Off the bat, this is a review of something totally silly but fun, and it’s available for a limited time only, so if you want Sour bikes to make you a Sweet ‘n Sour Slingshot, pre-order one by the end of next week or you’ll miss out.
OK, this slingshot is a toy. And it is one that can put an eye out, if not played with carefully and responsibly. But this really is fun to play with, and a nicely-crafted bit of silliness made with care and precision in Germany by the same framebuilders that craft Sour’s steel gravel, road & mountain bikes.
Sour’s first words about it are “Don’t Sue Us Please” and their parting words leave a further disclaimer:
“Please note: This is a toy. Please do not harm any animals. We love animals. And humans. And everything else on this planet.”
Sour Bicycles’ limited edition steel Sweet ‘n Sour Slingshot
I think I first noticed these last winter, after the framebuilders of Sour Bicycles in Dresden, Germany decided to make themselves a slingshot to play with in their downtime. And then, everybody who saw it said they wanted one, too.
So, Sour decided to make a batch and see if anyone would actually pay for a handcrafted steel slingshot. And thus, the Sweet ‘n Sour Slingshot was born. Of course, they sold out, and I thought that was it.
But now, in the lead-up to the holiday gifting season, Sour decided to resurrect the Sweet ‘n’ Sour Slingshot in all of its glory, including its built-in bottle opener – for responsible adult beverages while responsibly shooting at safe targets. So there’s a pre-order now for 2 weeks, and they’ll ship slingshots out to everyone who buys one now, in time to wrap it up and gift it to a lucky individual on your Christmas shopping list!
Review: Why a slingshot isn’t a bad idea
Yes, a 70€ hand-crafted slingshot made by professional bike frame-builders is undeniably a luxury item. And to be fair, at least a little bit dangerous.
But at the same time, this is one of the most affordable handmade products that you’ll get out of bike builder. And it is legitimately fun for the whole family.
Of course, you first need to figure out what you are shooting a Sweet ‘n Sour Slingshot at before you go out and order one.
We have a couple of big old European Larch trees in our yard, so we have hundreds of their cones all over the lawn. And every time a strong wind blows, old dead branches with cones still attached fall and need to be picked up. We’ve literally got 2-3cm pinecones coming out of our ears, so the perfect ammo. Check.
We also have a couple of old metal barrels. So quickly breaking out some sidewalk chalk, and we’ve got a perfect target that produces a very satisfying gong sound the closer you get to the bull’s eye. Check, number two.
Fun for the whole family
So now my son, my daughter, and I get to spend some extra fun time together plinking pinecones at a metal barrel. And we can all work on refining our hand-eye coordination skills, with no video games or any screentime required. Plus, now the kids have a bit more incentive to help rake up the yard. Although that hasn’t seemed to help too much, yet.
But at least they are more willing to hunt around for little cones to shoot at the barrel or just a big pile of wood. We haven’t yet progressed to individual tin cans, but I think that will come soon enough when they start to get more competitive. Then, the real competition begins.
A side benefit… our young cat loves chasing after every errant pinecone as it bounces off of whatever we hit. So I guess she’s refining her hunting skills too, and won’t be turning into a fat lap cat anytime too soon.
Tech details
We know you come to Bikerumor for the deep technical details dive on everything we cover, right? So, here it is…
Sour’s limited edition Sweet ‘n Sour Slingshot is a 2-piece construction, made from laser-cut steel, precision welded in the same Saxony workshop where Sour fabricates all of their made-in-Germany steel bikes. Then, they get a black powder coat, including individual multi-color splatter made by Sour’s founder Chris himself. “Please Note: Since the splatter paint job is a result mainly of luck, every slingshot will look a little bit different.“
The Sour slingshot features a 31mm diameter soft clear Frozen push-on mountain bike grip made by Freeze, also in Dresden, so you get to see more of Chris’ luck of the splatter. A tough set of tubular rubber hose bands secured with steel ball bearings hold the synthetic leather pouch to propel your ammo.
It measures 24cm long x 11cm wide (9.4×4.3″) and will weigh down your back pocket about 286g, ready for target practice and opening a brew or two when you are done.
Sour’s ltd. Sweet ‘n Sour Slingshot – Pricing, pre-order & holiday delivery
Sour is taking pre-orders now until November 8th for the limited edition run of their Sweet ‘n Sour Slingshot. Each slingshot pre-order will cost you 69.69€ now.
Then, they’ll head to production in one batch in the second half of November. And Sour will ship them “right in time before Christmas” so you can give the gift of joy and target practice to someone special this coming holiday season. Express Shipping adds 6€ more in Germany, 18€ throughout the EU, or 25€ pretty much anywhere else in the world.
