"BLACKJACK" MiniVelo FatBike BUILD. (New owner, new progress soon!)

[LukeTheJoker]

Lol maxi mini
Maybe a pic of both together?

Managed to get it balanced well enough to stand by itself for some pics, the front is sitting a little high though, the mid/top bar should be level:

With a girls muscle bike for size comparison:

With the "120 MiniVelo" (Soon to be re-visited, modified and powdercoated.):

With "Joker":

Due to the oversize tires (20x2.4) on Joker that actually measure out to nearly 21" high, the diameter is actually pretty similar!

Last but not least, the whole MiniVelo collection as it currently stands:

Luke.

 

[whitefiretiger]

Wow it is a maxxxi mini; that thing is going to be massive compared to the others.
The chainring on the 120 is ridiculous but awsome; I probably don't want to know the gear ratio lol.

 

[2Can86]

Lovin the size camparison Luke, that thing is a beast!

Cheers Sammy!

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Lovin the size camparison Luke, that thing is a beast!

Cheers Sammy!

Wow it is a maxxxi mini; that thing is going to be massive compared to the others.
The chainring on the 120 is ridiculous but awsome; I probably don't want to know the gear ratio lol.

Well here they are if you are interested: The 120 actually runs a 120 tooth front and 20 tooth rear, with the 20" tires that works out to a 120 gear-inch ratio. (120/20x20=120) This was my daily rider before the Joker build got finished, so that was as high as I wanted to go at the time.

Part of the rebuild will see a switch to either a 18 or 16 tooth rear for a 133 or 150 gear-inch ratio... Most road bikes top out at 105-110 gear-inch ratios...

Luke.

 

[whitefiretiger]

That's crazy.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

That's crazy.

Yep!

Luke.

 

[whitefiretiger]

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Helmet arrived today!

Surprised by how light it is, I was expecting it to be more like a motorbike helmet but it is still light like a cycling helmet...

Getting really annoyed with the weather at the moment, been raining and windy all day, I really only need a day and the front wheel will be on, the stem and bars done and the drivetrain done enough to go for a test ride, but it is just not happening! Good thing there is no deadline on this build!

Luke.

 

[Kroozerdave]

The worst of winter is still to arrive.
Hope you stay well, and keep the fire burning while you work.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

The worst of winter is still to arrive.
Hope you stay well, and keep the fire burning while you work.

Oh, I will! Amazing the difference a little fire makes!

Luke.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

A little progress today, started of course with a fire:

Decided to start with reaming the seat tube to fix the area where I burnt through while welding:

Complete "How To" on how I did that can be found here: http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-sand-ream-a-seat-tube-fork-tube.85844/

Then moved on to the handlebar mount:

After doing that I had to walk away for a bit as they looked horrible, with those bars on the whole build suddenly got hit with the ugly stick. I ended up trying a few different bars and mounts and I think I have found a set up that works, just going to take a bit more effort.

Roughed out a pair of front dropouts:

Drilled and cut the slot on the seat-tube and test fitted the seat, very happy!

That was it for today, but any progress is good progress right?

Luke.

 

[whitefiretiger]

Progress is good.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

A little bit more work got done today, I am taking things slow at the moment...

Started with:

Then on to my new plan for the handle bars, started by chopping the centre raised section out of some standard MTB riser bars, sleeving that piece and welding a 4" extension to each side:

Then I re-attached the curved up ends to the bars, cleaned them up and fitted them to the bike to have a look:

I like the way that looks, I will add a cross brace to them before I am finished with them though.

Then on to the front dropouts, tacked them together, ground them down nicely and then using my little 4" vice as a clamp drilled the axle holes:

Set them up on the bike ready to be tacked in place:

Knocked some new bearings and a spacer into the front wheel and assembled it to the bike to check for level and straightness, looking good!:

Looks huge in that pic, but here is a pic with me for size reference:

Went for a roll around the yard, very happy, everything is working as it should and it feels very solid. When I got back from my roll around I realised the front drops were still only tacked in place, good thing they were nice solid tacks! That will probably be the first thing I do next time, weld them up nice and solid!

Till then...

Luke.

 

[whitefiretiger]

I hate to say anything bad after all the work you put into those bars & it may just be the pics but... They look very dainty compared to the rest of the bike.
Maybe after you weld the brace & add grips they will fill out.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Maybe after you weld the brace & add grips they will fill out.

That is the plan hopefully.

Luke.

 

[whitefiretiger]

That is the plan hopefully.

Luke.

You did great work; I havnt done more than tack welds in a few years so I'm sure if I tried it wouldn't look that good.

Dumb thought if all else fails you could use some larger tubing and bend your own then weld smaller sections in to fit the grips and stem.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Here is the plan, let me know what you think?

Luke.

 

[whitefiretiger]

Looks like that should beef them up a bit.

I think its seeing the sear size of the fork tubing that close to the bars is why they look so small.

 

[kingfish254]

Looking sharp Luke. It was cool to catch up on this build after the madness of BO9.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Looking sharp Luke. It was cool to catch up on this build after the madness of BO9.

Yeah, the madness! That seems about right!
Good fun though, I always find I am at a loss as to what to do when I am on the computer for a week or two afterwards, I get so used to having pages of build threads to look through!

Mini Build-Off's start soon though!

Thanks for the comment on the bike King!

Luke.