Here's the results of today's effort. I may actually be able to test ride this thing soon. Just need to mount the rear tensioner, tweak the front chainline a bit and make a front mount for the air cyl and seat.
Air Ride Bike
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Managed to fab a front mount for the air cyl today. It's nice to have it all functioning now. Although not yet ridable, it's getting close. Takes a bit more air pressure to make the suspension firm than I thought (aprox 170 psi). I'm sure that wont' be a problem once I have a 4500psi air tank on board. Seems to leak down after a short time but I haven't checked the lines or cylinder yet.
As you can see I haven't mounted my rear chain tensioner yet.
As you can see I haven't mounted my rear chain tensioner yet.
Yesterday I was able to have a short push/ride around on the bike in front of my house to check things out. I never realized how much these bent springers flex until now. As soon as I turn the front tire rubs heavily on the fork legs although the rear tire is okay. I swapped out the fat, tall Kendas for some stock 24" tires, but of coz now I've only got about 2" ground clearance which I could ride but seems too little to use the air ride. I'm not sure what to do, I may have to try narrow rims with the Kendas to draw the side walls in, or 26" wheels with 2.35" tires to help me get the ground clearance back. I'll likely have to weld the frame together and start to experiment. Hopefully a minor setback. :roll:
yeah longer bolt for the fork legs and shim them out as for the bent springer make some spacers(for the bolt for the spring may require a longer bolt as well) and then crank the heck out of the bolt for the spring to stiffen it up
Thanks for the advise guys, I've never had a bent springer before and didn't expect so much flex. I've mounted some 2.1" (Stingray front) tires so the interference problem is gone but as previously stated I'm down to 2 1/4" of clearance between the frame and the ground. I'm going to try the spacer trick on the fork to see if I can get those 3.0" tires back on coz they look so good. I may also try to put a shim under the spring and preload it to reduce the bouncing. My plan is to finish welding the frame, hook up the shifter and brakes temporarily to give it a proper try out. As always building is a learning experience. :?
Had a productive 6 hour stretch today, managed to strip, weld, grind, wire wheel and reassemble the bike. Got the gears functional so a proper test ride (without brakes) was also possible today. I've bypassed the air system for now by slipping a piece of black nylon air line over the air cyl shaft keeping it fully extended until I get an air tank. While hooking up the gears I realized the rear sprocket was on backward, so I lost 1/2" of chainline clearance after flipping, so no way are the tall, fat, 3.0" Kendas ever going to fit on there. I'll eventually get a pair of the 2.35" Krusaders next time CUS have their 30% off sale. As the lever action really shows on this bent fork, I decided to firm things up by adding a washer at either end of the spring and sliding a piece of vinyl air hose over the bolt inside, seems to work well. After I get the brakes working and install the rear chain tensioner, it'll be ready for some long term testing before tear down, paint and polish. These tires don't rub, but are a real disappointment after those monster Kendas I had planned on using for soooo long. 
Frame welded, roughly ground and wire wheeled.
Who needs a kickstand?
It's about an inch lower than I'd planned, but I can live with it.
Frame welded, roughly ground and wire wheeled.
Who needs a kickstand?
It's about an inch lower than I'd planned, but I can live with it.
Unfortunately I designed the frame around 24x3.0 Kenda Kraze tires which are the same height as standard 26" tires. When I bought the Sturmey 8 speed hub I assumed you could put a dished spocket on like an older SA, but of coz you can't as the shifter works the same as a Nexus so it's in the way of the sprocket. The rear suspension could easily be readjusted to be higher but the front can't be changed which would result in the bottom frame tube no longer being parallel with the ground. I could just put 26" wheels on the bike but then I'd lose the look of the 2" rims.
You're right though, I won't be able to use the air ride for anything other than parking. I plan to go ahead and finish the bike as is, perhaps try to find a taller 24x2.35 tire. I may build another frame down the road and switch the components over. The bike is okay to ride on the road but sharp corners, speed bumps and driveway entrances are a bit tricky.
I don't know if you noticed, I used a piece of black nylon air line slipped over the air cyl shaft which works really well. I have discovered the air cyl leakdown you refered to, I'm suspecting it's because we both used dual acting cyls which are meant to push/pull, but we have only hooked up one side. I believe a single action cyl may fix this problem. What did you use to convert from the air tank thread to the fitting for your switch? I've got my eye on an ebay tank, but of course will need some sort of adapter.
You're right though, I won't be able to use the air ride for anything other than parking. I plan to go ahead and finish the bike as is, perhaps try to find a taller 24x2.35 tire. I may build another frame down the road and switch the components over. The bike is okay to ride on the road but sharp corners, speed bumps and driveway entrances are a bit tricky.
I don't know if you noticed, I used a piece of black nylon air line slipped over the air cyl shaft which works really well. I have discovered the air cyl leakdown you refered to, I'm suspecting it's because we both used dual acting cyls which are meant to push/pull, but we have only hooked up one side. I believe a single action cyl may fix this problem. What did you use to convert from the air tank thread to the fitting for your switch? I've got my eye on an ebay tank, but of course will need some sort of adapter.
Since adding the rear tensioner and front/back brakes, I've managed to get about 3 hours test riding done. It takes awhile to get used to the steering but the bike is smooth and stable.
The Sturmey 8 speed has about the same gear spread as a 24 speed mtb so I needed a smaller chain ring. I cut the outer mounts off this spider so I could just use the smallest one.
Someone asked how tall is it, turns out to be 26.25" at the highest point of the handlebar.
I kept having to readjust the front chain and so decided to make a BB tensioner, that way adjustment would only take 2 hands and stay consistant, works great so far.
The Sturmey 8 speed has about the same gear spread as a 24 speed mtb so I needed a smaller chain ring. I cut the outer mounts off this spider so I could just use the smallest one.
Someone asked how tall is it, turns out to be 26.25" at the highest point of the handlebar.
I kept having to readjust the front chain and so decided to make a BB tensioner, that way adjustment would only take 2 hands and stay consistant, works great so far.
I don't know if you noticed, I used a piece of black nylon air line slipped over the air cyl shaft which works really well.
Is your black nylon rubbing against the black rubber part inside your cyl? Must be some very strong stuff to hold you and your bike up.
as far as the cyl... the single and double are the same inside. the only difference is that one has two ports. but they do make a cyl. with a spring inside. Not sure if that will help the problem. go to any store that sells air fittings and give them the two sizes that you need and they will sell you a reducer/adapter. If you are going to use a hpa tank... then i don't know what kind of adapter you need.
can you show a pic with your bike fully parked on the rear frame?
Is your black nylon rubbing against the black rubber part inside your cyl? Must be some very strong stuff to hold you and your bike up.
as far as the cyl... the single and double are the same inside. the only difference is that one has two ports. but they do make a cyl. with a spring inside. Not sure if that will help the problem. go to any store that sells air fittings and give them the two sizes that you need and they will sell you a reducer/adapter. If you are going to use a hpa tank... then i don't know what kind of adapter you need.
can you show a pic with your bike fully parked on the rear frame?
I'm getting used to how low this thing is, you have to approach driveways and curbs with caution but it's all do-able with the occasional scraaaape. The pedals only drag on a sharpish corner if they are in the down position on that side, easy solution is stop pedaling on the sharp corners :wink: . The pedals are level with the bottom of the frame so I have about 2.25" road clearance which is more than a lot of guys over at Slo'n Low have. I don't want to lessen the rake coz it helps counteract the effect of the bent springer. I also don't want to start modifying the frame as I may as well start over for all the work it would be. I'm looking at moving my jackshaft forward and over to get more chainline clearance, hopefully I can put the 3.0 Kendas back on there at some point. :mrgreen:
My wife and I participated in the annual Ride For Your Life yesterday here in Parksville, BC. It's a yearly fundraiser for stroke recovery and can have upwards of 600 participants. Needless to say the other bikes as low as mine were mostly riden by 5 year olds (lol). The distance choices are 15, 35, 50, 70 or 100km, we chose the 35km. We ran into a few friends, had a great time, we'll be sure to do it again next year. :fro:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUEgDS2yxtw
ps: there's a bit of video of me riding my latest bike at the end too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUEgDS2yxtw
ps: there's a bit of video of me riding my latest bike at the end too.
No air yet, I ordered a tank off ebay but it turns out that many tanks sold in the US are DOT but not TC (transport Canada?) certified and so had to cancel the transaction as I would not be able to get it filled most places here. I've got inquiries into other sellers for details but have not heard back from anyone. Also my style of reg will need a slide lock on the outlet side in order to able to remove the tank for filling which I'm working on too. The bike performed flawlessly on the 35km ride, now to work on the jackshaft to improve the chainline for the larger Kenda tires....
