Ambitious

[Son of Kradus]

As the heading states this is gonna be a very "Ambitious" attempt at getting over the line on time!
After staring at the fat tire MTB I picked a few months ago, for like 2 days, I decided it just wasnt gonna look like I wanted so I decided to go with the old muscle bike frame I picked a week or 2 later.
This had the 72 spoke wheels and 3 inch x 20 tires that all ended up on the "BMX Ute" sadley its looking worse for wear, I was gonna rebuild it but fishings got in the way, so with 10 days remaining im gonna have a shot at this!

so I plan to chuck these wheels on....29 at the rear with a 24 in the front. this also has a full size "old school: BMX one piece crank in it, I fully re greased and cleaned it all up before re-installing, i'll leave this in but will look at chopping the front and increasing the rake a wee bit to relieve the tire strike syndrome and push the bars back to me a bit as well.
I'll try to leave the crank case and seat tube etc where they are and i'll be sitting right above the top of the rear wheel.

Theres some major fabbing for the rear drop outs! im still undecided about the actual design....due to this projects "Ambitious" nature I better get cracking and stop staring and thinking too much, I really do have come up with something fast, I need to lengthen these but also want something different, maybe carry the lines real low and come up from underneath....got most of the morning to figure this out but for now im pulling it apart.
Wish me luck!

 

[Son of Kradus]

I chopped the old drop outs off where I thought would be a great place, leaving extra for a sleeve to go inside the new bits.

the new bits consist of some old seat n chain stays I had cut up ages ago, these were for the "Bmx Ute" tray support but never needed so many, I now wish I didnt cut them all coz I really needed a rear triangle with the entire stays still fixed, would of made the marrying part a bit easier and not so "Full Fab"

 

[Son of Kradus]

So everything was cut to size, the extra length required the use of the "SOK" frame widening tool, (Car scissor Jack)
and I opened her up, I only had to make about 1.5 "of room so they married up to the rear drop outs which were cut off the original rear system.

 

[Son of Kradus]

I managed to get the whole thing tacked on its all sitting nicely.
Remembering I still havnt made myself a jig so its the trusty eyeometer still! lets face it, even with a jig your still using the eyeometer only things progress much quicker coz youve got faith in the straightness of the whole affair. my method, (and many others) is a bit more hard core and backyard but then hey.... thats me LOL..

day ones almost over, works canned again tonight as we've entered our rainy season. so i'll spend the rest of the afternoon finishing these welds and complete the rear fabrications. theres a couple gussett/ supports for the rear join so i'll do that this arvie.
A 26" wheel with a skinny white wall was found hiding and I really like this better than the 24" I was running with so a swap a rooney there!
Brakes have to be welded on some where along those new stays, not hard but fidgety!
The derailer has to be mounted as well but that can be a finals day thing before pant day! probably the same day the brakes get done!
its gone surprisingly fast this build and im over the moon with its look already!
You can see we're quite high off the ground so that front wheel has to come forward a bit, this is why im gonna chuck another couple degree's in the rake to do just that! then that'll bring the bars back a bit so not so stretchy stretchy sort of!
its a shame I cant leave it right as it is but there would be a bugger of a tire strike in the front!

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Good luck, man. I know you have the fire in your belly, you can make this happen

 

[Son of Kradus]

didnt get a lot of time today, Rains gone for a bit so im off for an arvie sleep before work tonight.
I did however get most of an important job done.... The new seat post.
I didnt like the original bent rusty post and due to me stretching the bike I now had to get the post back even further.
I had an Idea so ran with it, I chopped out the old seat tube, just the very top that clamps the actual post, and it turned out like this.

I didnt mind the look of this at all, I even considered taking a short cut and using just a normal cruiser seat, mounting it real low at the rear,
I chickened out and kept going but it does look quite sinister like this.

So I then grabbed an old seat tube top from the donor scrap pile, it managed to fit well for starters so I chopped and fabbed it till it fit snuggly in here.

I'll have to fab up a big .......something... to fill this void and secure the tube clamp, probably just cut a length out of a spare top tube from the donor pile LOL.
But you can see what im trying to achieve here, I still want a tiny amount of height adjustment in the seat so I still need a bit of upright in the post angle. it all works well right where ive super tacked it on....(Super Tacked= a weld a bit bigger than a tac but not a full on deep penetration weld, so you can hit it with a hammer still and not break it but slightly jostle into position...LOL)

So in this pic you can see ive still got the frames structual center post intact, it looks ok but......Hmmmm I dunno.

This pic shows how I will still have an inch or 3 height adjustment if needed! The seat post in there now is the one i'll use because ive cut it to size so it dosnt protrude below the twin stay rails that run past and down to the drop out!
If by some remote chance a genuine 6 foot 8" person wishs to ride it we just get a longer seat post and swap it out!

So far so good....Hmmmm I dunno is it just me or is that new seat post clamp section bugging you as well!
I like where it is and the angle and all but the application is a bit tardy.
I may chop it out and do somthing different Hmmmmmmm!
It is looking great though and ive had an unexpected win,
With the seat now back several inchs its changed the foots angle on the pedal and theres actually enough room to pedal without striking in a turn! If I can get away with not increasing the rake i'll be a happy chappy!
anyway here it is .....Still an ambitious effort ahead as the paint and rebuild is usually a week at best!

 

[GeePig]

The BB is higher than the rear axle, which is OK for BMX bikes, but maybe here it looks a little unusual, like it was tipping up the rear of the bike. If the front forks were curved to bring the front wheel forwards it might bring the BB down enough to have a more comfortable stance.

Or this is the first bike in a new style that I need to get my head around.

 

[Son of Kradus]

The BB is higher than the rear axle, which is OK for BMX bikes, but maybe here it looks a little unusual, like it was tipping up the rear of the bike. If the front forks were curved to bring the front wheel forwards it might bring the BB down enough to have a more comfortable stance.

Or this is the first bike in a new style that I need to get my head around.

The latter

 

[Son of Kradus]

I came home at 4am, didnt get to bed till after 5 and woke just before lunch, felt drowsy and horrid most of the day but did manage to finish off the seat post move.
Its actually a piece of old BMX forks that were bent and ive been cutting bits off them for some months now.

I managed to fab it up pretty good, remembering this only to "pretty" the look from the top and give the new seat post clamp some extra strength.
its sat where its supposed to go nicely.

I know I know my welds are still huge and horrid but its..... solid to say the least, it'll clean up much better on frame day!
These pics were taken in the evening so not very bright etc!

I had to spend some time with the daughter this arvie and we experimented on some painting, its just artists acrylic but more than useable for a bicycle if you throw a few coats of clear over the top!
im planning something along the same tonal lines as this.

 

[Son of Kradus]

I had to do a day shift today but was home by 1pm so I got stuck into the frame!
Those who have followed my earlier builds will know whats happening in this first pic!
I couldnt help but throw an extra aspect of customization into this frame, to do just the stretch and post move wasnt satisfying my bike building desire's.
So It happened....Yep,

Even though a cantilever, The frames from a very small kids bike which is whats giving the bike its compact look even though its been stretched.
I put the slightest angle on the cut so After cutting the downtube out I can spin the tube 180'.
I also cut up a small sleeve to help it all!

And "Whallah Peanut Butter sandwhich's" we have the SOK frame modification trait added!
Also the white wall skinny was bugging me, I found a better wheel with a nice shiny hub and quick release, it had am off road tire on it to which im sorta liking.
Is it just me or could we be looking at a muscle klunker in the making! all it needs is BMX forks n bars etc!

I got carried away and kept going with the frame, welded all bits n piece's
I still have to add some brakes which quite possibly will be tomorrow morning.
Im considering washing the frame and hiffing some bomdo on the worst bits.

 

[Son of Kradus]

I woke early,coz im back on nights today! I was rummaging through the shed early, I like to get everything done early so I can wind down for an arvie sleep! ...and I had another unexpected win!
I found an old set of forks that accept the 26" wheel and they had the brake attachments already on....it even has one of those Dynamo lights that...while feeling like you were peddling around with the brakes on......yes it still works
this is gonna save me a half day at best! it even has a small guard that may find itself still there.

 

[Son of Kradus]

I managed to find a derailler but couldnt for the life of me find the bolt, I managed to find another derailler that needed just a srew mount and I matched it to a cut off from another donor drop out piece of scrap.
Cut to length I welded it on, yet again those drop out welds are bugging me.

so I put the thing on and .....well it all worked out well and she's pretty straight.
I also went over those welds on both drop outs and ground em right back!

 

[Son of Kradus]

And I found some brakes lying about the shed!
The fronts are off a set of MTB forks that didnt get used, they are only cheapie walmart bike brand sort of thing and the rear brakes are off....ummmmmm I can remember what they're off but they have a huge set of pads, really long so they're gonna go great on the 29" rear!
With me finding these brakes that can just bolt on ive managed to save myself a couple days work. All that remains after this is some smalls, cables, grips, levers etc.

So thats it for the frame modifications, all major welding is done, if theres anything else i'll look at it tomorow as im off for a snooze before work tonight. maybe a gurad bracket ,clamp etc for the rear, thats about it , then brakes cables etc, test ride, then pull apart and paint.
Really happy with how its turned out and absolute zero cost....uh oh...the #plate cost $10 and will be here this week!

 

[Pondo]

Wow, another fantastic, and fast, SOK full custom build! Looks great too! I'm really enjoying the frame mods you've got going on here. And the signature SOK downtube! Very cool build. Hopefully pedal interference won't be an issue.

muscle klunker in the making! all it needs is BMX forks n bars etc!

That's a cool idea, actually. I've been looking into early BMX stuff lately and most of the early 'BMX' race bikes were Stingrays with banana seats and high bars, just with fenders and chain guards removed. Some of the bikes had cross bars welded into the high bars for strength so maybe something like that could work.

 

[Son of Kradus]

ok ok So I have never had a bike with a console shifter and I didnt want anymore than 2 cables coming from the bars so I set about making a crude shifter for the bike.
I rushed this hence no pics of the piece's individually.
I used a small part of a seat stay and off set it to accommodate the old school "10 speed style" gear shifter. I couldnt get this to sit on the frame due to the cable outlet and where exactly I wanted it so I made a small stand for it and welded the whole assembly to the top tube! I know I know "EeeeeeK"
I then had another chain stay off cut and i used that as the lever stick.
Its only tacked on and looks pretty ordinary but I plan a pretty up of this whole affair!

See how the cable outlet has to come down between the frame supports, Just to keep it real and sort of tidy....as horrid as this modification is im aiming real high here , as in, "Fit for purpose"

This is the sons old RC car, we kept it in case we needed spares....we didnt!
Notice one wheel is missing!

It ended up as the gear knob!

im trying my hardest to not spend a dime on this build, with being down $10 already for the #plate, the best brake levers ive got left (all others on past builds) look terrible and if I have time I may give them a lick of paint!
Can ya see the rain drops.....had my afternoon sleep to awake to an email canning work, im now outside in the rain taking pics Grrrrr!

I also dropped the sissy bar to its lowest, sort of compliments the bike and helps with its ratty muscle stance! the seat can come down another inch which is gonna happen but I may have to drill new holes to get this! the alignment dosnt allow it, remember its now got a 29" wheel so the sissy bar hole measurements are slightly out!

 

[Son of Kradus]

Got the gears working, I found an old gear cable inner thats wasnt rusty, matched that to a Brake cable outer sleeve and married it all together!
it moves surprisingly well.

I'll make a chain today and have a test ride, next will be a strip down, quick sand and then paint, we're expecting 30'c today with showers so its gonna be a well timed effort.
im un decided wether to put this in now or after painting but I have to use some of this chopped up carbon fiber and use expoy glue to bond the gear knob into the top of the stick shifter. actually, it cant be today as I have to paint, ive run out of time.
Everything on this bike is permanent, never to be swapped out,

 

[Son of Kradus]

Well I had a Giant failure in the newly made shift stick,
I found after only testing and making the lovely movie of it that I realised I now had a small amount of play,
Silly me should have used epoxy bonding and let it set for longer.
Un-fazed by this I continued.
Now that I had a good excuse I chopped out the first attempt

I shaped the stand a bit better and i'll weld that on soon, I then went about looking for a suitable replacement.....Low n Behold I found another styled selector by shimano.
This allowed me to be able to attach it properly and much neater. I also can remove it and chuck it on after painting easily and let the bond set for the gear knob while the paint dries for a couple days. another bonus is the thumb lever on this one is much friendlier as in "the shape" of it, I made a new stick lever and it fits much better and straighter, I may get away with a pretty stainless bolt securing it rather than an epoxy bog job!..I really am taking this project to the very last day!
Main thing is the cable can run unobstructed through the frame and towards the back.

 

[Son of Kradus]

Daughter and I had a practice run on the old forks that came off the bike,
Didn't go as planned so it's a good thing it's a test run
The difference was we brushed a heavy 1st coat instead of pouring it on, which can waste an awful lot but ya get way better color blending.
We also made the paint too thick and it never ran as we wanted the green highlight bits didn't really Work either, hmmmm back to the drawing board with the green

 

[Son of Kradus]

We got rain again so im expecting to stay home.
I took the time to mix up some epoxy glue, blended it and then mixed in some carbon mash.
I carefully placed the RC wheel gear knob in one end with a thicker mash and then tipped it upside down and proceeded to stuff the thing from the other end, I then have placed it in a special place so as it dosnt get knocked or disturbed in anyway....LOL (yeah as if) like right on the bench corner Grrrrr!

With the bit left over im going to fill the void behind the gear selection lever, this will be a great help once the sticks on and I drill a small through it with pretty stainless bolt and nylock nut.
Still gotta weld that gear shifter mount in full, might be this arvie, and if work is canned i'll pull the thing apart and start the paint prep.
At this stage i'll be assembling the bike only hrs before the deadline!

 

[SwissGuy]