Pedal Carriage

[OddJob]

"I'm, going to chapel and I'm, gonna get married...on a bicycle built for two" ~ Medley of two classic tunes from the '60s. The Dixie Cups made the first one famous, and the inimitable Nat King Cole had a hit with the second one.

Our neighbor girl is getting married on June 24, and her mom asked me to create a 'bicycle wedding buggy' for bride and groom to ride together on between the ceremony and the cocktail reception.

I have fixed the family's bikes over the years, and the mom is a former interior design artist (who once lent me her spray bottle labeled "Instant Rust") who specializes in faux-tina. Here's her fireplace mantle area she designed and built by herself:

So last night we went over some ideas for this trike that will be ridden by the groom and the bride, together. Combined weight around 300 lbs, so we should be okay. At least for the 100' or so between the outdoor wedding site and the barn where the reception will be. (wedding site is a former horse farm)

Think a single horse and buggy style combined with a buckboard style seat that they will both be sitting on; groom facing mostly forward and pedaling and bride and long wedding dress sitting sort of side saddle facing mostly backward. The trike is in great shape, and I was really happy to see the mag wheels! Less chance of a 'train' getting caught in wire spokes and causing a 'ward robe malfunction'.

"....I'm gettin' married in the mornin'...ding dong the bells are gonna chime.."

 

[MattiThundrrr]

The mags are sweet, should be a cool little ride

 

[Oldbikeguy1960]

Cool idea man.
I would be terrified at the possibility of a
Ward Robe malfuntion!
An Idea, quick and (not too) dirty.
Find a white or blue plastic 55 gallon drum. Cut the ends off and cut them to fit between the frame and the wheels. Secure them well and you could also use them to mount your buckboard seat.
If you made your buckboard seat like an antique wooden love seat where half faces forward and half faces back so they are in kissing position that could be a nice touch.
Not trying to hijack your build man but when you said wedding carraige my mind went bonkers.
Rob

 

[OddJob]

Hey Rob, yeah, when I was researching ideas I came across this 'kissing seat' bench.

So I think I'm going to mimic that idea in my seat area. I will begin production of the Pedal Carriage this week now, since I have my BO 17 Silver King Unchained build in 'ride' mode. Keep checking back here for progress reports! Thanks for your input!

 

[OddJob]

BACK40 looking like 'Trike Parts 'R Us'. Tear down and first coat of Metallic Champagne Bronze paint on. I mean, it's a wedding,so...champagne.

Used to be blue. The rear chassis will be covered by 'the carriage parts'. No need to waste precious paint on hidden parts.

And 3M blue painters tape to the rescue.

 

[OddJob]

 

[Oldbikeguy1960]

If you were going to make fenders from a plastic barrel it would have to be white. My blue barrel suggestion would not work out too well now man.

 

[OddJob]

Update on Pedal Carriage....

We are now just 4 weeks out from Michelle and John's wedding. Time to get a move on!

This week I got the seat figured out I think. Trying for a 'curvy' look to mimic the wheels and general appearance of a bike / trike. The seat will likely have a pad on it, leaving that up to the mother of the bride.

I will trim the corners off the foot platform to round them out as well. The brace (besides the seat mount) under the seat is a ceiling hanger used to store skis, lumber, other long objects from a ceiling. I like the tube shape of it, and it will be plenty strong. Whipped out the Champagne Bronze to match the frame paint.

"...ding dong the bells are gonna chime...."

 

[Ulu]

I can’t quite figure out where this is going.

 

[Ulu]

OMG! I just realized that my niece’s pink trike also a Miami Sun, with the same frame etc. Hers however had wire spoke wheels instead of the mag wheels, And three flat tires.

 

[OddJob]

I can’t quite figure out where this is going.

It's going down the aisle , with the bride and groom!

Groom will be facing forward, pedaling and steering. Bride shares the same seat (think old west buckboard) but facing back or side saddle. Her feet and gown resting on the platform below. More updates coming today!

 

[Ulu]

OK
It was starting to look like a bistro table to me and I thought maybe you were going to have cocktails.

 

[Ulu]

My niece told me that she thought that her Miami Sun trike was made in the US. I did not see anything on it that said where it was made, but it had a barcode sticker typical of Asian bikes.

Where & how the serial number is stamped on the bottom bracket leads me to believe this bike was built in Taiwan. It just looks so similar to the serial number stamping on my Mongoose and fake Schwinn.

(Okay this is very strange. For some reason last night my posts, only on this thread, were bold. That’s not something that I chose. And it happened twice. Then this morning it’s fine. oooof! I need to go ride.)

 

[Oldbikeguy1960]

OK
It was starting to look like a bistro table to me and I thought maybe you were going to have cocktails.

They may be, if they ride it over to the reception as well.
But then the Consumer Products Safety Commission noodles would insist on handrails!

 

[Oldbikeguy1960]

Anybody but me notice those weenies at the CPSC have been working behind the scenes to make us all ride girls' bikes?
Oh sure, they call them step thru or mixte bikes. But to me thats like a Man Bag. You can call it whatever you like but a purse by any other name is still a purse.
Same goes for a girls' bike.
Hellll, even my Tandem is Male front Female rear.
There is only one kind of Man Bag I will ever carry.
Those may border on colorful metaphors.

 

[OddJob]

OK
It was starting to look like a bistro table to me and I thought maybe you were going to have cocktails.

Close! They are riding it from the ceremony to the cocktail reception.

 

[OddJob]

The Pedal Carriage is all wrapped up,one week before the wedding! There will be flowers in the front basket, to match the other wedding colors,and to balance the 'look'.

It's a little more 'girly' than what I'd like, but who's to argue with the Mother of The Bride? In fact, MoTB Karen and I worked on this together this morning to finish it up.

One of my favorite 'rat rod' touches on this, the back seat support is a ski / lumber storage hanger painted to match the bike tubing.

"Ding ! Dong! the bells are gonna chime!"

 

[Pestcontrol02]

Nice job… I hope the happy couple enjoys it.

 

[OddJob]

Nice job… I hope the happy couple enjoys it.

Thanks! They are both bicycle fans, the bride is newly hired marketing manager for a large retail chain based here in Minnesota. Now I just have to remind them that it's not a 'real bike' and not to take it down any steep slopes or make quick turns!

 

[OddJob]

The 'test ride' video we shot on Thursday before the accoutrements were added. It goes, turns, and stops!