Beer Wheel Drive Vehicle

Bikes Energy & Sustainability Fun & Games
Beer Wheel Drive Vehicle

No longer must those looking for a giant, 14-person bicycle outfitted with beer coolers look across the Atlantic for their machines. My friend, übermaker Casimir Sienkiewicz, (it sounds just like it’s spelled) has produced the first in what I believe will be quite a few of these.

He took his hand welded contraption out on the streets of Minneapolis last night.

YouTube player

They look like they’re having a good time.

26 thoughts on “Beer Wheel Drive Vehicle

  1. Dafydd Barr says:

    “Drinking, officer? Of course not! I’m not drinking; I’m driving! ~They’re~ drinking!!!!”

  2. Jonathan Barclay says:

    Caz built these for a company in FL. Pedal pub has been operating similar vehicles in the twin cities for a while already…

  3. Jonathan Barclay says:

    Caz built these for a company in FL. Pedal pub has been operating similar vehicles in the twin cities for a while already…

  4. Anonymous says:

    Can someone tell me which song that is? And who the artist is?

  5. Anonymous says:

    please send one to Philly, thanks!

  6. Kris Koskelin says:

    We’ve got one like this in Madison, WI. I’m far from an engineer (though I DO work at a bicycle company… but I’m in IT) but I think it’d be cool if the cyclists drove a flywheel, rather than direct drive. Perhaps with a simple kind of variable speed transmission automatically controlled by electronics measuring torque delivered to the flywheel? Maybe I just read too much slashdot.

  7. Adam Lindsay says:

    How is this legal. Not that I am criticizing, I love it and want a fleet of them myself but it seems that there are some zoning laws that might be broken.

  8. Mike Murphy says:

    Now this is a bicycle…

  9. Joe says:

    I believe this is perfectly legal from a speed standpoint (horse carriage in the city).  How you have drunk passengers in a moving vehicle I’m not sure.

    Also it would seem that thing isn’t built very efficiently.  If a single biker can average 10-20mph, there’s no reason why a dozen bikers couldn’t do the same (still a good power to weight ratio even with a non-peddling driver).  I don’t know why you would put such wide tires on it, there’s a LOT of drag co-efficient there (and not like it’s going to go fast enough to need traction).

    I would say either they need continuous variable transmissions (so they can peddle efficiently), or they all need to be connected to alternators that charge up a battery, and the vehicle is simply electrically driven (which means when it needs to stop, they can continue peddling and storing up energy).

  10. Joe says:

    I believe this is perfectly legal from a speed standpoint (horse carriage in the city).  How you have drunk passengers in a moving vehicle I’m not sure.

    Also it would seem that thing isn’t built very efficiently.  If a single biker can average 10-20mph, there’s no reason why a dozen bikers couldn’t do the same (still a good power to weight ratio even with a non-peddling driver).  I don’t know why you would put such wide tires on it, there’s a LOT of drag co-efficient there (and not like it’s going to go fast enough to need traction).

    I would say either they need continuous variable transmissions (so they can peddle efficiently), or they all need to be connected to alternators that charge up a battery, and the vehicle is simply electrically driven (which means when it needs to stop, they can continue peddling and storing up energy).

  11. Joe says:

    Case in point, this guy has totally designed what I’m talking about:
    http://www.humancar.com

  12. City Cycle Tours says:

    Thanks for checking us out! We have facebook (citycycletours) and twitter ( @citycycleusa:twitter  
    ), as well as a great features website (citycycle.us) ! Our normal business site is here: http://www.thecitycycle.com. 

    As far as the legality goes, different states and cities have different laws, but the great state of MN considers us a bicycle and has ratified a statute allowing bicycles with 5 or more passengers to consume alcohol. We as the company provide the driver, however, so there is always a DD. And because we have disk brakes off of a car, the driver can take function away from the peddlers at any time. Let the party begin!

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William Gurstelle

William Gurstelle is a contributing editor of Make: magazine. His new book, ReMaking History: Early Makers is now available.

View more articles by William Gurstelle

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