Caption from LIFE. Four-man bicycle is powered by five chains and has brakes on both its wheels. The bike was built by Art Rothschild (top position) who broke three ribs while learning how to ride it.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Every year, more and more people in the United States are clambering aboard their beloved bicycles and blithely pedaling into a brighter, cleaner, healthier tomorrow. Or losing their balance, wiping out and maiming themselves. Either way, they’re getting exercise.
But back in 1948, a number of inspired amateur craftsmen — not content with riding mundane, conventional bicycles — took their enthusiasm to another, unlikely level and . . . well, let’s let LIFE tell it, in the words the magazine used in its December 27, 1948, issue:
To Webster a bicycle is “a light vehicle having two wheels, one behind the other.” Such a definition theoretically describes the contraptions [seen in the article], but fails to do justice to the imagination of the Chicago chapter of the National Bicycle Dealers’ Association.
By artfully applying welders’ torches to metal tubing, the chapter’s members transform ordinary, utilitarian bicycles into traveling monstrosities. By far the most outlandish ideas have come from the Steinlauf family, who produced from their bicycle repair shop most of the oddities [shown in the article]. They are hazardous; generally at least one member of the clan is to be found in the hospital.
Here, LIFE.com offers a selection of photos of these preposterous creations from six long decades ago — mechanistic marvels that belie the famous old saying (which we just made up) that there’s no such thing as a useless bicycle.
Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizabethRonk.
Caption from LIFE. Four-man bicycle is powered by five chains and has brakes on both its wheels. The bike was built by Art Rothschild (top position) who broke three ribs while learning how to ride it.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Only springs connect rear of Maurice Steinlauf's bike with roving front wheel.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Uno-Wheel, if braked suddenly, has been known to spin its rider round and round inside the big main wheel.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Square-wheeled bike held by Bernard Steinlauf was built by son Dave after seeing a bicycle wreck.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Gangbusters Bike mounts 13 shotguns, two revolvers, six bayonets, flare gun.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesRiding a preposterous bicycle, Chicago, 1948.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMen on bike, Chicago, 1948.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesChicago, 1948.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesUnicycle, Chicago, 1948.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Ice Bike, with protective mittens on handles, is Joe Steinlauf's own solution to Chicago's icy winter streets.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesChicago bicycle dealer Andy Koslow rides a tiny bike built by a former vaudevillian. "This helps limber up his left leg," LIFE wrote, "which, as a former motorcycle racer, he broke seven times."Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesRough ride, Chicago, 1948.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesBicycle, Chicago, 1948.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Bedstead Bike was dreamed up by Joe Steinlauf, who got the idea while lying around in bed one morning.George Skadding—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesIce bike ridden by its inventor, Joe Steinlauf, Chicago.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
