Bike Builders Unite

[TinkerMom]

Yes it is way easier to change out the front sprocket.

Here is my trike:


And my pony cart I fixed up to drag behind it.


Which by the way if any of you would like to have the pony cart, PM me.

[Martiansky]

What is your gearing situation? It might be easier to change the front sprocket.

Front is a 36 and rear is a 18
I have a 22T cog for the rear to change it with.
I was looking at the front sprocket and it looks like its a part of the cranks(3 piece) but I'd have to try to disassemble them to really see.


Tinkermom, like the trike and pony cart!
Are you going to have it on the playa this year?

[msj2u]

Hiya Tinkermom,

Wow like the trike and the pony cart! I'm a human pony trainer and miss My cart so much!! Hope to see you on the playa for an up close view!!


MSJ

[TinkerMom]

Thanks y'all!!

Yes my trike will be on Playa again this year.
The pony cart I fixed up to haul behind it, but doesn't work the way I would like it too.
My seating is too far back to get a good turn on the cranks to pull it.

It's more a chopper style and laid back. Pulling is too much like work. (and I don't want to work)

Those three piece cranks are easy to work with, and change out parts on.

[Martiansky]

On the Beast the cranks need to clear the frame because its got such wide tires on it.
Since I have a bigger rear cog I will try that first.
Its up in the stand, just didnt feel like pulling it apart tonight.

[Elliot]

Front is a 36 and rear is a 18
I have a 22T cog for the rear to change it with.
I was looking at the front sprocket and it looks like its a part of the cranks(3 piece) but I'd have to try to disassemble them to really see.

OK, so you want it easier to pedal -- slower moving. A bigger rear sprocket will do that. Or a smaller front.

How many teeth on the crank arm? Is there only one chain ring (front sprocket) there? It is common that the chain ring is swedged to the crank arm -- and if there are additional chain rings, they are riveted to the first one. But on some, the chain rings are bolted onto the arm with special hollow allen head screws. You should be able to tell by looking.

A common arrangement on a multi-speed bicycle is three chain rings with something like 26, 36 and 46 teeth.

(Now... if anyone has a one piece crank, I can put as small as a 14 tooth chain ring on it! For climbing walls, ya know.)

[Elliot]

On the Beast the cranks need to clear the frame because its got such wide tires on it.

If you have to replace the crank arm, and the new one hits the frame, I imagine it could be heated and bent. Steel and aluminum crank arms are essentially interchangable. But crank arm length varies a little.

Well, let's hope the rear sprocket is all you need.

[TomServo]

How is the gearing for you Tom?

It's a little tiring climbing hills, but riding it like a BMX, it's just fine. Cruising on the flat, no problems.

[TomServo]

from another discussion on the beast:
"I put the Truvativ E4001 cranks that others have linked to. They went on without any issues and I used the stock 14m bolts to attach to the spindle. They are excellent cranks for all the torque it takes to push this Beast along. 32x18 gearing. Might go up to 32x20 if I need more spin but after ripping around last night I wouldn't bother till I pull the rear wheel again."

[TomServo]

With streamers?

[unjonharley]

With streamers?

Streamers of sperm design..

[Martiansky]

OH NO!!! You guys are terrible, just terrible!

BUWAHHAHAHAHA!!!!

[Martiansky]

Got the rear cog changed out for the 22T. Haven't tried it yet.
Changed the chain out for a derailleur chain. 3/32
Freewheeled the coaster brake and Im adding cantilever brakes on front and back.

I like those bars you got Tom.
I havent decided if Im going to change mine yet.

[Martiansky]

Test ride on the beast by both my sister and I and it went great!
The 22T cog on the rear wheel did the trick! Easy to ride on flat and I climbed the hill behind my house...sitting down and its a pretty good hill.
The freewheeled coaster works good and I got both front and rear canti brakes hooked up and working.
Just need to swap out the seat and thats about it.

TomServo, I cant wait to see those handlebars on your beast!

[unjonharley]

One of the Good Will store is for the end of the line stuff.. They just throw it in bins and sell by the pound.. They have exercise machines there for 20 30 bucks. The seats are super.. A good seat in store will run 30 to 50 bucks.. Could buy the machine and scrape the rest.. Lot of funny moving parts for the pick pile out back of the shed.

[unjonharley]

One of the Good Will store is for the end of the line stuff.. They just throw it in bins and sell by the pound.. They have exercise machines there for 20 30 bucks. The seats are super.. A good seat in store will run 30 to 50 bucks.. Could buy the machine and scrape the rest.. Lot of funny moving parts for the pick pile out back of the shed.

[unjonharley]

My pick pile would put Jewels Vern to shame.. Some of that stuffs been there for 30 years..

[171/348]

I have had a reeeeeally hard time not buying a (green) Beast or a trike, but with too many other expenses and both being one-speed options without lotsa work I don't have time left to do or a 200 mile drive to pick up the 5 speed meridian I finally found on craigslist, the decision has ultimately come down to mutating my 1992 Trek 930 into something playatastic.
First thing I did was get one of those Schwinn comfort seats, dunno if I like it. Tried it flat and it rubbed the back of my thighs too much, lowered my seat a few inches and tilted it forward, I felt like I was gonna fall off, like I had to hold myself into the seat.
The only reason I haven't bailed on the seat yet is because I ordered myself a set of ape hangers and I'm hoping if I'm not leaning forward so much the seat will work. Anyone use that seat successfully?

The ape hangers though, THAT is why I'm here.
I remember reading in one of the bike (trike?) discussions about moving the brake levers and shifters that the new cables I would need were cheap and easy to come by. Although I have founds lots, I don't know what to get since nothing seems to be showing me how long the cables are. And suddenly I'm having a 21 year old memory telling me I can't replace the cables in the shimano thumb shifters?? If I am remembering incorrectly and it can be done, what am I buying? I found cable kits that don't tell me how long they are and jackets but no wire. I don't know what to get. Going from regular OEM mtb bar to 25" rise by, I believe, a 32" spread.

Any guidance or a link to what I need to get would be awesomesauce!

[gyre]

The co-op here gets them in reels and you cut to fit.

[171/348]

I'm not sure how to get to Î¦Î¬Ï from my house...?

[Elliot]

About saddles, in general:

A wider saddle means more rubbing on the thighs because there is essentially no room to spare between human thighs. But there is less pain because your weight is spread out over a larger (and often softer) saddle. Like so much in life, you choose your preferred compromise.

Let's get rid of one type of saddle right away: The last few years a new style saddle has come on the market with NO HORN. That is, there is no pointy part on the front of the saddle. I tried one. I darn near fell off. Turns out, that horn is there for a reason -- to keep our body aligned with the bicycle. Without the horn our body will easily twist out of line with the bicycle and we go ass-over-applecart.

This brings us to the tilt of a normal saddle: It needs to be tilted a bit up in front. That seems counter-intuitive to a person who sees a bicycle for the first time, but that's how it works.

Now: Some of the "cruiser" saddles these days curve upward at the rear. Presumably this is intended to keep us from sliding off rearward -- or at least to follow the roundness of our butt to improve comfort. I've tried this too. Horrible -- at least for a big guy like me. Maybe it would work for a small person.

Be sure to adjust the saddle high enough. Most people have their saddle too low. This is harder on the legs than it needs to be. Sitting with one pedal straight down, and the ball of the foot on the pedal, you should be able to extend that leg fully by tilting your heel down.


Handlebars & cables:

I swap out handlebars all the time -- I install tall BMX bars on all sorts of bicycles. For cables I buy a set of four cables -- both jackets and wires -- from one of the discount department stores. The set costs something like six bucks. These cables are plenty long and you cut them to fit. The wires come with different shape ends, so be careful you don't cut off the end you need! Last I looked, the Bell brand had unlined housings, and the Schwinn brand had nylon-lined housings which I recommend. Be sure to use the ferrules and tips that come with the kit. I highly recommend a "serious" wire-cutting tool -- not your general bailing-wire clippers. And spend some time to make sure the ends of the housings are smooth inside after you cut them.

Decent bicycle stores can also sell you cable housing (jacket) by the foot, and individual wires which are good and long.

In a couple of extreme cases where regular wires were not long enough, I used wires for tandem bicycles. These you have to get at better bicycle stores, and they cost a bit of $$.

One last thing: There exist shifter cable housings that are made of many thin straight strands of steel, instead of the normal single strand of coiled steel. Supposedly they give more precise shifting with the kind of shifters that make clicking sounds. Well, shifting is a full-time-exercise-in-clusterblundering anyway, and specially so with clicking shifters (in my personal opinion). I have learned to avoid the straight strand housings like the plague, because they fail so spectacularly.

What did I miss?

[gyre]

I'm not sure how to get to Î¦Î¬Ï from my house...?

I'm not sure if I can get to your house from here either.

[171/348]

The new seat is the kind without the horn, the rub was on the backs of my legs, the front edge of it which is why I tried the tilt forward. I don't think I like it. I had my mountainbike set up for the correct extension but dropped it a couple of inches to see if it would help with that seat and since I'll be riding on flat and not mountains I figure I won't need the max efficiency, I'm going for more relaxed and comfortable...I am still not sold.

Mine are the shimano 2 button clicking thumb shifters. It says "Shimano Total Integration" on the shifter. The derailleurs are Exage 400lx, if that matters. If I open it up to peek inside, is it the kind of thing that is going to explode and I'm never going to get back together? I suppose I could always leave them basically where they are and they'll be at the base of the new handlebars. I've replaced brake cables on it before. And just in case I wasn't 100% clear, I think the new cables will need to be 2-3' longer than the standard ones on the bike, will the pre-packaged set be long enough or should I just get the cut your own size version. Will a romex cable cutter work well enough?

[gyre]

Are you talking armored romex or copper?

Even a big copper cutter may be wrong for steel cable.
You need a hard cutter.
Knipex makes some nice compound cutters you used to be able to get from sears.
Just make sure the hardness is high enough.
Worth checking with the manufacturer if you aren't sure.

Sharp bolt cutters will usually work.

[171/348]

I have a bigass cutter for the armored romex, but I was thinking the curved copper cutter when I said it.

[gyre]

Don't use that.
I'd even check the hardness on the steel cutter.

[maladroit]

I'd use a Dremel with cutoff wheel (the diamond+steel ones are not as fragile as the ceramic ones). No deformation of the steel jacket, nice square edge. Rinse out any metal dust with a spray of brake cleaner.

[171/348]

I was going to ask about the dremel or high speed air cutter but I have a tendency to over-think stuff and I figured that's what I was doing

[gyre]

Dremel will work fine, but use extreme caution and very good eye protection.

Those cutting wheels are VERY dangerous.

[171/348]

I was looking at cables on ebay and one place said they cut theirs with a wet saw, I have that option available as well. I'm going to try to find a bike shop and see what they have, the two I used to go to are gone and the local one I went to, well... The owner seemed inconvenienced when he had to stop watching tv because customers walked in looking to buy 2 bikes.

As far as the danger goes... Eye have no idea what you are talking about