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Buy Your Own Tron Lightcycle For $35,000
ElectricSteve writes "The lightcycle scene was probably the most memorable part of an absolutely jaw-dropping movie when Tron was released in 1982. One of the first films to use the kinds of computer-generated special effects that later become commonplace, it was a glimpse into a whole new world that left an indelible impression on most who saw it. Now, as Disney prepares to release Tron Legacy, a sequel some 28 years after the original, the lightcycles are back and looking meaner than ever. Built by the same guys who did the memorable Batpod replica, the new lightcycles feature massive dual hubless wheels, carbon fiber/fiberglass bodies, and all the lashings of neon that you'd expect. And there will be five running models built — all of which are now up for sale on eBay for a cool $35,000."
I want one, but I don't want the hospital bills from doing 90 degree turns at 200 mph.
Yeah, there are way too many movies which use CGI as a substitute for decent plot, but it sort of irks me when people (typically artsy snobs) generalize this to say that CGI alone is always insufficient to make a film. I won't pretend there aren't movies that I enjoy just for the eye candy, if it's good enough; film is a sensory experience, after all. Avatar had no plot to speak of, and was carried along just by the visuals, but I felt I got my money's worth. You're of course welcome to disagree, but try to understand that movies are entertainment, and can qualify as "entertainment" for different reasons, including looking really pretty. Tron Legacy might be like that.
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I am trying hard not to picture it being ridden by a fat middle aged geek wearing a skin tight spandex body suit.
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Your UID suggests you should get off my lawn. :D
Those of us who were kids when it came out loved it, and the sequel (not a remake) seems well timed, to me. The movie was not a plotless dud, it was a kinda-confusing people-didn't-get-it (and a couple of plot holes didn't help) dud in the box office. TRON was redeemed by cable TV, VHS, and DVD.
And the cycles kick ass. So, get off my lawn :D
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... lessons on how to ride it? This doesn't look like it would work quite the same as a typical street bike.
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I was a 16 year old geek when Tron came out. It bored me to tears and I forgot about it as soon as I walked out of the theater. The new Tron Legacy trailer looks every bit as dumb. What am I missing here?
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The summary was a unclear to me -- these weren't built for or affiliated with the movie in any way, these were simply built based on the specs of the models built for the movie.
The only bike I want is Kaneda's bike.
The more important question is will they leave in the sex scene this time?
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Anybody remember a TV show called Automan. He had a car that did 90 degree turns "like pacman" but it was hard on the human occupant...
After getting one of these cycles, pick up a Tron suit and you'll be really hot with the babes, honest.
You fuckers; why did you have to point that out and make me feel so old.
Nullius in verba
From the Ebay listing it says these bikes are designed for everyday street use. If that's the case, how the hell is that bike supposed to turn? There appears to be no way for the front wheel to steer. Anyone have any idea how the hell this would work?
The Ebay listing is a testament to one part wishful thinking, one part overconfidence, and two parts willful fraud.
The photos is the listing are of the non-functional movie promo prop, not anything these guys are selling, or even OWN.
For the bikes to be street legal, then by definition can't look anything like the movie bikes because they need things like headlights, turn signals, etc.
The best part is the claim that the bikes will be ready in 6-8 weeks...RIGHT!!
I'll believe these guys aren't trying to outright steal from gullible people as soon as they can show a photo of something they didn't just scrape from Tron movie promotions.
The concept drawings make the "pilot" look like part of the frame. This would make the real pilot appear to be in the bitch seat, although the head would at least be higher than two feet off the ground.
Tron wasn't sci-fi, and wasn't trying to be. It was pure fantasy. It was based on the idea that there is a whole world inside of computers where programs interact like people and bits float around saying "yes" and "no". Worrying about things like how an accounting program can be made to compete in gladiatorial games without being modified, or how bits could be floating around individually when every program would have to be made of bits and there'd need to be more of them than existed in computers of the day is besides the point. It'd be like having a movie where you can go to a magical school for wizards after walking through the wall at the subway, then worrying about how they can make brooms fly.
The fantasy nature of the movie really struck me when I re-watched it for the first time in 20 years. Sure I remembered liking the movie as a kid but I had very little in the way of expectations. And I found that because of its fantasy nature it worked way better than just about any sci-fi movie that tried to show computers "realistically" and utterly failed*.
Once I accepted that it was a fantasy world, I found it fascinating. Especially the idea of the programs having a religion based on the "user" as their gods (little did they know what an unworthy god they worshiped), and even more fascinating an "atheist" movement which denied that the "user" and the world outside of the computer even existed. Also interesting was how outside of the digitizing machine, everything shown about computers in the real world was completely normal. The giant spinning vortex of the MCP inside the computer was just a simple text interface on the outside. It'd be kinda like Harry Potter if magic simply didn't exist outside of Hogwarts.
Anyway, I say give it a another shot, and go in realizing you're watching computer-based fantasy, not sci-fi.
* Major contemporaneous exception: Wargames!
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The point of the welded steering head at his school is that you can't turn the motorcycle without turning the front wheel. The only way it turns is if you decrease speed enough that it's basically trying to fall over.
As you lean, the position of the front wheel in relation to the frame is not constant - you're still counter-steering, but in a less efficient manor.
The reason he created the exercise was to show people that focusing on putting input into the handlebars is the way to turn a motorcycle - everything else takes more of your time, energy, and attention which at high speed, is limited.
His books are really about the physics of riding a motorcycle, and quite interesting to read. I took all four levels of his school when I first started racing in the '90s.