Sting-Gray

[Ulu]

Same as above but in the relaxed position. I’m going to do it this way because I get better tire clearance. This might actually look a little better. Smoother, if not as wicked.

I’m trying to work with that brake noodle and I think it was pinched at the factory. The owner of this bike maybe had a lot of brake dragging because of that noodle. There’s not a lot of wear on the rear wheel because the bike didn’t have any miles on it. It had been sitting around but there were still nubs on the tires.

 

[Ulu]

I drilled these out and pressed in the little chain rollers. This will keep the levers from wearing out fast, because they’re soft and thin.

 

[Ulu]

First of all, don’t try this at home kids.

Particularly if you only have about five hours experience on the TIG. I made the walk of shame about six times to make four little welds.

In the end I got some strong welds, And even after dressing them off there is no chance that they will break.

To get extra purchase on the steel I added a hidden washer inside the assembly.

This backs up the weld at the crack so you can lay in the heat and put down some real filler without just burning back the edges. Here they are after dressing off.

This is the weld before I wire brushed it. That was probably the most attractive of the four.

I rode the bike and the brakes work (and still I loathe the brake noodle.)

I need to make the chain shorter and extend the pads a little bit because this will give me more leverage on the brakes. The levers are too vertical but they will lie down horizontally as I extend the brake pads. Right now they are completely retracted.

This was a mistake to set them thus, and offers very little braking power. Plus those old pads I used are hard as a rock.

When the “V” is this steep, it has no leverage on the simitars.

Other observations, I hate the raked triple trees. It’s very easy to pedal even with the Shorty cranks because I have short gears.

It was fun for the short time I rode it.

 

[Ulu]

This morning I took the mongoose bike out for an early morning ride.

Then I put the blue bike back up on the bench and reworked the brakes.

First I let the pads out and shortened the chain. I set this up with some 1/2 worn out pads and that was a bad deal.

I also had not pinned or welded the end pins on the chain previously, and this time I made some keepers (by bobbing off chain links) and I pressed them together.

It doesn’t sit perfect yet and I still have to mess with the return Springs and pad adjustment. But I declare it it ridable now. (Not safe, but not brakeless!)

I built this adjuster because not having one here was a total PITA.

That’s just the end I cut off of one of the Huffy brake levers. Did I mention that the levers came off of the Huffy girls bike?

OK now it’s time to put on my helmet and go test this thing a little more.

 

[Pestcontrol02]

Awesome work

 

[Ulu]

Thank you

I did a short ride, and the brakes were 400% more effective! It still wants new softer pads.

Handling was OK but slightly too twitchy. I will reverse the fork tubes and try again. And it could use some fork stops.

Also I am going to reinforce the sissy bar and seat. These seats are so weak.

 

[Ulu]

Well like a dummy I am cursing my weak seat, when in fact I had a loose bolt on the sissy bar. I’m still going to do some more reinforcement.

I got some new brake pads for it today but I haven’t put them in yet.

I reversed the fork tubes to see what it would do to the handling, partially by negating the rake in the triple trees, adding trail, and also raising the front of the bike just slightly. I’m afraid it’s still gonna have negative trail.

In order to reverse the tubes I had to grind a couple notches so that the tubes would fit in the reverse position. This was very easily accomplished with a Dremel.

I think one of these tubes might be slightly bent. I need to take it apart again & check them. Anyhow, I monkeyed around with the alignments for a long time and I’m not really happy with how straight it came out.

I will have to do a test ride in the morning when there is some sunlight. In this photo the tubes are not yet reversed.

I found I can hang this thing right on my toolbox to work on the fork.

 

[Ulu]

I had to work on a welding project for a friend today and so I didn’t get anything done on the project bikes.

Here is a crummy late night in-the-garage shot showing the reversed forks.

This lifted the front of the bike about 3 inches. While reducing the wheelbase about an inch and a half. It increased the rake a couple degrees as well.

I rode it around a little like this. The forks have some positive trail

The bike steers much better now, Not so twitchy, and doesn’t want to flop.

But the gears are so short that I simply must put on a larger front sprocket.

I used this one because it has short cranks. But I think I have enough ground clearance for 175s.

The forks are still not aligned quite right and all the bike was rideable I could tell that it was a little bit off kilter.

<edit> I just thought about reversing the forks again and the triple trees as well. This will de-rake the trees but put the stretch back in the forks and drop the front end. I will probably try this tomorrow.

 

[Ulu]

I only flipped the tubes.
And I attached the new 32” wheel.

For your amusement:

Silliest thing ever.

(No, I’m not gonna ride it. At least not in the daylight where anyone can see me.)

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

(No, I’m not gonna ride it. At least not in the daylight where anyone can see me.)

I had some foolish parking lot attendant in LoDo Denver ask me if I felt silly when riding my tallbike to a Rockies game a few years ago. I laughed at him and asked why he didn't feel silly for asking and all of the pedestrians headed to the ballpark that heard it were laughing at him. IDC

 

[Ulu]

I was just joking you know. My neighbors have seen me ride huge skateboards, so they won’t be that surprised.

I’ll go out and ride it a bit this morning. Plus I will swap that wheel onto the not so Lengthy Insanity, and try that as well.

We had a big windstorm and there’s lots of crap in the road today. My driveway was just covered with the dead stuff from my neighbors redwood tree. I’m tired from sweeping it all up, but it was gonna sit there until the gardener comes in six days.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

For your amusement

Mega mullet

 

[Ulu]

@MattiThundrrr
Are you telling me I should put the big wheel in the back and little wheel in the front?

 

[Ulu]

Should I concern myself about the things I do for attention?

 

[MattiThundrrr]

@MattiThundrrr
Are you telling me I should put the big wheel in the back and little wheel in the front?

Naaw mullet is a term applied to mountain bikes. Bigger front (29er usually) for the rollover, smaller rear for snappy handling. I was saying that your mullet is extreme.

 

[Ulu]

Naaw mullet is a term applied to mountain bikes. Bigger front (29er usually) for the rollover, smaller rear for snappy handling. I was saying that your mullet is extreme.

Thank you Matti.

I never heard of such a thing but then again I kind of bowed out during the whole BMX /mountain bike decades.

There’s a lot of decoding . . .

 

[Ulu]

Senior citizen gets crossed up in the cul-de-sac. Crash photos at 11.

No crash actually, but I did dab one.

 

[Ulu]

 

[Gimp]

Be nice if you could mount a single speed back sprocket with a bushing up front

 

[Ulu]

The gear is all brand new on this goofy looking bicycle. Except for those rusty forks and the frame itself, there‘s not 2 miles on any of it.

I’d hate to change it while it’s all still working.

Anyhow this is not the final configuration of anything, and I already have the blue bike back on 20 inch wheels front & rear.