Mini-Klunk

[Wildcat]

Here's my entry. I probably won't find a vintage frame so I'm going ahead with this bike. I'm also starting college so I won't have as much time to work on the bike.

The plan is to make a mod or two to the frame and make it a Klunker, but a 20" version. I may make it into a straight bar frame or add cantilevers, if that's what those bars are called. I'll do the welding myself at a local shop, and this frame didn't cost much, so no big loss if I destroy it learning how to weld. Other issues are brakes, as the sidepull brakes don't reach the wheel. The rear hub is a 2 speed freewheel and I may change out the front hub to a drum if I can get one. The wheels are alloy with 36 stainless spokes each, so they should be able to take a beating. I'll probably use the Michelins that are on there now.

 

[bikedudeomaha]

glad to see you joined the party! 20' klunker...awesome.

 

[Kevin Kanouff]

Cool idea


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[kingfish254]

I like your plans for this.
Since you are going back to college, I think you should call this Dangerfield (or The Triple Lindy)

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Very cool! I have a liking for 20" wheeled adult bikes!

Luke.

 

[Funkme]

Almost like a minivelo.
Sounds like a interesting build...

 

[Wildcat]

Maybe extra bars like a spaceliner frame. I'll make some crude drawings and see what looks better. I see the problem with the front brakes, the forks are for 1 3/8 wheels which are taller, so I'll see if they have the inexpensive bmx forks for 1.75 wheels at the bike shop. That'll have a better klunker look also and is in chrome to boot.

 

[order99]

I love 20" frames! They're cheap and plentiful, so that when I invariably screw something up i've not wasted a lot of money, er...

But enough about me, let's see what you do with yours...

 

[Wildcat]

My drawings were too crude to post up, but I've settled on a frame mod. I'm going to add a bar like this Klunker I found a pic of. The frame is all straight, so I think it'll look best keeping it without curves. I'll have to figure out how to weld in a section that looks normal when finished.
Then I'll tack in a plate with a "10" painted on.

 

[Wildcat]

I just read the rules again, I originally thought I had to do all the welding, but the rules don't specify that. A big relief.
I'll let the local pros weld this up safely.

 

[Fv2]

I just read the rules again, I originally thought I had to do all the welding, but the rules don't specify that. A big relief.
I'll let the local pros weld this up safely.

Think I saw that guy on one of those short lived car tv shows.

 

[Wildcat]

Even though the heat index is near 100, it was overdue for tear down.

Luckily, the crank and steering bearings were caged! All my bikes have cottered cranks and they all have loose bearings except for this one.

The one bearing cap was crossthreaded, but with the vise, it loosened up easily.

It's a good thing I'm adding to this frame, the welds all look questionable, so I'll clean them up and have the shop see if they are any good. I may add 3 bars to the frame, one extra bar below the top bar, and 2 extra seat stays.

I might get a piece of plate and make up new dropouts, these are so thin can be bent by hand.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Those welds don't look too bad to me, they are not pretty, but they don't look weak, I would strip the paint off them and have another look...

Luke.

 

[Wildcat]

They might be, I don't know a whole lot about welds. I'll lose some height with different forks, so I'm also considering suspension forks to keep the height. Either springer or shocks, I'll see what I can find cheap.

 

[Wildcat]

I took a closer look and see where the headtube will need a little welding.

I also reconsidered the extra bar on the frame and am thinking twinbar. I want 2 bars extending from the downtube to seatpost, but continuous to the chainstays after a sharp bend at the seat tube. A little like the early 60's Schwinn twin tubes frames. It will line up at the black dots on the down tube, seat stay and chain stay and get tacked into place. 3/8 ths inch steel tubing, 44 inches per side.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Looks like that headtube is made from rolled steel with no outside weld? Interesting!

Luke.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

I also reconsidered the extra bar on the frame and am thinking twinbar. I want 2 bars extending from the downtube to seatpost, but continuous to the chainstays after a sharp bend at the seat tube. A little like the early 60's Schwinn twin tubes frames. It will line up at the black dots on the down tube, seat stay and chain stay and get tacked into place. 3/8 ths inch steel tubing, 44 inches per side.

Like this?

Looks cool, and will add a good amount of strength! I have tried to find 3/8" or 10mm tubing and it is hard to find, you may find it easier to find 1/2 or 13mm...

I did another drawing, just an idea:

Luke.

 

[Wildcat]

The first pic shows what I had in mind, but there will be a tube on either side of the frame. With a springer fork, the second pic may work better, with some curves. If I get a shock fork, the squared off look may look better.

There are tons of places here with plenty of material in steel working. There must be 50 welding shops and a couple dozen scrap places here too. I may use solid rod instead, like they made my custom grill from, 5/16ths stainless. I think ss can be welded to plain steel can't it? If not, I can get steel the same way, and it's fairly cheap.

 

[Wildcat]

I mocked up these 24" BMX forks to see how they looked. At no cost, (they are from another bike that I really didn't like the way they looked) that's a big plus. I may make up another brake bracket like I'm going to use on the rear for the front brake, in the extra space above the wheel on the forks.

 

[kingfish254]

I like those forks on there.