Throwback to One of the Weirdest Bicycles You'll Ever See: The Bird of Prey

Folks, take a nice long look at the images in the gallery and leave a comment with your impressions. It's called the Bird of Prey, and it's a bicycle concept from the mind of one John Aldridge based upon a design that first received global attention back in 2012 when Graeme Obree set a world record on what is dubbed a prone bike. As a little history lesson for you, the first prone bike was recorded back in 1897 and supposedly developed by an American company dubbed Darling.

However, between 1897 and 2016, the year when Aldridge unveiled his modern prone machine, quite a bit had changed, so it was essentially time to bring this type of cycle to current standards, so here we are.

Now, a whole lot of official information on the Bird of Prey is rather hard to come by, mainly because no website is up and running anymore, but I was able to find a video of this bike's journey to existence and posted it below this article.

In it, this contraption's creator outlines how we got here, and for starters, it was all about speed; according to Aldridge, the Bird of Prey is the fastest racing bicycle in the world and even brags that he's often spotted keeping the pace with cars. All the while looking like Superman on his day off or going through physical therapy after being beaten by some villain.

Since Aldridge had no previous knowledge of building a frame, he called upon the powers of a bicycle builder with 35 years of experience in the industry, Russ Denny, and with a few sketches scribbled on old newspaper, a chrome frame took shape. But how the heck does it work, and why should we ever consider riding something like this?

For starters, the prone bike gets its name from the position the rider is in. But, the Bird of Prey is considered a semi-prone bike, so instead of laying completely flat, a rider's chest is a bit raised to allow the head to look forward while moving.

Why this shift in rider position? As I mentioned, the Bird of Prey is all about speed, and in the prone position, wind resistance is a heck of a lot lower than in a normal riding position. As a result, descents and straightaways were faster, and that was enough to help the Bird of Prey win tons of attention.

Suppose you've ever seen that short video of a cyclist riding his bike in a Superman position and surpassing countless riders along the way. In that case, you know exactly what's happening with a Bird of Prey.

But that riding position, just how comfortable is it? Well, I have never encountered a prone bicycle, so I can't tell you much about what it feels like, but according to Aldridge, riders won't feel any discomfort whatsoever, especially on the spine.

If we consider that any upward motion is no longer transferred vertically through the entire spine, then we can deduce that there's less pressure on our bodies. Oh, and if you think that the "seat" is pushing into your stomach, it isn't.

Riders of the Bird of Prey actually rest their bodies on the hip's iliac crest. Have no idea what I'm talking about? The iliac crests, because there are two, one on each hip, are the parts of the body you see bulging outward from the waist, and I'm not talking about your love handles. They're those bones that tickle when you start to press your finger(s) into them. The only issue I can imagine here is hitting a speed bump, and you start bouncing up and down on your crest.

Now, with most of the rider's weight supported by the hips, what do we do with the upper body and legs? Well, your arms will be placed in a similar position to that of triathlon and road cyclists, sitting on a pair of armrests and placing the toros in a very aerodynamic position, the overall aim of the bike, after all.

As for the legs, they aren't on the same plane as the torso, and as you pedal, you'll be applying somewhat of a downward motion on the crankset. Oh, and those pedals actually sit behind the gear cassette, completely opposite to what you'd find on your typical bicycle.

The final question is about safety. Well, aside from using a helmet, the Bird of Prey is also praised as being safer than your typical bike. Why? Since riders are lying down on a Bird of Prey, the center of gravity is much lower than on a stand-up bicycle, so if you ever need to slam on your front brake, flipping over is nearly impossible.

However, all this begs the question: why isn't everyone riding a prone bike? Well, to answer that question, I recommend you find one in some local shop and take it for a spin. As a piece of advice, do it on an empty stomach or a light meal at best. I wonder what rehydrating on the go is like with one of these.