real deal! You see, awhile ago I came to the conclusion that I didn't have to design EVERY component on my bikes and because of this conclusion I have come across a whole lot of 'Specialists' all across the world who focus on one component of bicycle and leave the rest to others. 
I must say that I can most certainly imagine some luxury wood rims on some of my designs. Here are just a few of the specialists I have come across during my journey to discover THE FUNK in bicycle designs:
- CDS Components: This is the company of the man you all know as 'The Fabricator of Funk' and the one who is set to build the hottest bicycles on the planet! Sorry I can't give his name right now but a brotha like me gotta keep him under wraps for now.
- Sweet Skinz: Maker of the HOTTESSSTTT tire patterns on the planet today. DANG, the name is even hot.
- Bike Dubz: Maker of urban style spinners and rims for bicycles.
- Scraper Bikes: Simply put, bicycle wheel ARTIST who believe in and promote the individuality of each rider. They have a design called 'Peaches & Creme'...come on man....QUIT PLAYIN! Youtube video with over 2.5 million hits...they got me saying, as on the video "I'm cruising on my Scraper Bike..I'm cruising on my Scraper Bike."
- Wil Min: This is SUPER UNDERCOVER because this person has the MOST AWESOME color coordinating mind on the planet, has kicked out over 100 original tire color coordinated patterns, and does it with CRAYONS and MARKERS! You won't find anyone in the world with the gift this person has.
I read an article awhile back and the person interviewed was one of my contacts in the industry, one Gary Silva of 3G Bikes. In the article, Gary said someone saw some of his designs and Jaguar signed him to some sort of deal to design bikes for them. Since that time, I have been on the hunt to see exactly what Gary came up with. I haven't found any of his designs for Jaguar but I have found a few others. Jag and Hummer are making a serious play in the bike market RIGHT NOW! I will wait and see.
After my experience with Cadillac Bicycles, I was hoping for the best and expecting the worst. As you all know, I was severely disappointed with whoever Cadillac licensed their name to for the purpose of manufacturing Cadillac Bikes. They are a JOKE! The designs are below average and Cadillac is letting their licensee sell them in a 'Big Box' price point of $100-$200. WOW! I am sad to inform you that Jaguar appears to have done the same thing. They have lent their INCREDIBLE BRAND NAME to some very poor, cookie-cutter designed, mass manufactured bikes.
First, I want to say to those who licensed their brand names, Cadillac and Jaguar, it isn't too late to pull your brand back from the cliff that Schwinn went over not so long ago. In the 1990s, Schwinn, probably the greatest brand of bicycle ever, put their product in Big Box Retailers and although they sell alot of bicycles their, they killed the brand value and Independent Bicycle Dealers stopped selling Schwinn.
Schwinn's brand is so pathetic now that serious bicyclist won't even look at it to ride. 
Back to the issue at hand, a brand like Jaguar, which is a premium priced car, should NOT be lending their brand for such a pitiful effort at design. I believe they shouldn't dabble in the Performance and Premium priced bicycles because they will never be the best in the world at it, as they were at one time in the automobile markets, but I do believe they could make some noise in the $599-$1,499 price point! To do so, they have got to get someone to design their product that has vision, someone who understands that with a brand name like Jaguar, you don't put yourself in the same price point as the Wal-Mart House Brand, 'Next'. Jag, why lend your name to Schwinn? They couldn't even build or preserve their own brand and you expect them to build yours?
Jag, YES you will sell less units in a higher price point, YES you will have to develop (if you haven't already) IDP Relationships, but it will bring your brand back for the cliff it is headed for in the bicycle market. I know a designer that will present you some renderings that will make you next SNAP! I also know a Fabricator that can take these renderings and put them WAY OUT THERE IN HIGH EARTH ORBIT! Come on in out of the rain Jaguar or risk going the way of Schwinn, IN THE TANK with nowhere to come back from.
I put the below picture of the Jaguar Motorcycle in here to just say "THAT IS HORRIBLE!" Jag, call the Tuttles at Orange County Choppers to design you a motorcycle! I don't even design motorcycles and I could do better than this...what a joke.
HOT Name..but..the look...uuuhhhh
Rover-1885
And you ride something similar to this TODAY!
Lawson Model-1879
Article courtesy of wikipedia.com
Isaac Burns Murphy (April 16, 1861 - February 12, 1896) was an African-American Hall of Fame jockey. The official Kentucky Derby website and the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame say that "Isaac Murphy is considered one of the greatest race riders in American history."
Between 1877 and 1876, Isaac Murphy competed in eleven Kentucky Derbys, becoming the first jockey to win three Derbys: "Buchanan" in 1884, "Riley" in 1890, and "Kingman" in 1891. "Kingman" was owned and trained by Dudley Allen and is the only horse owned by an African-American to win the Derby.
As well, he is the only jockey to have won the Kentucky Derby, the Kentucky Oaks, and the Clark Handicap all in the same year (1884). Considered one of the great jockeys in American history, Murphy was dubbed the "Colored Archer," a reference to Fred Archer, a prominent English jockey at the time.
Murphy won 628 of his 1,412 starts, a 44% victory rate that has never been equalled and a record about which Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Arcaro said: "There is no chance that his record of winning will ever be surpassed. [1] On its creation, Isaac Burns Murphy was the fhe first jockey to be inducted in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
Since 1995 the National Turf Writers Association has given the Isaac Murphy Award to the jockey with the highest winning percentage for a given year in North American racing, from a minimum of 500 mounts.
Due to the many responses concerning my last post entitled 'Cruisin on my Scraper Bike' and my assertion that it wasn't rappers or hip-hop artists who 1st did the 'Bling-Thing' but rather, it was in fact Liberace, I need to deal with this issue further by way of this post. One reader asked "What is the definition of Bling-Bling? How is it one person who has on some jewelry isn't considered to be blingin', while others are?" Let me make this as simple as I can, when someone is blingin', this simply means "One who wears excess and\or expensive jewelry". There you have it! In the 1980's when Run-DMC was the thing, they didn't called it bling, they simple used the phrase "Trucked down excessive".
Another question from a reader was "Do you think there should be a bling-bling bicycle?" I will start from the beginning on that question. Did any of you know that the jewelry company Tiffany's actually took a shot at blingin' a bicycle out back in the 1890's?(See above picture) This bicycle, built by Tiffany's Jewelry Company, was built for Lillian Russell who was an actress and singer WAY back in the day. The detail in this design, especially for this era, was INCREDIBLE. Some things that were added for 'The Look' were; sterling silver, carved ivory hand grips, and jewelry type attachments. The color is, as Austin Powers would say 'Simply Smashing!'
I marvel that bicycle design during this period was in its' infancy and someone came up with not only this FUNK BALL, as it concerns aesthetics (the look), but guess what people...This bicycle was also a FIXED GEAR that a few of you have fallen prey to as the latest 'New Big Thing'. This bicycle is absolutely gorgeous and my heart is truly heavy that very few designs on the market today have this level of aesthetic detail and originality! When any of you get a minute, take a look at some of the designs in Europe, particularly the 'Cruisers' and compare what they say (and many of you bicycle bloggers) is new, as compared to THIS design. You may be shocked.
Back to the fella in the picture below. Hmmm? Those rims POP and the fenders are freak shows! The steering wheel is tacky, the frame color is bland, the seat looks to be black and ordinary but even with all of that, changes I would make to this design to take it to another level are as follows:
"I Saw The Funk,and It is Good!"
I believe this company is from Denmark. I am not saying that all or even 4 of their designs float my boat, but I found 2 that have just freaked me out! Below is a design with the hottest paint I have ever seen. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing 'Glam Rock' by 'Cube'.
I am not going to write about the gadgets these bicycles have because gadgets don’t interest me, it is the simplicity of the paint, contours, rims, seat etc that excite me. The above Mountain Bike has a ‘Cheetah’ style paint job, not just on the frame, but on the rims to! That my friends is ‘Urban Funk’. The funk is such that I can just sit back and stare at this ignorance for hours. You all know by now how I give kudos. I do so once again by saying “I saw funk, and it was good.” As I wrap this up, Cube also produced a very nice what they are calling a ‘Tour Bike’. I am from the Old School and where I come from they call these ’10 Speeds’. Nevertheless, this bicycle is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! Pearl-White Paint with snake skin accents, light gray & white tires and rims! This bicycle is on a whole other level, just magnificent! Visit the site at http://www.cube-bikes.de/. These are what, properly priced, would be an absolute HIT in Urban Areas. Cube has definitely paid a visit to ‘Planet Funk’.
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