East Oakland’s scraper bikes were the subject of a recent report by . For the uninitiated (that’s me!), scraper bikes are colorfully customized bicycles. "Scraper" was a term originally used for custom cars that had such beefy rims, they almost scraped the wheel well.
Making a scraper bike is low-tech. One way to scraper-ize is to insert food wrappers into a bike’s spokes. Then, spray-paint the frame a retina-scorching color. Done? Good. Now take your scraper bike and go scraping on the scraper bike. That means riding in such an uncool way, it becomes cool again. Don’t get it? Maybe this way-popular scraper video will help. (I’d rate it PG.)
Scraper biking is an offshoot of the Bay Area’s “hyphy” (HIGH-fee) movement, which (according to encourages irrational, amusingly eccentric, and goofy behavior. (Sound familiar? If not, read this blog more.)
MORE BIKE NEWS! California came in 7th in a ranking of all 50 states in the
Top 5
1. Washington
2. Wisconsin (!)
3. Arizona
4. Oregon (Portland had the highest ranking of any city)
5. Minnesota
Above: photo of Portland-style scraper bike.
Scraping the bottom
46. North Dakota
47. Mississippi
48. Alabama
49. Georgia
50. West Virginia
3 comments:
Where was Grants Pass in all of that? Turns out some little girls want their dad to get a bike with a bucket in front.
"Scrapin' in your bucket bike..."
You must mean a Bakfiets! Those are way popular in both Grant's Pass and East Oakland.
i think one important thing to note about the whole scraper bike movement is that it was created to try and stop gang violence. these kids are trying to find an outlet and break free from the violence they witness every day. so as obscure and crazy as it is, it's for a positive cause.
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