In my new "trying simpler bike experiments" phase, I made a deceptively simple road bike. I made everything as simple as possible, for an overall effect of incompleteness.
It's a single speed, simple frame, just a short bar for the handle bars, and even the front fork has only one side. Here's the pics, then I'll explain:
I used wheelchair wheels. This allowed me to make a front end with only the one side fairly easily. It also means that the tires can never go flat, because they don't take air. That does make the ride a little rough, but I'll probably switch out the seat for one with some gel or springs to help with that. The rear wheel hub was by far the most difficult thing on this bike. I just couldn't think of how to attach a rear sprocket to the wheelchair rim. What I finally did was drill out the center of the wheel with a hole saw (burning up my wife's drill, unfortunately). I then took a cruiser rim that was bent beyond salvation, and cut the hub free of the spokes and rim. I took out the axle and other guts, chopped the hub in half, and then beat the two halves into the hole in the wheel. Pressed in there pretty good, I then put the axle and guts back in there, and voilà! I have a working bicycle wheel. And because it came from a single speed cruiser, it has the coaster brake, so I don't need hand brakes, or wires of any kind for brakes or gear shifters. These particular wheelchair wheels have pretty beefy solid rubber tires on them, so the ride might not be as rough as you would think.
Another piece that was more difficult than would appear is the neck. Those handlebars are clamped onto the bike with a neck made out of three different necks, not just one. It required some welding, and proved tricky.
Not pictured is how much a set of rubber handgrips transformed the bike. This is a new lesson for me. I have several sets of grips in a bin, and so when I put the grips on the straight bar, it totally gave it a "finished" look. I still have to paint the front end and handlebars (bar?), but I like the simplicity of this bike. It may never be a daily rider, but it will work great as a "run quick to the store" bike.
It's a single speed, simple frame, just a short bar for the handle bars, and even the front fork has only one side. Here's the pics, then I'll explain:
I used wheelchair wheels. This allowed me to make a front end with only the one side fairly easily. It also means that the tires can never go flat, because they don't take air. That does make the ride a little rough, but I'll probably switch out the seat for one with some gel or springs to help with that. The rear wheel hub was by far the most difficult thing on this bike. I just couldn't think of how to attach a rear sprocket to the wheelchair rim. What I finally did was drill out the center of the wheel with a hole saw (burning up my wife's drill, unfortunately). I then took a cruiser rim that was bent beyond salvation, and cut the hub free of the spokes and rim. I took out the axle and other guts, chopped the hub in half, and then beat the two halves into the hole in the wheel. Pressed in there pretty good, I then put the axle and guts back in there, and voilà! I have a working bicycle wheel. And because it came from a single speed cruiser, it has the coaster brake, so I don't need hand brakes, or wires of any kind for brakes or gear shifters. These particular wheelchair wheels have pretty beefy solid rubber tires on them, so the ride might not be as rough as you would think.
Another piece that was more difficult than would appear is the neck. Those handlebars are clamped onto the bike with a neck made out of three different necks, not just one. It required some welding, and proved tricky.
Not pictured is how much a set of rubber handgrips transformed the bike. This is a new lesson for me. I have several sets of grips in a bin, and so when I put the grips on the straight bar, it totally gave it a "finished" look. I still have to paint the front end and handlebars (bar?), but I like the simplicity of this bike. It may never be a daily rider, but it will work great as a "run quick to the store" bike.
