my Gravity Bike finally done!!!

[fast eddie]

I’ve posted different stages of build of this bike, but it's finally done, powder coated, pinstriped, assembled, and professionally photographed. I themed this bike after Kansas City roller derby legend, "Stormy Trooper (pictured) to say thanks for her efforts that make Kansas City just a little more awesome! ATTN site moderator: I thought this pic of stormy was appropriate for the site, but if you disagree and take it down I totally understand and please accept my apology if it wasn’t acceptable.

Thanks for looking, Fast Eddie

 

[user 135]

Looks fast and well thought out. The front fender looks cool, but I would take it off for riding. There is nothing to stop it from getting sucked back through the fork.

 

[Rat Rod]

Would like to see this thing in action. :wink:

 

[fast eddie]

i will probably add some kind of peice to secure the front fender to the fork, ive never seen one come loose but i think it's always a good idea to error on the side of caution. i cant wait to get thi thing to the mountains this summer!!!

 

[ozzysmurf69]

G'day i build ride and race gravity bikes in Australia, mine is no where near the work of art yours is, looks brilliant, cant wait to see it rolling.

Clive

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

that came out great.

 

[Ichoptop]

Looks really good. Post a vid of it in action.

 

[fast eddie]

thanx guys! ozzy i sold a bike to a rider in tasmania named scotty, he races billy carts, y'all have a really cool scene over there!

 

[tartosuc]

Hi Eddy,

I admire your gravity bikes....i wish there was a scene for that type of bikes around here.

Now, honnestly. Why use a old drappy noleen front shock?? Wth 9mm axle? It was honnestly the crapiest double crown fork i've ever ridden! The flex ging into corners is just very very bad due to the axle.


To me i f i was building a gravity bike, i woud want a fork wit 20mm axle, big stanchiens, maybe a disc brake up front?!

 

[fast eddie]

when i was looking i wasnt able to find a large variety of 20" shock forks available, and i have an even tougher time finding double crown shock forks of that size. it took a bit of looking around online before i found this one from a private buyer. i found a few things in my search; there was only a brief period of time that shock forks - especially double crown - were made for US bmx racing. because they were heavy and clumsy for bmx'ing, riders didnt use them for long, this explained why they were a bit hard to find. when i looked at recumbent bike forks i found 20" shocks but not double crown. the crowns on this fork are not stamped metal plate stock, they are cnc'd from billet aluminum and not unlike the design on motorcycles except not quite as heavy or heavy duty. on a gravity bike i dont think there is any advantage to a larger diameter axl. grown men have been racing bmx bikes and landing hard on them for years on the smaller axls. these axls are easily able to take any stresses from road racing. the hubs on this bike house sealed/machine bearings are wicked fast and smooth - i don't want to give that up for a larger axl. i know that there are sealed bearing hubs for the larger axls but i never did find a double crown shock fork that had dropouts that would accept that larger axl size. i am not aware of any advantages to running disc brakes to rim brakes - unless riding in the rain - which i dont do. i can easily lock up my brakes for a controlled slide/crash if necessary with my v-brake rim brakes, so ive never bothered with the extra cost and occasional bent disc. before installing this i took it to a local motorcycle shop to ask their opinion, they told me that it was easily strong enough to mount on a moped or motorized vehicle. i also took it to a welder and he gave me the same "thumbs up." the springs in this fork are stiff, which is good cuz i dont want it moving around unless there's a bump or rough patch, but most of the roads i ride are smooth so having a shock isnt even really necessary, its more of a placebo type effect so that i know the rubber is gonna stay on the road

 

[tartosuc]

Thx for your explanantion
Coming from the mtb world, i can't see myself rinding 9 mm axle or rim brakes anymore...the flex is just unbearable and the controle from a hydrolic disc brake is just so much better and controlld than any rim brakes i've used..might n ot be that bad on a 20" wheeled bike...bmx by the way mostly use 14mm axles now.

I was saying that because i've seen a lt of older dh fork modified to lower travel, someone with your talent in mecanics could probably easily modify an old marocchi monster t to use 3 t4" travel and lower it enough for gravity racing....like i said its my mtb bakground talking...if here was a scene for these around here i would do it my way with what i know...differently

Keep up the good work, i admire what ou are doing.

 

[fast eddie]

the streetluge guys who run floating axls complain about flexy on the 9mm axls too, ive heard that some of them correct it by sending their axls to a cryogenics lab and having them frozen, something about the process that supposedly makes the steel more rigid, dont know much about it other than that. im curious about what/if any difference there would be in roll resistance from the bearings around a larger diameter axl compared to a larger, ive never heard any g-bike guys talk about or test it

 

[CCR]

Bike looks awesome Eddie !!! I have no knowledge whatsoever of these gravity bikes but it looks like a ton of fun. Definitely a better looking design than others I've seen :wink:

... but where's all the cool build pics like BITD though ? :mrgreen:

 

[fast eddie]

hehehe!!! i got lazy on the build pix didnt i! i think i had a build journal on this site somewhere but i forgot about it till just now, ill see what i can find or put some pix of this bike in various stages of build