June 2004
Newsweek ↗
Something in the Air
Steven Levy. Rooftop photograph by Matthias Clamer. ClippingA bicycle. An Internet connection. A public space.
MagicbikeWi-Fi on wheels.
I turned a bicycle into a mobile wireless hotspot, then took it into the street.
Magicbike connected people, cameras, and places—from Critical Mass rides to a subway platform. Developed during my time at Eyebeam, it asked what a network could do when it moved with us.
Explore the original website ↓
Magicbike supplied wireless infrastructure.
01 / The website
The web was part of the ride.
Live cameras, event announcements, maps, and photographs. These recovered views link to the dated Internet Archive pages.
02 / Out in the world
Where the bike went.
Eleven listings recovered from the original website, plus a later panel and demonstration.
Wireless Park Lab Days
Co-produced with Brooke Singer and Dana Spiegel at City Hall Park. The program also included Noderunner.
Source ↗Eyebeam · Beta Launch
An installation during my residency, alongside Noderunner, co-created with Carlos J. Gomez de Llarena.
Source ↗HelloWorld at the United Nations
Wireless infrastructure for Johannes Gees’s HelloWorld project.
Source ↗Union Square, underground
A public demonstration bringing an Internet connection onto a subway platform.
Source ↗Where’s the Fiber?
“Magicbike and Wireless Vehicles,” a presentation at Stupidnet’s SMART People conference.
Source ↗Brown University
A panel and demonstration with Joshua Kinberg, Toni Sant, and Martha Wilson for Performance Studies International.
Source ↗
03 / In the news
A small bike, a long paper trail.
Clippings, television, radio, and web coverage. “Archive lookup” opens the historical address in the Internet Archive; a complete article may not survive.
Photograph: Matthias Clamer
Photograph: Keith Bedford
May 29, 2004
BBC ↗
Wireless web gets a set of wheels
ArticleDecember 15, 2003
The New York Times ↗
Using a Bicycle to Uplink on a Downtown Platform
David F. Gallagher; photograph by Nancy Siesel. ArticleDecember 2003
NY1 ↗
Magicbike “Lights Up” the New York Subway
Adam Balkin. Recovered television segment. Watch belowMay 3, 2004
TechTV ↗
Wi-Fi on Two Wheels
Lindsey Arent. Archive lookupMay 6, 2004
CNET News.com ↗
In New York, a bicycle built for Wi-Fi
Paul Festa. Archive lookupMay 11, 2004
Future Tense · Public Radio ↗
Artist Creates WiFi Bicycle
Radio feature. Archive lookupJanuary 22, 2004
Time Out New York ↗
Hot Wheels
Lisa Sweetingham. Souped-up bikes delivering Wi-Fi. Recovered clippingAugust 3, 2003
New York Daily News ↗
Wi-Fi Wonderland
Stephen Bryant. Recovered clippingMay 2004
I.D. Magazine ↗
Notes from the Underground
David Sokol. Archive lookupFebruary 1, 2004
Wireless Review ↗
Magicbike is the Wheel Deal
Jason Ankeny. Archive lookupApril 3, 2004
Fast Company ↗
Magicbike Demo
Heath Row. Archive lookupApril 2004
MacDirectory ↗
Eyebeam: Artists in Toyland
Chris Mace. Archive lookupMay 5, 2004
Slashdot ↗
WiFi on Two Wheels
DiscussionJune 17, 2004
Gear Live ↗
Magicbike: Delivering Free WiFi to New York City
Andru Edwards. ArticleJuly 21, 2006
We Make Money Not Art ↗
Interview of Yury Gitman
A conversation spanning Magicbike and the transition into toy design. InterviewMore references in the surviving records
ReadyMade, “Re-View: WiFi on Wheels” (May 2004), and Bicycling (April 2004) appear in the historical press list; full issues have not been recovered here. The Village Voice, Geeta Dayal’s “Yury and His MagicBike” (August 29, 2004), is documented in later bibliographies; the original article is still being sought.
Related coverage: Paul Schmelzer’s Adbusters story mentions Magicbike in connection with Open Sorcery. Its AlterNet reprint is the same story. Coverage of Joshua Kinberg’s Bikes Against Bush is a separate project, not automatically counted as Magicbike coverage.
About this archive & dates
Assembled in October 2026 from my saved project files, the original Magicbike event listings, Internet Archive captures, contemporary announcements, and a historical press bibliography. Dates beside website screenshots are capture dates, not event dates. The current Magicbike.net domain is not used as the project destination.
The Eyebeam exhibition’s surviving records disagree on the exact opening and closing dates, so it is listed as 2003. HelloWorld is dated December 2003 from the January 2004 homepage; an older CV gives a conflicting year. Perth is listed by month rather than an uncertain full exhibition range. The subway demonstration is documented without claiming an independently verified world first.
Newsweek’s June 2004 date follows the historical press list. Photographer: Matthias Clamer. Publications and collaborators retain their respective credits. The catalogue separates recovered items, archival lookup links, and references still needing a full copy.