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Wordbiker

Wordbiker

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Jul 17, 2009
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Pagosa Springs CO
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Ahhh...my first build thread.

I purchased a Diamondback Della Cruz new back in '05 with the intent of converting it to an Indian motorcycle replica(ish) project, but was too ambitious and only got the frame and rims (Surly Large Marge) stripped and slightly modified to accept larger tires. It sat in my storage until recently when I started dating a very special lady from Salida. She has been riding highwheelers for 30 years now and has been trying to teach me how to ride one too. I've spent several weekends over there and wanted a bike to leave at her house so I don't have to haul one. Unlike my town of Pagosa Springs CO, a cruiser is just fine on the flatter roads over there, so I dug it out and started pawing the parts bins for what I could put together.

Starting with a tire and rim mockup, the same issue still existed: the frame had to be bent. Since it's aluminum I was a bit hesitant, so I asked a welder friend how I should approach it. He said to go for it. I work part time at a shop and have full access, so I gathered a few things from the hardware store and the woodpile...and got after it.



I spread the rear triangle using 3/8" allthread, nuts and washers and a Gearwrench (would've taken forever without it) until I could get a 2X4 wedged in there and drove it further with a mallet.



I then used the allthread to pull it back together again while gently caressing it with a deadblow hammer at the 2X4 junction placed at roughly the 13-1/2" mark from the dropout. The first attempt wasn't enough, so I got more aggressive. My fellow mechanic and I were giggling like Bender. Heeheeheeheehee... The best part is...it worked. I went from the tire (2.35" Fat Frank in brown) barely wedging into place to a full 1/2" clearance. Today I mocked up two other rim/tire combos, a 26X3.0" Kenda Flame mounted on the Large Marge and a 24X3.0" Kenda on a 24X100MM CyclesUS rim. Surprisingly...they all fit. I still have the chainline to work out, but I'm satisfied for now.

After realizing I lack the patience to do a fully polished frame is when I decided to go Rat Rod. The aluminum welds are just too rough to smooth out as I'd originally planned, but going with paint allows me to use filler.



There used to be a substantial gusset plate here that I cut out in order to spread the frame.



The fork is the stock chromed Della springer. I spread that by removing the bolt, adding some bronze bearings and then pinching it again with the allthread.



In that process I discovered that the fork is really cheesy. It's crooked, insubstantial and I may replace it.

I'm still in the parts gathering process, but so far I have the black alloy bars pictured up above, a brown Electra saddle, a Sturmey 2-speed kickback hub in silver and some other interesting bits out of my bins. Tomorrow I'll be ordering a Shimano dynamo hub for the front and once that's in I'll build the wheels and really be able to check the clearances. So far the planned theme is silver hubs, black spokes, silver nipples and red rims, frame will be matte black. I intend to ride this bike and lock it up on the streets so I didn't go apewire with fancy parts. Mainly I want it to be low maintenance and very rideable.

Thanks if you've read this far! I appreciate any and all input/advice.
 
Hello again.

Still debating about the tire size, but the 26" rim is a must. I'm a bigger guy at 6'-3" and the 24" would be a bit cramped. Here's the 2.35" Fat Frank and 3.0" Kenda on the same rim.

 
Perhaps this isn't a popular build as I'm not interested in qualifying for a buildoff, it isn't a vintage bike (although it does have a vintage) and I'm not building it for show. I'll continue to post anyway since this bike is for me. I know I'll enjoy every bit of effort put into it.
 
Sorry I didn't see this sooner! Nice build!
I am totally into late model cruisers!
 
Thanks! My Salida girl is coming into town tonight, so I won't be making much progress over the weekend. Hopefully my shop manager got the dynamo hub ordered and I'll get to the wheelbuilding soon.
 
No work on the project this weekend although I did come up with a plan for the tank area. I'm considering trying my hand at some leather work. After reading about shaping leather by boiling it then stretching it over a form, it sounds like something I could handle. One video suggested the carpentry to make a wood form is the hardest part...and I have that down. Tooling the leather is a bit more intimidating, but I'm willing to give it a try. Still undecided on whether to go with a more natural brown or blacken it with dye. I may get my eldest son involved for the design since he's a tattoo artist.

Still waiting on the dynamo hub to arrive. I'm hoping to be lucky that the flange is a similar size to the rear so I can run a three leading, three trailing spoke pattern without having to buy or roll a bunch of different size spokes. The Duomatic hub appears to be pretty symmetrical so it could take the same length on both sides and make a very strong wheel. I'm still not sure about the chainline or whether I'll need a deep-dished sprocket for tire clearance. The adaptive bottom bracket I selected does have some chainline adjustment, but there's no choice of spindle length...so we'll just have to see.
 
The 2.35" tire on the Large Marge rim measures out to a whopping 3.25". I know it's at the limit for the tire interfering with the chain line, but I know a few tricks. We shall see once I can mock the wheels up.
 
Thanks Mike, that was anything but mean.

Yes, it's not vintage and that actually allows me to do whatever I'd like without having to keep to the purity that requires. A lot of the parts will be new, mainly stuff to keep it rideable and maintainable. I'm also keeping it low maintenance as my lady will be riding it as well as any guests she may allow, so there will be nods toward making it easily adjustable for different sized riders.

For those of you that may be unfamiliar with the Della Cruz, here's what it looked like new (though this isn't mine and has a few mods):





It's a decent quality bike, but being aluminum and relatively inexpensive it has clumpy welds. I've been doing some fillet work a la Cannondale to smooth it out while being careful to not cut too deep into the base metal.



Some areas will be harder than others.



My original plan was to powdercoat and I have a conductive metallic filler purchased from Eastwood that will take powder, but honestly it's been so long that I don't know if it's good any more. If not I'll just use Bondo.

If anyone was wondering, I do plan to weld a brace back into the seatstay bridge for reinforcement as well as a fender mount and will add a kickstand plate to the chainstay junction. My welder buddy used to work for Yeti, so I trust his expertise.
 
Those are sharp looking frames! You are just finishing it for DB.
Never saw a poor welded Yeti! Thinking you got the right guy!
 
Ugh. Still no dynamo.

I don't recall the specific model I ordered other than it was the cheapest one and it was set up for a roller brake...though I don't need one. Most of them appear to have symmetrical flanges, but I don't know whether it requires some dish. The rear hub is symmetrical in both ways so even though I'll be using an unconventional lacing pattern it should still be very strong.



Now that we're almost into the great biking weather I've been busy at the shop building bikes and doing the more technical repairs. While I do enjoy it, it doesn't leave me much time to work on my own projects. I'll have to get the rims painted soon so I can build the wheels. Any suggestions on good paint/technique for them?
 
I got the dynamo hub.



Unfortunately it does require an asymmetrical spoke length, but only by about 1mm. I may be able to get away with longer nipples on the shorter side. Also unfortunately I can't find a spoke calculator with the specific hubs and rims I'll be using, so I'll have to do it all the old fashioned way...manually. I dreamed of being able to use the same length spokes both front and rear to do a two-toned black and red trailing/leading spoke pattern. Thirdly unfortunately...I just don't think that it will happen. Spoke lengths take such backwards engineering to select the right length by the hub. I blame the weight weenies.

I did come across something that may help solve the dilemma of building a bike for two vastly different sized people...or even anyone inbetween that may wish to borrow it: A "dropper" post. Those of you familiar with mountain bikes have heard of or use them. It allows on-the-fly adjustment of seat height while riding either due to a lever on the post itself or a remote switch, either mechanical or hydraulic. A rider entering rough terrain can at the flick of a switch drop the seat out of the way for more maneuverability. Personally I've never felt the need for one on my off road bikes, but for this project it makes total sense. Even better, I found one that combines the dropper function with 55mm of suspension for more cush. Better still, it's one of the cheapest height adjustable posts which can be quite prohibitively expensive. It's the KSP861. It has a remote activator, but I'd actually prefer the KSP860 with lever operation, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to be marketed in the US. I may be able to rig something up though. The downside is it's heavy...yeah, like I care.
 
Another point that my co-wrench Ant pointed out: A dropper post can be secured with a bolted rather than a quick-release seatpost clamp that can help prevent casual theft. Since I could potentially spend more on a dropper post than the entire bike is worth...I thought it a valid point.
 

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