Mountain bikers are probably the most ecumenical of all bike riders, at least the dudes I hang with. Often and without shame they’re willing to ride BMX, road, singlespeed, free — heck, they’ll even throw themselves at the track, even though fixies without brakes scare the dirt out of ’em. Their love of all two-wheeled things often extends even to motorcycles — anathema to certain leg-shaving purists in lycra who wear face masks during moderate air inversions.

So among dirt riders, it was only a matter of time before someone attempted to create a true mountain bike – motocross hybrid. A couple of industrial design students at ApriliaForum have posted plans and final pix of a motorized dirtbike on a light mountain-bike frame. (It looks suspiciously like something Julien Dupont would ride.)

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But as one commentator at VisorDown.com points out, without pedals this thing is just a light motorcycle. (Also, that is emphatically not a MTB frame; but that is a sweet Marzocchi fork.)

Still. With pedals, it would be the world’s coolest off-road moped!