Looking great. How did you figure out the correct spoke length before you bought the spokes? Did you use one of those spoke calculators? Or, do you have the tools to cut and rethread them? I always end up trying two or three different spoke lenghts before I get it right. I even tried using one of those spoke calculators, but I must have done someting wrong because it told me to buy spokes that were 5mm too long.
The Military Mountain Chopper
- Thread starter Loki182
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Haha, Kota, I'm glad I made it seem easy because man it had me frustrated. I'm not going to lie as soon as I got it figured out and everything tightened up. I immediately left the house, I had to get as far from that wheel as possible. LoL
jOe: Thanks for the resources I am going to have to take a look at those tutorials that you mentioned and get some more ideas. I am still debating if I want to even attempt to swap out the hubs on my front wheel so I can put a disc on the front too. I won't lie the main saving grace for lacing that big steel rear wheel was that it did not really have to be trued. The rim it's self is so strong that the tension from the spokes didn't have any real effect on it's shape. Still the price to pay for that is weight... that thing is really heavy for a bike wheel.
jimw1960: I'll tell you what, I'm not sure if I just got lucky or if the bicycle gods were smiling down on me, but all I used were the exact same spokes that I pulled right off of the original 20" bmx wheel that I swiped the hub from. Honestly I didn't have a choice but to make them work since I had no way to remove the freewheel without destroying it which meant there was no way to remove any of the spokes on that side of the hub. Overall I think I got really lucky and that spoke length worked out perfectly. I guess you could just think of it as beginners luck!
I guess the next step will be getting the tire mounted back on this thing and then positioning and mounting the rear dropouts on the frame. I also need to get going on the fork, which I am still rolling lots of ideas around in my mind on the best way to build a double crown from scratch.
jOe: Thanks for the resources I am going to have to take a look at those tutorials that you mentioned and get some more ideas. I am still debating if I want to even attempt to swap out the hubs on my front wheel so I can put a disc on the front too. I won't lie the main saving grace for lacing that big steel rear wheel was that it did not really have to be trued. The rim it's self is so strong that the tension from the spokes didn't have any real effect on it's shape. Still the price to pay for that is weight... that thing is really heavy for a bike wheel.
jimw1960: I'll tell you what, I'm not sure if I just got lucky or if the bicycle gods were smiling down on me, but all I used were the exact same spokes that I pulled right off of the original 20" bmx wheel that I swiped the hub from. Honestly I didn't have a choice but to make them work since I had no way to remove the freewheel without destroying it which meant there was no way to remove any of the spokes on that side of the hub. Overall I think I got really lucky and that spoke length worked out perfectly. I guess you could just think of it as beginners luck!
I guess the next step will be getting the tire mounted back on this thing and then positioning and mounting the rear dropouts on the frame. I also need to get going on the fork, which I am still rolling lots of ideas around in my mind on the best way to build a double crown from scratch.
When I built my Gladiator Trike, my wife got me Bike, Scooter, and Chopper Projects for the Evil Genius by Brad over at AZ. It went threw the entire wheel build up including spoke length (185 mm, i think). I kinda like letting someone else do the engineering.
How do you mount the tire on that beast? Pretty cool looking build man
rnchoppers said:
Thanks! Yeah it is slowly coming together. And this wheel is going to look awesome once I get the tire mounted up and get it on the frame. I think the plans were like $15, I'm not 100% sure because my dad actually bought them for me for Christmas.
maddogrider said:
Thanks, I really hope it looks as good when I'm done as it does in my head. As far as mounting the tire... it is going to be done the old fashioned way... probably involving many broken tools and several brand new swear words before it's all said and done. Hopefully the tall sidewall of the A/T tire will make it a little easier though.
Some motorcycle shops carry this tool called a "breezer", I got one years ago and it works great. Didn't find a seller on the net, but there's probably one out there, or maybe you could make one. Here's a description. :| http://dansmc.com/tires1.htm He says tap it, I beat mine w/ a 5 lb sledge. :mrgreen:
looking good mate, im watching this one with interest as i have started one similar based on the same plans, i like your theme! also like the brake on the rear it was something i was planning on adding to mine too. cant wait too see your next update...
deorman said:
Hmmm... I'll have to look into that. I can't tell exactly how it is supposed to work just from looking at that picture of it but I'll definately keep this idea in the back of my mind in case I get stuck along the way. I honestly don't expect it to be too hard though, i mean it took less than 10 mins to get it off... and yes I know that the relatively easy part. But honestly my main concern is how to seat the tube properly so it doesn't twist or do anything weird while I am trying to get the tire mounted.
mrflibbles said:
Thank you, and good luck with your bike also! If you have a build thread already feel free to post a link to it. If not, I look forward to seeing another build like this going down when you do start one. Also as far as the rear brake, the more I thought about it it just seemed like the best way to go. I mean that wheel it's self is going to be carrying a ton of rotational momentum while I am riding it, not to mention probably 65~70% of the my and the bike's weight. Plus I decided to go with a disc because caliper or V brakes were obviously out of the question and I could not think of a logical way to make a 10" wide coaster brake hub... and I genuinely tried to figure that one out... I did come up with a really weird plan B for making it work with a mid coaster brake, but luckly I was able to get the disc brake hub that I needed to make it work and probabaly saved myself from a ton of headaches down the road.
Well a small update. Got the tire mounted last night. It was a bit underwhelming though. It took about 5 mins and 2 screwdrivers and the help of a friend. That was it, no broken tools, no new colorful words, overall it was pretty uneventful. Well since that didn't take long we went ahead and positioned and welded on the bottom bracket with the extra free time. It's definitely starting to look like something now, but I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
It's looking 'monster-awesome' brutha!
With that big 'ol tire in the back, you won't balance or a kickstand.
Would make a great 'bar hopper', you know, in case you're struggling with your balance or perhaps run over something (or someone)...... :roll:
Cheers!
Dr. T
With that big 'ol tire in the back, you won't balance or a kickstand.
Would make a great 'bar hopper', you know, in case you're struggling with your balance or perhaps run over something (or someone)...... :roll:
Cheers!
Dr. T
Really taking shape now! Cant wait to see it all done! That rear tyre is massive, what size are you going to use on the front, and is it going to be a more off road style to match the rear? Ill start a thread on my build when i pull my finger out and get some pics taken.. and possibly get more done than just a pile of parts!
Thanks guys, and yeah Dr. T this thing is defiantly going to be a monster when it's done, I have no doubt about that. I'm going to have to try really hard to resist the urge to run over all of the tourists on cheap junky rental bikes down at the beach.
Yeah I have been planning on trying to find a wide MTB tire to stick on the front. The wheel I have been using for mock-up purposes right now is just the front wheel from my beater Trek MTB. Although a really fat cruiser tire would probably look great on it too, I just can't go too crazy because I don't have a ton of money to sink into this project right now. For what it's worth though I can always swap out for a cooler front wheel later down the road.
Hopefully if I have a little free time today I will get some work done on the fork.
...and yes i know my garage is a disaster area right now. :shock:
Yeah I have been planning on trying to find a wide MTB tire to stick on the front. The wheel I have been using for mock-up purposes right now is just the front wheel from my beater Trek MTB. Although a really fat cruiser tire would probably look great on it too, I just can't go too crazy because I don't have a ton of money to sink into this project right now. For what it's worth though I can always swap out for a cooler front wheel later down the road.
Hopefully if I have a little free time today I will get some work done on the fork.
...and yes i know my garage is a disaster area right now. :shock:
even your helmet fits the build theme! going to look awesome....
mrflibbles said:
Yeah I just found it the other day, it's just a M1 helmet liner. My dad gave this to me a looong time ago. I'm probably going to remove the original webbing guts and stick bicycle helmet foam in it... or i might pick up a different one to mod since this one does have some sentimental value.
KOTA said:
Well that must have been the shortest contest ever lol. Yep quarter panel for a 68 Camaro, which is essentially identical to a 67 so i won't hold that against you. It is left over from when my friend had his project car stored in my garage. There are still a handful of his parts hanging around.
I'll tell ya what though, if you guys want a contest... see if you can guess what's inside that long black case that's leaning against the wall.
*hint* it's not a weapon
I think a Surly Endomorph would be perfect on the front end.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...ff12ba2&itemid=220524357191&ff4=263602_263622
TOURIST BEWARE!
Dr. T
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...ff12ba2&itemid=220524357191&ff4=263602_263622
TOURIST BEWARE!
Dr. T
nope its a cross bow hes mounting on the handle bars :lol: to shoot all them yapaneese bikes :lol: well i got my plans for this build .but if you sell me the back rim ill be all set :lol: so i dont have to build one ..this chopper is looking great .im going to try to build one but i want my frame to be different .im going to see how yours looks first .it s looking good allready . what size rim are you useing on the front ? you back rim is a 15x8 old cragar rim and the 20"spokes fit good .ok stop reading and get building :lol: it s looking great
