[4130biker]

All this talk about pranks on the hipster bike got me thinking. What are the best bike pranks? Preferably pranks that don't end in major injuries. Here's my favorite one to start:

Pump your friends tires with water- the weight is just out of control and it makes your bike handle SO bad.
The only time I've tried it, I had to fill a bucket with water, suck water into a floor pump, then start filling.
The girl I did it to (I know, I'm terrible) commuted for a solid month before figuring out what was wrong.
And no, she wasn't a hipster

PS- the one about cutting the bars a little each day is hilarious!

 

[HAB]

Drop a couple ball bearings down their seat tube. They'll rattle and be pretty annoying.

Stuff some sausage or similar meat product down their seat tube. Give it a week or two, and that stuff will be RIPE.

If it's someone you see regularly, raise their seatpost a mm or two daily. See how long it takes them to notice.

 

[4130biker]

Drop a couple ball bearings down their seat tube. They'll rattle and be pretty annoying.

I forgot about this one- I inhereted a bmx bike once that had one that was basically impossible to remove, you're right- very annoying!

Stuff some sausage or similar meat product down their seat tube. Give it a week or two, and that stuff will be RIPE.

HAHAHA- holy crap that is bad.

If it's someone you see regularly, raise their seatpost a mm or two daily. See how long it takes them to notice.

This one is funny too, I can imagine seeing someone pedaling off with their legs all over extended wondering what the hell is going on.

 

[Dartman]

My friends wife had a bunch of those plastic bead noisemakers on her spokes. I just took one and put it on his rear wheel. The ever so slight occaisional ticking sound drove him nuts.

 

[boogenman]

The water in the tires is probably the best. We did that a few times when I worked in bike shops, you are right it is a pain in the a$$.

Switching brakes euro style is always a good one too.

 

[MMike]

Back over your friend's bike with your car! Hilarity ensues!

 

[4130biker]

My friends wife had a bunch of those plastic bead noisemakers on her spokes. I just took one and put it on his rear wheel. The ever so slight occaisional ticking sound drove him nuts.

I like

The water in the tires is probably the best. We did that a few times when I worked in bike shops, you are right it is a pain in the a$$.

Switching brakes euro style is always a good one too.

The euro trick is funny- I haven't tried that one..

Back over your friend's bike with your car! Hilarity ensues!

Probably the funniest, but worst to pay for...

I just remembered one that my old boss used to do:
As a bike shop manager, he would naturally play pranks on his fellow managers. He used to take an allen wrench and completely tweak the alignment of one rear brake pad (back when V-brakes were big) right before the ride.
Inevitabely, at some point during the ride, the tweaked pad would tear a hole clear through the tire, and into the tube causing a blowout.
There he would be, knight in shining armor, with a new foldable tire and tube. But tires and tubes don't come cheap, and to add insult to injury, he'd attempt to SELL the tire and tube to his buddy

 

[JohnE]

Dead fish down the set tube...gets 'em every time.

 

[IH8Rice]

I just remembered one that my old boss used to do:
As a bike shop manager, he would naturally play pranks on his fellow managers. He used to take an allen wrench and completely tweak the alignment of one rear brake pad (back when V-brakes were big) right before the ride.
Inevitabely, at some point during the ride, the tweaked pad would tear a hole clear through the tire, and into the tube causing a blowout.
There he would be, knight in shining armor, with a new foldable tire and tube. But tires and tubes don't come cheap, and to add insult to injury, he'd attempt to SELL the tire and tube to his buddy

your boss sounds like a asshole

 

[Westy]

Swap a racer's testosterone pills with estrogen.

 

[4130biker]

your boss sounds like a asshole

I guess it's one of those things where you'd have to know the guy.
He was pretty much the coolest/funniest/best boss I've ever had.

I also forgot to mention that he wouldn't actually sell the tire to his friend, just try

 

[4130biker]

I think I need to find some fish. I'm assuming sardines will work, yes?

(you know, easy to carry in the camel sack)

 

[johnbryanpeters]

I think I need to find some fish. I'm assuming sardines will work, yes?

(you know, easy to carry in the camel sack)

No. Sardines are reptiles.

 

[yesimaddicted]

change the left crank arm 90 degrees. the look on the face is priceless

 

[w00dy]

The girl commuted for a solid month before figuring out what was wrong.

That's funny stuff.

The ball bearing can be added to a rim as well.

Turning your friends' suspension adjustments when they aren't looking is a good one. They don't figure it out until they start bombing down the trail.

I always wanted to make a bike out of solid bar and fill the tires with water. Give it a nice low gear, some pretty paint, and padless brakes. Then leave it unlocked at the top of a hill.

 

[Inclag]

I once stuffed like 5 power bars up a kids seat tube.

I was not not drunk at the time.

 

[JRogers]

I once stuffed like 5 power bars up a kids seat tube.

Is that some kind of slang?

 

[w00dy]

I watched a mechanic repack a set of campy hubs with peanut butter once.

 

[CastleMaster]

Punch a small hole in the tube, fill with a few BB's.
Patch the hole and remount the tire.

Awesome.

 

[4130biker]

Is that some kind of slang?

perhaps, but I though powerbars went out of the seat tube.. I'm confused with this new slang

 

[4130biker]

Punch a small hole in the tube, fill with a few BB's.
Patch the hole and remount the tire.

Awesome.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

My friends have done nothing to me, but now I want to prank them.

 

[4130biker]

I watched a mechanic repack a set of campy hubs with peanut butter once.

Was it chunky?

 

[gonefirefightin]

ball bearings are for rookies, use small bells that come on cat collars,

take apart the stem and bars, hammer down the star nut about an inch and insert bell then install new starnut and assemble stem and bars.

cut a small slice in a tube, insert bell, patch tube, then install on wheel.

on a road bike, Changing out the 39t inner ring of a road crank for a 42t can be humiliating on a group ride.

also replacing 4 gears with several 16 tooth gears in the rear cassette makes for some funny reactions when they keep shifting and shifting with nothing happening then they will go from a 16t to a 12t or 13t

swapping the shifter cables is a quick prank as well

 

[4130biker]

Swap a racer's testosterone pills with estrogen.

Holy crap that is hilarious.
I don't know anyone taking testosterone, but now I know what to do when confronted with the situation.

 

[Banshee Rider]

Let the air out of the suspension while they're changing before a bike ride.

 

[Inclag]

Is that some kind of slang?

Wouldn't you like to know

 

[Straya]

I nearly cried when I first saw this. Would take some doing but would be so worthwhile.

tried to embed it sorry but doesn't seem to be working at the moment

 

[4130biker]

ball bearings are for rookies, use small bells that come on cat collars,

take apart the stem and bars, hammer down the star nut about an inch and insert bell then install new starnut and assemble stem and bars.

cut a small slice in a tube, insert bell, patch tube, then install on wheel.

on a road bike, Changing out the 39t inner ring of a road crank for a 42t can be humiliating on a group ride.

also replacing 4 gears with several 16 tooth gears in the rear cassette makes for some funny reactions when they keep shifting and shifting with nothing happening then they will go from a 16t to a 12t or 13t

swapping the shifter cables is a quick prank as well

You, sir, are a genius.

 

[ultraNoob]

Yall some creative mofo's. Only thing I've done is switch the brake levers from standard to moto.

Gonna get some of those spoke noise makers for the next epic ride. Nothing says burn like a prank that lasts 20+miles.

 

[zdubyadubya]

the best one i experienced is when a fellow mechanic moved to utah and had us ship his bikes to him. we stuffed tuna fish into the handlebars then put the bar ends back on. this was over a year ago and supposedly the bike still smells like rotten tuna.

 

[ultraNoob]

Just thought of some:

Swap the non drive side crank arm with one that is 5mm shorter/longer.

Crank down the stopper screw on the rear derailler to lock out the granny gear. Effective before a ride with a long initial climb.

Adjust the saddle forward/backward.

Remove bar end, insert cat bell, reinstall bar end. (inspired by gff)

 

[w00dy]

take apart the stem and bars, hammer down the star nut about an inch and insert bell then install new starnut and assemble stem and bars.

on a road bike, Changing out the 39t inner ring of a road crank for a 42t can be humiliating on a group ride.

swapping the shifter cables is a quick prank as well

Must spread...

 

[w00dy]

Was it chunky?

Creamy I think. This knob was meticulous about his hubs though. They had a grease port in the middle which he used religiously. He loved those hubs, and watching peanut butter come out of them when he injected fresh grease must have made his heart stop.

If you think this is mean I'll make you feel better. He was arrested a couple of years down the line for diddling his daughter. Complete f-ing weirdo. That's what it took to keep him away from the shop.

 

[Al C. Oholic]

take some wire cutters and cut ever so lightly, partway through every spoke on the front wheel, right at the nipple where it isn't noticeable. see how long they make it with their face intact.

 

[IH8Rice]

Platty shenanigans

retaliation

 

[duck]

Remove bar end, insert cat bell, reinstall bar end. (inspired by gff)

The mech. at my local shop filled the bar full of BBs, it was pretty funny, took the rider a while to notice.

 

[JohnE]

Remove bar end, insert cat bell, reinstall bar end. (inspired by gff)

New favorite...

We used to loosen seat pst qr's...or go for the classic flip it loose on a climb (In flight...) when unsuspecting friend is out of the saddle. Climb ends, freind sits, hilarity ensues!

 

[was?]

 

[fortenndu]

Platty shenanigans

retaliation

It was worth it, I didn't wear that helmet for a long time though, it got washed many times.

 

[I Are Baboon]

When someone is hauling fast downhill, jam a stick in their front wheel. Good times.