craft lesson
Tire cut in half: Youtuber builds a completely useless bike
You probably shouldn’t worry too much about why Youtuber “The Q” cut his tyre. Watching and smiling is sometimes enough.
© Screenshot youtube.com/c/TheQ_original
A bike goes viral on YouTube – not just any bike, but one with two half rear wheels. However, one can argue about the suitability for everyday use of the red speedster.
Actually, the math follows simple rules – and yes, two times 0.5 equals one. More on why the calculation that Youtuber “The Q” uses to title his video really doesn’t add up in this case.
The video shows a person riding a standard bicycle with large spoked wheels into a curb. The result: the material gives way, the rim breaks, the ride is over.
Two half wheels are – as good as one?
As a solution, Sergii Gordieiev, as the man behind “The Q” is called, presents an unusual conversion. In his workshop, the YouTuber cuts the remaining wheel in half and puts half the tires on a PVC pipe, since they can no longer absorb air. He then mounts the two wheel halves on an extension of the bicycle frame and presents a “fully functional bicycle for everyday use” – just with two half wheels and a larger front wheel.
After the conversion, Gordieiev demonstrates that his invention is really roadworthy, even if it looks quite strange to drive with the conversion. However, the bike does not appear to be a solution to its original problem, riding onto a curb. So he rides his bike down a curb only twice – possibly to show that it’s possible. But is that true?
Hardly likely. If you look closely, you will find that the driver has to be careful both times that both halves of the wheel roll off the curb at the right time. Because if you just drove off and crossed an obstacle with the wrong wheel position, you can imagine the rest. It is also striking that no curves are involved in the video. One can assume that this has also become rather uncomfortable.
Impractical in all situations
People on social networks and in the comments below his video have also recognized that the conversion is good at best for a short smile, but certainly has not laid the foundation for a future generation of new bicycles.
In addition to astonishingly factual complaints about disadvantages such as the higher weight and taking up more space in the garage, other viewers are already working on further improvements to make things worse. Someone suggests increasing the distance between the two halves by a few meters, while another designs a practical folding bike that would only have to be folded eight times with this design.
Only a few people recognized the actual joke: it was actually about fixing a problem with the front wheel that broke under heavy loads. So why “The Q” sets out to “revolutionize” the rear of the bike remains a good and unanswered question even after the video ends.