Flobots – Handlebars
2008 · Directed by Dirty UK (Olly, Andy & Pete)
747K Likes
Best comments
1.“Guys... I'm starting to think this song isn't about bicycles.”
More comments
- 2.“That went from 1 to 1984 real quick...”
The story
Two friends ride their bikes side by side until the road splits at a sign. One follows the doves. The other, the guy in the suit, follows the corporate path, climbs to the top of the tower and ends up running the place like a dictator. By the end his old buddy is leading a crowd of oppressed people toward that tower and the riot police are opening fire. Then both friends ride off into a bright light together. Heavy stuff for a bike ride.
The animated video was directed by Olly, Andy and Pete of Dirty UK, produced through Draw Pictures, and premiered alongside the Denver band's major-label debut, Fight with Tools, in 2008. Doves stand for peace, hawks for power, and somebody's wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt. Westword's critic thought it was a little too literal. Fair. Subtlety was not the assignment.
The song started small. Flobots first put it out on a 2005 EP, then a fan-voted local radio contest at the end of 2007 put it into full rotation and got them signed to Universal Republic. The re-recorded version hit number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 3 on alternative radio and number 14 in the UK, and went platinum. Singer Jamie Laurie says it's about how the same human spark can create or destroy, and how tragic it is that weapons always get funded while ending world hunger gets treated as a fantasy. In 2019 Flobots sued Logan Paul for copyright infringement over his 2017 song No Handlebars. Some people take the lesson. Some just borrow the bike.
