# Yao Ming's Custom $12,000 Bicycle - **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 29, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yao-mings-custom-12-000-bicycle/620339 "2012-04-29T17:56:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yao-mings-custom-12-000-bicycle/620339/1 "2012-04-29T17:56:03Z")
[That’s quite a bike!](http://g35driver.com/forums/lounge-off-topic/61859-yao-mings-custom-12-000-bicycle.html) [More here](http://bbs.clutchfans.net/archive/index.php/t-85820.html) > [@](#): > > Building a bicycle for a guy who is 7-foot-6 is a tall order, but West U Cycles has proven it is up to the task. > > Rockets trainer Keith Jones approached the bike shop last year about making a custom bike for Yao Ming. The star center rode a bike for much of his life while growing up China. Bikes are such a way of life in his native land that Yao did not even have a driver’s license when he came to the United States to play in the NBA in 2002. > > Constructing a mountain bike for someone who is that tall isn’t easy, but if there was someone in Houston who could make it happen, it was Jeff Nielsen. Nielsen, the owner of West U Cycles, has become something of a bike-builder to the stars in Houston. > > “I’ve built bikes for Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley,” Nielsen said. “It’s just not feasible for these guys to get a bike off the shelf. It takes some time to search for all the right parts to build a specially made bike like this, but I think it’s worth it in the end.” > > The process to build Yao’s ride began about 1 1/2 years ago. It started with Yao visiting the Rice Village shop so Nielsen could make note of some specific body measurements. Then it was time to locate a frame builder. > > “Once I managed to get the frame, I had to source out most of the other parts,” Nielsen said. “It wasn’t as simple as just adding parts to the frame. You got a guy who’s 7-6 tall. The bike wasn’t going to take normal-size handlebars. It wasn’t going to take a normal-size seat. The bike had to be able to handle a guy who weighs 310 pounds.” > > In fact, normal size and the Yao bike really can’t be said in the same breath. The top of the seat of this all-black, slick-looking bike with knobby tires is more than 4 1/2 feet from the ground. It has reinforced handlebar posts and seat post, 29-inch wheels and extra-long pedals to accommodate Yao’s size-18 shoe. > > Collecting all the necessary parts from bike shops and custom bike builders from across the country was the most time-consuming part. Once all the parts arrived at his shop, Nielsen and his crew at West U spent about two days putting them all together. Amazingly, even with all this custom work and ultra-durable parts, the bike only weighs 28 1/2 pounds. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yao-mings-custom-12-000-bicycle/620339/2 "2012-04-29T18:31:15Z")
That bike’s handlebars are pretty much head-level for me. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2012, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yao-mings-custom-12-000-bicycle/620339/3 "2012-04-29T19:47:27Z")
Looks a little bit like the sort of geometry in a Dursley-Pederson frame. As for making a machine that can carry a person of his weight, it isn’t that much of an issue since tandems have been carrying that sort of load for over a century. The only thing I can see that might be a challenge is to have long enough cranks for the rider and to ensure that the bottom bracket is high enough off the ground so that the longer cranks don’t catch when leaning over. You could get most of your specialist components knocked up fairly easily by the likes the small cycle parts manufacturers - such as Middleburn. I really can’t see that sort of money in that machine, perhaps $5k at most ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yao-mings-custom-12-000-bicycle/620339/4 "2012-04-30T05:40:08Z")
I’ve seen bikes with 36" wheels. Ming is one person who could actually use them.