SwingThatMuscle

[SwissGuy]

My dear fellow RatRodders, may I present you

...a muscle bike with a twist or might I say with a swing?

Anyway this bike twists and swings when ridden with a kids heart and makes almost everyone smile, especially the rider!

So come and swing with me...


The very first Swing Bikes were built in the US in the early and mid seventies. My first contact with a Swing Bike happened somewhere in the eighties, when I got one to try out for a few days from a local bike shop that had a homebuilt fleet of freak bikes (offcenter wheels, counter steering, ...). I fell in love with the feeling to ride one and wanted one ever since. But for many years I couldn't wrap my head around how to build one without knowing to weld...
Earlier this year I once again got sucked into a y-tube wormhole and jumped from one swingbike video to the next. At one time the idea started forming in my head how to build one without welding. I knew from building my take apart bikes (Capitan Terror and EggBeater) that on some bikes the diameters of top and down tube corresponded in a way that one could slide into the other. So I guessed that if I found two similar ladies frames with straight downtubes that probably might work as well.
I bought two beat down lady bikes and hey: it worked. So I built my first swing bike the Kirsch Special.
With the experience of that first build I wanted to build another one with some changes. First it had to be smaller, so that hopefully one of my kids would be able to ride it and second I wanted to put in a smaller front wheel to make the headtube angles a bit steeper to improve the swing handling. So I went for the search for two 26" lady frames and that's where this journey started...

Here are some more shots of my twisted creation:

Some detail shots:

the top tubes

the second pivot

stress relief to avoid bending the stear tube of the second pivot

front fender mount

headbadge sticker

cable ties from bike tubes

the little monster rear fender ornament

This is where I started (I tried the 20" fork but it dropped the front too low...)

the top tubes sliding into each other

the fork for the second pivot, bent in triangular shape with the help of some relief cuts

So far I spent around 65.- € for the whole build:

50 for the frames​

10 for the nuts and bolts​

5 for the handlebar​

all the other stuff came either with the bikes or was already on stock...​

Revenue in terms of fun I get out of this bike: PRICELESS!

Yes you can park it like this...

or like this...

...and of course also like this:

Now go and build one for yourself! You won't regret it!

 

[SwissGuy]

Here's the video of one of my first testrides:


A quick walkaround


The first real ride video


Another ride video

 

[Son of Kradus]

Looks awesome swissG, love the way it looks to be a jumbled wreck but its not, folds out into one of the more impressive show bikes around!
very well done on the "no welds" bike! I was scepticle at first but can see that counter leverage apparatus you have there, very clever!

 

[Son of Kradus]

And I just saw your Rat Rod Rower, what a machine! im having visions of a pedal car powered that way! steering???? but it'll be fun!

 

[ingola]

Your so crafty . Love that you can actually see it's to bikes.

 

[Funkme]

A folding swing bike. I love it. I also like that you have left the 2 colors as is.

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

clever solutions as usual. Well done.

 

[hbn]

Such a great build! Ride photos really highlights its function, so cool!

 

[SwissGuy]

Swapped out the top shot and added a new ride video into the top post. Have a look!

Looks awesome swissG, love the way it looks to be a jumbled wreck but its not, folds out into one of the more impressive show bikes around!
very well done on the "no welds" bike! I was scepticle at first but can see that counter leverage apparatus you have there, very clever!

Thank you! Just yesterday I parked it in the "jumbled wreck mode" in front of the bakery and immediately caught the attention of another client. Main question always is: Why? My answer always is: Because it works and because it's fun!

Your so crafty . Love that you can actually see it's two bikes.

Thank you! Like this it's much easier to explain to people how I built this!

A folding swing bike. I love it. I also like that you have left the 2 colors as is.

Glad you like it! First I thought of painting it, but the colors grew on me and especially the design on the Mars stickers I liked too much to destroy it. Unfortunately most of the Herkules stickers where gone after I had removed the ugly black duct tape. But at least the duct tape residue left a nice ratina on the front part of the frame.

clever solutions as usual. Well done.

Thank you! I'm lucky that I could test the build principle before the build off already on my first swing bike.

Love this build and love how much fun you are having with it! It all just flows together super cool!
Well done brother!!!!

Happy you like it! It's a dream of my youth come true. I feel at least 30 years younger, when riding this fun little bike!

Such a great build! Ride photos really highlights its function, so cool!

Thank you! The idea for those came by accident, when I set the action cam into the wrong mode when I wanted to shoot a video of me riding the other swing bike.

 

[Pondo]

Very cool bike! I really want to build one of these now, I'll be keeping an eye out for a couple of good donor drop-tube bikes. The whole build is very clever in it's seeming simplicity and can be built without welding. Love it! The German hip-hop song in the 1st video is cool too. Nicely done!