Mint Chocolate Chip-A bike built for the Crested Butte Chainless World Champs (Finished)

[squirreldh]

Yeah, thinking a gates carbon belt drive isnt a chain technically.... but definitely not in the spirit of the event. And I dont think, no, I am positive you will never see me build something with a motor on it. I do like the shaft drive, theyve been doing those for a long time now, cool to see a modern one

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[squirreldh]

Found a writeup on the history of fat tire bike week, during which the chainless occurs.

http://cbbikeweek.com/history/

 

[RustySprockets]

Air bottle and a hub made from an pneumatic die grinder.

 

[squirreldh]

Working on the upper portion of the lower fairing. I think I am going to do it in 3 to 4 pieces. The main hull, that i am doing now, the piece/s for below my legs going back to the pegs, a top cover, and a nose cone, wait thats 4 to 5 pieces.... anyways, I am thinking of skinning it with duct tape, or maybe do model airplane covering? Think the heating iron for the latter may melt the skeleton, so I have also considered the heat shrink plastic used for windows in the wintertime. The clear may not be the best, and I am unsure how well it would take paint. Plus, the inverted curvature at the bottom may be difficult to remain attached while shrinking....

Here are some progress pics.

Trying to keep the belly open so I can put weight in there.

Early AM, still sipping coffee, in my chili pepper PJs, had my GF snap a couple shots of me in different positions.

I am having fun making this thing! Thats the point right

 

[squirreldh]

One more shot before I head into work

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Working on the upper portion of the lower fairing. I think I am going to do it in 3 to 4 pieces. The main hull, that i am doing now, the piece/s for below my legs going back to the pegs, a top cover, and a nose cone, wait thats 4 to 5 pieces.... anyways, I am thinking of skinning it with duct tape, or maybe do model airplane covering? Think the heating iron for the latter may melt the skeleton, so I have also considered the heat shrink plastic used for windows in the wintertime. The clear may not be the best, and I am unsure how well it would take paint. Plus, the inverted curvature at the bottom may be difficult to remain attached while shrinking....


Trying to keep the belly open so I can put weight in there.



I am having fun making this thing! Thats the point right

The coroplast skeleton and thin covering options make sense for building it light weight, but you are ultimately wanting to add weight right? Maybe you don't have wood working tools or a space for dusty work, but it seems like you could construct it from something like MDF which would be much heavier, more rigid and more resistant to heat. Just wondering.

BTW, you've really got my attention with this build... very fun project! I wish we had something like that around here!

 

[squirreldh]

you could construct it from something like MDF which would be much heavier, more rigid and more resistant to heat. Just wondering.

That is definitely a possibility. I have a friend with a decent wood shop, but its an hour away on a good day, and I am limited on time, need to be done by the end of the month! I just dont get down there as often as I would need to to do this project. Also the cost, while it would probably only require less than a full 4x8 sheet, I am limited on funds, the plastic box was free

As far as weight goes, I am not sure how much I will need. I am sure there is a point of diminishing return, where so much weight has been added it no longer is an advantage. Keeping the whole assembly light will allow me to find out exaclty how much weight is needed, without starting above the too heavy mark, if there is one... and ultimately wouldnt mind using my current setup for a fiberglass mold in the future and make this fairing out of fiberglass if I like it enough.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Looks fast!

 

[squirreldh]

Slightly off topic from the build, but rolling right along with the shaft drives mentioned earlier, I thought you guys might like to check out what Paul Brodie brought to the NAHMBS this year...

http://www.cycleexif.com/like-bevel-paul-brodies-shaft-drive-cruiser

http://www.cycleexif.com/paul-brodies-shaft-drive-cruiser-2

Have not made much progress on MCC, have been busy building recumbent trikes for Veterans in need with another member of the community shop I wrench at.

Back to building this week.

 

[squirreldh]

Have been considering changing the brake again.... the current location doesnt really leave me confident I wont injure some organs my GF would rather not be injured

Found this old Lee Chi brake at work, should be able to mount it on the chainstay behind the bottom bracket similar to a bmx bike brake location. Will help it be a little more aero.

Will be working on mounting it within the next few days.

 

[squirreldh]

Spent the day wrenching on the bike, and doing other things. I was in serious need for a rim strip upgrade and tubes with longer valve stems, the 48mm stem were not cutting it. In go some Velox cloth rim strips and 60mm valve stem tubes.

Now 115 psi is no problem!

Also worked on the rear brake. Had to modify the caliper mount, route the cable BMX style through the seat tube with the help of an adjustable v brake noodle. Drilled a few holes to make it all happen. And topped it of with a set of Avid v brake pads out of my parts stash with some custom spacer action to get proper brake pad contact and lever travel.

Now I have a U brake style brake mounted above my chainstays! Should help with more room and clearance up in the seat tube area.

Now to finish the fairing by the end of the month...

 

[OddJob]

One thing I remember from my Pinewood Derby days is that you want to have the extra weight up front and down low. Filling the handle bars would work but the lower the better. A 30lb+ fork might be all you need to do the trick.

George, I wonder how many of us were Pinewood Derby racers? I still have my car, which won our Pack championship that year. It sits right next to my oldest son's car which won his Cub Scout pack derby 30 years later....

And you are right, the weight should be front and low. We drilled holes underneath the car and filled them with lead.

 

[squirreldh]

I did a couple pinewood derbys in my day. First one was a European style open wheel racer, with help from my dad of course. I did a british racing green on that one, and attached magnets to the front end to help, wasnt aware of weight placement and physics as much then but thats what my dad recommended. Placed well, and won a few concourse trophies, but no race wins...

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[squirreldh]

I did get another chance to do a test run. I have done two so far on this ride a block away from my house. The downhill grade is minimal, barely visible to the eye, and my top speed increased from 14.3 mph to 15.9 mph with the brake mod and wheel disc attached, only differences between runs.

 

[RustySprockets]

How did you secure the brake noodle to the downtube? That is one slick solution!

 

[squirreldh]

Planning on using electrical tape dont want it to be too obtrusive so I can still affix the fairing, and it wont be visible once the fairing is installed so I am not too concerned about cosmetics

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[mistersurly]

Rad! I'd consider upside down and reversed mini-apes to get a longer extension/less elbows.
Can't wait to see video of this thing bombing!!

 

[squirreldh]

My neighbor moved and left behind something quite useful for the build

 

[Captain Awesome]

I'm fascinated by this whole build and the idea behind the event. Cool !

 

[squirreldh]

I have been watching a friends place downtown Denver this past week. I have put in a few miles on my road bike commuting back and forth between her place and home, but its taking up quite a bit of time and not helping with progress on the build. I have had time to think about finishing it, and to watch time tick by on the countdown clock! Need to figure out a way to mount the weights and make it a quick change system for testing different amounts. May end up going with as much as I can fit on there! Only testing will tell, may try to do a few runs day before the event on the actual course just to make sure my local tests produced similar results or not. Need to finish the "hull" for the fairing and skin it, biggest part of the process I wish I was working on now! And also mount weights, or weight mounts...

How much time is left?