The Walking Bike reinvents the wheel

No, it’s not a shoe rack, although it can probably serve as one. This is the Walking Bike, an art project by UK designer Max Knight. The artist literally reinvented the wheel when he took a standard bike wheel, typically comprised of a rim, tire and spokes, and replaced it with eight shoes on metal rods. These new “wheels” were then incorporated into the existing chain and gear mechanism thereby allowing the bicycle to be fully functioning.

There is no denying that the Walking Bike is a quirky and eccentric piece. It is also attractive, largely due to the superior choice of shoes. The fashionable and unfashionable alike will agree that use of retro-inspired high tops and sneakers add a certain cool factor that loafers and oxfords would not. Starting counter clockwise on the bottom right of the front “wheel” the featured shoes are Adidas, Pierre Hardy, Raf Simons, Tretorn, Lacoste, Gola, Y-3, and Nike.

Ironically, the Walking Bike was featured in Intersections, a magazine targeted at affluent car-aficionados with a penchant for unique design and speed.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=XSzzgFb5rkg[/youtube]

photo by Thomas Brown