fordfasterr

Here goes.

(thanks to Kemmer & roughrider504 & badmother for the great inspiration).

Notes: materials not shown (quick steel putty - AKA Fast Steel). 3/8 12" threaded shaft. A bunch of 3/8 washers and nuts. A few extra smaller nuts and bolts, a 3" 3/8 bolt. Some creative thinking. An old handlebar made of aluminum to build up some spacers for the new axle..

I must also thank my build team, John and Peter.

1. get an old mountain bike like this, made of steel. Try to find one with a flat handle bar (or as close to flat as possible). Front wheel not required.



Get a road bike frame, something that still has a front brake would be nice.



Pull off the rear trinagle.



Drill out the center of the pivot joint using a 3/8 drill bit.
Test fit your threaded rod through the dropouts.





Test fit the handle bar, it will need to be trimmed and drilled.



Looking good so far !!!!!



Now, break out the quick steel and fill up all the holes, make sure that the axle does not have any play. I measured those spacers from an old aluminum handle bar.. filled it with quick steel and slipped it over the axle..






I found this old spring clamp plate and used it as a holder for the main support bar (made out of the steel handle bar that this old mtb came with..) eye-ball the location of the holes and DRILL AWAY !!

fordfasterr

Drill the top of the main support bar, and run a nut/bolt through it...



LOOOONG BIKE ALMOST READY !



Seat post, saddle, cranks, chainring, chain, and fitted the rack - Made it out of an old lawn mower's handles. Easily clamped on and drilled some holes at the top and ran little nuts/bolts through to hold it... also, the bottom is slipped through the xtra-bikes bottom bracket !

I fasten it later with some wooden wedges and seal it into history using > ZIP TIES !<









I used two chain tensioners, one was from a dumpster bike (the upper made by KORE), and the lower is a GodSpeed which bolts to the deraileur hanger of the schwinn =)

The chain is made of two new 1/8 BMX chains.







The best part... taking the new cargo machine for a spin!!

fordfasterr

The final product is shown here...

I plan to add a plywood board (can be seen in an earlier shot behind the bike to the right) which attaches using wing nuts so it can be removed if desired.

I plan to add 2 additional support bars from the extra bikes basket eyelets upwards toward the rear of the platform. =)



Thanks for making it this far !!!

kemmer

Woah, nice work! I love the HUGE rack!

Cyclaholic

Nice build!

...and I thought I worked fast!

Suttree

nice

fordfasterr

I just rode it 18 miles =)

Five miles to job site 1. picked up a 40lb box with a computer in it.. Bungee strapped it on .. Rode 9 more miles to job site 2 and delivered it. Changed and will work here the rest of the day... then its 7.6 miles back home with the empty rack.

The bike is surprisingly stable, and the speed is really good.


So far, my only gripe is the RD, I rigged up an old brake cable and locked it in place, but still allows adjustment via the tensioner screw that is built-into it... I've made adjustments, but I just think that my 1/8 chain could be the problem with it catching on the RD hanger...

I cannot change the chain, so I've got to find another way to prevent it from skipping around. Still it only skips once in a while and it is a mild skip - doesn't seem to slow me down at all.


I am so happy with this. I can't wait to build up the rear platform so I can move groceries with it.

roughrider504

Great idea using the handlebar! I may be building one for the bike project as a cargo/rescue bike and a handlebar would be something they would have.

knobster

Man, that thing is gheto.. Nice bit of engineering though. I bet that's how they xtracycle guys started. Keep refining it and I bet you could sell it as a knock off if you wanted.

fordfasterr

I have not reason to sell it considering that I can make good use of it.


- Thanks.

fordfasterr

ALSO, not shown in the pics (yet)..


I have re-installed the RD shifter so that I can change gears.

Surprisingly, it works quite well! (just hard to reach due to the fact that I mounted it in the middle way below the seat on the stress member (old handlebar)... )

mstrpete

Thanks for the step-by-step pics, too. This is a very worthwhile project.

CaptainCool

I was doubtful until I saw that rear platform. Very nice.

Got a plan for the rear brake?

fordfasterr

I will add the stock brake to the rear at some point, but not right now... As long as the rim is dry, the front brake handles the stopping just fine (for flat Florida that is...)

fordfasterr

Here is a pic with the rig loaded up =)

Lamplight

That's pretty cool. You're giving me all kinds of fiendish ideas...

fordfasterr

I added a basket from a small sized shopping kart from the junk yard.

I then added a 2nd kickstand. I welded it in place (sorry, I'm not good at welding yet...) and I used a wrench as the support bracket =)

pics:









Lastly, I have added the original shifter to the RD and attached it just behind the seat ... now I can shift all gears =)

diff_lock2

I have been asking on the sticky thread, but I will ask here too.

Can you post close ups of the main bikes BB? I want to see how the support bar (flat handle bar) was attached to the primary bike.

thanks.

Wino Ryder

Man thats crazy as hell.

I like it.

neilfein

That is the coolest thing I've seen in a long time.

fordfasterr

The orignial BB is not used to support the rear frame to the primary bike.

instead, I used the original pivot joint.

The pics are clear as to how I did it.

I used a 3/8ths threaded rod, and quick steel. I ran it through and stuff the quick steel in there to take up the slack. Then I did the same thing with the remaining spacers from an old handlebar. =)

diff_lock2

Do you really trust epoxy? I find it cracks too easily.

diff_lock2

Like this?


I am trying out a 1/2inch bolt, this is one thick bolt.

dcb

LOL, I love it, just grind the crank arms off, no time to unbolt 'em

diff_lock2

Well I wanted to remove the BB but I didn't have the tools, and the drive cranks had stripped threads (so I couldn't pull it off.

It took ONE hour of constant grinding to get through the sticky Aluminum. Then it just fell off, and I flattened the tappers on both sides. I should get a pic of the crank, so much work.