Let's get on it- aka High-larious

[Pondo]

Been busy having fun today. My first class 2.

So I originally wanted to build one of these:

It's a pretty cool chopper that converts to a tall bike. Built out of a cheapo full suspension mountain bike.

 

[Pondo]

I rescued this abandoned Next El Cheapo full sus:

It turns out the suspension pivot and bottom bracket shell should be reversed for this type of build. Also, this frame and swing arm are aluminum which I can’t weld. Back to the drawing board.

This was yesterday.
I dragged out most of my junk frames to reevaluate the project. I still wanted to do a tall bike so I needed a steel solution.

These 2 should get the job done.

 

[Pondo]

I decided to go with the build style of the bike on the right. It's got a frame on top with a stretched rear triangle and lengthened/braced head tube. How hard can it be right? I've never built a custom frame before so I'm about to find out.

 

[Pondo]

This morning I gathered all my junk, broke out my fab tools and got down to boogie. I’m a novice welder and fabricator on the hobby level so this project is just for fun. First task is to cut the frames up.

Then some mock up and sort out the design.

I got some of these stripper wheels off amazon and they are fantastic! Strip paint like crazy and don't damage the metal.

 

[Pondo]

Time to burn some metal! I don't have a frame jig so I used a piece of angle iron to hold the head tubes straight. It worked quite well. I flipped the front of the Specialized frame to use as the lower head tube and tied the frame tubes into the Schwinn down tube for gussets.

To weld the rear I fixed the bottom brackets in the same plane using some rectangular tube and angle iron. This also worked out well. I did find that the mild steel Schwinn frame was easy to weld while the chromoly Specialized was a pain.

 

[Pondo]

Lengthening the seat stays was a challenge. I cut the top of the Specialized seat stays off to move up to the Schwinn seat tube. Then I just added some scrap tubing, trimmed down the rear seat tube and Bob’s your uncle! Not! This section was really challenging to weld. The thin chromoly kept burning thru. But I finally got it all welded and will spend the next few days cleaning up those welds.

I think it came out great. It even looks pretty straight. There’s a few more gussets to add and I need to lengthen the steer tube on the forks. It took most of the day to knock this together but it was fun.

I’m thinking about naming it either Lulu the High-larious for the Schwinn model name or Brienne of High Tower after a very tall warrior woman in Game of Thrones.

Further build details call for apes, a bananer saddle and 24/26 wheel combo. That's going to do it for this project until next week sometime.

 

[Son of Kradus]

Been busy having fun today. My first class 2.

So I originally wanted to build one of these:
View attachment 246969
It's a pretty cool chopper that converts to a tall bike. Built out of a cheapo full suspension mountain bike.

Ha ha ha I wonder what they used for the lift, air maybe, it looks like the weight shift forward causes the lift,

 

[twojs.bike]

Looks great!!

 

[SkyknightJohn]

Making quick progress!

 

[Pondo]

Ha ha ha I wonder what they used for the lift, air maybe, it looks like the weight shift forward causes the lift,

It's on gas struts, maybe from a tonneau cover?

I will build one of these when I find a suitable donor bike for cheap.

 

[Pondo]

Looks great!!

Making quick progress!

Thanks guys! It's been fun so far. Next I need to mock it up with some wheels.. I think the head tube angle might be too steep so I'll need to sort that out.

 

[GuitarlCarl]

I WILL BUILD ONE TOO, someday....
I also have a frame stashed.
Gas struts from a heavy hatchback.

 

[Pondo]

Here’s the mock-up.

I like the way it looks. The head tube angle is way steep. 84 degrees according to the app on my phone. I need to extend the forks by probably 13” to get down around 70. Everything else looks like it should work fine.

 

[Pondo]

This is just silly

Hopefully it will be silly fun to ride.

 

[twojs.bike]

Fantastic!

 

[SwissGuy]

Ha ha ha I wonder what they used for the lift, air maybe, it looks like the weight shift forward causes the lift,

Check it out here:
https://www.instructables.com/Transforming-Bicycle-Tall-Bike-to-Chopper-Bike/

 

[MattiThundrrr]

This is just silly

Starting to look like a bike, though!

 

[OddJob]

That last photo makes it look like it might, work? Don't forget to renew your medical coverage. Life insurance might be an idea as well.

 

[Pondo]

That last photo makes it look like it might, work?

Might is the operative term. I'm still scrounging for tubing to extend the forks. I think it needs 18-20" extension on the forks to get the head tube angle into the non-suicidal range.

Don't forget to renew your medical coverage. Life insurance might be an idea

For sure, they don't call me OTB for nothing! Seat height is around 49", I think, 6' at the handlebars. By tall bike standards it's not that tall really.

 

[curtisfox]

I had a tall bike when I was a kid, LOL news paper add. They are so much easier balancing, this picture was take with a flat tire and just barley moving...........Curt