'Mutant' Bikes from 1940's from Time magazine

Bicycle, Chicago, 1948 | Bizarre, Virtually Unrideable Bikes Built by Chicagoans in the 1940s | LIFE.com

That front wheel would ride real nice…

Love this…

Some amazing images all over that site.

that thing is more a unicycle with a front wheel flying in close formation.
what appears to be a top tube and down tube in the photo are actually springs, there’s a photo of it doing a wheelie (in 1948!!! fixed gear!!! before it was cool!!!1!!!1111!shift1) in the link

This is like the old-timey version of those terrible industrial designer concept bikes.

aint no one cutting this guy off

“They are hazardous; generally at least one member of the clan is to be found in the hospital.”