SwingThatMuscle (no welds SwingBike) done 👍

[SwissGuy]

Hello from the Berlin Campground!
This year I'll try my hands on a class 2 build, but for now without welding.
This was my starting point today:

One (partial) break down and four cuts with the hacksaw later it's was mockup time. First I tried the 26' front. Looks good but learning from experience from my first SwingBike I need a steeper angle for the headtube. This either means cut and weld (no option so far) or drop the front.

So I tried the 20' front that was left from my trike build:

Much more to my liking...
Then I threw various parts at it and that's what stuck so far.

I will need a higher ape, but for now it's ok...
Now everything is tucked away in the trailer waiting for my next stay on the campground...

 

[metalchewy]

Looks like you've got a good plan to get this thing swinging.

 

[Funkme]

Swing away, seems you have it all ready to go.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Nice work, I remember your post about building your camp, looking forward to seeing how your methods work on this build.

 

[SwissGuy]

Nice work, I remember your post about building your camp, looking forward to seeing how your methods work on this build.

With "camp" you most probably refer to my shed build. That one is mostly done now and I really love to be there. This build here will move along the lines of my previous SwingBike build and only be continued when I'm able to spend some time on the campground in my caravan (that is stationed about a one hour cardrive from my home at the edge of Berlin).
So no daily updates to expect here, more likely every two or three weeks, when there is a long weekend.

 

[Pondo]

Cool concept, I like this! The swing theme put some great old Glenn Miller tunes in my head.

 

[El C]

Looks familiar.
This is my build from a few years ago.

 

[SwissGuy]

View attachment 230233
Looks familiar.
This is build from a few years ago.

It definitely will breathe the flipped ladies frame vibe!

 

[kingfish254]

Good brainstorming progress so far.
I like the vibe with the smaller wheel up front. It really gives the bike a more aggressive stance. It even somewhat looks like a donkey bike.

 

[SwissGuy]

Back on the campground and tomorrow I'll continue on the SwingBike...

 

[SwissGuy]

Made some good progress today:
I started by cleaning the Hercules part and scraping as much of the rotted gaffer tape as I could

Then I chopped the Mars frame parts and fork a bit more and made the wedge cuts for the bends

Bottle openers?

Ready for some bolting...

 

[SwissGuy]

Next was joining the extra fork with the rear triangle.
First I fixed the fork in position with those metal hose clamps

then I checked the alignment

and drilled the holes for the bolts and secured it immediately after drilling of each hole

 

[SwissGuy]

Then it was time to join the top tubes.
They slided into each other without any major problems...

Some drilling and bolting later I could assemble the frame

 

[Pondo]

Very cool! It doesn't even need paint, it's already go a cool looking color combo.

 

[SwissGuy]

A bit later I had the wheels, saddle, stem and handlebar on and took it for a spin...

I quickly realized two things: 1: it swings much easier than my bigger bike but 2: the pedals scrape pretty often.
So I took the original Hercules fork with the small 20' wheel and tried that combo. It lifts the BB enough to slim down the chances of pedal scraping, but still keeps the easier swing.
So I threw some fenders at it

And this is how it sits for now...
I'll post a ride video when I'm back home, as the WiFi here on the campground sucks big time...

 

[SwissGuy]

Took more than an hour to upload, but here's todays test ride video:

behind the cam was my 11years old son

 

[Pondo]

Very cool! I like the no weld design, simple and functional.

 

[SwissGuy]

As good as it rides, I don't like the look of the cockpit. It looks too much like a folder...
I need to hunt for some apes...

 

[SwissGuy]

Ordered those:

Let's see which one sticks when they arrive...

 

[SwissGuy]

That's about it for this weekend. Now the kids want to go for a swim, so we are off to the lake...

I hope the bars will arrive sometime next week, so I can finish this up...