My SixThreeZero Mammoth in Transition...

[RegularSyzed Mike]

It's not as crazy as a lot of the bikes I've been admiring here but I figured I should post pics of my hog as I slowly customize it.

I plan on doing several things to it over time, and possibly build another bike off the "run-off" of parts that I'll be throwing at it as I go. All I've really decided on is a layback seatpost (probably going to be a Slowriderz post), a new saddle and handlebars and a Nexus 3 hub kit and a stick shifter based on this post, and a new paint job of some sort. Not sure of colors yet but it's going to be something funky and bright...maybe with some iridescent paint or something. Who knows?

Anyway here it is the day I bought it...

And here it is with 13" ape hangers and me holding my kid on it...

More to come as I do it...

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Very cool! That frame almost looks like a factory stretch, I bet it is nice to ride!

Luke.

 

[RegularSyzed Mike]

Thanks! Yeah it's a pretty nice ride...especially after the Apes. I can't really ride it much where I'm at, though, since there are a lot of hills and it's a single speed haha. Plus the coaster brake isn't as solid as I'd like.

 

[order99]

Well, if you have nothing but hills you don't need speed...how low do you think you can gear it? And for the downhill rides you could add a front rim brake easily enough, I doubt it would mess up the look much if you zip-tied the cable close...

 

[RegularSyzed Mike]

The hills aren't impossible, like San Francisco style. I'd probably be fine with the speed it's at now being the middle of the three speeds. I'm close enough to some flatter areas so I'd still want to be able to get up some speed there.

I'm probably going to do the front break like you're talking about. I'm going to wait until I get the Nexus 3 coaster kit to see how that brake handles as well as considering my gear options.

 

[RegularSyzed Mike]

*not impossible as in NOT San Francisco style.

 

[RegularSyzed Mike]

Got my Nexus 3 hub set up this weekend. The task of redoing all the spokes was daunting...

...but I got it set up.

For now I'm just keeping the shifter on the handlebars until I can decide how I want to go about making and mounting the stick shift. I don't have the ability to cut metal or do anything crazy like that so I'm going to have to improvise...which I look forward to!

Unfortunately, though, I popped my tube as I tried truing the spokes so I'm going to have to address that tomorrow on my last day off.

Luckily I was able to get a 1.8 mile ride in before I started tinkering and popping the .... thing. This was by far the most ambitious bikework I've done so it was quite rewarding to ride it and have it not come apart from under me!

I'm going to figure out the stick shift situation and then call it good for the summer. After that, I'll look at repainting the rims and possibly the frame, forks and mud guards as well as looking at getting funky with the seat (laidback post? low profile banana seat? who knows?) and possibly an electric motor if money (and my wife) permits.

Good stuff!

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Looking good!

Luke.

 

[RegularSyzed Mike]

So I got to spend Father's Day working on my Suicide Shifter setup. I followed the essence of some how-to advice from this site. I picked up a used stem for 8.00 upon which to mount the shifter...

Next came the stick...

I ended up getting a U clamp and a longer screw to act as the stick shift. I tightened it until it felt solid but before I heard plastic break

It didn't fit perfectly to the spot where I wanted it so I wrapped that bar on my bike with a ton of electrical tape and a random cord I had laying around. I'm going to get a proper shim setup in there at some point but I wanted to do a "proof-of-concept" run with all this first. I also put the left-over terminal connector from some battery cables just below it to make sure it didn't get loose and fall down the pipe and jam the back tire up while I was riding. I don't need a broken neck quite yet!

I rode it a bit before shortening the shifter cord so I could make sure I liked the positioning. All worked, so I shortened the cord which was quite a teachable moment! This stuff is a lot more advanced than what I've previously messed with on bikes and I tend to jump into things without planning ahead much. It worked out, though and I got it to a good length...

I'm going to do a bit more riding with it to make sure it all jives with the ride but so far I think it's a sturdy setup.

Next up I'm going to get some proper shims to keep the mount in place on the bike. I'm also going to design a slick housing for the shifter and all the ugliness and paint it the same color as the bike frame. After that will be making a proper stick with a knob!

My buddy's girlfriend does cosplay stuff at comicbook conventions and a lot of those folks use PVC sheets they heat up and mold into the shape of Stormtrooper armor and stuff. I'm going to work with him to see if I can design the housing that way. That probably won't happen until after Summer, though.

 

[RegularSyzed Mike]

Not much real progress yet, though I did make a small change to the shifter, covering the whole screw with bolts.

Went riding with the shifter and it's solid. Going to figure out a good end-cap for it soon. Probably just a PVC end with a hole drilled and painted to match the frame.

Anyway, there it is...

 

[RegularSyzed Mike]

Back again!

So, after a bunch of messing around trying to make my DIY attempt at a shifter work, I finally gave up and accepted that I couldn't do what I wanted to do because I don't have access to a metal shop.

In the interest of making my bike look nice I ended up getting a Project346 shifter, drilling a couple holes in a bar right under the seat and bolting it on. Here's how it looks...

I just need to get the shifter cable a little tighter so I can get access to all three gears, but otherwise the placement is good and the shifter's on solid.

I bought some OneShot in a lime green that matches the rims as well as white. This winter I think I'm going to try my hand at putting some pinstripes on it.

The saga continues...

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Pin stripes will look nice on that!

Luke.