Spoke(n): Hump Bike-Like a Nightmare Before Trail Riding

You've probably seen Nightmare Before Christmas with its cast of cast-offs, each one with a bit of extra "character." You've probably also seen some Ferraris, Lambroghinis, Maseratis or Porsches (hmmm, maybe an exception there) in red or black, rarely yellow. Those of you old enough, will remember when every bike was made of steel. Enter today's Hump Bike: Sunny Whale:

This one, the color of caution, I can't describe the waves that this Whale created when it debuted in 1984. While the velophilia had become accustomed to the Cannondale name through its introduction of bike trailers (its first product), a few years earlier, and, more recently a road frame, big aluminum tubes, differently sized wheels and that yellow color made the bike a showroom floor standout. Rolled aluminum tubes for any bicycle purposes were rare, limited to handlebars and BMX seatposts (road seatposts were still mostly cast), until Gary Klien welded up a frame as grad project. Cannondale quickly appropriated the aesthetic (Klien's were sooooo hot), and dropped this trials/mtb/bmx hybrid. The first bikes had Dia Compe caliper brakes; judging from the roller cams (metal rollers!) on this bike (one of the rare instances where V2 is more valuable than V1), it is an '86:

Rolling Hall, a pedalling misfit of a most unique nature, is the perfect owner for this bike. Usually a townie, Sunny Whale gets laps on the Shoreline, Broniel's or even Glenwild. Some of that Nightmare character: Schwinn Approved Speedo, cup holder, Oury ("the cult") grips:

Of course Rolling and Fahzure share an affection for 24/26 combo, both of us former Killing Machine owners. Hey, it works for motos and Travis Brown likes his 69er. This 46er has mint vint 24 in goodness with a real spoke guard, Suntour XC Pro hubs and derail: