Lightsicle

This sleek real-world version of the Tron lightcycle, built by renowned motorcycle builders at Parker Brothers Choppers (I’m taking the Internet’s word on the “renowned” part) is a staggeringly sleek, formidable piece of handbuilt technology. Judging from this video, it’s also a massive disappointment.

Remember the lightcycle? Not the swooping, marvelous menace seen in the sequel trailers, but the original: matte in color, its orb-like wheels strobing in an eye-popping digital simulacrum of speed. It didn’t bank; it didn’t turn. Preternaturally awesome, it convinced a generation that the digital could be preternatural.

It’s hard to remember, looking at the extraordinary machine in the video above: masterfully-made, no doubt. But also awkward, delicate, and uncomfortable-looking. Kudos to the Parker Brothers for building a handsome machine But some things, it seems, are meant to stay in the ENCOM mainframe. To be fair to the builders, it’s the real world that’s the problem.

[via Singularity Hub]