No matter how dark or complicated life can get, it’s the creators that always give me hope. The people who see potential where others just see a pile of parts. The people who dream big, then build bigger. People like Matt Denton and his arsenal of 3D printers.
For those unfamiliar, Denton isn’t only a YouTuber; he’s also one of the folks who both created and operated lovable droid BB-8 from the Star Wars universe. Like an awful lot of creative types, he’s never stopped loving LEGO. And in fact, he likes to build life-size LEGO Technics kits and shoot videos of the results on his YouTube channel.
His latest project is kit number 8810, the LEGO Monkey Bike. So far, there are two parts to this series, and the one I’ve embedded up above is where he completes and rides the bike for the first time. Because yes, he does get it running.
It’s a little electric bike, and to allay any fears about sitting directly on top of a lithium ion battery pack tucked away inside a mass of 3D-printed, giant-size LEGO blocks, he’s opted for a rather clever battery solution. It’s a little round unit made to resemble a water bottle, and he’s also crafted a special holder for it that fits the entire aesthetic of the project really well.
As he freely admits to his buddy Adam Savage (who also test rides the bike later), he did end up cheating just a bit and adding some hardware reinforcement to ensure that the bike stays completely together while riding. And I mean, if you were going to have not only you, but also other people ride something, you’d probably err on the side of caution as well.
It’s an almost indescribable thrill, watching this project come together. That’s probably because if you’re a kid who grew up loving LEGOs, there’s years and years of excitement just waiting to burst forth at the idea of someone making this a thing you can actually ride. Check it out for yourself and get inspired.
