“I live my life a quarter-mile at a time ... For those 10 seconds or less, I’m free.” - Dominic “Dom” Toretto
I wouldn’t be into bikes if I hadn’t been into cars first. It all started 20 years ago when I saw “The Fast and the Furious.” The modified cars and high-stakes racing instantly got me hooked. Unfortunately, I was only 12, and it would be several years before I could purchase my first car. So how did I satisfy my newfound need for speed? I rode bikes! It turns out, going wheel to wheel with other cyclists and chasing Strava KOMs provides nearly the same adrenaline rush as boostin’ semis and out-dragging a freight train.
One thing I love about cycling is that I can feasibly own and ride many of my dream bikes. But with cars, nearly every vehicle I grew up idolizing is way out of reach. So this got me thinking, could I find bikes that embody the spirit of my favorite Fast and the Furious cars? I eagerly accepted the challenge that no one actually asked of me. Maybe I’ll email director Justin Lin (no relation) to see if some of these fast and furious bikes can get featured in the next movie!
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1993 Honda Civic EJ1 - Giant TCR Advanced Pro
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The first movie opens on a trio of modified Honda Civics performing a daring highway robbery and driving under semi-trailers. To emulate this souped-up family car, I picked a Giant TCR Advanced Pro. Like the Civic, the unassuming TCR Advanced may not be exciting to bike snobs, but it’s all about value. For only $3,000 you get carbon wheels and a complete bike that weighs only 16 pounds. With the right rider, it will easily hang with much more expensive bikes. It even has green accents that look like the Civic’s green underglows.
Brian’s 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX - Cannondale SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod
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Brian’s 2nd gen Eclipse GSX was my high school dream car. With a turbo inline-4, all-wheel drive, and a sick power bulge in the hood, it was the perfect platform for building a 10-second car. To match it, I chose the first road bike I ever lusted after, the Cannondale SuperSix Evo. Like the Eclipse GSX, the light and stiff SuperSix Evo accelerates quickly and can turn on a dime to dodge the cops. Give me a double shot of NOS espresso, and I’d be more than happy to bet my bike’s “pink slip” on a race.
Dom’s 1970 Dodge Charger R/T - Reeb Cycles Dirt Diggler
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Dom kept his legendary Dodge Charger hidden in a barn. The massive motor had so much torque that the chassis would twist as it pulled wheelies off the line. To match this beast, I need some American-made steel. Like Dom’s crew, Reeb Cycles is a small team of builders working out of an old barn. Their Dirt Diggler is a cyclocross bike, which just means it’s better for those startline wheelies. Like the Charger it can take lots of abuse, but I doubt many riders have the watts to make its steel frame visibly flex.
Brian’s 1994 Toyota Supra - Specialized S-Works Tarmac Disc
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Brian’s orange Supra is hands down the most iconic car from the Fast and Furious franchise. The iron-block 2JZ motor can be boosted to well over 1,000hp and it will smoke Ferraris all day. To represent the king of street racers, I picked the king of road bikes, the S-Works Tarmac. With multiple Grand Tour and Monument wins, the Tarmac is perhaps the most dominant bike in modern road racing. The S-Works trim boosts it up to Supra levels of performance with a FACT 12r carbon frame, Dura-Ace Di2 group, and a wild paint job.
Brian’s 1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 - Pinarello Dogma F8
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After abandoning the police force and fleeing to Miami, Brian somehow discovers a rare Skyline GT-R R34 just chilling in a used car lot. That’s kind of like finding an abandoned Pinarello Dogma F8 at your local bike co-op. For the GT-R, Nissan engineers used a boatload of electronic wizardry to dominate GT racing and it eventually became known as “Godzilla.” It reminds me a bit of Team Sky/Ineos, the British team that used the wizardry of marginal gains along with the high-tech Pinarello Dogma to dominate modern road racing.
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Suki’s 2000 Honda S2000 - Specialized Allez Sprint
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Suki’s S2000 is actually the same car Johnny Tran races in the first movie during the famous “Too soon, Junior” scene. They gave it new paint and reused it in the second movie, where it stole every scene. In its day, the S2000 had more horsepower per liter than any car, besting even the most expensive supercars. Sounds a bit like the Specialized Allez Sprint, eh? The Allez Sprint’s aluminum frame is as aerodynamic as many carbon superbikes, and like the S2000 it has a bit of a cult following among racers.
Han’s 1997 Mazda RX-7 Veilside - Parlee Altum Disc LE
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I already consider the RX-7 to be one of the best-looking cars ever made, but with a full Veilside body kit, Han’s RX-7 is next level. There really isn’t a bike that can capture the spaceship-like presence of Han’s car, but I think the Parlee Altum LE comes close. Parlee is a small Massachusetts brand and, like the RX-7, its carbon bikes are renowned for their handling. LE models are Parlee’s premium offering, and they get custom paint. This Altum LE has a black and orange theme similar to Han’s drift machine.
Sean’s 1967 Ford Mustang RB26 Swap - Cannondale CAAD12 Disc
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With his drift car totaled, Sean needed a car for his final battle against the Drift King. So the Tokyo Drift squad performed sacrilege by taking a Ford Mustang shell and swapping in a Nissan RB26 motor from Han’s totaled Silvia. An old-school American body combined with a modern turbocharged six-cylinder? Well, I’ve got the perfect bike to match. This Cannondale CAAD12 is built up with SRAM Force AXS so you get a classic aluminum CAAD frame juxtaposed with the latest and greatest AXS wireless drivetrain.
Hobbs’s Gurkha LAPV - Specialized S-Works Enduro
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Fast Five introduced Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Hobbs, a DDS agent obsessed with bringing the Fast and Furious crew to justice. He spends the majority of the fifth movie flattening Rio de Janeiro with his massive Gurkha LAPV. To match this monstrosity, we need a bike that can roll over anything. We need the Specialized S-Works Enduro. With 29” wheels, 170mm of travel, and a slack 63.9-degree headtube, this bike will monster truck over any rocks, roots, and Brazilian drug lords that stand in its way.
Shaw’s Flip Car - Litespeed Unicoi
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Shaw’s Flip Car is a unique beast in the Fast and Furious world. It’s a fully custom, handbuilt machine with a tube steel frame, a high revving V8, and, oh right, a ramp on the front for flipping other cars. Now, there’s no bike designed specifically to take out other bikes (yet), but there are plenty of weird custom-built machines. This titanium Litespeed Unicoi fits into that category perfectly with its “Uni-Strut Damped” suspension that provides 45mm of rear travel using an encapsulated coil spring. Any riders in pursuit better watch out.
Tej’s 1970 Ford Escort MK I - Production Privee Shan 27
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This Ford Escort is a rally racing classic. Tej uses his Fast Five heist money to purchase it, but it’s Brian who drives it in Furious 6. He makes full use of its rally suspension by jumping off a bridge and doing battle with a tank. To match this car’s classic looks and rally chops, we need a nice hardtail mountain bike like this Production Privee Shan 27. It’s rare, beautiful, and damn cool. Plus, like the Ford Escort MK I, it was built in Europe. You may not be able to take down a tank with it, but you can probably send it off a bridge.
W Motors Lykan Hypersport - Specialized S-Works Turbo Creo SL Evo
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The Lykan Hypersport isn’t actually one of my favorite cars, but I chose it because, to me, it represents the moment the Fast and Furious movies truly jumped the shark (though it’s easy to argue it happened much earlier). In search of a computer chip housing the God's Eye program, Dom and Brain steal the car and jump it from one skyscraper to another… Twice. There’s really no bike in existence that can encapsulate this level of absurdity, but if I’m going to jump between two skyscrapers, I’d want to use a super fast pedal-assist e-bike like this Turbo Creo SL.
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So there you have it, my favorite Fast and Furious cars and the bikes that match. Hopefully, you learned something new about cars, bikes, or my favorite movie franchise. Go ahead and make fun of me in the comments. I love what I love. And if I got any of my bike picks wrong, or I missed one of your favorite Fast and Furious cars, I’d love to hear about it!
