Shaquille O’Neal, a 7-foot, 1-inch NBA Hall of Famer, is a prime example. According to an Instagram post by Bike Thomson, the 51-year-old fifteen-time All-Star was riding his bike one day when a neighbor observed “his friend’s bike was in disrepair.” Fortunately, O’Neal’s neighbor, Bike Thomson COO Terry Thomson, was willing to accept the challenge of constructing a custom bicycle for him.

Mike Christensen, their product manager, explained in an interview with Bicycling: “We adopted a playful approach with the Shaq bike. “He was not going to be out there competing in enduro, but it had to be tough.””At his request, we wаnted to design a motorcycle with an аggressive appearance but a more comfortable riding position for him.”

The final product, dubbed The Thomson Beast, was made of titanium and featured “triple tree forks” and handlebars with a diameter of 1.3 inches to accommodate his large hands. Ultimately, the wheelbase was over 55 inches and the upper tube was over 29 inches.

The impressive construct, which featured 36-inch wheels, even astonished its creators.

Christensen remarked, “When you get this bike on paper and see a standover height greater than one meter, you’re like, ‘Wait a second… is that right?’” “You know it’s going to be big, but you’re not ready to see the numbers,” he added.

Shaq appeared to be a comfortable match on his new vehicle in subsequent Instagram posts, suggesting that the work was ultimately worthwhile. One admirer commented, “That’s what I call CUSTOM.” Someone else added, “This is insanely cool.” One individual remarked that Shaq “probably never had a bike that fit him.”