Once a bike - always a work of art

Where better than to begin a tour of things that aren't quite bikes than this rocking cycle, spotted on daddytypes.com?
Photograph: swiss-miss.com

Ben Wilson's Seebikesaw
Bikes are about functionality - every part needs to earn its place. Practical objects that were once bikes also work best if they follow this rule.
Photograph: benwilsondesign.co.uk

Bikefurniture.com has some items that obey the rule of maximum simplicity, and some that don't. See which you think look better. Modulus - LCX Lounge Chair (left) S-2 Cafe Table (middle) Vector Lounge Chair (right)
Photograph: bikefurniture.com

Welcome to the realm of the freak bike (glorious exceptions to the rule that things made of bikes work best if they're simple). Visit chicagofreakbike.org for some wonderful examples, such as this Victorian recumbent tandem with a storm lantern and a rear wheel taken from a Model T Ford.
Photograph: Flickr

A pedal-powered crane...
Photograph: chicagofreakbike

The Meatwagon – a (front-suspension) barbecue on wheels
Photograph: chicagofreakbike

America doesn't have a monopoly on freak bikes – although the boffins (and we must call them that) at Southampton University who created this bike might not think of it as a freak.
Photograph: soton.ac.uk

This one has to be seen in action to be fully appreciated
Photograph: Puttex/Youtube

Wouter Mijland's limobike is probably a comment on the essentially egalitarian nature of cycling, or something. It's also quite funny.
Photograph: wouter-mijland.com

Eric Staller is a man who invented a freak bike that went (almost) mainstream. But doesn’t it take up a lot of space on the road? Almost as much as a Smart car! On the other hand, it seats seven. Score another one for pedal power.
Photograph: conferencebike.com

A professionally produced freak bike, this bike was designed to make money (in the same way as putting salty snacks on a bar). Note to law enforcement – there's a nominated driver in there somewhere who is steering but not drinking, so it's quite safe. Perhaps.
Photograph: Beerbike.de

From the ridiculous to the sublime – Dénes Muskotál's wearable bike art.
Photograph: 1mind1/Flickr

Two more from Dénes Muskotál. See also a bracelet at the V&A website
Photograph: 1mind1/Flickr

Another intricate creation, this one from Jud Turner. Am I alone in wishing it was rideable, though? More than a match for a Lincoln Navigator.
Photograph: judturner.com

And finally, proof for anyone that doubted it that there is an art to knocking stuff together out of bits of bikes. Bull's Head 1943. Bronze, after bicycle seat & handlebars, by Pablo Picasso.
Photograph: Gjon Mili/Getty