lightweight stretch

[Philphine]

yeah, i just needed a name. i don't know if it'll be really light, but it should be compared to my own stretches.

i just saw that a buildoff had started. never done one, but i have a bike with a half baked plan. i'll throw a pic up and see if i can actually do this in time



it's a hybrid type bike i think. 26". it's kinda light so i thought if i were careful it'd be lighter than the ones i make from beach cruisers. it also has a little spring in the back so i guess if i finish i may look fot a springer later and have a full suspension lightweight stretch.

i usually have a big tube i get from work on the bottom of my bikes, but i have a mountain bike already chopped up some with a similar tube that's probaly lighter than the conveyor roller from work that i mean to use. i'll get a pic of it later.

this bike will make up the rear mostly. that's where the half baked part comes in. i'm thinking look for a 24" ten speed for most of the front. i'll have to see if i get anywhere with this in time.

[Philphine]

the bike the bottom tube will come from i think



the tube under it is the gutted conveyor roller i normally use. the one in the bike is a little short. i'll have to cut it out and see what i end up with.

[SSG]

Looks like you've got the perfect start. There isn't much cooler than turning boring modern frames into something unique.

[Philphine]

did some cutting and setting pieces more or less in place. the rear section roughly



the suspension pivot points in a way make it easier. where i'd be trying to bend the tubing to get what i want normally, i can pretty much just set things in place and weld the tube going towards the front in to match later. once i get the lower pivot point welded in the rest of the rear section should fall into place.

still need a front though. we'll see what i find.

[Philphine]

most of the tubes in the previous pic welded together, except the top one going toward the front.



not sure about it yet, and it's probaly good that i didn't. i did the welding at work without the wheel, and i somehow did what i always do. i try to use a 4x4 for clearance but i wasn't paying attention when i put the seat tube in and it changes the rear section. now the bottom tube won't even clear a 2x4 when it's level.

but again. i think with the pivots of the suspension it should be easy to fix. i can either grind out the seat post and lean it back, but i think i'm going to look at bending the seat tube back a bit if i can do it and make it look like a smooth curve backward. shoot, them fixie guys do it.

beyond fixing that issue, i'm on hold 'til i figure out a front end. the yellow front fork is for another project, and i think i'll look for another. it has a little spring like the one in the rear built into the fork, so they look like they go together.

so i guess this'll sink on down to the bottom and drop out of the buildoff unless or until i figure out something.

[Philphine]

tweeked



bent the seat tube back a bit. the pivot points didn't match up after the bend but i fixed that with a precision stomp on the rear section. it doesn't quite sit level on a 4x4 still, but it's close enough.

still stumped on the front. if someone might run in recumbent circles, i'm looking for this fork



i got this one off ebay, but it's been long enough back that i can't look up the vendor to see if they might have more. at best all i can remember that they were from canada.

i'm gonna try to hold out 'til i find it for now, 'cause i think it would kill like three birds with one stone (or wholesale bird slaughter with a fork). besides the buildoff, it would help with the lightweight cruiser idea which i already had before the buildoff. plus if i can do it like i'm thinking, i might be able to keep the whole bike short enough to put on a bus rack, another bike project i've been wanting to do.

[Philphine]

i think this bike might let me start on this again



had to find a pic off the 'net 'cause as soon as i took it out of the car suzzy jumped on it.

this is the second bike like this i've found and had it save me on a project. the big curved tubing pretty closely matches my bottom tube. i think i'll see today how close.

[Philphine]

eh...



really not a lot about this i'm happy about yet. the side goals look like they're not gonna happen. unless i cut the bottom tube way down, it's not gonna fit on a bus rack, and with sleeving and the thicker tubing, i'm not sure how light it'll be.

i'm also not having much luck with finding another fork like the one i showed (found one but couldn't afford it). the overall lenth of the fork in this pic and the yellow one are about the same though, so i'm gonna work with it and maybe i can find another later, or go ahead and use the one i have later.

eh...

[cody-james]

that looks awesome it is coming out great

[Uncle Stretch]

Looks like you are planning on building an earthship too.

[Philphine]

earthship?

still in "eh..." status



part welded, part tacked together. my bottom tube is no longer level. i think i can fix it but i need to see about some other things first. still not happy with the front forks. they look to bulky for what i was imagining at the start.

but i think i'm past the experiment stage and it will end up a rider at least. the bus bike deal won't happen. here is an approximation of what i would have needed to do to pull the wheel base in



no... no

it does seem though that it may end up lighter than my other cruiser frame stretches though... by an ounce or two, maybe. i guess i'll see.

need a top tube now. since i'm trying to consider weight i'm not gonna go with black pipe like usual, i mean to stop by lowes or a metal place and get a new piece of tube. i only need about 3' so it shouldn't hurt too bad cost wise.


two weeks. i don't think i'll finish in time, but at least it's on a front burner again for now.

[Philphine]

sweet lord why is that clock ticking so loud!?!?!?!!! can't you see i'm trying to think here!?!?!?!!!



aw well, i don't think i'm gonna finish in time, but i think i have the rest of the frame worked out



i could probaly come up with something rideable by the deadline maybe, but this bike was kinda an idea i had before the buildoff so i'm letting that take priority over meeting the deadline. i like the bigger tubing since my lower tubes are pretty big. it kind of looks balanced i guess. the tubing tapers kind of "tankage" like too. i kind of don't like cutting up a million bikes to make one, but this is a leftover from the "iceberg offroad" project. so it's still mainly one bike and leftovers from other projects.

edit: 'cause i forgot about the little 20" bike i used also.

i also messed up my crank back when i was taking the bike apart so i'm missing a major piece anyway, along with other parts i haven't looked for yet.

but, hey, i've got a week, and i'm not creating the heavens and earth. we'll see what happens.

[Philphine]

so close...



i shouldn't have said i had a half baked plan at the beginning so i could claim i meant for it to come out like this. i'm really liking how it's coming out, that's part of why i don't want to rush just to make the deadline. i'm feeling like there are particular parts i want now and i plan to wait 'til i find them.

what? 7-8 days now (don't know which since y'all won't tell me which midnight you're meaning )? we'll see what happens.

[deorman]

Oh well, there goes all that prize money.

[Philphine]

wait. there's.... there's money involved?

i ...er... changed my mind. i just finished up a minute ago. ummm... yeah



don't touch it. the paints still a little wet....