A scraper bike is a bicycle that has been modified by its owner, often with decorated spokes with matching body and wheel colors, using tinfoil, re-used cardboard, candy wrappers and paint. The bike frames themselves are also modified with BMX frames, heightened seats, or custom pieces to create unique bicycles. Scraper Bikes are an offshoot of the 90's era

scraper Scrape, scraper or scraping may refer to: Biology and medicine * Abrasion (medical), a type of injury * Scraper (biology), grazer-scraper, a water animal that feeds on stones and other substrates by grazing algae, microorganism and other matter ...

culture of car modification.

“A scraper bike is a piece of art, every artist builds up their bike from scratch using different material, different colors to customize it to fit the artist inside.” - Baybe Champ, 2016.

Scraper bikes gained notoriety in 2007 due to the YouTube music video "Scraper Bikes" by

Trunk Boiz The Trunk Boiz are a rap group from Oakland, California and one of the first rap groups to attain commercial success from the burgeoning scraper bike scene of the Bay Area of California. They are widely considered to be the best pure lyricists i ...

The Original Scraper Bike Team

The Original Scraper Bike Team was founded by Tyrone “Baybe Champ” Stevenson Jr., aka Scraper Bike King, in 2006 in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. Stevenson views the scraper bike movement as a way for local youth to stay active and avoid getting caught up in crime or violence. He wants scraper bikes to be a positive alternative to the struggles which defined his troubled upbringing.Pamela McDonald
"“Scraper Bikes for Life” Saves Lives in Oakland"
''Huffington Post'', 8/23/2012 In 2010, Stevenson was profiled in a mini documentary ''Scrapertown'', which was part of a larger series of documentaries called ''California is a place'' created by Drea Cooper and Zackary Canepari. In the documentary, Stevenson, claims to have founded the scraper bike movement and says about the practice:

In 2011, Stevenson received a National Jefferson Award for his public service, honored as one of ten GlobalChangers. In 2016, with support from

Oakland Public Library The Oakland Public Library is the public library in Oakland, California. Opened in 1878, the Oakland Public Library currently serves the city of Oakland, along with neighboring smaller cities Emeryville and Piedmont. The Oakland Public Library ha ...

and

Bike East Bay Bike East Bay, formerly known as East Bay Bicycle Coalition, is a Californian non-profit organization that worked since 1972 toward "promoting bicycling as an everyday means of transportation and recreation" in Alameda and Contra Costa counties ...

, the Original Scraper Bike Team opened up the Bike Shed in East Oakland. The Bike Shed, which is a youth-led, no-fee bike shop, is run by “Chef Boy RB” Burnette Jr., aka Scraper Bike President. Members of the Original Scraper Bike Team were featured in

Boots Riley Raymond Lawrence "Boots" Riley (born April 1, 1971), is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, rapper, and communist activist. He is the lead vocalist of The Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club. He made his feature-film directorial ...

’s 2018 film ''

Sorry to Bother You ''Sorry to Bother You'' is a 2018 American surrealist black comedy film written and directed by Boots Riley, in his directorial debut. It stars Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Omari Hardwick, Terry Crews, Patton Oswalt, Davi ...

'' as background extras. In 2018, members of the team reported being harassed by

San Leandro San Leandro (Spanish for " St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland to the northwest, and Ashland, Castro Valley, and Hayward to the sout ...

police, sometimes having their bikes taken. SLPD did not respond to requests to comment on the incidents, but the bikers suspected SLPD officers thought they were breaking traffic laws, or that their bikes were stolen. On February 11, 2019, rideshare company

Lyft Lyft, Inc. offers mobility as a service, ride-hailing, vehicles for hire, motorized scooters, a bicycle-sharing system, rental cars, and food delivery in the United States and select cities in Canada. Lyft sets fares, which vary using a dynamic ...

invested $700,000 dollars in the East Bay’s public transit system. The deal included a partnership with the Original Scraper Bike Team, funding a free bike sharing program run out of their bike shed at the MLK Jr. Library Branch.

References

{{Commons category, Scraper bikes Bicycles Modified vehicles

The Original Scraper Bike Team

See also

References