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Re: air ride frame work in progress

I do not know the specs of the air cylinder you are using, but I have been thinking of it and if you would swap the cylinder location and pivot you would raise up when the cylinder is extended and that would give you some give in the suspension and a bit more comfort. Not saying you should do it, just a thought. I plan on doing this one day with an old bag my friend had on his s10. Can't wait to see completion.
 
Re: air ride frame work in progress

Sorry Cruisinfornia: I keep jumping into your thread, but I've been researching for so long and am now nearly finished collecting parts, I hope you don't mind when I throw my $.02 in. :lol: I will also start a build log once I actually start to...
sawzall.gif
weld2.gif

...when the cylinder is extended and that would give you some give in the suspension and a bit more comfort
Click to expand...
I believe with the air cyl pulling, it would act exactly the same as one that compresses, the air is just on the other side of the seal, that's why air cyls like this are called 'dual action' (same as the one I have on order).

I first considered building my bicycle air ride using an air bag, but I think you'd run into a couple of problems compared to an air cylinder. The first is the internal capacity of even the smallest bag, it'll take less pressure for lift than an air cyl but you'll need much more volume of air. Second is: due to the greater volume/less air pressure, things will be more 'springy' so you would definately need a dampner (shock) to control the bounce. Providing air volume is not a problem with a 5 or10 gallon air tank and on-board compressor, but that's less practical for a bicycle. I have an air bagged car and you'd be surprised how much it bounces without the shocks connnected. :idea:
 
Re: air ride frame work in progress

i know the bouncing, but the weight is soooo much less but it does take a lot of air to fill the bag. I didn't even thing about the push and pull of the cylinder :?
 
Re: air ride frame work in progress

How's the progress coming? Any update pics? I've finally got my air cylinder, fittings and switch. With less than 100psi of air my entire body weight can't compress the cylinder so I'm sure it will be strong enough despite what was said on other forums :wink:. I'm glad there's an adjustable regulator coming too (200 - 1000psi). I bought this switch from New York Bone Collector lowrider shop, but it keeps the air cylinder under constant pressure which eliminates the possibility of air adjustable suspension...wait! I have an idea for a way around that... :idea:
 
Re: air ride frame work in progress

whats up ocd. no, i have done anything to my bike. too much work and not enough free time to work on it. i'm glad to hear that your parts came in. did you get a chance to test your cly. to see if it works correctly?

whats up stretch. I will be posting more pics soon. thanks.
 
Re: air ride frame work in progress

Glad to hear you're too busy and haven't given up on displaying your progress. As mentioned below, my air cyl works perfectly. With air over 50psi my full body weight cannot compress it at all, so much for the 'expert' on the other forum claiming I'm going to need at least 800psi to achieve ride height. I believe he won't post pics of his ride coz he's never built one (four years in the making my a#%). Don't buy the switch from New York Bone Collectors unless you want full up/full down without any adjustment in between, it's designed for hopping, not cruising. I'm pissed at them for misrepresenting their product in the emails between us, $40 wasted. Email me if you want to know where I got the correct one. I'm building my first bike with 24" rims and have run into trouble getting spokes to fit, may need custom cut ones, oh well that's how it goes. Once I have my back wheel laced I will start building and provide a build log here and on Freakbikenation.com. Your work would be greatly appreciated there too, you should join. These are by far the two most welcoming and supportive sites on the 'net, I give up on Slow'n Low and the cult of Cruz-R. :mrgreen:
 
Re: air ride frame work in progress

What size air cylinder are you using, I was looking at either a 1" or 1.5" bore with a 5"-6" stroke. Going to a swap meet and show this weekend and hoping to find an old cruiser to build an air ride with. I was also interested in the mechanical advantages of having the pivot in the center compared to on the bottom and push the rear swing arm up or vice versa.
 
Re: air ride frame work in progress

I'm no expert on this subject, just feeling my way along through the darkness. No one that actually built one will part with any real details. I'm using a 1 5/8" bore X 3 1/4" stroke cylinder which has a 7/16" theaded shaft that I've ordered a Heim joint for. I'm lucky enough to be incorporating a 3 link rear suspension from a Norco Atomic 6" travel freeride bike, so won't require a cylinder with 5" - 6" of stroke. I just looked at mtb airshocks that my friends have and went for something similarly sized. I'm sure anything from 1" - 3" bore could be used, the only difference is the smaller the bore, the more pressure needed for lift, larger the bore, less pressure required and provides a softer ride. This is assuming you don't have so much pressure it's ridgid. I got mine for $7.00 on Ebay, I figured it was a good starting point. Switches on the other hand, have been more elusive, although I have it on good authority UPS has 6 in customs until Feb 11. I hate using UPS, Canadians get burned for broker fees that USPS don't even charge for.

I think the cylinder would have more work to do with the pivot mounted low due to the effect of lever action. If you mounted the cylinder over the low mounted pivot it would need less force, but would require more stroke to get it done. Unless copying a known design, the possibilities are endless.

A rough cut 'n chop sketch in Photoshop: The pedal shouldn't be lower than the bottom frame tube but you get the idea... :wink:
sideview2.jpg
 
Re: air ride frame work in progress

I was thinking of using the same style but strayed away from the design, I liked it because I could use a 2" bore short stroke. You just helped change my design yet again, thanks man
 
Re: air ride frame work in progress

Here's a pic of the air ride parts I've collected so far. The regulator is adjustable from 200-1000psi, I figure 200psi will be plenty. With the airchuck fitting I can hook it up to my shop compressor until I find a deal on a 4500psi paintball tank.
AirRideParts.jpg


Here's my cheap bender and homemade tube roller (made mostly from salvaged material from my scrap bin).
TubeRoller.jpg
 
Re: air ride frame work in progress

nice bender ocd. what size can you bend with that. can you send me the info about that switch you were talking about?
see ya.
 
Re: air ride frame work in progress

Wow, great deal on the seat pan, can't go wrong for $5.00, you'll have to do a nice tooled leather cover for it.

You can find the switch info in the Clippard.com catalogue http://www.clippard.com/downloads/g...Catalog by Section/107-177 Control Valves.pdf look on page 127, 3 position fill and bleed valve, 1/8" ports.

Thanks for the link to that air tank (great price) but I'm holding out for a 4500psi tank. Most inexpensive tanks are squared at one end and look a bit like a black fire extinguisher. I'd like the 30% extra capacity, plus most 4500psi tanks are rounded on both ends and either carbon fibre or at least fibreglass wrapped, so look a bit more high tech.

My bender is a cheap one like you get from Harbour Freight in the US, I think the dies range from 1" - 2". It's actually a pipe bender and so the dies are a bit larger than tube size (pipe is measured by inside diameter, tube is measured by outside diameter) which leads to a bit of flattening on sharper bends. I've only done up to 1" with my tube roller as the dies are only made of oak so I don't want to push them too hard. :mrgreen:
 
Re: air ride frame work in progress

I have the same pipe bender, I just fill the pipe up with wet sand and tape off the ends of the pipe and it bends fine.

I am just going to use a large co2 tank and a beverage dispenser co2 regulator, two hoses coming off. One for the cylinder, and one for a small train horn for people that cut me off.
 
Re: air ride frame work in progress

Biggie said:
I have the same pipe bender, I just fill the pipe up with wet sand and tape off the ends of the pipe and it bends fine.

I am just going to use a large co2 tank and a beverage dispenser co2 regulator, two hoses coming off. One for the cylinder, and one for a small train horn for people that cut me off.
Click to expand...

nice. but you will have to have 2 valves too. You could get the lowes co2 air tool thing instead of a beverage dispenser co2 thing.
 
Re: air ride frame work in progress

You could get the lowes co2 air tool thing instead of a beverage dispenser co2 thing.
Click to expand...
Could you elaborate? Does that valve have 3 position fill/neutral/exhaust? Do people use Co2 for air tools? :? I've read that coz Co2 cools when it converts from liquid to gas it can freeze the o-rings/seals in your system and cause leaks, which is why everyone is going to N2 or Compressed Air (so say the paintball guys).

My 7/16" Heim rod end arrived today, I'll have to start my own build thread soon.

I may try the wet sand idea, I've read about people pounding wooden plugs in the ends of the tubes rather than tape.
 

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