The Early Death of Defying

Sixty years before Evil Knivel or reality TV shows had even begun to conceive of dangerous or spectacular stunts, men in suits were jumping through space with head down and wheels up, consistently imagining new daredevilry on a scale that had never been seen before...

From the turn of the century, two wheels meant more than a way to get from A to B and became the inspiration for feats that took human beings far beyond the realms of their limitations. The earliest two wheeled gravity defiers first appeared in the early 1900s discovering that a daring nature, physical prowess and creativity are key ingredients for stunts, but that science will remain the ultimate determinant of survival.



1n 1905, The Ancillotti brothers' double-bicycle stunt was described as "a hazardous dual achievement, so full and fraught with peril as to fascinate, enthrall, astound and please all spectators."

Seconds from death, skating fine lines of extremes, strength, agility and extra ordinary balance, risking life and limb for their audience, these men really did dare the devil and (often) triumphed, as they sped down lengthy inclines into a 360 degree loop during their performances, with no possible trickery or staging.



Diavolos' looping the loop contraption was considered the "veritable cap-shef of all hazardous exploits" - the extreme and absolute limit of sensationalism in the early 1900s. It was said that "Beyond the tremendously terrible temerity and illimitable, inimitable intrepidity of Diavolo, no man could go."


Tom Davies' Trio - Riding a Cycle Drome

Casualties ended up being so high among the gravity defying performers that the tracks were eventually outlawed.

In 1915, the first "silodromes" began to appear. These were motordromes with perfectly perpendicular walls and were quickly, aptly nicknamed the "Wall of Death." The walls became a regular attraction throughout the US and United Kingdom, reaching the height of their popularity when motorcycles began to take over in the 1930s.


William Arne rides a motorcycle on a Wall of Death.


Starting at the bottom of the drum, motorcycles would drive up an initial ramped section and whizz around, building up their speed so that centrifugal force held them as they climbed the vertical wall to circulate a scant metre below the faces of the audience.

The references indicate that the 1927 Indian Scout was the favourite motorcycle for this job. The bikes were stripped of their mudguards, had their silencers removed and a flick switch fitted to cut out the magneto adding satisfying bangs and crackles. The Scout with it's twin front forks and twin leaf springs provided a sturdy, reliable and short-wheelbase frame. (some later walls in the U.K. used suitably modified 175cc BSA Bantams.)

Until the early 1970s all major carnivals and fairs had at least one motorcycle Wall of Death, today hardly any remain. To check out the rare few still at it today, visit:

http://www.americanwallofdeath.com/
http://thewallofdeath.com/