The tambourine is a versatile instrument, and attractive in its simplicity. This shallow tambourine attaches to a bike wheel, rattling as the rider rides. The tambourine is struck by a small hammer which does not turn, but is attached to the frame and is triggered by passing clips, perhaps affixed to the tambourine itself. One can determine the beat to be played by altering the spacing of these clips around the circumference of the tambourine: for example 4 clips at 0, 90, 180 and 270 degrees will deliver 4 beats per rotation of the wheel; clips at 72, 144, 216, 288 and 360 will deliver 5:4 time for Brubeck fans. Clips can be added or moved slightly forwards or backwards for added beats, syncopation etc. True fans will add a second bass tambourine for the back wheel.

Riding aficionados will attempt with gear use and effort to lay down a beat appropriate for the songs that come up.
-- bungston, Nov 05 2010

//a beat appropriate for the songs that come up.//

A nifty little idea alright, but exactly where will these songs be coming up from?
-- Boomershine, Nov 05 2010


A playing card taped to the fork so that wheel spokes beat against the card as the wheel rotates works well too. frequency of the beat will be higher too. Maybe it should be for girl-cyclists who have a singing deficit.
-- el dueno, Nov 05 2010


/where will these songs be coming up from?/

It depends on the circumstances. Possibly buskers?
-- bungston, Nov 05 2010


/so the world around you isn't subjected /

Subjugation of the new generation to repeated positive influences is the mechanism by which culture is perpetuated. Go give that ABBA another listen, 21. Another few listens.
-- bungston, Nov 05 2010


Nice link, reminds me of "Cement Truck Music Box Ice Cream Maker".
-- normzone, Nov 05 2010


In the jingle jangle morning I'd go riding with you.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Nov 07 2010


Whoa...I just got that song going through my head, clicked on this idea, and there you are. [fries], you never cease to amaze me.
-- normzone, Nov 07 2010


This is a stuningly good idea. [+]
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 07 2010


Sorry 'bout that [norm].
<tunes down broadcast output mode>
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Nov 07 2010


For what little it is worth, the spokes of a bicycle wheel make a four-beat rhythm. The spokes alternate left and right, plus there is a slight fore-and-aft lean to alternate spokes on each side. (Well, that's for most wheels, at least.) And the spokes splay out and cross, changing spacing. (I just rebuilt a wheel for the first time in decades, and had to figure it all out from scratch.) Taking that complexity out to the tambourine would be nice.
-- baconbrain, Nov 07 2010



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