There’s a lot to love about The Q’s latest project, the “Bicycle that Walks.” The bi-pedal-cycle, which looks like something Will Smith would ride to work in Wild Wild West, has a steampunk beauty to it, and travels along concrete shockingly well considering its back wheel has been turned into a series of metal legs. But what’s even more impressive than the design is the build process, which seems so complex it’d even pose a head-scratching challenge for da Vinci.
The Q’s build video for his mesmerizing “Bicycle that Walks.”
As usual, The Q, the YouTuber who’s responsible for feats of engineering like these articulated batwings and this bike with wheels made of shoes, gives little context for why he decided to build a walking bicycle, although he does note that it’s a “symbiosis of [a] bicycle and walking robotic creature Strandbeest.” Strandbeest, for those unfamiliar, is the name of a collection of contraptions built by Dutch artist, Theo Jensen; each one of the mechanical Strandbeest creatures mimics the movements of biological organisms with its PVC bones, and uses wind power to move. The most popular video of the Strandbeest (below), demonstrates the elegance of the walking mechanical creatures.
A video showcasing Theo Jensen’s Strandbeest creatures, which utilize PVC skeletons and wind power.
Despite its rudimentary back-of-the-envelope initial design (which is obviously tongue-in-cheek), the walking back wheel of the bike eventually comes to life as a seamless whole. The entire process is, of course, time-lapsed in the video (which comes via Laughing Squid), but every step looks like it took the kind of precision that can only be delivered by a straight-faced builder who literally never talks in his videos. Incidentally, it seems like one can still hear the Q’s voice in their head—seriously though, you’ve been narrating the video in the Q’s voice, right? Or is that just us?
For anybody with a genius-level building IQ who’s so inspired by the walking bicycle that they want to build something similar, allow us to point you in the direction of The Q’s model-scale version of one of the Strandbeest creatures. He made this video about 10 months prior to the walking bicycle, and it looks like an equally intense, albeit much smaller, project. Plus, The Q provides exact measurements and a look at the complete set of tools required to make the mini-Strandbeest, which should make the whole endeavor a snap. Just kidding, even the small walking contraption looks extraordinarily difficult to make, and would probably make most people totally flip out.
The Q’s “walking robotic creature,” which he based on Jensen’s Strandbeest creatures.
What do you think about this “Bicycle that Walks” by The Q? Is this steampunk form of transportation an engineering marvel you’d love to ride, or are you happy with two wheels and a lot less legs? And what would you like to see The Q build next, especially in terms of something cool for the holidays? Construct a series of your thoughts into a cohesive whole in the comments!
Images: The Q
