For much of man’s history on earth, he had two choices for getting around, either on foot or on the back of an animal (such as horses, mules, and wooly mammoths). Bicycles were developed to add another transportation option that multiplied human efficiency by a factor of approximately five.

But the history of bicycles is very fuzzy. Sources often disagree as to the names of the inventors and the dates of their inventions. Leonardo DaVinci sketched a facsimile of the modern bicycle in 1490. It was way ahead of its time and, as far as we know, never left the drawing board.

Around 1790 a French craftsman named de Sivrac developed a “Celerifere” running machine, which had two in-line wheels connected by a beam. The rider straddled the beam and propelled the Celerifere by pushing his feet on the ground, scooter fashion.

n 1817 German Baron Karl von Drais added steering. Several versions appeared around France and England by the early 1800s. As a replacement for the horse, these “hobby horses” became a short-lived craze. The roads of the time were too rutted to allow for efficient wheeled transport.
Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick MacMillan developed a rear-drive bike in 1839 using a treadle and rod for the rear drive mechanism. But, he lived in the Northern British Isles where people and ideas traveled slowly, so his invention didn’t spread. R.W. Thompson patented a pneumatic tube in 1845. Prior to this invention, bikes had metal wheels.

The French anointed Ernest Michaux “father of the bicycle,” as he and his brother Pierre added cranks and pedals. Their Velocipede started a bicycle boom. The larger front wheel made it faster but less stable. The war of 1812 brought an end to the French bicycle boom.

British engineers were next to pick up the design and improve upon it by adding ball bearings, pneumatic (Dunlop) tires, wire-spoked wheels, chain drive, variable gears, and cable controls. Over a twenty-year span, the British brought the bicycle to its present form, thanks mainly to James Starley of the Coventry Sewing Machine Company. In 1885 the Starley Rover safety bike was born, returning wheels to a reasonable size and improving the bike’s stability.
In the early days, women’s dress (corsets, pointed shoes, and voluminous skirts) limited their participation in this new sport. Newspapers of the day railed against the “sorcers” or bicycle speedsters.

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Hmmm? Interesting tandem and as far as I can tell...the wood it is made out of is Oak...So guess what...I feel like dancing with my man Morris Day from back in the day again...since the bike is made of Oak...I'm getting ready to do that Morris Day dance called THE OAK TREE!

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This fat tire Moots features interchangeable front and rear tires. There are cogs on the front hub so you can switch the front out to the back. 165mm hubs mean no dish in either wheel. Now...oh my...I must say that although this bike doesn't have a close-up picture of it...It is the FUNK SPOT! Does it crack my top 5 Funk Hall of Fame....NO! But this is what I mean when I say 'Fashion Meets Bicycle Design!' Those tires are so fat that I can just close my eyes and hear them coming down the road in a very loooowwww hummmmm against the pavement...Great job guys...looks like something I would design :)

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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.

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I posted ,many months back about a wood framed bicycle. That was then people...I will not tell you that I am fan of Road Bikes and I certainly could never bring myself to buy one because let's face it...that just 'Ain't my type of hype BABY!' However, there is a company called Renovo Bikes (http://www.renovobikes.com/) that caught my attention with their current line up of Road Bikes.
They use not just wood on their frames yall....they use LUXURY WOODS! In 2003 as some of you know, I helped launch a Jewelry Company called 'Banneker', named after Benjamin Banneker the 1st African-American Scientist and Inventor. What the CEO envisioned doing was laying down Luxury Woods in the dials of wrist watches, rings and jewelry. People laughed at him and even people that have launched and manage large jewelry companies laughed and said it couldn't be done. (I challenge any of you to find ANY wrist watch with any kind of wood in the face between the early 1970s and 2004). It got done and now everyone is doing it!
Renovo, has done this thing in bicycle design and their designs are nice (cluttered but nice). I guess they have to be cluttered because the folks who ride these machines need all of those gadgets....I guess. Road Bike Companies other than Renovo........know this.....As Felt Racing before them, Renovo receives my 2nd 'BOW DOWN' Award......which, for other Road Bike manufacturers means......BOW DOWN WHEN RENOVO COMES TO YOUR TOWN!

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Designer Roland Kaufman is responsible for this bicycle (pictured below). When I 1st saw this it took me awhile to process what I was seeing. This is the 2nd bicycle I have seen with wood used in such an extensive way. How do I feel about it? Hmmm? DAAAAAAAANNNNGGGG! The use of wood here is certainly different and is to be commended and I rather enjoy just thinking about the possibilities with wood overlaid on a frame.

Now the other design I ran across was about 95% wood which to me just looked, well……….stupid. I have been imagining what wood would look like if designed on a bicycle, as overlay with different colored woods. Never one to just imagine where design is concerned, I put my thoughts into action and came up with a designn called ‘P Funk’ and laid down some ‘Purple Heart’ wood stripping throughout the frame and it is nice!

The pictured design could be so much funkier IF the designer would’ve used different colored would over lays on the frame. For instance, what would it look like to be overlaid with ‘Purple Heart’ wood or ‘Canary Yellow’ ‘Egyptian Tiger Wood’ ‘Green Poplar’ or even a beautiful red wood called ‘Padvk Red’? At the very top of this posting are various colored wood samples, any of which would look hot on this bicycle.

Only 1 small other change I would have made and that is regardless of the color of wood used on the overlay here, the spokes (not necessarily the whole rim) need to be the same color as the wood over lay. Come on yall, how nice would that look with let’s say a ‘Yellow Wood’ overlay on the frame and ‘Yellow Spokes’ that would pop with the rest of the rim being chrome coupled with chrome handle bars? In closing, nice going designer Roland Kaufman!

In the meantime....back at the ranch...all I could say when I saw this wood creation (pictured below) was "Dum,de-Dum,Dum.....Duuuuuummmmm" Just silly!

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