Jake Carlini’s Electric Bike Suit Showcases a Wild Ride on Human Power

Jake Carlini literally wore an electric bike on his body for this latest stunt. Yes, he built a wearable machine that’s cool to watch and terrifying to ride by using his own frame as the backbone of a disassembled e-bike.

Carlini started with a small-wheeled, rigid-frame city e-bike called Biko. This bike, like most urban e-bikes in the US, had a rear hub motor, a thumb throttle for moped-style riding and a top assisted speed of 20mph. Instead of riding it as planned, Carlini took it apart and rebuilt it as a suit. He disassembled the frame, leaving the rear wheel and hub motor intact. The wheel became the suit’s power source, attached directly to his legs. He used stilt straps from painters’ equipment to either side of the wheel’s fork. These straps wrap around his calves and turn his lower body into the machine’s structural core.

Carlini then took the battery from the bike’s frame and put it in the back pocket of a reinforced vest. This vest, a piece of gear he had lying around, was the suit’s electrical hub. Wires from the battery run down his back and leg to the motor, then up his arm to the throttle and display. He made holes in the vest’s pocket to fit the bigger battery and used fabric glue to keep it from falling out while moving.


For the front end, Carlini used the bike’s original front wheel and turned his arms into a makeshift fork. He initially made handles from the wheel’s axle but holding that position required superhero core strength – hence the “abs of steel” moniker. Recognizing his physical limits, he switched to aero bars. These extensions, inspired by a friend’s Instagram post, attach to the wheel’s pegs and provide padded rests for his forearms. The throttle and display are mounted on these bars so he can control speed and monitor performance without straining his core too much. The wires for these controls run down his arm, secured to avoid tangling, and create a surprisingly functional – if precarious – steering system.


With his legs attached to the back wheel, he balances and steers as the hub motor pulls him forward. The throttle in his right hand lets him go up to 20mph, which he tested during early experiments with a skateboard as a temporary front wheel. The final version with the front wheel and aero bars was more stable and he could ride for longer. But stability is relative; Carlini notes the swing arm is close to sensitive areas and the low ground clearance will drag his toes. Keep mind that there are no brakes, so stopping is up to gravity or luck.
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