TWICE AS GOOD

WHY A DISCO-BALLINSPIRED DOUBLE UNICYCLE MIGHT BE ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT BIKES OF THE YEAR

- GLORIA LIU

LET'S START WITH THE BICYCLE. IS THIS A BICYCLE? It has two wheels, but they're undersized, like on a kid's bike. It has tubes, but they're joined bizarrely, only at right angles. It has cranks, but they turn the rear wheel directly, like a unicycle. Each wheel steers independently-the back end twists when you twist. The front end is basically another unicycle.

The fact that it wears the skin of a disco ball is actually the least weird thing about it.

The bike begins to make sense when ridden.

Aptly dubbed a circus bike, it's made for doing tricks: popping wheelies while twirling the front wheel, pedaling backward, and even jumping rope with the front end held aloft. Still, if you didn't know better, and heard this bike won a ribbon-the People's Choice award at the 2024 MADE bike show in Portland, Oregon-you might dismiss it as having won by virtue of shininess. You might not think this bike matters: a fringe creation from a specialized corner of a niche sport.

Dumb.

Offensive.

Fun, but frivolous.

You could think any of these things. But if you did, you would be wrong.

THIS BIKE WAS MADE IN A CRUCIBLE. TO BEGIN TO UNDERstand why, you must know who made it.

Originally from Toronto, Danielle Schön was an art school graduate who attended welding school at night while working a corporate job. When Schön was a kid, her single mother channeled her creativity into arts and crafts, particularly sewing. This was for both artistic and practical reasons: a project could absorb Danielle for hours, and her mother wanted her to be able to hem and repair her own clothing.