Video: "Bane of the NYPD" cycling gang take on New York City's streets

We don't condone anti-social cycling here at road.cc. But at the same time, we do admire some decent riding skills. And when the two combine, you get something like this video featuring a cycling gang called The Cycle Squad Maniaccs who are based in the New York City borough of Harlem.

The video was uploaded to YouTube by graffiti mag Mass Appeal as part of its new series, New York State of Mind (the title inspired, we assume, by this).

The crew is led by self-styled "extreme bike rider" Rrdblocks, whom we've featured before on road.cc, with this latest video giving an insight into the background of The Cycle Squad Maniaccs and why they do what they do.

> Video: There are wheelies ... then there are extreme wheelies

Here's what Mass Appeal has to say about it:

You've probably seen them, either in the streets or online, weaving in and out of moving traffic, wheels in the air, pedals spinning wildly. It might even have made you flinch while sitting comfortably at home, how close they come to getting hit by oncoming cars. That risk is the point. Getting as near to the edge as possible.

Calling Harlem's Polo Grounds projects home, RRDBlocks picked up the Ruff Ryders name from the New York motorcyclists back in the day and applied it to bicycles. Along with his team of young riders, they're the bane of the NYPD, mobbing Uptown streets, doing wall rides on buses, and manual stalls on top of cabbies. RRDBlocks and The Cycle Squad Maniaccs are a team of kids that blend off-road racing culture with BMXing.

Mass Appeal took a trip Uptown for our new series "New York State of Mind" to rock with them as they do the thing, pointing their tires to 12 o'clock with one hand hanging lazily below, skidding sideways in front of oncoming cars, and ollying other bikes. The trip isn't without injuries though, and DBlocks himself even gets nicked by a car that he fails to weave away from in time. But he gets up with a smile and keeps it moving.

Needless to say, don't try this at home (or in the neighbouring streets).