Bike Builders Unite

[Elliot]

What is the tire size?

[Navi_Keef]

i believe it is a 26x3.5
it is on the smaller scale of fat bike but should be easier to pedal.
i may eventually add a 3 speed hub to it.

[Navi_Keef]

just picked up the new project while at work today! =)

[maladroit]

Now that's a beauty! I already have cruiser bars and a cushy seat on the Beasts, but those wheels look very nice.

[silas thatcher]

considering using our old 1970's or so 3 wheel bike, but it has skinny tires on it... real skinny... get some fatter ones, and i guess may need wider rims, or will the 3 wheels average the weight out and not cause a problem like sand would ?? or is the playa dust kinda similar to sand as far as bike tires go ??? and yes, i have learned not to ride a ten speed with skinny tires into the sand... especially when going at a high rate of speed...i think i still have sand embedded in my skin from 40 years ago...
one of life's lessons...

[maladroit]

There is no sand. It's hard packed dirt with tire ruts and very fine, silty dust drifts in some locations (many streets have a 1-2" layer of dust on them). The dust drifts will bog down most bikes, similar to sand. But it's not everywhere.

If you can put fatter tires on the trike, then do it...it'll be nice. Road bike tires wouldn't be fun, I think you should try for at least 2" wide mountain bike tires.

[Elliot]

Definitely replace the tires with wide ones, even if that means removing the fenders. And in my experience, relatively smooth-tread cruiser tires roll easier and kick up less dust than knobby mountain tires.
You shouldn't need to install wider rims. But before you take anything apart, you need to make certain you can buy wide tires that have the same rim diameter. Old Schwinns, for example, had their own tire bead diameters that may not be available in suitable width.

Regarding cruiser handlebars.... I find them awkward. They tend to hit my knees when I turn. I install BMX bars on most of my bikes, for the extra height.

[maladroit]

I mentioned 2" wide mountain bike tires as a minimum level of sacrifice due to availability or whatever...definitely fatter and smoother tires will work better.

I think these are the bars I have, so with a 10" lift there's no chance to knee the handlebars aside from chorus line kicks.

[Elliot]

Splendid! I have picked up a couple of that style myself recently.

[Navi_Keef]

considering using our old 1970's or so 3 wheel bike, but it has skinny tires on it... real skinny... get some fatter ones, and i guess may need wider rims, or will the 3 wheels average the weight out and not cause a problem like sand would ?? or is the playa dust kinda similar to sand as far as bike tires go ??? and yes, i have learned not to ride a ten speed with skinny tires into the sand... especially when going at a high rate of speed...i think i still have sand embedded in my skin from 40 years ago...
one of life's lessons...

get fatter tires and chop and stretch the frame!

Splendid! I have picked up a couple of that style myself recently.

hopefully i can have my friend make me some beast ass z-bar ape hangers for it along the line of this. i havent notice any bicycle handlebars of this style.

[Captain Goddammit]

That Dolomite looks to be THE perfect playa bike.
What do you guys think about the disc brakes for playa use? Any issues?
I just might order one or two of those.

[Navi_Keef]

the dolomite is a walmart bike, walmart bikes suck. especially deraileurs on walmart bikes. imo if you do get one then get the bike protection plan. that cruiser above i got was just under $400 after taxes. i might plan on adding an internal 3 speed hub to it later on if i feel that i really need gears out there and i would think that an internal hub would be much better for playa use than deraileurs. im a virgin to the playa though. i would spend a little bit money on a bikes direct bike before a walmart bike.

i was going to get this one before i decided to goto my LBS to order one.
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/Man ... uisers.htm

if you wanted a more mountain bike style then they have plenty. and at least they have sram components
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/fat-bikes.htm

[Captain Goddammit]

Well... there's no way in hell I'm spending $400 or $500 on a playa bike!
If I was ever going to ride it at home, then maybe. Something you need to understand about the playa is that it's very corrosive, stuff gets rusty after having been there. There's also a decent chance it'll get lost, either by theft or simply losing it at Opulent Temple or Robot Heart or some such thing.
My playa bike will get ridden probably less than ten miles total, I've got a boat, most years at BM I never touch a bike. I usually don't even bother bringing one.

I'm having a hard time even dropping the $250. All I need it for is getting around BRC when I've been drinking and can't find someone else to drive the boat.
I'm sure the WalMart thing will make it that far!

[Navi_Keef]

Well... there's no way in hell I'm spending $400 or $500 on a playa bike!
If I was ever going to ride it at home, then maybe. Something you need to understand about the playa is that it's very corrosive, stuff gets rusty after having been there. There's also a decent chance it'll get lost, either by theft or simply losing it at Opulent Temple or Robot Heart or some such thing.
My playa bike will get ridden probably less than ten miles total, I've got a boat, most years at BM I never touch a bike. I usually don't even bother bringing one.

I'm having a hard time even dropping the $250. All I need it for is getting around BRC when I've been drinking and can't find someone else to drive the boat.
I'm sure the WalMart thing will make it that far!

i take care of my stuff, even when i take the bikes to the beach i always wash and silicone polish them. a simple ulock will keep your wheels from rolling

if you just get dolomite like i said get the protection plan. if anything goes wrong with it they will most likely replace the whole bike. you could get a new one in 3 years after it has been to burning man twice

[Canoe]

That Dolomite looks to be THE perfect playa bike. ... What do you guys think about the disc brakes for playa use? Any issues? ...

• Not great disc brakes, but for 5 mph, no issues (no need to upgrade for playa use).
• DO: take apart and grease the hubs & headset, and replace the BB with the $10 YST cup & bearing set with rubber axle seal.
  Fully pack them all with grease, so there's no space for crap to get inside.
• Do add the BMX bars for heads up comfort, safety and sightseeing.
• Stock tires are fine for playa use.
  If you don't like the roll, loose the heavy tubes (you won't believe how huge they are...) for lighter ones. Still don't like it, then go DIY split-tube tubeless (simple and has a good mechanical seal), but bring the tubes as backup.
• It's geared as a cruiser. Changing the front from its stock 36T down to anything between 22T and 28T brings the gears into a more useful range for plowing through/over thick dust bars, carrying heavy stuff or towing. A popular cheap upgrade is to a used Mtb triple, 22-32-42T, mechanically changing between 22T and 32T to match the terrain you're on.

[Captain Goddammit]

I know these things need to be disassembled and properly reassembled and greased. Realistically, $250 for a playa bike is really, really pushing it. It's only the little kid in me looking at new bikes and the hot-rodder in me loving the fat tires that even lets me consider it. And test-riding Tiahaar's Beast and seeing how it floated over everything.

[Canoe]

Here's something I didn't know about.
Threaded crank arms for a square BB shaft, for taking a threaded freewheel as a front chainring. There's triple 16-19-22T freewheels for this.
If your tricycle/bicycle is going to be for 5 mph cruising and 5 mph pulling of heavy loads, these may be the thing for you.

threaded cranks for freewheels.jpg

As an example, Stock Dolo gears give you from ~37.5 Gear Inches to ~74.5 GI, cruiser range.
A Mtb triple on the front at 22-32-42T x 7 14-34T megarange on the rear:
> at 32T x 7 gives you six gears ~= the lower six on a stock Dolo, plus a ~27 GI granny gear.
> at 22T x7 gives you six choices between ~27 GI to ~46 GI, plus an 18 GI granny gear.

With that freewheel triple 16-19-22T x 7 14-34T megarange:
> at 16T x 7, gives six gears from ~19 GI to 33 GI, plus a ~13 GI granny!!!
If you want to haul that wagon full of water jugs... or hippies.

[Elliot]

Lowest ratio on my trike there in the middle of the picture: 2 Gear Inches.




Of course, very few people know about Gear Inches.
In a nut-shell, it is a calculated number that tells us the overall gear ratio of the bike. Lowest gear on a typical mountain bike might be 26 G.I. and the highest on a road racing bike might be up around 100.
.

[Canoe]

2 GI
that is crazy!

In the Fat Bikes, we're seeing more people going for single fronts, but a nine speed will run from 20 GI to 70 GI, and if you've got the bucks, and the clearance, an eleven speed 28T x 10-42T will provide 19 to 82 GI on a 29"x4" tire. Not quite as good if you've one of the newer 30"x5" tires, but you can go lower on the front if you're into back-country touring and hills.

I've got the 14-34T megarange on my Dolo. I'm going to custom stack it so I get the 28T back too.

There's a new Fat Bike Rohloff (wider stronger axle) coming/due out. Might be released already, but the prototype numbers were interesting. 36Tx16T driving its gearbox, for 14 choices between ~18 to ~96 GI on a Surly Endo @28.976".

[Elliot]

I'm glad you are wealthy, but some of us cannot really afford a $1,000 Rohloff.
The 2 Gear Inches is for climbing hills, sand dunes, and slogging thru mud -- in Kinetic Sculpture Racing.

[Canoe]

$1,000?
I thought those where closer to $2,000. So far off my budget I'm not even going to price it. Interestingly, those who managed to indulge in them report they last for so long that it's cheaper than all of the various gears and chains they would have otherwise bought over the same years. I've seen people lacing it into their third or fourth bike, sometimes more. People don't seem to realize that, in addition to derailing a chain across gears, when they start putting their Mtb or Fat Bike through the dirt, sand & mud, that there's a lot of wear taking place. The value of a Rohloff seems to be borne out, but the cash outlay is rather prohibitive.

At 2 GI I guess you don't have to worry much about the 5 mph speed limit...
I can't even visualize pumping away at 2 GI.

[unjonharley]

Right now I'm building a trike.. Have a 20 inch bike/w 8 speed rear, for the front.. A two wheeled cart for the rear.. Also a Mongoose 24v, 500 drive for electric assist. These are all from scrape.. About $35.oo.. Stuff to buy new: Street cruiser tires&tubes. Thumb control and control box.. The batteries from last year are on a float charger.. Now to light the shop wood stove and get to work..

[Captain Goddammit]

I'm thinking a mongoose dolomite for me and a trike for Charlie is the ideal arrangement.
I've got some bikes I can probably sell to get the cash, including a fairly expensive shaft drive Dynamic road bike and a 1976 Yamaha full suspension BMX, which is a collectors item bike.
I've also got a late 1970s Mongoose BMX, but that was my bike when I was a teenager and I'm not selling it.

[Elliot]

...
At 2 GI I guess you don't have to worry much about the 5 mph speed limit...
I can't even visualize pumping away at 2 GI.

Only vehicle out of ten to make it thru this mud pit. Note cleats strapped to tires.

[unjonharley]

He is just not talking about snapping a drive shaft.. Having a tow out of the mud pit.

[Elderberry]

This just boggles my mind. I had absolutely no interest in gears and generating power and even camping for that matter. How things change.

[Captain Goddammit]

Well here it is, parked safely at Goddammit La-BOOR-atory. It's a 24" Torker Tristar 3 speed. Now it just needs lights... lots of lights...
The bike itself is very nice, but the basket is a flimsy joke. It'd be fine with some aluminum angle reinforcement around the bottom and a lot of zip ties up the corners.

[Elliot]

Yup. Identical to Sunbeam's. Good quality, except for plastic pedals which should be replaced with metal ones.
If you anticipate carrying some weight in the basket, you could install plywood under it for support. Then all the corners should be fine with (plenty of stout) zip ties.

[Navi_Keef]

except for plastic pedals which should be replaced with metal ones.

oh come on man, quit raggin on plastic pedals. the only bad plastic pedals are the walmart ones. I run plastic on my 29er, my single speed commuter, and always ran them on my bmx bike as a kid. nothing wrong with plastic pedals as long as they are good quality. in fact they prevent you having to get a tetanus shot when your feet slip off of wet pedals!

for basic riding on the playa then plastic is fine.

[Captain Goddammit]

What is the word on chain lube on the playa? It's gotta be a compromise between being too dry and attracting too much dirt. WD-40?
Part of me wants to get a Beast, then use the fully enclosed shaft drive setup from my Dynamic to create the ultimate playa bike. Problem is I'm figuring on selling the Dynamic to get cash for a fat bike.
I could do it though...