About 3 weeks ago I learned about a local Cargo Bike Race (which was Saturday, Oct 11).
I might have been able to do it with my road bike and trailer, but I decided that I needed a "Cargo Bike".
So, out with the drawing board. Browsing around the spare parts bin. I decided to build a conventional front and fat tire rear bike + trailer.
I was hunting for a Schwinn OCC Chopper to donate the rear wheel, but then stumbled upon the Mongoose Massif. Nothing local, but I ordered one which came fairly quickly.
I used the Steyr front end.
Mongoose Bottom Bracket (extra wide).
Mongoose Rear Triangle
Mongoose Rear Hub. Note, it was narrow in the frame, 7 spd. I added a 5mm spacer and an 8 spd freewheel cluster.
Added A DNP Epoch 8 speed, 11-30 freewheel.
Some of the welds came out a bit rough. I'm good at blowing holes into anything and everything. And, my parts fitting was a bit rough to begin with. I started mig welding, but finished tig welding the frame and rack.
I still have to clean up a few welds, but deemed the bike ridable for the event last Saturday. Also, I realized late in the build that I'd have troubles mounting the front derailleur. I'm hunting for a triple "direct mount" derailleur. For now, I'm manually shifting between the chain rings.
At some point in the build, I realized things weren't perfectly straight, but being tight on time, I pressed onward. It seems to ride ok, but I can definitely feel some frame flex (vibration) when pulling a heavy load, perhaps due to an off-center hitch.. I haven't tried carrying a heavy load yet, but that will be next, probably this afternoon.
I will probably try to straighten the descending part of the rack slightly, and then see what I get. If I can't fix the flex problem with adjustments, then I'll try running an extra tube from the rear triangle to the head tube.
I also can't get to the inner sprocket on the cluster without both the derailleur rubbing on the rim, and the chain rubbing on the tire. But, with a triple chainring setup, I probably won't ever need that extra ring.
Another remaining issue is that the center-pull front brake, and the disc rear brake both require long pull brake levers. I mounted standard aero levers, which turned out to be short pull. I'm now hunting for some long pull levers. If they work well, I'll probably add a disc brake to the front. As it is, the ancient center pull brake has more stopping power than the disc brake.
Paint is still undecided. I'd like to keep the original front Steyr badge, and the coat of arms on the seat tube. I may strip and try an natural clear-coat. Or????
I might have been able to do it with my road bike and trailer, but I decided that I needed a "Cargo Bike".
So, out with the drawing board. Browsing around the spare parts bin. I decided to build a conventional front and fat tire rear bike + trailer.
I was hunting for a Schwinn OCC Chopper to donate the rear wheel, but then stumbled upon the Mongoose Massif. Nothing local, but I ordered one which came fairly quickly.
I used the Steyr front end.
Mongoose Bottom Bracket (extra wide).
Mongoose Rear Triangle
Mongoose Rear Hub. Note, it was narrow in the frame, 7 spd. I added a 5mm spacer and an 8 spd freewheel cluster.
Added A DNP Epoch 8 speed, 11-30 freewheel.
Some of the welds came out a bit rough. I'm good at blowing holes into anything and everything. And, my parts fitting was a bit rough to begin with. I started mig welding, but finished tig welding the frame and rack.
I still have to clean up a few welds, but deemed the bike ridable for the event last Saturday. Also, I realized late in the build that I'd have troubles mounting the front derailleur. I'm hunting for a triple "direct mount" derailleur. For now, I'm manually shifting between the chain rings.
At some point in the build, I realized things weren't perfectly straight, but being tight on time, I pressed onward. It seems to ride ok, but I can definitely feel some frame flex (vibration) when pulling a heavy load, perhaps due to an off-center hitch.. I haven't tried carrying a heavy load yet, but that will be next, probably this afternoon.
I will probably try to straighten the descending part of the rack slightly, and then see what I get. If I can't fix the flex problem with adjustments, then I'll try running an extra tube from the rear triangle to the head tube.
I also can't get to the inner sprocket on the cluster without both the derailleur rubbing on the rim, and the chain rubbing on the tire. But, with a triple chainring setup, I probably won't ever need that extra ring.
Another remaining issue is that the center-pull front brake, and the disc rear brake both require long pull brake levers. I mounted standard aero levers, which turned out to be short pull. I'm now hunting for some long pull levers. If they work well, I'll probably add a disc brake to the front. As it is, the ancient center pull brake has more stopping power than the disc brake.
Paint is still undecided. I'd like to keep the original front Steyr badge, and the coat of arms on the seat tube. I may strip and try an natural clear-coat. Or????
