A tricycle that doubles as a lawnmower

A tricycle that doubles as a lawn mower is almost as great of an idea as the baby mop.

[via Gizmodo]

• [EH]

  the blade part should have gears, too, but it looks like it’s just a direct drive.

  anybody else loving BB’s constant login prompts as much as me?

  • [Gilbert Wham]

    I had to log in just to say yes…

  • [Antinous / Moderator]

    anybody else loving BB’s constant login prompts as much as me?

    There seems to be a disturbance in the force. We’re checking.

• [irksome]

  I suppose wheelies are counter-productive.

• [thecheat]

  This looks like it almost might work. The ratio to the pedals is very low and it seems the ratio to the blade is quite high.

  This seems like something that Junior could “use” as dad is mowing. Probably before safety and consumer groups crying about saving the children. It clearly has a label that says “caution” what more do you need?

• [MrsBug]

  That’s a seriously narrow cutting width. I guess you’d get your exercise!

• [floraldeoderant]

  God. Okay. I just rolled out of bed, and still bleary-eyed, I read the header as “A tricycle that doubles as a flamethrower.” I really need to stop readin this site when I’ve just woken up.

  …Or ALWAYS read this site when I’ve just woken up.

• [Tdawwg]

  Ah, a fixed-gear bicycle that doesn’t look completely silly! Or a completely silly fixed-gear bicycle that has a purpose other than blowing out the knees of twentysomething wannabes? Either way, progress!

• [Lars Haeh]

  The scary thing is that it looks to have been made in quantity: The chain cover looks too nice, though it may be a commercial belt cover. The positioning of the top tube on the head tube leaves no space for a down tube that would have been cut if this were converted from a regular bicycle. The blade cover is smaller then any I’ve seen from a power mower, and does not look hand made. The connections to the chain cover from the rear triangle do look to big, but that is the only amateurish thing I can see on it. Even the gear shift looks custom.

  I don’t know who thought this would be a good idea to manufacture: If I were a kid with this thing, my first action would be to put it upside down, spin the blade as fast as possible and toss stuff into it. Maybe make bets with friends to see who can stop the blade with their hand the fastest.

  • [nox]

    Natural selection :)

• [Kakiman]

  Thanks for posting, Lisa. I want to try one!

• [Halloween Jack]

  Cute idea, and rather an elaborate set-up, but I can’t see this working for a number of reasons, not the least of which is: do you really want to ride your bike back and forth all over your lawn? Assuming you weigh more than, say, 120 lb. or so?

  A regular reel mower will give you plenty of exercise, require little maintenance and no fuel, etc. Trying to cut straight rows with a bike without missing spots would get real tiresome after a very short time.

• [Anonymous]

  I can see from the grass in the picture that it works very well….

• [seedroller]

  The trike looks like f***all, but look what a beautiful lawn it’s produced!

• [Anonymous]

  http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/09/the_cutting_edg.php

  Lots more!

• [i_prefer_yeti]

  Hey! Kid! Get back on my lawn!

  And make sure to do the edging while you’re at it!

• [Xenu]

  Does it also kill the lawn?

• [flatfive]

  Needs moar Briggs & Stratton.

• [Anonymous]

  Jacques Tati’s 1958 film, “Mon Oncle,” showed the snooty neighbor pedaling a “lawn tractor” around her miniscule yard. As with so much of Tati’s work, the click-click-click sound effect was part of the joke.

  • [Anonymous]

    Coincidentally I was just watching “Mon Oncle” last night, and made this connection as well.

    Yes, the neighbor is furiously pedaling a little red self-powered lawnmower.

    Also, on another humorous note, my CAPTCHA is “that buttock”.

• [Grey Devil]

  I think the wheels on the trike would need to be wider to avoid digging into the grass. I was also expecting to see one of those manual push grass cutters (or whatever you call those) on the back two wheels of the trike. I think that would be decent configuration, and your feet are nowhere near the blades when compared to the pictured trike.

  • [fencesitter]

    Here’s the push mower bike
    http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/07/16/mowercycle-human-powered-lawnmower/

    I’ve also seen that at the Maker Faire.

• [SpaceGhost]

  I’m actually mildly shocked this was never introduced earlier (as far as I know anyway). It makes me feel like a chump for ever using a push mower.

• [Anonymous]

  A proper tricycle lawnmower should actually work:

  http://www.recumbentjournal.com/news/gear/item/101-recumbent-lawn-mower-a-cut-above-the-rest.html

• [Anonymous]

  It’s a better idea than riding a fixie with no brakes in city traffic.

• [Anonymous]

  Hmm, small children biking around with a razor sharp blade spinning right below their feet… sounds like a lawsuit to me!

• [Anonymous]

  If the condition of the turf is a result of using the mower sitting on it, then epic fail.