My Hyperbike is HERE!!!

[drivin*me*buggy]

Here are a few more pix to show what the area where you step in is like

and here is the view:

Shorthorsemom, my shafts are about 22 inches high to step over. It is a lot of fun. The 'Bike is really comfortable...I'd venture to say my most comfy cart out of my 3 carts. In fact I am so comfy- I have to remind myself to sit up and drive properly.LOL Learning to handle the reins is a little different, not hard at all, just different.

We drove for 41 minutes today

I (and Buck and Wish) have joined a 100 hour Challenge on yahoogroups RecreationalEquineDriving list so I count all my driving minutes. Only time spent actually driving counts- not grooming, harnessing/hitching- just driving time.

Angie

 

[shorthorsemom]

Angie, thanks for posting those photos and for the other details, that helps alot. LOL you have my favorite color seat too, I am drooling. I had a lesson on my boy today in the meadowbook. My boy is experienced, I am not, but I am looking forward when I can hitch and go out solo. We went out about 25 minutes today and worked some more on "how to get yourself out of a pickle" lessons. So far my boy seems to try anything we ask him to do and my trainer says I am getting close to being ready to fly solo.

I am looking forward to the day where I can prep and hitch and drive and she doesn't see a single thing that needs tweeking or adjusting on the harness fittings and doesn't have to correct me too much while we are out.

I have to laugh, my trainer is tall and has a big ground eating walk. She walks along becide or behind us and keeps up when my boy is at a trot. I feel like I am going fast and then I look at my trainer keeping up and laugh out loud. I wonder if she could keep up with us so easily if I was in a hyperbike. LOL.

I am sure loving this driving experience, so nice to work with an experienced trainer too!

whoo hoo I think I am hooked.

 

[CZP1]

I didn't realize that you really are "close" to the horse with the hyperbike.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I am looking forward to the day where I can prep and hitch and drive and she doesn't see a single thing that needs tweeking or adjusting on the harness fittings and doesn't have to correct me too much while we are out.

When that happens it's time to get a new cart, new harness, or new horse and start the process all over again!

I didn't realize that you really are "close" to the horse with the hyperbike.

It's a little weird at first but most people quickly come to love that closeness. They don't poop or pee on you, not even the mares! I promise.

Leia

 

[studiowvw]

I think I'll start a Hyperbike savings account too - looks like total fun.

Wilma

 

[REO]

sounds like the bikes are great for shoter people! But what about a 6' man with really long legs?

 

[shorthorsemom]

When that happens it's time to get a new cart, new harness, or new horse and start the process all over again!

It's a little weird at first but most people quickly come to love that closeness. They don't poop or pee on you, not even the mares! I promise.

Leia

Leia,

Which wheels do you like best ? I am doing cross country trail driving around the farm (fields, brush, corn stubble).

Also, how do I go about finding somebody in person to ask questions for the hyperbike? I wrote an email awhile back but it must have gone somewhere else. The web says to call but I didn't see a phone number. Interested in starting the process, not sure where to start.

thanks Adair

 

[drivin*me*buggy]

Hi Adair,

Here is how to contact Bob:

http://www.grahamcarriageworks.com/graham_carriage_works_002.htm

Click the top right corner where it says Contact Us and you can email him. He was great at getting back to me.

Here is the page on tires:

http://www.grahamcarriageworks.com/graham_carriage_works_006.htm

He will probably email you with his # and then you can chat directly with him about what you need. He was great to talk with and make sure I was ordering just the right set up for me

Angie

 

[hobbyhorse23]

sounds like the bikes are great for shoter people! But what about a 6' man with really long legs?

We've got one of those up here too!

Go to this thread and look at the beach driver video links and the links Susanne posts further down and you can see our own BigDogsLittleHorses, a rather lanky gentleman who regularly uses a Hyperbike with his pretty mare Dancer.

http://www.miniaturehorsetalk.com/index.php?showtopic=120055

Leia,Which wheels do you like best ? I am doing cross country trail driving around the farm (fields, brush, corn stubble).

I have the original pneumatic tires Bob offered and prefer them as they give a more cushioned ride than the airless, which I have and use for Preliminary level CDE competition. He now has the so-called "Fat Daddy" tires, which are a little visually bulky for my taste but give great performance. I'd buy those if I was you.

Also, how do I go about finding somebody in person to ask questions for the hyperbike? I wrote an email awhile back but it must have gone somewhere else. The web says to call but I didn't see a phone number. Interested in starting the process, not sure where to start.

Well, you can always call me or any of the other folks on here who have one but the best thing is always to go to the source and call Bob directly. He HATES email and the 'net with a passion and his server was down for awhile a few weeks ago so he wasn't getting emails at all. Yours probably got lost! If you need his number send me a PM, I've got it. Tell him I sent you- he'll take good care of you!

Leia

 

[shorthorsemom]

Leia,

I called Bob today...First step taken for my hyperbike dream. thanks for the contact information, much better to call than do email,

I really got a lot of information from him today. Getting closer. I am considering the layaway plan.

Better than keeping my hyperbike fund here in a jar looking at me.

 

[LazyRanch]

What is a wheel callot? Hyperbike dreamer wants to know.

If you look at where the wheels connect to the frame, you will see three adjustment positions - mine have red plugs in them. The frame of the bike can be raised or lowered depending on which hole the wheels are set to. My guy is 33" tall and when I got my 'Bike, the wheels were set in the lowest hole, which made the frame - shafts and seat - at its highest position. I needed to drop everything lower, so I pulled the red plug out of the middle hole, pulled the pin and released the wheel from the frame and repositioned it in the middle hole (putting the plugs in the lower hole). This made the entire cart set more level with PJ's frame, the shafts parallel with the ground, and centered my weight better.

Actually, my driving coach and I did this while PJ was harnessed to the 'Bike! My coach was scrutinizing the turnout and said something like: "I wish we could set this a little lower. Then it would be perfect."So I thought about it for about 5 seconds and realized I knew how to do it. I change my tyres all the time - fascinates the blazes out of my coach since he lost a $20 bet I could go from hard rubber to Fat Daddys in under a minute. Changing the callout is the same thing: push pin in, pull wheel off, push pin in, put wheel on - you just put the pin in another hole. We did it, horse harnessed and hitched in under 2 minutes - mostly because the coach was worried PJ would walk off while we had a wheel off the 'Bike. A couple week ago, at a show, I realized there were more goatheads than I wanted to risk my Fat Daddys in, and that my other horse Rascal needed the taller frame. I went from Fat Daddys to solid tyres and raised the callout in under a minute!

Oh! And dreaming of that HyperBIke? I dreamed of mine for a year's worth of saving up for it. Know what? Worth every second!! Most people who know us are SHOCKED to learn I also own an EE cart - they don't see it very often! Dream and save. I promise it will be worth it!

 

[LazyRanch]

OK EVERYONE! I have pix! Granted they are not the best, as I rushed home from work, fed the dogs and got the 'Bike out. Buck and Wish watched as I assembled it. It rained all night and was windy and cold. I put on my big fluffy coat. The yard was a bit muddy but I HAD to try it out! LOL

This is GREAT!!!I had my 'Bike delivered at work - then spanked myself because I knew it was there all day and I couldn't do anything about it! When I finally got home, it took me about 20 minutes to assemble. From the time I pulled the truck into the driveway and the box out of the bed and onto the lawn, I don't think an hour passed before I was driving PJ down the road! We've been going down the road ever since.

I am 55 years old and stand 4'10 in my hiking boots. I get in by stepping my right leg in over the shaft and as far over as I can. I put all my weight on that foot, sit in the seat, then put both feet in the stirrups at the same time. PJ is not gelded and loves to work. He is really good at standing still - until he feels both fee in the stirrups, so I also have my reins ready before I step into the shafts. By the time I get out, he's much quieter, so I put both feet down, right foot in front of me, left outside the shaft, stand up and swing the right leg over the shaft.

My coach is about 6' and a little hefty. He is still working on his technique! last time, he didn't pick his foot up high enough and dragged the 'Bike along with him about 3 feet of hopping! Lately though, he stands up, left foot outside the shaft, right inside. Then he folds the back of the seat down and swings his right leg over it. That seems to work well for him.

My most difficult adjustment has been that with the horse still pretty much between my legs, I have a tendency to want to use my legs as aids. I got my 'Bike in March. Last month was the first month I haven't had bruises from trying to close my leg on the horses' side, but only squeezing the shafts instead!

 

[LazyRanch]

I love my 'bike more as time goes on. I took it to a driving games day last weekend and loved the fact that I could easily lift it into my trailer's tackroom, fully assembled, and then maneuver it once I got it in there, so much easier to deal with than my EE!

I took my 'Bike to a drive last month. People were pointing at the back of my truck and waving at me - I waved back. Once I got parked, my buddy told me I'd forgot my cart, if I hurried, they would wait for me to go back and get it.

Well, he was half right: I had forgot to load my 'Bike before I hitched my trailer. Early morning, no coffee, what can I say? Anyway it was too early and cold for me to go all WonderWoman and heave the 'Bike over the side of the truck, so I took off the wheels and shafts and put it all in my tack compartment of my trailer. My trailer is a 2-horse, straight load with the compartment up front and under the feeder - not much room when one adds the box of harness, buckets, brushes, etc. but easily doable with the 'Bike.

It was fun to see everyone's face when, having expected me to have to drive off, get cart, drive back - a good hour's hold up - I suddenly appeared all harnessed, hitched and ready to go in a few minutes.Oh yes! So way better than the EE cart.

 

[LazyRanch]

Do you mount the hyperbike from the left? Do you need shorter traces for the hyperbike, or do most of your harness parts fit with adjustments? Hyperbike dreamer asking questions.

I think those who ride have a tendency to mount the 'Bike from the left. One of my friends mounts from the right because he has a hip replacement and right is easier - one of the beauties is either side is good.Leia brought up a great point about the reins, and I would like to add this:I have beta reins and they are very long. I got into trouble several times trying to hold everything together. A trainer pulled her pony tail elastic out of her hair and looped it onto the buckle of my reins. Now, I don't have to hold all the reins, I just twist the ponytail elastic (on my 4th one now) around my ring finger; the rein buckle end hangs off that, and I sit on the end of the fold in the reins.

I could cut the reins, but I often train on the trail. I can drop the cart and long line the horses through all kinds of things - the ever popular mud pits, bushes, puddles, you name it. Sometimes I need to walk through in hand (gullet strap excellent idea), then long line or ground drive, then hitch the 'Bike back up and drive.

 

[LazyRanch]

sounds like the bikes are great for shoter people! But what about a 6' man with really long legs?

I have had several guys driving my 'Bike. My coach is 6' and hefty, one of our members is 6'4" and another friend stands 6'7'! (he doesn't own a horse but has had a lot of fun with PJ, learning what driving is. We just move the stirrups further forward. The stirrups lock on the shafts with the same sort of mechanism used on bicycle wheels - the quick release flippy things. Not only do the stirrups move forward and back, they also rotate higher and lower, so your feet can go up, more even with the shaft, or drop down lower than the shaft.

I have several positions on my stirrups now:far back with my feet as low as I can for my dressage tests - the judge can see more of my horses' rear ends

a little further forward but raised so my feet are more level with the shafts for cones and hazards - so I can brace better on sharper turns and unpredictable terrain

more stretched out for longer trail rides

Find someone with a 'Bike and try out different positions!

 

[REO]

Thanks for the answers

 

[Carriage]

Actually, my driving coach and I did this while PJ was harnessed to the 'Bike! My coach was scrutinizing the turnout and said something like: "I wish we could set this a little lower. Then it would be perfect."So I thought about it for about 5 seconds and realized I knew how to do it. I change my tyres all the time - fascinates the blazes out of my coach since he lost a $20 bet I could go from hard rubber to Fat Daddys in under a minute. Changing the callout is the same thing: push pin in, pull wheel off, push pin in, put wheel on - you just put the pin in another hole. We did it, horse harnessed and hitched in under 2 minutes - mostly because the coach was worried PJ would walk off while we had a wheel off the 'Bike

Its always fun to watch the reaction. I'll do ya one better Miss Cheryl.

I had a testing day at Happs a few years ago. I had the famous Terri the trainer in the 'Bike and she was driving Miss Merridy's Velvet. I too did not care for the set height and I said so to Miss Terri. I evaluated both horse and driver and knew that I could do this with no problem because both are "bullet proof". I went up to the right wheel on the cart and asked Miss Terri to lean away from me and I removed the wheel. She says in a shocked voice, "you just took the wheel off". I smiled at her and shook my head affirmative (yes you did just see me do that) and quickly plugged the wheel into the proper call-out. Now that cart is sitting lopsided because of the different wheel heights. As I walk around the back of the "bike held rock firm by the great Velvet, I comment that "this setting is great for side hills". I again have her lean away from me as I change the other wheel to the proper height. And off they went sitting at a better attitude.

Again I evaluated everything before I did it. This is one reason why you want to get the same testers every-time.

I was ready to hold the rig back or become the wheel until the horse could be brought to a stop. I knew my givens and also knew that we could show the crowd something they had never seen before and most likely since.

Have we brought the pit-stop concept to miniature horse driving?...

Bb

 

[MiLo Minis]

Actually, my driving coach and I did this while PJ was harnessed to the 'Bike! My coach was scrutinizing the turnout and said something like: "I wish we could set this a little lower. Then it would be perfect."So I thought about it for about 5 seconds and realized I knew how to do it. I change my tyres all the time - fascinates the blazes out of my coach since he lost a $20 bet I could go from hard rubber to Fat Daddys in under a minute. Changing the callout is the same thing: push pin in, pull wheel off, push pin in, put wheel on - you just put the pin in another hole. We did it, horse harnessed and hitched in under 2 minutes - mostly because the coach was worried PJ would walk off while we had a wheel off the 'Bike

Its always fun to watch the reaction. I'll do ya one better Miss Cheryl.

I had a testing day at Happs a few years ago. I had the famous Terri the trainer in the 'Bike and she was driving Miss Merridy's Velvet. I too did not care for the set height and I said so to Miss Terri. I evaluated both horse and driver and knew that I could do this with no problem because both are "bullet proof". I went up to the right wheel on the cart and asked Miss Terri to lean away from me and I removed the wheel. She says in a shocked voice, "you just took the wheel off". I smiled at her and shook my head affirmative (yes you did just see me do that) and quickly plugged the wheel into the proper call-out. Now that cart is sitting lopsided because of the different wheel heights. As I walk around the back of the "bike held rock firm by the great Velvet, I comment that "this setting is great for side hills". I again have her lean away from me as I change the other wheel to the proper height. And off they went sitting at a better attitude.

Again I evaluated everything before I did it. This is one reason why you want to get the same testers every-time.

I was ready to hold the rig back or become the wheel until the horse could be brought to a stop. I knew my givens and also knew that we could show the crowd something they had never seen before and most likely since.

Have we brought the pit-stop concept to miniature horse driving?...

Bb

I am really sorry but I just have to say that I think this is NOT a good idea. Pit stops are for race cars - inanimate objects that don't have a mind of their own and the ability to leave while you are working on them. Carriage driving shows have a rule that you can't have a horse hitched and NOT be in the cart. There is a reason for the rule. To have the horse hitched, a person sitting in the cart AND a wheel OFF the cart??? Again, I must have just seen way too many accidents to think this was a brilliant demonstration of the advantages to this cart. If I thought it was dangerous before..... Hopefully not too many people will EVER see this again.

 

[MiLo Minis]

Oops! Sorry - double post.

 

[RhineStone]

Have we brought the pit-stop concept to miniature horse driving?...

Most minis I have seen are not good enough to tolerate a pit stop, even if their drivers think they are (Actually that is probably THE biggest reason I suggest not taking up this idea. If you think your horse can handle it, then you are too inexperienced of a driver.) Yes, Merridy's horse is probably a rare exception. (I don't know the horse and just met Merridy, but I have heard stories and seen their accomplishments.) Even so....

The photo below was the result of a "pit stop". After the pony was harnessed and put to, the driver decided that the wheel was low in air. So they decided to pump it up with the air compressor with the pony still in the cart. Needless to say, the pony got away from the header (again, nobody in the vehicle) and took off around the farm yard. This is what was left of the wheel.

So much for driving that day!

Thank goodness the pony still drives.

There is a reason that driving rules are the way they are....to try to keep people from doing stupid stuff.

(I don't know you, Bob, but I like you. I'm glad it worked out for you, but....please don't do that again....

)

Myrna