MAN :shock: I need a welder, awesome work guys 8)
Anyone up for a tall bike challenge?
- Thread starter Tommy Atoms
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This is where Im at now. The seat stays are not welded in solid yet, just wanted to get a feel for how it looks. Sure hope that snow melts soon. Im getting sick of all the kerosene fumes in my shop :x .
TTT the frame is shaping up, looks like the payload is forward of the rear wheel where I like it, balance should be good. I'm hanging on your steering connection you got going there 
All and all its shaping up nicely.
ozz nice work with the rear frame standing on end Looks like another well balanced tallrider. I never made that style. My YouTube friend and RRB member onetonmagoo makes them that style. I like it
I'm keeping my eye on you two 8)
Graylock
All and all its shaping up nicely.ozz nice work with the rear frame standing on end
Looks like another well balanced tallrider. I never made that style. My YouTube friend and RRB member onetonmagoo makes them that style. I like it I'm keeping my eye on you two 8)
Graylock
I don't think I am even a contender. My welds just aren't pretty enough. TTT, your bike is definitely looking nice. But I have built a few stacked frames, and it seems like the geometry puts my weight back too far, so that if i ride over a curb, or up a hill, I am likely to do an involuntary wheelie. That's why my silver multi-speed tallbike has the 20" on the front. I built one 3 frames high, but I had to move each frame a bit forward on the frame it was stacked on to compensate for that. But then the steering assembly got complicated, or rather just difficult to turn.
Yeah I hope im sitting up on this thing. That is why I moved the rear wheel back. When I look at it with the front tire in place it seems like I'll be forward enough on it. At 5 foot 6and 3 quarters Im not a big guy. I inherited my families short leg syndrome, so Im hoping it wont be an issue. My issue is probably going to be getting up on the bike without a milk crate. Im hoping I can throw my leg over the back similar to mounting a horse. As for caliber of welding, dont sweat that stuff. If you trust the strength of your welds (which obviously you do) than that is what matters. My welds are not always pretty but it gets the job done. I build alot of exhaust systems, test equipment fixtures and tools for the automotive industry so my life involves alot of welding. Your probably good at something I suck at, so who cares. This is more about designing something that works and looks cool than a welding contest.
As far as getting up on it, you might try welding a peg to the lower frame. You can put your right foot on it and push like a scooter. Then throw your left foot up on the pedal and swing your other behind the seat. That's what I did on my purple bike, and the seat is over 6 ft up, and I'm not tall either really, probably 5'9" or 10"
The rain crept in on me today, or I would have the fork completely done, as well as some other stuff.Here's a pic of the fork, basically. I still need to weld in a center tube, then some crossbraces. More rigidity is best with this type of fork. Without the center tube and braces, it will flex a little, which at that height feels like a lot. So the three-tube-fork was invented. Also here's the before of some old 26" wheels. I need to pull the rear Komet Super hub guts, which needs rebuilt anyway. Then pull the front axle and bearings, paint the rims, and rebuild/reassemble it all.
OK, so the balloon wheels didn't work out. They were too rusty and as I was tightening the spokes up 2 of them broke. The spokes needed to be at least as tight as on a normal bike if not tighter, because of how you climb onto the bike. And the wheels need to be at least a little sturdy. I really wanted to use those too, since they are too rusty for anything else and I was going to just paint them. But now I have pulled a set of 26 x 1 3/8 with a bendix hub. They are junkers too, but are sturdy and the spokes aren't rusty at all. They have been coated with Bulldog (great adhesion promoter that works well on chrome if you scuff it up just a bit), primed and ready to paint. Hub guts and bearings are being cleaned tonight, and paint should be done. I'll put them back together tomorrow night.
Yeah I haven't decided on a rear wheel yet. Id like to use a Schwinn brick tire I have that I only have one of. Since the front is going to be a balloon I figured the back better be too. I have a rear single speed mt bike wheel that looks nice but is out of round. I tried to true it up but Ive never trued a rim before and I dont think what i did was of any help. I also have a Sturmey archer 3 speed I wouldnt mind putting on that mt.
I guess I can't really keep anything secret or else I wouldn't be able to show progress. So here's my frame painted black and drying in the sun. I'll post the finished pics of the fork in a while. I still need to put the sanding wheel to it and clean up those welds, but it came out really nice.
