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Home / New Zealand

'Couch bike' attracts attention online

APNZ
23 Jan, 2014 09:56 PM2 mins to read

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The "couch bike" for sale on Trade Me. Photo / Paul Bacon

The "couch bike" for sale on Trade Me. Photo / Paul Bacon

A "couch bike" for sale on Trade Me is giving Cantabrians the option of holding red zone tours "without destroying the ozone layer".

Bike owner Paul Bacon, 30, said he and some friends from youth group fashioned the apparatus for a church camp three years ago.

"We took it out there and people loved it, but since then it's just been sitting in the shed taking up space."

The contraption is advertised as a custom-built couch bike which has survived teenage abuse remarkable well.

It's made from a "super comfortable couch finished tastefully in pink" and three children's bicycles.

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Possible uses are listed as an "eco-taxi" for red zone tours, a paper boy bike, a "cruiser" for boy racers who have lost their licence and a community patrol vehicle.

The bike was still in good nick and, apart from a few flat tyres, hadn't been involved in any accidents, Mr Bacon said.

However, potential buyers should know the couch bike hasn't had a wheel alignment or service in the last 10,000km, and while it's good on the downhill, the steering is "a bit twitchy" at high speed, the listing warns.

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"This bike has been through rigorous testing and development during its build and I can confirm that it is in fact only about half as dangerous as it looks," Mr Bacon reassured a prospective buyer on Trade Me.

The couch comfortably seats two people and can reach speeds of about 15km/h.

So far, the contraption has received about 40 bids and is currently sitting at $52 - with the reserve met.

And the page has been flooded with tongue-in-cheek questions.

When one potential buyer asked if the bike could be delivered to Kaitaia, it was suggested they fly to Christchurch and "ride it home".

Concerned about pulling a hamstring, another was told a torn hammie was a small price to pay for the "pure joy and luxurious comfort" of the bike.

"Just think of the romantic possibilities of this thing, what more bribing does a woman need?" the listing says.

Mr Bacon thought he'd get $50 when he started the auction, but was now expecting a "bit more" when it closes on Wednesday.

"Someone else can have a bit of fun on it," he said.

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