Pics of my LocoJoe EZ Cantilever frame chop

[el Diablo Guapo]

I am pretty new here on RRB so i have been perusing the forums, and wow! there is a ton o' great stuff
A few days ago I read this ( http://ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/simple-chop-to-a-cantilever-frame.594/#post-102012 ) thread.
@aka_locojoe describes a frame mod that appeared (will be/is?) particularly useful for slamming, it effectively rakes the head (by changing the shape of the frame slightly), and yeilds a cool "squish" to the frame

I thought to myself, "hey, self, you have a cantilever frame..."

I know a lot of members have done the "LJC" or LocoJoe Chop, and i found a ton of finished pix, but few process images, so I thought i would document this adventure
It really is easy, but you will need a welder to put it back together. The welding is a bit more forgiving since it is on outside tube sides rather than tube ends, but if you burn through you will be dressing the inside of your seat tube. I am glad I learned this trick, I feel confident i will be using again

On to the pix, and THANX @aka_locojoe and RRB !

 

[el Diablo Guapo]

I used a grinder with a NEW 4-1/2 inch cutoff wheel and the gaurd removed
I easily used a small ratchet strap , which i ultimately moved to the head instead of the seat post to facillitate welding
I pushed the twin bars back up to original frame height, though many other projects leave them lower. i wanted to hide the cut mark, and the frame is "invisibly modded"

The BB went from ~10" off the ground to ~6-3/4" clearance

Now that i know what I am doing, i could this pretty quickly, say an hour(?) as it is I only dinked around with it a few hours
You could probably do this with the bike "together"- you will need the rear wheel for support anyway- mine was just apart already- i can tear down a single speed ashtabula really fast (~15min?)

cut these supports

and cut these supports too

I tried to "cheat" up into the bars and avoid hitting the down tube with the grinder

frame before LJC

See how the bars have lowered below their original position
Since the geometry change is coming from bending the chain stays, I pushed the bars back up

I clamped this board to get the bars where i wanted 'em

I re positioned the strap to the head to make it easier to reach and clamp and weld etc.

Look closely and you will see the BB is in the same place, but the head is now back and the extra bars protrude. The frame is shorther from head to dropout, and would "hang" a bit from the axles. Time to assemble this and see how it came out with no further mods - then more mods !!

 

[Captain Awesome]

Great write up!!!

 

[el Diablo Guapo]

Great write up!!!

Thanks! And thanks for voting in my poll!

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Wild. I like it. Are you planning to shorten the two tubes where they pass the down tube?

 

[el Diablo Guapo]

Wild. I like it. Are you planning to shorten the two tubes where they pass the down tube?

Most likely, yes. But ya never know, depending on what happens next!

 

[aka_locojoe]

Turned out very nice and good documentation of the process.

 

[el Diablo Guapo]

Turned out very nice and good documentation of the process.

Thanks LocoJoe!
It is a fun little tweak, and I appreciate you sharing it.
Once I saw it, I knew I had to try it. It is a great model, and I see myself using in the future