EZ Improvements
Handyman repairs and improvements for homes, small businesses and nonprofit organizations
Eric Zentner
(414) 795-OOO8
Note: We are currently scheduling approximately 6 weeks out, so please make your appointment early.
Weird Bikes
I love biking, I love bikes, I love building things. This has naturally (or perhaps unnaturally) led me to build weird bikes, which I have had on display and available for people to ride at various organized rides and maker fairs. Let me know if you have an event that could benefit from some weirdness, if you are interested in ordering a custom-built weird bike, or would like to learn to build one yourself.
Popular from 1860-1890, the large front wheel was a way of increasing speed without a chain or gears. This bike is the reason for terms like “breakneck speed” and “head over heels”. In 1888, it was replaced by a bike with a chain and gears called the “Safety Bicycle.” The front spoon brake is authentic for the period.
The popular name “penny farthing” refers to the largest and smallest British coins. Here I am riding the penny farthing in the 2023 Glendale 4th-of-July Parade. To the right, my friend Bill is riding the bouncy bike.
This was my pandemic project. I made jigs to hold the parts of the frame in place relative to each other and then cut out individual frame tubes and welded old tools in their places. Rides like a regular bike (except that it weighs 59 pounds).
Off-center hubs make for a horse-like ride. Made with 20” wheels inside 24” rims in a 26” frame. I did not invent this design. I first saw a bike like this built by the Rat Patrol Bike Club at the Milwaukee Maker Fair.
Here my weird bikes are on display at the 2024 Sheboygan Antique and Unique Bike Show, sponsored by Green Bicycle Co. of Sheboygan and Sheboygan Active Transportation.
These bikes predate pneumatic tires, and the large front wheel was one way of making the ride less bumpy. This smaller replica was built so my kids could learn to ride a penny farthing. The modern rear brake is safer but not historically accurate. Here a rider tries out this bike for the first time at the 2024 Tall Pines Conservancy's Ride to the Barns.
Front-wheel drive and rear-wheel steering means this bike leans counterintuitively when you steer. Limited-swivel casters for back wheels mean the steering is a suggestion rather than a command.
With handlebars behind the seat and a third wheel to prevent accidental wheelies, this bike is as fast as walking but much weirder.