Project Energia

Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum

Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Aug 4, 2016
Messages
1,167
Reaction score
2,864
Location
Poznan, Poland
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hello people!
First of all, yes, i know it is probably too many projects i have ongoing at same time :D
I want to finish some others for sure. But since i am using my school workshop for building frames, i also have to use the opportunities like now, when most of the students are gone for vacation and the workshop is free. So i have started this build, and i am planning to finish it quite quickly.
My inspiration point for this build is clearly the bikes of HB Cruisers. I appreciate what Robert done for the bike culture, and also the simplicity and elegancy of their forms. At first i wanted to actually build quite a similar bike to theirs, but up to my proportions, but then i thought, hey, i wanted to build a low profile frame too. Why don't i experiment with that? So i got this sketch as a result. Also featuring 55' head tube angle (usually i make 60' like Dyno cruisers had)
5c3a82473ed25c0ffb1a9927ab9a4613.png

Yesterday, as i said, i had a workshop all for myself, so i have done some work on it. I have noticed the more frames i build, the faster it goes, and especially with a simple shape like that i might be able to finish in a few days.
Not documenting the process as detailed as usual, basically all the processes are very similar to what i do on my previous bike.
Making the long and heavy chain stays. Unfortunately the only 1 inch tube i have this time is 2mm thick, so it is a quarter heavier then usually.
8f23d0dd446e387f2c8e6f3c8f03ac08.jpg


Then using the new American BB and 30mm tube i am building the belly of the frame.
2978e8d743ca726f91cee7cc0fb93b06.jpg


I am using also the tubes from a cut-up old mountain bike. That is why i have this old 1' head tube. I wanted to have old-school look, kind of like HB Cruiser bikes had, i know the early ones were made using old bikes tubing, so that is the reason i go for USA BB and 1' head tube.
777255417b239a528a16cecf8ee35a27.jpg


Now the school is closed for holidays, but in the first days of the next year i will continue working on the bike.
I also will make some nicer render in 3d and upload it here somewhat later.

Another question for you guys. Should i move this thread to Scratch Build section? I have figured it is less active than the one i am posting it now. I also often see scratch builds here in this section.
 
Last edited:
Here are couple of simple renders. Still thinking of the color for the bike.
66981148296af6d919c4ee0229e922a6.png

3e89db25f07118267facb7b6366333a0.png


One thing i am certain about are the wheels i am using. I don't have a separate photo of them, but here they are on one 346 cruiser. I have sold the frameset to one guy here in Poland, so all the parts used are still in my garage, and i am planning to use some of them for this bike.
90bc88698c89452a43d6d07d8d54baee.jpg
 
The school is open again after vacation from today on!
Another great piece of news, my grandpa is visiting me for a couple of weeks! :) He lives in Moscow now, and he is super high-class professional welder with 40+ years of experience.
3cabbe1b7737de460c5a284a20c26174.jpg


So today i decided to show him what i do, and whole day long we worked on the bike together. I welded it all myself, he was just checking the work out and giving lots of useful advises :)
507442427ec291536ea7b1ff9e126dc7.jpg


The work went quite quick when there were two of us, so the bike frame is almost ready by now! The only elements left are coaster break tab, kickstand plate and a thunderbolt.
4f202850736f0fab7a3020f63efeefc8.jpg


Probably i have made some mistakes planning the wheel size or the fork length, and now the bike sits a bit lower then i wanted, the cranks are a bit too low to the ground. So i would have to actually put the longer triple tree forks, like on the render in the previous post. We will see what can i do about it. Also somewhere in the process some mistake resulted to the seat tube being on a different position then in the sketch. But anyway, the bike comes together nicely! But a bit heavier then my other bikes :)

What do you guys think, should i add a bridge between the seat stays for possibility of fender mounting in future? I don't think i want to have fenders on this bike, but who knows, i might change my vision of building it in distant future or this bike can end up be someones else.
 
So, the bike is ready. 3 days in the workshop, my personal record! :)
Today we have done the coaster tab, kickstand mount and shorty kickstand, seat tube fitting, handlebars, thunderbolt and the bar between the seat stays so it would be possible to put fenders in future. I also fitted Electra fork on it.
c292c12726019fc99d3269290a2c0ba7.jpg

8d0b689c5c83adb83ca9b89043933b59.jpg


Here is a picture of my grandpa with the bike :)
98f26a4df8491ec25c4e1fce32770a57.jpg


The bike is quite interesting to ride, because of chopper kind of raked head tube it is stable until some point, and then the wheel tends to fall on the side. I'd say that is not the most practical thing, but for sure an interesting experience and still quite rideable.
Now my plan is to maybe make my own fork legs with more offset for the wheel, and fitting the nice rear lights in the frame. Then painting.
Still not sure of the forks though. By one hand it would be fun to make my own legs, but by the other i might also put some cool PHAT/3g offset forks. But those are very hard to get and i have only one set of them left :D
 
Some more work done today. The handlebars are narrowed down a little bit, now the proportion is just perfect. The kickstand is moved a little deeper to the frame, so it does not catch the pants when walking next to the bike. Shimano nexus shifter is fitted. Unfortunately on the maximum depth the wheel can reach in the dropout there is not enough space to put the clickbox horizontally. I need to learn from that mistake. However, it works in the other position of a clickbox or when a wheel is closer to the end of dropouts.
a621f8be7f53a21b00f858819db0b13c.jpg


The most important thing is that the new fork legs with extra offset are made. The bike handles more smooth and pleasant now. What do you guys think of the looks of them? I still have all the possibilities to replace them with something else or remake them. I kind of still thinking it may look cooler with those PHAT forks :D
4fca38333734d57379c6fb1738d7a42c.jpg


Here is a close up on the shape of the drop-outs.
53214df7a4d897ae201967f80dd5087e.jpg
 
I believe wider handlebars and a longer stem are also very beneficial to the steering feeling.
If You have moon bars, why don't You try them and see how it feels for You?
You cold also experiment with the stem orientation.
It is actually quite good as it is now, but thanks for an advise :) Those bars are about 80cm wide.
It is the first raked bike of mine, so was unusual at first that the wheel tends to turn itself, but with the offset added it is very stable until you turn it deeply, and only then it falls in. I believe that is how it is going to be with this rake anyway, so i am quite happy by the way it turns now :)
The PHAT forks have almost same offset as those, so even if i switch i believe it is going to be okay, but now i guess i am leaving it as it is, because it also fits the bike. Then the final assembly when everything is painted going to determine some of the last details i am using.
 
Working on the rear lights, check it out guys :)
326861b5044711cc41f4e2956509a601.jpg


Haven't seen anything like that being done yet!
be1b004dcb1fef273c29a3f3c4aebb14.jpg


The light they have sent me are so weird. Instead of red they are white! Thats what happens when you buy cheap stuff online. However they are very strong, so i am going to fix two problems at one, by sticking the semi-transparent red film over them.
60be91e750743068a2089d5a0ab72f76.jpg
 
Had to take the bike out the workshop temporarily, and decided to give it a test drive. I have tacked the light housings quickly, unfortunately they are not perfectly straight, and later when i have a moment i'd need to take them off and weld them back again. But i needed to do that in order to ride at night! Also my tinting film have arrived, i took 5 layers to change the color of the light to red. That's how it looks now.

490a13f2473e5f8c525b05955b9fdda1.jpg

288a25c67607e7ac800d632f7e33bdd0.jpg


First time riding it today was nice! It feels good, though really unusual with the raked head tube. I honestly doubt in future i would make any more bikes like that, i prefer how 30 degree steers, but for experiment it is nice! Only one thing is i have some sound when riding on my 3rd gear, but probably just something touches the chain, i'd check it later. More riding awaits tomorrow!
 
Looking at Your handlebars I would assume You ride in a very straight position - this means much more weight on the rear axle than the front which contributes to the awkward feel. The good news is that after a few rides You get used to it and don't notice it anymore. If it still bothers You lower bars (just an inch or two) would probably solve it.
Those rear lights turned out really nice.
 
Last edited:
You know it is cool when it looks better than the drawing. The take is something you get use to. I have choppers and ride them a lot. Always in joy watching your posts. Keep up the awesome fab work. GOD BLESS
 
It is actually quite good as it is now, but thanks for an advise :) Those bars are about 80cm wide.
It is the first raked bike of mine, so was unusual at first that the wheel tends to turn itself, but with the offset added it is very stable until you turn it deeply, and only then it falls in. I believe that is how it is going to be with this rake anyway, so i am quite happy by the way it turns now :)
The PHAT forks have almost same offset as those, so even if i switch i believe it is going to be okay, but now i guess i am leaving it as it is, because it also fits the bike. Then the final assembly when everything is painted going to determine some of the last details i am using.
On chopper with Springer front fork. we use what is called rockers. To get the center of the wheel further out. I still have to do it to the bike I'm doing.
Looks very good.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top