Dan Lance, 35, Canberra, Australia

While browsing eBay I noticed a DIY kit to turn any bike into an 80cc moped. I spent a Friday night and Saturday morning mounting the motor in the frame, which took a lot of grinding and cutting. On Saturday afternoon I added all the ancillary equipment and on Sunday morning remounted the motor and tidied up a bunch of stuff. I didn’t want to upset the neighbours so I pedalled the machine down the street with the motor off. I got to the carpark of the nearby scout hall, fired it up and twisted the throttle! It was fantastic! It worked! It was a useful bike!

As great as it is, it does have some issues. Being a chopper bike it handles like a bus. The exhaust pipe is designed to fit a normal shaped bike, I wanted to run it along the bottom frame tube but that would’ve required an extra piece of pipe, more time bending and welding etc. So I flipped the exhaust pipe, so instead of going down to the ground it goes straight up! Perfect, except that when riding all of the exhaust flows straight into your face. I can’t tell if I’ve made our entire house and block smell of fuel or just my face.

Michael Owens, 38, Brighton, UK

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Michael Owens’s minivelo Photograph: Michael Owens

The bike is a Mini Velo, popular in Asia, but almost unheard of in the UK. It’s basically a full size bike, but with 20inch wheels. The best feature is the custom built rear wheel, with a two-speed automatic Sram hub, which is perfect for hilly Brighton. It helps me accelerate quickly away from traffic lights, gets me up all the hills and I can cruise at about 13mph on the flat. I added some 38cm drop handlebars that are nice and narrow for squeezing through traffic, and make the bike easier to store. Other parts I’ve added include a small Tektro brake lever, a racing saddle and almost-puncture-proof tyres so I never have to worry about the broken glass that seems to be everywhere. Out of the five bikes I have at the moment, it’s easily the most fun to ride through city streets, but it’s good on gravel tracks too.

Tom Anthony, 76, Schenectady, New York, US

Tom Anthony’s bionic bike. Photograph: Tom Anthony

I took an already odd bike, the Bionic Runner, that was somewhat inefficient and unresponsive and turned it into a direct-pedalling agile high-flyer – the bionic bike. It is much easier to ride than it looks – a high bike is actually easier to balance. It is akin to the difference in difficulty of balancing a pencil on your hand or a broom – a broom is much easier.

Standup bikes give you a great 300-degree view as your hips are not anchored pointing forwards, plus no saddle soreness on long rides, no neck pains from a cantilevered head, and no looking down at the front wheel and pavement all day. My longest continuous ride at age 76 has been 70 miles standing all the way and took 10 hours total including a few snack stops.

Joe Rackley, 40, Watford, UK

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Joe Rackley’s baby chariot. Photograph: Joe Rackley

I upgraded most parts, added disc brakes by modding the rear hub and welded on mounts front and rear. I internally routed all brake hoses and gear cables and resprayed the entire thing. I like modifying bikes and wanted to use this bike as my baby chariot for my eight-month-old daughter.

Tony Castles, 64, Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tony Castles’ electric Brompton. Photograph: Tony Castles

10 years ago I fitted an electric motor to my Brompton. The motor is quite light (around 1.4kg) and more than makes up for it in hill-climbing and defeating headwinds. It can climb a 12% gradient without much help. I used a battery from my lawnmower and drill. It only cost £100 and can last for 15 miles.

I have had a spinal injury for 22 years from a cycling accident which left me with substantial walking difficulty and pain. I started cycling again on a tricycle with an electric motor. I still use it, but a Brompton is more portable and goes with me everywhere. I started making them for other folks and now we make them as kits, or we fit them on new or used Bromptons.

Steven Olsen, 44, Lewes, UK

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Steven Olsen’s weather-proof bike. Photograph: Steven Olsen

After years of modifying and adapting bikes into single-speed machines, I have designed a bike frame around an internal gearbox system. This puts all the gears and the weight in the middle of the frame. It runs using belt drive as well, instead of a chain. I had to leave a section of the frame where I could hang the gearbox and a method of tensioning the belt without splitting the frame. I call this the Great British weather-proof bicycle.

There was nothing like this on the market. I am getting older and wanted a change from riding a single-speed mountain bike with all the advantages of low-maintenance.

I went through a lot of prototyping and testing methods, using 3D printing and carbon wrapped tubes. I am now very satisfied that I have ended up with a finished product, something that is much larger than where I started – just modifying a bicycle to fit a gearbox.

Craig Richards, 28, Michigan, US

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Craig Richards’s hydro-dipped bike Photograph: Craig Richards

I did a custom paint job on my bike by doing a hydro-dip in spray paint. I wanted a bike that was one of a kind and would always turn heads. I like wild colours and eye-catching bikes because they show more personality than the ones out of the box – and it ensures that drivers see me too.





Roger Hall, 70, Edinburgh, Scotland

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Roger Hall’s versatile handlebars. Photograph: Roger Hall

I have an old lightweight Reynolds 531 competition audax bike that started with drops, then sawn upside down drops, then a straight bar and now has Nitto Promenade handlebars, with bar ends as “ins”. This gives a wonderful upright sitting position which, with such a light bike and on 23/25mm tyres, gives an effortless ride. More weight on the saddle is helped with a suspension seat post.

I built it in order to take the weight off my wrists and elbows, which suffer because of my wood carving work. However, the upright position has been a huge discovery and encourages slow cycling, which I enjoy – but when I want to go fast I can drop down to the bar “ins” which give a very comfortable position.