I'm new to this scene, sort of.
I'm 30, live outside Denver, and am a bicycle nut. I mainly ride flatland and old school BMX bikes, but I really want to do a few customs. For those outside of Denver, be envious of us. We have a weekly themed pub crawl centered on bicycles and costumes called Denver Cruisers. Anywhere from 300-1000 people show up each wednesday. In full costume. Ride from bar to bar, then participate in a giant thing called the circle of death. Basically 200 people riding at different speeds in a circle, in both directions. Most are on cruisers.
So I want to build 2 bikes. A 20" BMX style bike, built in the normal beach cruiser style. Except BMX forks, bars, wheels, etc. But I want to use mountain bike hubs laced to 20" wheels, so I can add disk brakes. Should be rideable like a bmx, easily maneuverable in traffic in the circle of death, yet still fits the idea of a cruiser. Should be easy to build, just need the right frame, then shorten some mountain bike forks and widen the rear chainstays.
Then I want to build a full custom. I want something long and low, still in the style of a cruiser, but like a mix rat rod/chopper/cruiser. So I drew this up. Ignore how the back part of the wheel is cut off, I started at the edge of the page and drew forward, and didn't plan on adding wheels, so it came out chopped off.
The downtube would be one piece from the headtube to the seatpost. The top tube would be two pieces. Where to begin? I don't know but I have til May to get it done. I'd also like to make it belt drive instead of chain, though I don't know if that is possible with the length of what this will end up being.
Anyone have any ideas where to start? Forks/bars/stem/cranks/bearings/seat/fender/wheels should be easy enough to buy, but the frame will have to be custom. Maybe two cruiser frames will give me enough to make the top tube, seat tube and rear portion(seat & chain stays), but the downtube is going to be a pita.
I'm 30, live outside Denver, and am a bicycle nut. I mainly ride flatland and old school BMX bikes, but I really want to do a few customs. For those outside of Denver, be envious of us. We have a weekly themed pub crawl centered on bicycles and costumes called Denver Cruisers. Anywhere from 300-1000 people show up each wednesday. In full costume. Ride from bar to bar, then participate in a giant thing called the circle of death. Basically 200 people riding at different speeds in a circle, in both directions. Most are on cruisers.
So I want to build 2 bikes. A 20" BMX style bike, built in the normal beach cruiser style. Except BMX forks, bars, wheels, etc. But I want to use mountain bike hubs laced to 20" wheels, so I can add disk brakes. Should be rideable like a bmx, easily maneuverable in traffic in the circle of death, yet still fits the idea of a cruiser. Should be easy to build, just need the right frame, then shorten some mountain bike forks and widen the rear chainstays.
Then I want to build a full custom. I want something long and low, still in the style of a cruiser, but like a mix rat rod/chopper/cruiser. So I drew this up. Ignore how the back part of the wheel is cut off, I started at the edge of the page and drew forward, and didn't plan on adding wheels, so it came out chopped off.
The downtube would be one piece from the headtube to the seatpost. The top tube would be two pieces. Where to begin? I don't know but I have til May to get it done. I'd also like to make it belt drive instead of chain, though I don't know if that is possible with the length of what this will end up being.
Anyone have any ideas where to start? Forks/bars/stem/cranks/bearings/seat/fender/wheels should be easy enough to buy, but the frame will have to be custom. Maybe two cruiser frames will give me enough to make the top tube, seat tube and rear portion(seat & chain stays), but the downtube is going to be a pita.
