While we didn’t see much of France, wear yellow jerseys and bracelets, or lose testicles, we did do some serious biking last weekend – Germany style of course! Behold another feat of German engineering………the Bier Bike!!
It was real last minute, but we came across the opportunity to check out this bar on wheels with several of my co-workers. Basically, you and 15 of your closest friends can reserve this thing for a certain number of hours and specify the amount of beer you want available. For a group of thirteen adults, including a few elementary teachers, we reserved around 20 liters of pilsner for two hours. The cost was only around €25 per person, which was a steal. Here’s a picture of the group.
So as you can see the bier bike features 12 seats with pedals fixed around a bar, a driver who merely steers and brakes, some extra seats in the back, a keg holder on the front, and a tap in the middle. Everyone pedals to contribute what they can to the forward motion of the bike while the driver guides you on a scenic route through Frankfurt. You can stop wherever you like for food or potty breaks and you’re encouraged to bring your own cd’s to add a personal soundtrack to the adventure. Of course the engineer in me had to find out how this contraption is possible, so I took a peak at the undercarriage…..
So each person’s pedals are separately connected to a long drive shaft on each side of the bike. Unfortunately (or fortunately) the gear ratio is such that you really can’t get the bike going faster than a brisk walking pace.
