(MBBO#05 Class 2) the UNVEGA- sneak peek & ride vid. all done.

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Location
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Muscle Road - the Unvega
MBBO#05 Class 2

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This should be very interesting! Are you going to keep it a 10 speed? That would be super trick, especially if you were to fabricate some sort of dual console stick shift for it!

Hmmm..that would be cool Crash, I haven't done any shifters, so it might be a bit out of my range - heck I've never even thought about muscle bikes 'till now.
Most likely gonna use a little 3spd freewheel..(subject to change though) .time constraints...goin on the road for the next 2 weeks, and there's a buttt load of welding , touch up and paint match, cuz I want to keep the original color....if possible.
:happy:
F.

Freewheel.jpg

grind down that outside ring that holds it all....or reshape it? make it into a little chain guard? I don't know
 
Really cool transformation, I can't wait to see how this one turns out.
 
Really cool transformation, I can't wait to see how this one turns out.

Oh, it WILL turn out....not sure into what..:21:..but I guarantee it will resemble a muscle bike, and will be rideable.

Now....I hope I remember how to weld......

thanks
franco

 
Last edited:
9/14/2016

My original plan was more of a large triangle,,,long runs from fork tube to back, you know, like the Ross Apollo , etc.
Then I decided to convert a road bike....As a result of that brilliant idea.... I have a bunch of cut up parts to assemble into a working bike....Where to start. hmmmm....(strokes beard)


Lets start here:
....lay it out on a full size template, and tack. Yes, it's a fancy jig
...I'll be disclosing the plans for that some other time

UnvegaJiggy9051.jpg


But for now, Let the fun begin

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Not bad, but when I eyed it, the BB was not square to the littleframe
It was skewed a bit.. Here we go, cut it apart....give it a little twist.....give it another shot.


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OK....close enough, that took the skew out of it alright. Apparently, 2nd time's a charm...It's not 'perfect', however (in this shop anyway), any piece within a couple three millimeters of absolute is called 'close enough'.

Now I have something to go off of....yaaaay.

UnvegaMainframe.jpg



 
The Wheels:

Originally was going to go with chromed wheels, based on the fact that I had a 16" front wheel from a unicycle hanging around. Shiny chrome, but it had the framed housing roller bearings, and I didn't feel like messing with it
Instead, I just bought a little 16" BMX kids bike from Thrift for 5 bucks. Had black rims, but decided to go white......

16" Front: painted, cleared

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20" Rear: Painted, cleared
This was off of an Upland BMX bike I had 18 spd.. Decent little freewheel hub, I removed sprockets to get it down to a 3 speed
This rim was surface rusty, so I dismantled to paint and then re-laced it.......

20rimWhiterearsmall.jpg
 
A little more progress today
Got the chain-stays welded in. Used the 'string' method with a threaded bolt in the dropouts to keep the width I need. After playing tug of war with it for a while, I'd say it's sitting pretty straight as is

straightFront_Back.jpg


Put a nice bend on the fork, and next need to chop out approx 3 1/2" (almost 9 cm.) out of the straight part of the fork blades so it sits as I envision....(according to the drawing I did, anyway)

drawing_fork.jpg


And continue that top bar through as well. Sunday I'm heading up to the North Country for a bit, so there will be a little break in posting.
But I'm sure glad I got the basic frame together before I head out.
It's been a bit of a challenge keeping everything in line....whew. :)

chainstays.jpg


franco...the ol' eyballer
 
Awesome work so far!
The string method is great, I use it all the time, that and a good eyeball test and you can build a great bike that looks good and tracks nice and straight!

Enjoy your visit north, looking forward to when you come back and update more!

Luke.
 
Like the look of this! The dropped BB reminds me of some mtb designs from the '90s. What size is your rear wheel again, 24?
 

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