How Hard is it to Ride the Swing Bike?

You all know the Swing Bike, but what happens when we let newbies try it for the first time? Will they immediately fall over? How long will it take for them to get the hang of it? Today, we'll take the bike apart, do some maintenance, and then explore the Swing Bike in a little more detail.
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[@ReefSurfing1]

Have to admit, I got a little nostalgic seeing those Florida cut scenes. Haven’t seen the swing bike in a looong time.

[@neonelephant4638]

I would spend all my summers there

[@Geetarman69420]

Same

[@rickkode]

Sameee

[@Tejvir7]

Ok

[@rebneck2863]

Yooo me too!

[@servidig483]

That bent tube REALLY needed a top connection with the back part of the frame

[@dudeonbike800]

Agree. A custom quill stem that abuts the seat tube above the "headset" would fit the bill. Better than my suggestion of press-fitting a second tube to the inside of the existing "steerer tube." Then again, a higher-quality chrome-moly insert would easily suffice.

[@HoloScope]

Whoever designed the bike is kind of idk how do I say this.... Dumb

[@pawdaypay]

Usually I saw the swing have the pivot point directly under the seat post, not like this one

[@jort93z]

Could really just be a plate with two holes in it.

[@sanpedrox2]

Rookie design... One could tell from just looking at it that it would bend like that. No surprise there

[@josearevalo6338]

Seth: had a broken collar bone and screws in his ankle Also Seth: let’s ride the swing bike downhill

[@mazdarx-8rotary.97]

‘Fitting triple clamps to the swing bike’

[@davidandreibares8590]

Lol

[@hobbychameleon1024]

This would be a great bike for the prairies just to make the flat ground less boring

[@somedud1140]

*Muffled Eurobeat is getting louder

[@cadeawesomeface]

I made myself one of these last summer and I love cruising it around! it's hard to get the hang of but once you get it it's almost easier to ride and steer than a regular bike, but mine also has a hole drilled to stick a pin through and lock the rear steering for a regular cruiser

[@GreenCanvasInteriorscape]

Post a video of it! I love these things never have seen one in person

[@sandy_knight]

Do you have pics? Looking at Seth's swing bike, it could be loads stronger if there was another linkage between the seat tube and stay tube(?) at the top, by the seat post clamp.

[@jinx8624]

U DIYed one Damm that makes it even more sketchy lol

[@JokkazArt]

Seth: Yeah i don’t like that.. Also Seth: *Keep going!*

[@kierann9997]

The dude in the gator should not have been in the gator

[@wrenchdoozer]

Always a good day when there is a new video from Seth and team.

[@davidandreibares8590]

Ye

[@gabestevens100]

Seth: nothing could've gone wrong The Gator: allow me to introduce myself

[@jordanneoprss7282]

there was someone in there

[@shriker5969]

You should try the backward brain bike from Destin from Smarter every day. That would be fun.

[@BramLastname]

As someone who rides this multiple times a week, (regardless of the amount of sleep and//or alcohol I've had) I'd recommend making 1 change, a custom attachment that slides into the top of the turning axis, So you can connect that part to the back frame, It might make turning feel slightly different, But prevents the middle part from bending.

[@kylechute4594]

Watching your old video on the swing bike me and my dad built our own out of two bikes and besides looking like the jankiest thing on earth it works really good

[@Logslayer999]

That's so cool!

[@hetrickracing1249]

When bending anything metallic back in place you should always try and heat it up. The bonds on the pivot point break and spread further apart when you move it back which makes everything weaker permanently. I’m sure it’ll be fine but with anything that experiences more stress you should probably take a torch to the picket point first.

[@nicholasst5752]

Hey Seth, I have wanted a mountain bike for years and always came up with some excuse to not buy one. But i stumbled onto your channels and haven't stopped watching. I took the plunge and bought my first bike. I know its used and has some scratches but when I get on it it, I just cant stop smiling. I am having so much fun with it. Thank you for the inspiration and great content.

[@korycream4521]

I've been watching seths bike hacks and berm peak express from the beginning and it has gotten me through many days of work and it's just good bike/ random content. But it should honestly be called welcome to berm peak express where Seth breaks everything and then shows you how to fix it. Haha much love Seth!

[@Luke_emia69]

I laughed hard when seth went and asked james ‘ hey , wanna break a collar bone’.😂😂😂😂

[@aceadrianquintos4407]

Ayy yo Oscar is big now he kinda reminds of a certain someone we all know him and he was good boy R.I.P

[@jbratt]

I rode one of those back in the day. It had springs on it to keep it more centered. Once you had that down you took the springs off and let the games begin.

[@vitorvilasanchez]

"nothing could've gone wrong" (gator starts immediately going backwards into a tree) 🤣

[@davidandreibares8590]

Yea lol

[@atlbike1251]

We used to have an original Swing King out in front of Atlantic Bicycle to attract attention. One day someone decided to steal it, they made it about half a block before they gave up and tossed it in the grass beside the road. I got a call from a customer who found it and was going to "ride it back". Twenty minutes later he walked it to the shop. That bike was sold and resold about 10 times to just about everyone down here in Ft Lauderdale. I'm not 100%, but I think that was the one that ended up being Kevin's swing bike that was stolen and he recovered from some kid riding it down the street. The first gen Swing King's only had a coaster brake and were really sketchy on fast stops.

[@peterklug8033]

I have ridden a few variations of the swing bike and did not have any trouble riding any of them. About ten years back I wanted to ride something very different for the "Tour de Fat" bike ride in Colorado. So I built a non-stationary-stationary bike. I took a old stationary bike and cut the stands off of it so the wheel is on the ground and welded a skateboard truck on the back for steering. It was very difficult to ride and took about a week to go a few hundred feet without getting out of control, it steers in the back. I rode it in many of the rides in Fort Collins and Denver. I don't have it anymore, but it was a fun build and to ride. It never got easy.

[@blipoop1]

Seth 6 months ago: I need to take it easy. Seth now: Watch me take this swing bike down a mountain bike trail. Love your videos, eagerly waiting for the next one.

[@teh-maxh]

"I have a swing bike." "Oh dear god." Yeah, that's about the right reaction. I'm surprised it was so hard to fix what was so easily broken, though. I guess KZbin knew this was coming - the freak bikes video from a few years ago popped up just yessterday.

[@BramLastname]

The weight of the entire bike+rider gets concentrated in that one area, Because he doesn't have any support there.

[@wippywoppie123]

This bar is strong enough… 1 min later, it’s bending its not strong enough

[@agrsk8r]

@@paddor Die Gramatick ist so schlecht! Was wird wir tun!!!

[@wippywoppie123]

@@paddor sorrrrrry grammar police

[@Alttabbins]

"Where do we attach it to.. like the trailer hitch of my car or something?" (with a really worried look on his face). Next scene - Strap on the trailer hitch of the car. "I hate this". LOL one of the best scenes this channel has ever had.

[@TheAtarashiiKaze]

I remember these style bikes in the 70's. They were super cool! Just watching you fight the beast into the back of your truck made me LOL.

[@breyton7424]

Love the vid. Good job :)

[@sleddog3088]

I saw someone with one of these in public recently! They're so cool!

[@go1095go1095]

Love the end, putting it into the truck is the exact way I would!

[@AKATEATime]

How cool that someone is making a swing bike these days. I rode a '70s one ..in the '70s. A friend had one and I liked it so much, he'd ride it to my house and then we'd switch bikes and ride to school. Same in reverse going back home from school. Popping wheelies is pretty much impossible because you can't pull back to pop the wheelie and push forward to keep the front in the front at the same time. :-/

[@noodlenoodle8624]

Would love to see sam pilgrim shredding something like this haha

[@dirtyfox3489]

I have one... I already tried to get him to do a free bike challenge with it. But he never noticed it 😅

[@aleksisshvartovka1268]

Imagine seth on this bike just a minute, made me laugh the entire video🤣

[@RiggsRides]

God do I remember the old vids when you had it! Nice to see you bring it back😁

[@krustydata7446]

I went on KZbin to watch some mtb vids and then I saw Seth it made my day

[@jasonjensen491]

There's gotta be some way to brace the top tube to the seat post, so you can lock out the swing when you don't want it. Then you have a cool beach cruiser with a secret superpower!

[@LukaszMielczarek]

Two holes in both tubes and put bolts through and it's locked you take them out and it's swing bike again

[@jmo2752]

I was thinking the same - fabricate some kind of upper crown between the pivot and seat-post tube [to help stop the pivot tube bending again] that has a QR handle on top to either simply tension the bearings, or insert a pin into a keyway on the upper race?

[@6000quinn]

I’m super happy ur recovered, so u can injure ur self again on the swing bike! Lol

[@michaelblaker2334]

I had a swing bike back in the late 70s early 80s oh, mine had a lockout knob where you could lock it straight or unlock it and swing. It also had to longitudinal Springs from the head tube back to where it pivoted which forced you to push against it a bit to get it to swing out. Not that it was hard it just helped it be a little bit more stable. It was such a blast. So fun to watch you ride one now

[@adjans539]

It’s nice to see this bike back!

[@silascatalano9491]

If it takes 45 minutes to an hour to learn and the kid that stole it still could not ride it……….

[@TheT93]

Do you have any info on this? I can't find anything on it.

[@xcal_99_industries32]

@Tyler Daniels He mentioned it in the video when he was cleaning his storage unit.

[@TheT93]

@@xcal_99_industries32 ah I didn't watch that one. Pretty much the only recent one I haven't seen

[@silascatalano9491]

@@paddor Seth and Kevin found him struggling to ride it on the street and threatened to call tho cops and got the bike back

[@HoloScope]

@@silascatalano9491 lmao that's hilarious 😂

[@william2glaser227]

It’s a cool concept, I wish that there was a version of it built with a stronger chassis, for example having something to stop the mid-pipe from bending Edit: and have a switch to lock the middle point, like how some bikes have locking front shocks

[@DocBonyBone]

Nice. I worked in a bike shop in high school, and the boss had a "special tool" for straightening out bent forks from people bumping into a wall - a big-ass chain. He made the customer come back later so they wouldn't see him doing what you did to that bent tube. I have an original Swing Bike from the 70's that was fashioned on the StingRay. It's easy because it's lower to the ground, and the Banana seat makes it easier to turn the back since your thighs can squeeze the seat.

[@Unchartered_Outdoors]

I met James and Brittany from Squatch yesterday. They told us to ride middle and lower black at Pisguh, which we did and had a blast. Cool to see James in your video today.

[@timmyfranks4087]

U gotta do a fix up of a cheap full sus !!

[@henrybarry4022]

"Nothing could have gone wrong" The Gator: slowing rolling down the drive

[@kingston3344]

I was just rewatching some of your older videos yesterday from Florida.

[@jasonk1540]

I was JUST looking at the page to get one! I'm in an area that's a bit too hilly for it too, but I'm a guy in my mid 20's with running stilts and heelys. I would LOVE to add this thing to my arsenal.

[@dirtyfox3489]

Just build one by yourself. You only need two old frames and a welding machine.

[@alexandrebegin5099]

“im going to put some safety glasses on…” puts on a huge helmet instead

[@biopower5160]

Daft punk Seth edition:

[@Striker2.0]

I was thinking the same thing

[@biopower5160]

@@Striker2.0 🤙🏻

[@RealMTBAddict]

Welding helmet

[@obambaman]

i kinda miss the vibe of the old bike dungeon, filled with a bunch of weird bike

[@marcsantiago27]

The way seth threw the bike in the back of his car looool

[@damarapoledna3636]

Lol, I used a similar technique to straighten my Banshee atv frame back in the late 80's, tied between a telephone pole and my truck hitch. Used this technique again in '05 to straighten a wrecked car😎

[@diab8049]

The dude who stole this was dumb enough to think that Kevin wouldn't recognize this

[@thadude9013]

Hey seth, video idea: turn the big bmx in to a working mountainbike! That would be awesome. Greetings from holland

[@LorieMTB]

Cool idea, but I think he said in a video a while ago that he left it at his mums house in Florida. Anyway he already has a fat bike.

[@joshmanis9860]

All it needs it all terrain tires

[@nmnate]

The steerer tube is wicked steep (like a BMX or dirt jump bike). It wouldn't be very capable. Would definitely need some real brakes / tires if you want any speed.

[@PeterEmery]

I had the chance back in 1980 to try (briefly) a swing bike indoors. It took about 10 minutes to figure it out but I was only allotted a 30 minute stint with it. That one had the rear pivot directly below the seat rather than the twin tubes of this example.

[@scottbenson690]

Today starts off so good with a new video in the morning

[@badkost5065]

Someone: how do I bend a pipe Seth: so basically you need 2 picku...

[@ridewithwoody5808]

“nothing could have gone wrong” -Seth wearing a welder helmet

[@rcranes2227]

did seth ever make an "I can't stress enough that his video isn't a how-to" t-shirt?

[@BoxCarBoy12]

I welded my own swing bike back in college for a project and I don't think I'll ever get rid of it due to the novelty and how fun it is to ride. Even if it's the most stupid and impractical bike ever. Good to see Seth giving the concept some publicity!

[@compt3ck]

We've built 3 of those years ago out of pawn shop bikes. So much fun in the pits of races.

[@huh2634]

"nothing could have gone wrong" **Gator starts rolling away**

[@japliwanag3803]

Wait, it doesnt have any driver right? Right??

[@hectorkinghorn7743]

Seth - “I’m going to take it easy after my injury” then proceeds to ride the swing bike down the trails.

[@hollieott93]

Watched as soon as this was posted, love your videos Seth!

[@cheefbaconator6078]

After all them injuries, you're still brave enough to ride a friggin swing bike down your sketchy trails Mad respect to those kahonas

[@bd-ds2fb]

The bike is more strange than when my dad left to get milk and he has never come back yet.

[@nikanor8152]

F

[@jackalfred9400]

FirsT viEw aNd coMMent let'S GOOOOOOOOOO

[@stephen-ng]

The original 1970s design had the second pivot point totally under the seat. You can't adjust the seat but the pivot bar is bend resistant.

[@petermitchell5240]

I really like that you wear a helmet in most of the scenes where you are actively riding a bike in your videos. Goes a long way in promoting smart riding.

[@Dan_Kornfeld]

Next upload: “We build a tandem Swing Bike!”

[@timvanschubert7518]

Right after I heard "like attach it to the trailer hitch of my car or something" I knew it was goona be an awesome video!

[@lincolnrieger1839]

Hey Seth, thanks for inspiring me last Swing Bike video, I decided to build my own.

[@The_RC_Dude]

I like pretty much everything Seth uploads, I just want more!

[@MikeJones-vb1me]

Swing bikes are awesome, we used to ride them around the bowl in Whistler a decade ago

[@YaBoyUneven]

This bike is awesome to ride but wait till you get a puncture. Amazing video as always

[@theokramer3559]

Thanks for making more videos lately, its been nice

[@andrey4714]

Now you need to add the opposite steering to it and give that a go!

[@davidburgess741]

Swing bike with reverse steering headset! Now that would be a treat! Totally buildable.

[@Mr_Smith1327]

I actually built a swing bike a few years ago, I still have it but it's not as good as I'd like so I'm going to build another one day. As a testimate to how easy they are to ride, a friend of mine rode mine whilst half drunk which was quite impressive considering some people can't even ride them cold sober.

[@chrisgarland9381]

The fun was radiating from all of you! I had fun watching you guys all have fun.

[@cincycycling8738]

I love the energy in this video

[@swan3609]

I have a older swing king just like yours but with a coaster brake.. I have a set of 2ft ape hanger bars on mine.. It's absolutely my most fun bike I own. The biggest thing I tell people is they need to commit and actually get going a few MPH.. If you try to wiggle along at 2mph, it's way harder than 5mph.

[@Frangus_]

SmarterEveryDay had this bike made where if you turned right the wheel went left and vise versa. You should get a hold of/make one of those and try to ride it.

[@SeMoArtifactAdventures]

The best part was watching you wad it up in a ball and put it in your truck at the end!😂😂😂

[@havefunandrideon7955]

Need to add the Tokyo Drift song. Seth really do be whipping this bike

[@deluxehd4012]

You should make a tandem bike where the two riders are facing away from each other, so the front one pedals to go forward and the back one pedals to go back. We had a small festival in our city once and they had different crazy bikes like that and it was so fun. Especially the tandem that I mentioned above, at first it's scary going 30km/h when you are sitting on the back seat with you facing the wrong way and you really have to trust the other rider, but it's extremely fun and kind of a challenge

[@YOEL_44]

You should reinforce it from the top, a lil aluminum piece between the repaired tube and the seat tube and you should be gold

[@Maleko48]

I've ridden my home made swing bike on 60+ mile party rides in the East Bay, everybody loves it, lol

[@davidbenfield7983]

Good to see you riding again Seth!

[@theoracleprodigy]

Omg I miss these bikes. They were crazy to ride but fun.

[@Kevynbui]

I made one pretty much like that back in 2010 from 2 unicycles 😅✌️ I can take the front off and continue with just the unicycle. It's awesome and I still have it in my storage.

[@ThePIPdesign]

I've built about 20 iterations of these bikes and if you get the geometry correct you can ride with no hands, they are fun.

[@cchondro]

Just adding this hear. What you did with the ratchet straps is really common in the car racing world with tube bash bars, etc. Gotta bend something back, heat it up and ratchet strap away.

[@kevinskalicky393]

The commentary from this video is second to none!! 🤣🤣

[@Hayden-Gizzy-Nz]

Hi I'm from new zealand and we were ride these bikes in 1990 that's a long time ago lots of FUN

[@gxxrski9742]

Was just checking to see if seth uploaded then nothing was there went to watch a different video then boom had to drop everything

[@petarmarcuk670]

"Nothing could have gone wrong". Love it.

[@ubiquidic9823]

Hey Seth I’d really not recommend putting any sort of sidewards pressure onto your tow hitch, during off-roading people try use it as a point for recovery straps and it flys off like a bullet 😅

[@maxcavada1747]

I was not expecting the trail ride with it but that made my day 😂

[@Sheppy99]

3:11 "Nothing could have gone wrong" 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@eternalthree]

great video. glad to have rediscovered this channel. you are awesome, Seth!

[@shaharsdechen2537]

Seen the notification and clicked. Love your videos

[@faithhealer3154]

I LOVE IT TO THE MAX

[@W0B0N]

It has being years and its back!!

[@Fnassau]

Seth: If you wanna see my weird bike, I can quickly swing by.