UNOFFICIAL FOLDING BIKE BUILD OFF CONTEST

[johnp.smith]

RULES:

1. Stock Frames Only.

2. No Pro Paint.

3. Bolt On Parts Only.

4. Must be ridable and foldable.

5. Bike must be completed and posted by April 1st.

[johnp.smith]

Here's my entry for the Folding Bike Build Off. Named after my favorite treat, the 50 50 Bar. It will be repainted, it has a bit of rust, the chaingaurd is broken and barely hanging on. It has 24 inch by 1.75 tires and a weird 2 piece crank. I hope I can get the one I want to use to work on it.

[bighit]

ok this is the thread for us folder builders. if you want in just ask.

here is my striped down sears folder, or two piece.

[johnp.smith]

I had some time to do some stripping of mine tonight. My pivot point does not come apart. I dont know what is called but its like a rounded bolt head on both sides. the headset hardware was very weird too. The crank scares me. I have removed the left crank arm and the whole hardware contraption on the left side spins together. Ive never seen hardware like this on a bike before. Im hoping to use a different crank for it but might be stuck with this one.

[bighit]

i see that. i would keep it.

[johnp.smith]

Well theres good news in that. I figured out how to get the crank off. Yes, Im stuck with this one. The bottom bracket is not threaded. It uses tiny little bearing cups similar to what comes on cruisers. So the good news is the crank is in really good shape, and the seat tube does not have a hole on the bottom bracket area. When I turned the bike upside down earlier, the seat tube was full of water. I feared the worse for the bottom bracket inards. They were actually pristine. I think the frame was powder coated prior to assembly. Everything but the seat tube is pristine white paint inside. Im going to try pouring some cleaning fluid down the seat tube and see if it cleans out too. The decals are shot and there are too many scratches to try and save this paint so I will repaint it. Im going with Orange, hence this is where 50 50 Bar came from. The bike is now stripped as much as it can be. I already have an Origin8 seat from my Cykel 3, Big apes from Ratdaddy, pedals, and Im going to use two Stingray front tires 24 by 2.1 for it. They barely fit the frame and fork. im going to buy a skinny 24 inch tire for my Captain America bike to swap that one out, I have the other one on the bike for fit test now. I hope I can do a good paint job on it.

[udallcustombikes]

My pivot point does not come apart. I dont know what is called but its like a rounded bolt head on both sides.

It sounds like a pressed rivet pin. You could grind off one side and pop it out like a pin on a door frame then replace it with a grade 8 bolt and a nylock nut. Just a thought.

[karfer67]

if worse comes to worse post a pic of u riding it then whack it in half and fold it. rules did not state it had to fold back out and be rideable again. sorry had to go there but i have to admit the rule of it still needing to fold is great that one would have stifled me a bit

[johnp.smith]

Grinding one end and then replacing it with a bolt is a great idea, I will have to look into that. I really want to take my time and try to do a real nice paint job. I've never painted a bike before. Tonight I also discovered another unique feature to folders, both mine and Bighits anyway. The headtube on the frame has only 1 frame tube going to it. So it can be cut shorter and almost any fork can work on it. Since my bike has 24 inch wheels, Im thinking about using a 26 or even a 27 inch fork and either a 20 or 16 inch front wheel. Im going to have to go through my stash for the best combo. A smaller wheel up front will accomodate a big basket for the cycle truck style. Oh yeah, Im loving this. Im gonna try things with this bike Ive never done to prepare myself for the steampunk build later this year. The creative juices are a flowin.

[johnp.smith]

Here is my stripped down sears folder, or two piece.

That is the most unusual frame I have ever seen.

[kingplinker]

when are bike due? or did I miss this build - I have folding bike collecting dust.. cool idea guys! -

[bighit]

april 1st. your in if you want it's open to all folders.

i saw the junk man today and scored a light and tires.

[johnp.smith]

My first big mod is done. I cut 2 1/4 inches off the top of my head tube. Im using a 26 inch mountain bike fork and an 18 inch stingray front wheel. This puts the height of the bike in the exact same place as the original fork and wheel did and it will be able to accomodate a big front basket. My rear wheel is too pitted to polish so I will paint it to match the front. The bike will also have matching stingray tires. Many other mods to come.

[Jay Dawg]

Im working on 3 other bikes,but this build is something i really want to enter still.I might be able to make deadline tho.More is to be revealed.Keep up on the pics guys and it might give me enough motivation to finish one bike at a time and start on the folder.

[kingplinker]

OK, here is mine. I was going to do the smaller blue one, I used it all summer as-is going back & forth to my shop, it's funky because it is a 3-speed, freewheel bike, but has a coaster brake on it. I NEED to redo it cuz I use it.. buuuut, I am going to use this larger folding bike. It had mountain bike stuff all over it & I stripped it down. It's says Marlboro and I guess was some type of promo bike. You pull out the seat post and it folds in half.

I started with a set of old bars, flipped, changed forks, end started playing w/mock-up... anyways... this is what I got.. not much and needs lots of work!
I noticed folks just posting on same thread vs. bike thred in this category per builder - - If that's not what I am supposed to do please LMK!

Cool bike, but not using for this contest...


Going to use this bike instead...