Travel, simplified
Through the last two weeks, players have been sharing wild contraptions in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. We’ve seen giant mechs, armored carriers, flaming robo-willies, and everything in-between. But as much as we like the elaborate constructions, we also love the practical builds that get us where we need to go. Like, for example. a three-piece hoverbike that’s been quite popular in Tears of the Kingdom.
Finding the first person to build and spread something like this around can be difficult, as Tears of the Kingdom TikTok has multiple videos about builds like the hoverbike. I’ve seen this particular build crop up in a few places, across different social forums and media. But a particularly good explainer comes from 2uncle2dane (a.k.a. Uncle Dane) on YouTube. While also known for Team Fortress 2 Engineer videos, Uncle Dane turns their engineering prowess towards Tears of the Kingdom with this straightforward, efficient hoverbike build.
The concept is simple: a control unit with two fans attached. It’s light, so two fans can easily fill the propulsion needs of the build. And the fans are attached at an angle, fixing a common problem with most fan-go-up builds some might have attempted.
Also, importantly, it’s cheap. Once you’ve attained a certain power in Tears of the Kingdom and are able to construct presets, its Zonaite cost is pretty slim.
The most tricky part, as Uncle Dane outlines, is putting it together. When I was building my own, for the purposes of this write-up, I had some trouble getting it exactly centered. It took a bit for me to try and get my bike even-keel. Flat surfaces certainly help.
Once you’ve got it made though, the hover bike is incredible useful. It can make jaunts between sky islands, or short-range trips across Hyrule, a breeze.
I’m something of a Zonai engineer myself
Now, here’s the fun twist. Alongside all the talk of the hoverbike, I discovered there was a small counter-culture, which Dane addresses in the video too. While many, including Dane, ascribe to the hoverbike as the superior build using two fans and one control unit, there are those who follow a different school: the goblin glider.
Named for its similarity to the Green Goblin’s glider, this puts the angled fans on either side of the build. And while it appears to be a little less able to handle turns or land in a graceful manner, it does make you feel like the Green Goblin. There’s value in that, I think.
Whether you opt for bike or glider, it seems like the control-unit-and-fans build is certainly popular and efficient. Sure, build all your giant, bizarre contraptions. But for when you need to get from point A to point B, these machines do feel like the best way to do so.
