Any ideas on things to make from old buicycles?

My next door neighbor buys old bikes, takes 2 bad ones to make one good one, and sells em at his garage sales for about $ 25 each. Sold 8 of them in an hour last Aug.

Since "choppers" are so popular now, you can often make a cool chopper style (like the early 70's) from the right frame. The local flea market has a place that sells chopper forks, sissy bars, banana seats, etc and is doing quite well. Of course these are all new parts , chromed and cool for the baby boomers who wanna remember the cool bike they wished they had in 1968.

Koz

Gunluvver2 wrote:

Two identical forks, back to back would make a nice upper strut braces for my Volvo. I cannot weld to save my life. Contact me if you are interested

Regards,

Boris Mohar

Got Knock? - see: Viatrack Printed Circuit Designs

Around here, I see some that have been converted into lawn and garden ornaments. They look pretty nice with baskets on the front and back holding flowers. They are usually sprayed with attractive colors (including the chain). The older, the better. You might think about trying to emulate the penny farthing and other old style cycles.

Earle Rich Mont Vernon, NH

A local recycling center buys bike racks from New Zealand, which were made from old bicycle frames. Basically, they use the rear triangle of the old frame to support the front wheel of the good bike. They add a couple of outrigger stays, probably made from the discarded parts of the frame.

You might want to consider the likelyhood your work will be stress tested by kids sometimes in situations where a bad weld coming loose could cause injury or death.

Not to say welding to fix your kid's bike is wrong, but the concerns might be different when welding bicycles together for profit.

Good luck.

Koz wrote

Yo;

Most good frames are made of 4130 steel. It TIG's great. Seat posts of the 7/8" size with a GR-8 bolt thru them make great tractor Cat-1 lift pins; Carry on...

MrShadow(Ret.Old.Pfart) =====================================================================

I once made an "Electric Powered" Mountain bike, but it had some inherent problems that would require a complete re-design...

Also I used the pedal assembly as a "Counter Shaft" for a home-made metal lathe...

Frank

Stationary bike hooked to a generator that powers a small television, rigged so the TV only works if you are pedaling. Put some muscles on those couch potatoes.

Talking about pieces of old bikes that are good for things:

I've used the fork bearing assembly to make big casters for various garden machines. I weld the wheel frame to the bottom of the spindle and the assembly tube to my machine. Quick, easy, cheap, but no machining (ahhh).

I suppose the pedal bearing assembly might be even better (beefier).

Bob

I once had a tennis racket that had been run over by a car. It was mangled and twisted. I hung it on a wall, and under it, put the sign, "Express Yourself."

It would work for a bike. Mount it on a wall, and put a piece of moulding around it for a frame. A couple of lights for highlighting.

Steve

Actually, they probably wouldn't. ;) Bicycle forks are designed to flex so that the ride is a little more comfortable - that's the main reason most are curved and tapered. One doesn't want a flexible strut brace - it defeats the purpose of installing one. The (Cherry Turbo) brace that iPD sells for Volvos is useless for these reasons, although their lower chassis brace works well. A good strut brace is straight and is made from steel tubing with a much thicker wall or (more typically) solid aluminum.

Regards,

Peter

Gunluvver2 wrote: (clip) I am always looking for new ideas (clip) I once saw a kid riding a "two-story" bicycle, made by welding one bike frame to the top of another. He had to use a park bench to get started, and I don't know how he got off, but it looked like fun.

Bicycle forks are curved for the reason of providing the appropriate trail for the steering geometry. Whether they are straight or curved, they all flex in the fore and aft direction. Straight forks are bent forward at the crown to provide trail.

Hmmm,

Didn't I just post that a few hours ago?

You're right. Bicycle forks are curved, in part, to provide the proper geometry. But that's not the only reason. That's why I said that the "main reason most are curved and tapered" was to provide some comfort. They were bent and tapered to provide some suppleness to the ride. A book on the history of the TDF I read once quoted one of the early frame builders as commenting that with the advent of thinner wall tubing, that they were able to reduce the effective length and curve on the forks, quicken the handling and still provide for a supple ride. A long stage race like the Tour would beat up the riders badly enough that comfort was important.

Regards,

Peter

Abrasha wrote: Didn't I just post that a few hours ago? ^^^^^^^^^^ Sorry, our posts may have crossed in the mail. However, the one I saw wouldn't hold a candle to yours. Much cruder and less elegant, but probably do-able in a day.

This kid was riding on the city streets. Your photo looks like it may have been taken on a dry lake.

Sadly, it is not mine. It is just a photo of one that was at Burning Man in

Abrasha

Fork deflection is insignificant compared to tyre deformation; changes there are un-noticable. The bicycle industry and most of the consumers have always been fad driven, however - early frame builders would also tell you a steel frame got soft with use, so you should buy a new one every few years. From them.

Curved forks are (were?) purely aesthetic. Check the faq in rec.bicycle.tech.