1st try at building a ratbike..... update 4/19/09

[julesjunk]

Just recently entered the ratbike world. Last Sunday, Peddlers cycle shop here in the Kansas city area had a swap and show. A friend and I picked up 4 bikes. He took a liking to a couple English bikes, and I purchased a girls Firestone and a Sears bike. Currently building a RatStroller for my daughter. Figured my wife needed a ride as well.....

Decided to build the firestone bike and make the sears a donor.
Added 10 inches to the frame, and swapped the handlebars. The Schwinns bars are bent, and not really what I'm looking for. They went to a good home though. My friend and I are building a trike for his 2 year old daughter

While blasting the frame, I discovered the name (I'm assuming) of the original owner. It's been stamped onto the bottom of the bike.

Here she is in primer with some chopped up exercise bars on her for ape hangers. Ran across a Tunturi exercise bike sitting at the curb. GREAT for parts.

Figured I was over the hump, and well on my way to being done. Then my neighbor, an avid racer, junk bike collector, AND trouble maker came up with the bright idea to move the crank forward. My wife is tall, so my neighbor pushed for it, and she agreed. Nothing like getting ganged up on. :? So these last two pics are of my project for the day. More pics to come soon.....

I left the stubs hanging down. Figured I might use them for a center kick stand.
Any and all feedback/ideas would be appreciated.
Regards,
Jules

 

[skyrider]

Re: First attempt at building a ratbike.....

Nice collection, Really liking the trike I may have to "borrow" some of your ideas from that one.

 

[tikiharl]

Re: First attempt at building a ratbike.....

That my friend is a insanely cool stretched girls bike. I have never seen a girls bike like that. Im an ape hanger kinda guy anyways.Any thoughts on paint colors /scheme? Maybe stay away from the Pepto Pink,They even painted the pedals. :lol: I will be watching this build.

 

[julesjunk]

Re: First attempt at building a ratbike.....

.Any thoughts on paint colors /scheme? Maybe stay away from the Pepto Pink,They even painted the pedals. :lol:

Yes, someone got a little crazy with the rattlecan pink
Not exactly sure yet on colors. I'm trying to get the wife to give me a "theme" so I can weld few whatevers on it for continuity. She kind of likes the black and white, so I may stay with that. Thinking about putting the firestone emblem back on, so I might accent it with a splash of red somewhere. Possibly a red seat?? Originally, I thought to eliminate all the chrome, but after finding the apes, I think I'll keep some shiny stuff on her.
Thanks for showing interest.
Regards,
Jules

 

[Galtbacken]

Re: First attempt at building a ratbike.....

That trike brings a smile to my face!! Cool!

 

[The Heron]

Re: First attempt at building a ratbike.....

Nice! I envy you cats with the welding skills!

 

[mojobilly]

Re: First attempt at building a ratbike.....

It's time to get jiggy with the cranks man!

 

[julesjunk]

Re: First attempt at building a ratbike.....

It's time to get jiggy with the cranks man!

Amen Brother!

 

[julesjunk]

Added 4/19/09...........

Found a tire I really like, but it only comes in a 26 x 2.125 Too wide for the existing fork. And the parts bike fork is too short and a different diameter.....Now I know this is a minor setback for you guys with 10, 20 or even 50+ bicycles in your back yard, but I'm not there (yet) . I also know I could probably pick up a fork for just a few bucks, but where is the fun in that. So out comes the welder........

My only real concern is the bottom bearing race is just a tad loose now. Any ideas, comments on if this is a problem, or if there's an easy fix would be appreciated.

Still a little tight, but I think doable.

More to come soon I hope..........

 

[elvis51]

jules post more pics on that drive train setup ya got going on there!

Easy E

 

[julesjunk]

jules post more pics on that drive train setup ya got going on there!

It's still a work in progress. I was going to, and may still make the tensioner bracket a little cooler looking, by using some of the round tubing from the parts bike. I figure I'm going to have derailing issues with it, so keeping it simple until I work those bugs out. With the short distance between gears, it might be ok.
I'm sure there's some kit out there for what I'm doing with the secondary bottom bracket, but this is a learning process for me, so I'm trying to do it on the cheap. I simply cut the existing crank down. Currently having slippage issues with the left secondary chainring. Since these pics, I've welded the crank nut directly to the chain ring (probably a mistake). Still feel I need to "pin" it to the crank somehow.
As I stated before, this is my first attempt at anything like this. Figure I'll make all the newbie mistakes on the wifes bike :? , since she'll probably only ride this stupid thing once or twice. We shall see.....