gravity bikes

[vanilla_gorilla]

http://www.gravitybike.com/

anyone ever hear about this "sport" i guess ud call it
they race with same kinda people who street luge and downhill board

the bikes look like cafe racers with no drivetrain set ups, they just bomb hills
like a soapbox derby but with half the wheels

looks interesting, not sure if itll catch on around here anytime soon
thoughts?

 

[mastershake916]

I've seen some of the bikes, some crazy designs.

 

[gedwardjones]

This was really big in the '80s with professional BMXers. It got to the point where Hutch released a limited edition, fully faired downhill bike towards the end of their existence. I think Diamond Back may have also released a bike.

Here are some pics of the Hutch GPV (as well as the HPV and F1)
http://users.pandora.be/jjrbmx/hutch/HU ... cles5.html

Gravity racing was in the X-Games for one year (untelevised). The event was won by former Pro BMX legend and gravity biking pioneer Tommy "The Human Dragster" Brackens. The story is, he heard they were having qualifying races near his house, so he went to Target and bought a Magna for $100, converted it and won qualifying. Dynacraft (Magna's owners) then sponsored him for the X-Games, which he also won. And that was the end of that.

Tommy's Wikipedia entry has a good overview of GPV racing in the 80s
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Brackens

Looking at your link it doesn't look like much has changed. The typical GPV bike is a BMX bike (the longer the better) with the handlebars flipped upside down and the drivetrain removed, with just rear pegs. A lot of guys would also attach free weights to the bottom bracket to further lower the center of gravity of the bikes, but that doesn't appear to be the thing now.

 

[Rat Rod]

Fast Eddie is our resident Gravity Bike expert.

 

[vanilla_gorilla]

cool, i guess there is a following after all
like i said it looks interesting but i wont do much around cuz well
its flat haha
the only hill i got runs right into a busy intersection
im thinkin about throwin one together and tryin it out

 

[Bicyclerick]

Hey Fast Eddie post some pics of your gravity bikes

 

[JIMBO420]

Those bmx bikes are bad looking.
I'll have one built by tomorrow. I even have apair of bmx bars with the crossbar cut out that I was gonna use on my buildoff bike, but didnt.

Those guys on that home page look like at least 2 have freeweights through the bottom bracket.

 

[fast eddie]

ive had mine over 63 mph on gps, wicked fast machines, but ya gotta take the time to get used to 'em, they do not ride or steer like what your used to. i steer my current ride with my knees. ill try to remember to post pics, i have some pics on my myspace too, ive been building/riding them since 2000, i was ranked #5 in the world (via a series of fortunate events ) in 2003 according to igsa's rank book. id like to see some full sized bikes converted to g-bikes, ill prollly get around to it someday, i havent yet cuz the race orgs dont allow any bigger than a 20" wheel, and there are questions about a larger road bike wheels handling the stresses of wieghted bike and rider at those kinds of speeds especially in turns. plus sitting that high would cause maneuverability issues. a g-bike can sharp take turns at speeds that most road motorcyles riders couldnt touch. since most g-bikes are modified stock bikes, since they're definiately low budget hot rods, i think they have a lil bit-o-rat in 'em!
fast eddie outty