Bike Builders Unite

[Captain Goddammit]

Well check that out!!

[Tiahaar]

After quite a few instances of taking one step forward to take two steps back, I've managed to cobble together a working fat trike. Thanks to Capt GD, Tiahaar and Elliot for the help with my questions.

Still needs a good set of ape hangers, a paint job and some other tweaks here and there, but for now IT"S ALIVE!

Most excellent! Look at those wide tires. That ride'll conquer the playa right smartly. Quoting to get your pic posted here on the new page...which doesn't seem to work with attachments rather than links grrrr...oh wait found a fix let's try this

[Martiansky]

NIce trike build, Raoul!

I'm glad I got the trike kit I got a few years ago, I lucked out and it came with wheels at a great price.
Now I see most "kits" dclude wheels anymore. I like to get another conversion kit but getting the drive set up and then having to buy or build wheels is too expensive. Hollow hubs alone are outrageously priced.
I'm going to swap out the frame on my conversion to a style similar to the one pictured above. Women's frame with a more upright seating position. As much as I love my chopper style, the seat to pedal angle works but makes pedaling a bit tougher.
I'd also like to add an electric front hub to it and have been trying to look around at what has worked for others.

I love this thread and all the great ideas people come up with!

[Raoul]

NIce trike build, Raoul!

Hey, thanks! It's been a fun project. Have added some ape hangers and a seat with backrest since this photo. Once the weather up here in New England is more conducive to working outdoors, the bling will begin.

...having to buy or build wheels is too expensive. Hollow hubs alone are outrageously priced...

I found the hollow hubs here - http://www.bicycledesigner.com/trike-pa ... rts-1.html - for $30 a piece, so not too bad. Two of my wheels came from a Mongoose Dolomite. Two of the big-box retailers had a race to the bottom on price during the holidays, so I was able to pick up the Dolomite for a song. It gave me not only the rims but also the tubes, tires and the front fork with disc brake for a fraction of what it would've cost to buy all the parts. Still more than a thrift store budget, but I've been able to piece it together for a lot less than I would've thought.

[Martiansky]

Thanks for the link, Raoul!
When it warms up here a bit my neighbor and I are going to take a run up to the reuse center and look around.
I kick myself....last year I was cleaning out my storage unit and took a bunch of bike parts up there....I'm pretty sure I had a bike with the kind of frame I'm looking for now....Dang!


Looking forward to seeing pics of your mods to your trike!

Stay warm!

[Canoe]

http://nypost.com/2016/03/09/even-jimmy ... this-bike/

On average, a quality fat bike costs about $1,500, but they can go for as much as $7,500... What makes some bikes cost more is that, in the past year, companies have begun using carbon-steel frames, lightening the weight of the bikes significantly.

And, he got paid for that.

[Captain Goddammit]

That article was about like one about burning man written by someone who hasn't been there.

[Elliot]

...And somebody has not been around bicycle-frame materials much either. "Carbon steel" comes in many varieties, but is essentially the most common cheap steel, which is the heaviest material possible for a bicycle frame.

[Skuzzy61]

Playing devil's advocate here.

Elliot, I have some carbon steel tubing, I use for space frame work, which weighs in about 8 ounces per foot for the 1" ID pipe. It is a 4000 or 4100 series alloy. Not sure if that is what they are using, but just thought I would toss it out there. Does that seem light? Heavy? I really do not know compared to what you know about.

[Elliot]

You did not tell me the wall thickness, which is a vital factor.
But my slightly-sarcastic comment, directed at the (alleged) journalist, wasn't about the weight of steel. It was about the material they are actually using to make light-weight bikes, which is almost certainly (based on the context) carbon-fiber.

Caution; anecdote follows.

My "favorite" example of such journalistic incompetence is the one about a certain model or type of suspension dampers (erroneously called "shocks" in the US). The article said these components contained "gasoline". Yes, spelled out with all eight letters. This is of course rubbish. These parts are actually filled with a gas, such as perhaps nitrogen. This in addition to oil, of course. All modern suspension dampers contain oil, and the better quality ones are "gas-charged" in addition. And the writer had no clue, and tried to do a good job by spelling out the un-abbreviated version of the word. The utterly wrong word.

And in related news.... I once read about someone who tried to refuel a car from the Natural Gas supply to her house. To newspaper-worthy detriment.

[Elliot]

By the way.... Newspaper-Worthy Detriment is playing in the ePlaya Bar tonight.

[Captain Goddammit]

Best band name since the String Cheese Incident.

[Canoe]

At the other end of the temperature spectrum, relative to Burning Man, we have 2nd and 3rd place in bikes for the ~1000 mile Iditarod Trail Invitation due to finish with around 13 miles to go of their ~1000 mile race in Alaska. Currently 12 days, 6 hours, 36 minutes.

http://trackleaders.com/iti16
bike, ski, walk... your choice
(this year, one guy went into the water when an ice bridge collapsed; got himself out, then made it 30 miles to shelter)

finish cam in Nome, updates once a minute
http://nomecvb.com/nomecam/index.html

This year's winner.
I believe 11 days, 5 hours and 2 minutes.
http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/2016-i ... st12520263

[Raoul]

A little more progress on the trike. Added ape-hangers, seat and basket.

[img]

trike-in-progress.jpg

[/img]

[FIGJAM]

Try to find a basket of the same dimensions.

Put it upside down on top of the mounted basket.

Use hose clamps to hinge it at the front.

Add a padlock on the back and you have a locked storage when your parked!!!

[Raoul]

Try to find a basket of the same dimensions.

Put it upside down on top of the mounted basket.

Use hose clamps to hinge it at the front.

Add a padlock on the back and you have a locked storage when your parked!!!

Excellent suggestion! Thanks! Still have the basket bookmarked online so should be easy to get a second one. Cheers!

[FIGJAM]

You can see mine at the back of my trike.

Never carried a backpack, and never had to worry about my stuff.

403225534.jpg

[maladroit]

Check Niagara Cycle for cheap rear hubs. I'm getting mine from there, seem to be half the normal cost.

[Bemerritt]

A little more progress on the trike. Added ape-hangers, seat and basket.

[img]

trike-in-progress.jpg

[/img]

So you got two of those wheels from a mongoose, where did you get the third?

Also, did you lace the mongoose rims onto the hollow hubs yourself?

[Raoul]

The two back wheels came from a Mongoose Beast that was my playa bike in 2013-14. The front wheel came from a Mongoose Dolomite that I bought during the holidays last year. I had a local bike shop help me with the lacing.

[masha8770]

Hi guys,
I am looking for a directions to build a kind of double kickstand this year for my furry bike. Cannot find anything...
I saw the guy made a kind of triangle kickstand out of a pipe, attached the ends to the wheel where original kickstand locates and raised it up while riding: put it down while it parked. It was so convenient and easy. I remembered it for a while but now I forgot. Please if you know something about it can you share plz?
I draw a sketch how it looks...

[BBadger]

Maybe you could modify one of those triangle stands from Amazon?

yuanyi triangle stand - 51cWvv8OfTL.jpg

[Captain Goddammit]

They are a commonly available, here's an example:
http://m.kohls.com/product/prd-2171364/ ... fgodAo8MmA

[Skuzzy61]

You did not tell me the wall thickness, which is a vital factor.
But my slightly-sarcastic comment, directed at the (alleged) journalist, wasn't about the weight of steel. It was about the material they are actually using to make light-weight bikes, which is almost certainly (based on the context) carbon-fiber.

<snip>

Sorry for the delay. Totally missed your response Elliot. The wall thickness is 0.028". I screwed up on the weight. It is 6 ounces per linear foot. 4130 alloy. While light, it takes more of it, when compared to carbon fiber, in order to achieve a comparable structural equivalent.

I agree with your assessment, the material they are talking about is probably carbon fiber.

[Elliot]

Masha, your drawing shows a design that used to be quite common -- except they were on the rear wheel. (And I would not put it on the front, in case it should swing down at speed and...) I don’t know if you can buy one now, but it would be easy to fabricate. For the Playa, I would make it wider than these.

[FIGJAM]

When postmen rode bikes, that stand WAS on the front because of the load.

[Elliot]

Thanks for bringing that up, FIGJAM, because this is applicable to many Playa bikes -- when Burners carry their Stuff in a basket on the handlebar.

...Which brings me to... why I prefer baskets on the back of the bike.

Extra weight on the handlebar makes the bike difficult to steer.
And with the side stand ("kick stand") that practically all bikes have nowadays, the bike is almost certain to be on its side when you return to it.
And on bikes with hand-brakes and/or gear-shifters, the basket invariably damages the cables.

So I recommend a rear luggage rack with baskets on the sides. (Serious bicyclists call them "panniers", which I expect is French. They spell "derailer" funny too.)
This requires a bit more technical savvy, and probably money, but seems soooooo worth it to me.

Then put a "vintage British" parking stand on it, and you have the perfect Playa bike.

[Rez]

Was on CL looking for a new HD project and saw this..

How cool would that be

https://columbia.craigslist.org/mcy/5500498397.html

00Y0Y_eCRFlEgWb6U_600x450.jpg

[Captain Goddammit]

Super cool, but you can't ride it at Burning Man. Gas powered stand-up scooters are allowed and bicycles with electric motors are allowed... but not bikes with gas motors.
I know, I brought one once.
I'm not sure why you can motorize your bike with an electric motor but not a gas one, but that's the deal.

[Rez]

Super cool, but you can't ride it at Burning Man. Gas powered stand-up scooters are allowed and bicycles with electric motors are allowed... but not bikes with gas motors.
I know, I brought one once.
I'm not sure why you can motorize your bike with an electric motor but not a gas one, but that's the deal.

Oh i'm sure the noise alone would put me in the penalty box. Looks like an old two stroke with the exhaust that would be more like a dust blower. Still .. Pretty cool.

almost thinking about picking it up to bring to bike week this year in myrtle beach. I would so take it to suck bang and blow.