Local Hub Bicycle Company Created a Bike That Makes Ice Cream While You Ride

Local Hub, the Deep Ellum bike shop that opened late last year next door to Braindead Brewing, hosts weekly social rides, leading cyclists to various bars and parks around the city. This weekend's social ride will feature a little something sweet: a bike that makes ice cream.

"We basically mounted an old-style hand crank ice cream maker to the rear rack of a vintage AMF bicycle," says Justin Shannon, who owns Local Hub with Kristie Holt. "We mounted a second derailleur and chain so that as the rider pedals, it not only turns the wheel of the bike, but also turns the crank of the ice cream maker."

It takes 25 to 30 minutes to make a batch of ice cream, Shannon says, so this weekend's social ride, which leaves Local Hub at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, will culminate in a batch of pedal-powered frozen goodness. Riders are voting for their favorite flavor on the social ride's event page, and dulce de leche with chocolate chips is winning by a landslide. 

The bike was created by Local Hub's mechanic, John Kendall. "Our mechanic can fix and build just about anything," Shannon says. "There really aren't any instructions to make something like this, so he just drew something up and went to work."

Are ice cream bikes about to be the greatest Deep Ellum bike trend since the fixie? Well ... probably not. But Local Hub can help you build the ice cream bike of your sugary dreams.

"We can replicate it if they have the right kind of bike and ice cream maker," Shannon says. "John can do just anything."

As community bike shops go, Local Hub is a great one; the Deep Ellum spot also hosts bike tours and bike maintenance classes, some of which are geared specifically for ladies. Now, they've even found a way to cater to the bike-riding sugar fiends. Is pedal-powered ice cream any good? You'll have to put a few miles on your bike to find out. 

Local Hub Bicycle Company, 2633 Main St.