Clown bike – it’s a term that doesn’t necessarily have a single, agreed-upon definition. To you, a clown bike might be a minibike that seems impossible to learn to ride, until you see someone do just that. Perhaps a clown bike is a more specialized bike that has wheels that rotate independently of each other, and which has no chain drive, which is designed for trick riding.
Or then, perhaps to you a clown bike is actually a penny-farthing, you know, those bikes that have a large front tire and a smaller rear one? But these are no joke, and in fact were once serious bicycles, the fastest machines in their day.
Either way, and regardless of what your conception of a clown bike is, there might be some good reasons to learn to ride one, irrespective of whim and fancy.
You’re probably here because you are in some other capacity a cyclist. Whether you are a trick rider, an entertainer, a competitive cyclist, or are into racing or mountain biking, matters little. You got here through your interest and are either actively or passively entertaining your interest in a clown bike.
The first thing you have to understand is that clown bikes might look like a joke but they are not built to some flimsy standard of quality. These are real cycles for serious riders and many feature very durable, very robust construction from steel and aluminum. Some are even made with solid rubber tires that make them even less susceptible to the bumps and knocks of learning to ride.
The second thing, and the pivotal one, is that clown bikes are not intended to be easy to learn how to ride. Granted, there are some that are more intuitive than others and less difficult to master, but if you think you can easily transfer your ridership skills to a minibike or a penny farthing, you have another thing coming.
Those skills are transferable, but moderately so, and the keyword here is easily. Transferable they are, easily they are not. It takes time and skill to master.
Therein lies the challenge, and it is a formative one. Learning to ride one of these bikes will hone your reflexes, build strength, stamina, and in some cases flexibility. In a word, learning to ride one can make you a better cyclist. It’s like a crossover sport, but it’s not really a crossover since it’s still cycling. That makes the challenge in many cases ideal.
The other thing is that learning to ride a clown bike is another skill to add to your repertoire, and another peak to summit. You do it because the challenge is there, and you stick with it because it’s fun. It’s rewarding in its own right.
So, with all of this being said, where can you get a clown bike? There’s one good place for that, and it’s Unicycle.com, where you can also get bike parts, unicycles, parts, tools, and safety gear, among other curiosities. They also carry a full line of odd bikes, from clown bikes to mini bikes to penny farthings. Check out their catalog today and get in touch with them directly if you have any questions; they’ll help you out.
