The Difference Engine...

[pick]

"So even tho they say a tensioner won't work with a coaster brake mine does"

Who are "they" anyway? Don't you love it when someone says it won't work & you make it happen? This is a great build with lots of ideas that I will be stealing. Keep up the good work!

 

[GuitarlCarl]

Thanks pick, I'll be rippin' ideas off your bike too!

Carl.

 

[rubsterob]

"So even tho they say a tensioner won't work with a coaster brake mine does"

Who are "they" anyway? Don't you love it when someone says it won't work & you make it happen? This is a great build with lots of ideas that I will be stealing. Keep up the good work!

"They" are Luke and glen lol. In theory it shouldn't work because as soon as you pedal backwards the tensioner will expand. There must be a lot of tension in the spring


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[Glen]

"They" are Luke and glen lol. In theory it shouldn't work because as soon as you pedal backwards the tensioner will expand. There must be a lot of tension in the spring
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Hmmm... my memory is pretty bad... and I don't remember saying a coaster brake wouldn't work with a tensioner. In fact, I have thought about doing it myself in the past... just never bothered Glad to see it works.

Glen.

 

[rubsterob]

Hmmm... my memory is pretty bad... and I don't remember saying a coaster brake wouldn't work with a tensioner. In fact, I have thought about doing it myself in the past... just never bothered Glad to see it works.

Glen.

Maybe it was just luke.


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[GuitarlCarl]

Hey, pedaling backwards with a tensioner is just like pedaling backwards with a derailleur. No problem, and when you add the resistance of the coaster brake, the spring actually relaxes. Allowing momentary slack in the chain on the bottom side. On the top side the chain is still tight between the chain ring and the coaster, and the brake works fine. I'll see if I can get some video of it, it's actually pretty strange. Now, I suppose I could force the whole thing to derail by repeatedly slamming the brake and pedaling forward quickly and slamming the brake, so on and so forth. But really, why would you ever do that?

Carl.

 

[dracothered]

I think it is a bit different when it is a tensioner as there is only one spring you are dealing with. Where with a derailleur you have two springs that slacken up when you back pedal. There is more of a chance to have the chain jump when it is a derailleur.

 

[Joosh]

I was a naysayer as well. If you were riding it harder, the tensioner would be a problem, but for cruising, it'll be fine.

 

[GuitarlCarl]

Well, like I said, I'll probably get around to pulling the spring anyway just to be safe. There's got to be a reason your not "supposed" to use a tensioner with a coaster... There's a lot you can do with it though, if I'd have kept the rim brakes, I could've used the front derailleur to do a 2 or 3 speed. But Joosh hit it on the head, this is a street cruiser, and I wanted to backdate the look, single speed, with no cable clutter. Some of the classic archbar frames are over a 100 years old!

Carl.

 

[Skipton]

Bike looks great!....nice work!

 

[rubsterob]

The slack on the bottom is what I would be worried about. Do a test try to break fast as if a car pulled out in front of you and see how long it takes to brake


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[GuitarlCarl]

Breakfast? I had a couple things wrong. The bike was upside down when I was workin' on it so I meant the slack was on the topside, but in my head it was the bottom. DUH. Anyway it won't work at all with no spring. You can't get it tight enough to not slip after applying the brakes... So, I took two links out and now it seems perfect. The tensioner is almost horizontal, but the spring is able to give that much. Now when you slam on the brakes there's not enough slack for the chain to come off the sprocket, and when your pedaling, the tensioner takes out the bit of slack that is left. I'm still tweakin' on the tail light and me grips ain't here yet. Time to start scoping out some photo spots.

Carl.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Time to start scoping out some photo spots.

Carl.

Getting close Carl!
(Love the new sig line by the way...)

Luke.

 

[GuitarlCarl]

Getting close Carl!
(Love the new sig line by the way...)

Luke.

Thanks. It's actually from Virtual Light, a novel by William Gibson. I just added the word patina...

Carl.

 

[pick]

Patina: Exposing the integrity of the material's passage thru time...

+1

 

[GuitarlCarl]

The Difference Engine, a great book by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. The DE was dreamed up in the 1890's by Charles Babbage as a mechanical computer if you will. Gibson and Sterling wrote a "what if?" scifi novel about it.

The Difference Engine, an 1890's archbar style bike created from a 1995 Schwinn Crisscross.

 

[bleedingfingers]

Dang Carl now I want to build a skinny tire bike .

 

[pick]

SWEET!

 

[GuitarlCarl]

I never said anything much about the lights... The Deitz in front had a blown bulb so I opened it up and cut the terminals off with a dremel. Then I put two ultra bright LEDs into the old bulb utilizing the inside of the bulb as a reflector. Wires run to a switch mounted in the light bucket, and then out the bottom, around the head and into a hole in the frame. Wires come back out behind the green Mickey's bottle which holds a dual C battery holder encased in faux ice. The rear light isn't powered, a bullet lens mounted under the seat, it is capable of lighting though...

Credit to ifitsfreeitsforme, those white grips are fantastic!

Carl.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

man carl that thing looks awesome good job man
Sean