Stretched BMX Supercruiser!

[Son of Kradus]

I also chucked on the front brake,s, had to weld boss's on ,as these pink mongoose add ons used old style scissor type cantilevers, they were a good brake and worked well but I now had no bracket or hole close enough to put them on, A bit too much and pointless to make all that gear up so I just took the easier option, it was a bit fiddley setting them up due to the 3"tire,these are actually set a bit further forward facing , as in more frontal in their position, this had to be done or the wheel has trouble coming on or off if the boss's stick out towards the wheel side's, when I put the dual system on the rear wheel I had drama taking the rear wheel off and on due to this, while it looks as if the cable is too close its actually 20mm gap from the tire.
So today is the last frame day..morning, forks get done, im hoping to have that done by lunch then the afternoon is strip n burn principle, wire brush tonight, maybe bondo some special bits for cosmetics and start prima coat over the weekend, im back to work monday day shift....light duties, so time on bikes is about to take a drastic hit in our house LOL!

 

[Son of Kradus]

forks are off but the neighbor has arrived and beers are now the order of the day! it's friday afternoon down under , I did manage to get the top plate off the "Fake triple Trees" and lay some strengthening welds around the underside! this will sure it up and give a bit more OooomPhhh! than it has!

I then laid a few under the bottom plate as well! she's gonna be good to go after this, its worth mentioning that while doing this work on the fork I had a spare 20" rim, with no tire, bolted into the fork drop outs! this helps keep everything in place and prevents assembly with errors!, once again, staggering the weld positions to keep heat transfer to a minimum, warping is an issue with steel this thin! they were off a kids BMX/mtb hybrid after all!

 

[Son of Kradus]

started laying the timber tray, all cut to size and I just have to trim the corners,
The nephew has rung and is comming with his tribe on sunday....he a master builder, gets other carpenters to do work and signs off on it! he harrased me about the main bathroom being waterproofed and ready for tiling but too lazy to finish it LOL, last time he was here, 1 yr ago....so I now have enlisted one of the kids to bring everything to me and I just slap the tile adhesive on and set everything,

The timber is tasmanian oak, a very light but strong hardwood, I considered iron bark or even some aussie gums which have nice grains but are way too heavy,
I have to trim those corners coz there may be a heel strike on that corner, im happy with the clearance but just wanna be safe!
I searched for an age for my timber stains...couldnt find them so in an effort to save cash I have some epoxy resin that will suffice, it gives a very suttle stain but is very strong, it can be easily sanded off if I want to stain it in the future.

 

[Wizdohmbuilds]

started laying the timber tray, all cut to size and I just have to trim the corners,
The nephew has rung and is comming with his tribe on sunday....he a master builder, gets other carpenters to do work and signs off on it! he harrased me about the main bathroom being waterproofed and ready for tiling but too lazy to finish it LOL, last time he was here, 1 yr ago....so I now have enlisted one of the kids to bring everything to me and I just slap the tile adhesive on and set everything, View attachment 246367


The timber is tasmanian oak, a very light but strong hardwood, I considered iron bark or even some aussie gums which have nice grains but are way too heavy,
I have to trim those corners coz there may be a heel strike on that corner, im happy with the clearance but just wanna be safe!
I searched for an age for my timber stains...couldnt find them so in an effort to save cash I have some epoxy resin that will suffice, it gives a very suttle stain but is very strong, it can be easily sanded off if I want to stain it in the future.View attachment 246368

Been thinking of a fat rack like this to build a truck bed if I throw a trike set on a box frame to make like a minitruck bike this is dope!

 

[Son of Kradus]

well I had no choice but to put the BMX ute to wotk today, passed with flying colors, I havnt even screwed the tray down, hence the clamps!

I had to finish the tiling in the bathroom and the tray was the perfect height for cutting tile's.... went great, dry cutting, tons of free dust for everyone...its ok I had a mask on and the fan blowing the dust away towards the neighbors...(just kidding)
But im absolutely stoked that I got some use out of this bicycle mini truck thingy..or UTE as we call em down under! (the term UTE is a shortened version of "Utility Vehicle" a vehicle that the farmer can throw hay bails in the back with some gear and an animal to market, then take the wife to get the grocery shopping, they were cars inside but had the big tray on the back!)

 

[lowbike1]

Love it

 

[Son of Kradus]

I finally finished the timber tray!, its all glued together and is just sittin on its frame. I couldnt for the life of me find my timber stains, in a mad rush ive thrown some epoxy resin over it all in a heavy sealing coat! it came out fantastic, I used 240 sand paper to smooth it all first, from here i'll put some small stainless bolts through to strengthen the tray and mark and drill the holes to attach the tray itself, theres also a few etra holes to drill for a removable surround cage sorta thing??? I wanted this as a tray back and not style sided! Then i'll give it a "key in" sand with 400-600 wet n dry then itll get its final heavy resin layer to fill all those cracks in between the timbers!

Even though just a first sealing coat the good old resin gives a great shine! I didnt bother clamping the tray width wise, I only used a ratchet strap to bring em all together, I used wood working clamps to attach the timbers to their underneath support beam with gorilla glue, this is to hold them together but still the smallest bit of movement sorta thing (not so hard n rigid), then the whole tray just lays on its frame and i'll bolt it on!

Sadly!! now the son has found the fishing gear and been bitten real hard by the actual "Fishing Bug" the poor BMX has been sitting for over a week, all my hard work has rusted from quick dry storms rolling in but I really have to grab this opportunity with the sons fishing, so time on bikes takes yet another hit, I havnt even started on the build off bike yet! Dont worry, im still here kickin LOL!

 

[Son of Kradus]

Well I dont know if this is sad or happiness is involved but the poor BMX Ute has been put to work yet again, still un-finished and I would have to call this as a "Testing Phase"..... its passed the test but we have drama, the thing just dosnt roll well, I had to disconnect the front brakes as they were playing up, that helped but I think tyre pressure may have a bit to do with it, theres a horrid k-knocka K-knocka from the back wheel under heavy pedalling, a closer inspection revealed the rear axle is bent, I never rode the bike these wheels came with due to the hernia OP, I paid a heavy price, I now have to rebuild this wheel.

But on the lighter side it did go really well, a good balanced ride and the gear selection so far is a winner, the tray performed flawlessly and the bike really does have a carry type trailer hum to it now, the trays on good n tight and the tackle box is ratchet strapped to the frame, I used spare marine carpet as a floor protector too!, the rods just fit over the top tube and are tied to the tackle box handle, crude but ,as always from the SOK Garage, "fit for purpose"
NO....we caught nothing , we are in an early venture of lure fishing! the sons gone crazy on it and this is the result, we only used soft plastics today, not a bump...but the son won coz he never got snagged , I did , losing a jig head and plastic cost me bragging rights!

when I say the tray performed flawlessly I really meant it... I even had breakfast on it!....as usual the mrs gets all huffy n puffy before we venture off for anything really so bacon and eggs on toast was made...I had room on the tray.....the sun was shining in this spot where the bmx was parked......it went great and was stable enough all the way through! this is the best bike ive ever made....and its not even finished LOL!!

 

[Son of Kradus]

Sorry for the absence, school holidays are now over, the kids are back where they belong mid week so I now have time for my stuff.
the bikes been stripped and rubbed right back, ive had my very first venture of Bondo on a bicycle, ive worked with it in the past when I was young and loved cheap junk cars that you do up yourself.
i'd forgotten how tedious this stuff is, not so bad on a car door or bonnet but these fidgity corners and angles made for a really tough time,
heres the frame sitting on the rusty fire pit, ive cut off all excess tabs/ brake mounts etc, I now have a couple small mistakes I missed with the bondo then I can give it the final rub and then etch/prime the thing! im contemplating a black undercoat with a flouro tgreen on top, going for a dark green look withought too much bland broad color, sort of deeper metallic .I really cant wait, with the fishing happening and the boat being fired back up ,time on bikes has been very limited, I still plan on a muscle bike build but it'll probably be a week or 2 yet! everythings there I just have to get these bitsa projects out the way! the main thing here is get this painted and then I can let it cure for a week or so before slamming it all back together! once its painted and cured it really is only an hours job to reassemble a bike!

 

[Pauliemon]

That thing is sic! A true Frankenstein.

 

[Son of Kradus]

Its with a heavy heart I have to say that fishing has taken over all aspects of life outside of work!
I did however finally get to paint the frame, I ran with a 2 stage undercoat of black rear and silver front, then threw some flouro green over it and it came out like this! im quite impressed, remembering its a green n gold aussie tribute UTE this one!

I went n grabbed some gold paint and done the cranks.

it then sat for a couple more weeks while I picked away at ....well fishing and then the bondo of the forks to tidy them a bit before painting today!

I then Found when trying to bondo small parts etc it becomes the most messy fidgity job, hence missing some holes on the first shot.

So the forks are done, ive got some painting today. im in the process of stripping the old paint off the wheels, spent a whole day on it, messy and crap! the tray when removed has again been used as a storage rack for junk in the shed! the junk consisting of , flouro carbon leader, and.....well just fishing stuff and some LED strip lights.

But on the flip side we have been putting some K's on the bikes going to and fro from the river, im absolutely over the moon the sons now big enough to ride "Direction Unknown",rod holders n all, it was a steaming head wind on the way home so we wernt going that fast! at the end of the day im absolutely ecstatic about getting actual working use out of my bikes, it even rolls real cool, and im a bit jealous coz he looks way cooler then me when riding it, he has to lower the seat so not so "pogo Stick" looking as it is for me as I have a dicky knee that dosnt like low seated peddling!

 

[Son of Kradus]

It's taken me a few days.... I'm currently suffering some motivational issues but I finished one wheel, I'll gold the rim and hub then I'll give the spokes some extra careful love and wet n dry em to shiny them a bit, its come out good enough for me, even with my poor prep
The BMX is a kerb side biff away and im slowly robbing bits off it
LATE EDIT!!! im not sure why but the vid of the wheel has gone crook>

 

[Son of Kradus]

I'm trying to do the right thing and using paint stripper to clean up the bars, ready for a lick of paint, modern day solvents are useless and I may just light a fire again, remember them motivational issues .... and "no" the pedals wont go in the fire

 

[Son of Kradus]

I tried sanding, then more paint stripper but its just too laboursome, the bars went into a BBQ fire, I re-birthed the fire after cooking and it took about 15 mins of heating and wire brushing, they came out so good I even considered polishing them , as i'd wet n dried them to a great shiny finish.
all I did from there was throw the left overs of the forks and undercoat paint, black hammertone, they came out fantastic and I did take lessons from previous handle bar painting and didnt take the paint all the way to the ends, this prevents troublesome grip fittings etc.

while being off topic it still relates to bike building as fishing has now consumed most of the spare time I have and its the reason ive had a leave of absence from here.
but with pristine conditions like we have here on the gold coast I really do have to spend every available minute with a growing young teenager before he becomes victim to the big cruel world out there!
its also worth noting that downunder we love to whinge and moan about the cost of living and all but if you look at the city skyline you can see lots of cranes with high rise building going up indicating things are not as bad as they appear on the economic front!
There was also lovely people walking past!

we did manage to catch some dinner in the form of two flat head, a tasty table fish, while looking prehistoric the flathead are really great on the chew!

 

[Son of Kradus]

well I managed to get the bike finished! there was a bit of mucking around with the paint, we had hot n windy days which made working outside hard but I got there,
In usual SOK fashion I have chipped and scratched paint in the re-build phase Grrrrrrrr!!!! ahh well its no worse than when painting the head stem I actually dropped the thing on the grass and and and...... it is what it is !
Im quite sure theres bmx's with carry trays some place in the world but this bike has been purpose built to take a real heavy load with its 72 spoked wheels, the steep rake to help in weight transfer and share the load through the bike rather than the forks , a resin covered hard wood timber tray with seat stays used for the supports and we can even use tie down straps for un-even or difficult loads! the primary use for this bike is fishing , together with "direction unknown" we can hope from spot to spot along the surfers paradise esplanade! fish a gutter for 15-20 minutes , no fish means a pedal down to the next gutter..a more common name for a gutter is a RIP!!!!
anyway without further adoo here is the "BMX Ute"!

I now remember all too well from yrs ago when fiddling with cars.... when you bondo you have continually go over the work to ensure you have prepped it properly!
When I finished the bondo work it looked smooth and clean, I applauded myself on the great prep I had done....
Low n Behold I start painting and ....Blahhh Yuk!!! so kept going and and and.....it is what it is LOL!