Hack Bike Derby: Friday Expedition

From Alex Rankin:

17 frame builders racing home hacked Klunkers over a rain & fire filled weekend in Somerset.

The Hack Bike Derby is an annual event held over 2 days with a different type of bike and series of races proposed for each year.

This year, the first year, the theme is klunkers; the original Mountain Bikes as raced from around 1976 in California, USA.

All builders were given the same brief; builders must race the bike they have built, stock car rules apply (if another builder thinks you have an unfair advantage you have to be prepared to swap bikes for a race), all bikes must conform to the event rules:

• Frame and forks must be made by the rider from steel, specifically for this event.
• The bike must be made cheaply (under £300, all in) – Dropouts must be made (“hacked”) by the rider
• The bike mustn’t be painted but it can be clear-coated, raw or painted using pens, paint brushes or rattle can, by the rider (basically – no expensive paint jobs!)
• All bikes must use the same tyres (and hence wheel size) Bontrager have provided 26” x 2.35 XR4 Team Issue tires for every rider
• The bikes must also be built according to this year’s brief; 1 x gear, 2 x brakes (1 x front + 1 x rear, no hydraulic or disk, ideally not V brakes), and the bike must look like a klunker.

Created by The Bicycle Academy, sponsored by Bell Helmets, Bontrager and Break Fluid Coffee.

Short film Directed + Edited by Alex Rankin 

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