ORBO Tail Gunner

[Ed Stately]

Got this Trek Mountain bike for helping a neighbor load up a moving van a couple months ago, and picked up the Trek trailer online a couple weeks ago. Building this to give to my son and grandson. Still kicking the details around in my head, but leaning towards a gravel set up. That may change as I start gather parts.

 

[BartRidesEternal]

Got this Trek Mountain bike for helping a neighbor load up a moving van a couple months ago, and picked up the Trek trailer online a couple weeks ago. Building this to give to my son and grandson. Still kicking the details around in my head, but leaning towards a gravel set up. That may change as I start gather parts. View attachment 255462

The builds name 'tail gunner' and this combo is promising, I like it so far!
I instantly had to think of that video from Danny Macaskill: Daycare

 

[Bike from the Dead]

The builds name 'tail gunner' and this combo is promising, I like it so far!
I instantly had to think of that video from Danny Macaskill: Daycare

For the uninitiated:

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Got this Trek Mountain bike for helping a neighbor load up a moving van a couple months ago, and picked up the Trek trailer online a couple weeks ago. Building this to give to my son and grandson. Still kicking the details around in my head, but leaning towards a gravel set up. That may change as I start gather parts. View attachment 255462

Can't say I've seen one of those bike trailers used for off-road riding before! Looking forward to seeing this shape up!

 

[Ed Stately]

Started tearing down the bike to clean it. Looks like the previous owner laid down several coats/layers of WD-40 at every moving part and pivot point. Checking everything to see if they just liked spaying WD-40 on everything or if they had a problem with any of the components and sprayed it in holes of "fixing" s problem.

This thing had to be throwing
WD-40 off like a rooster tail and leaving puddles when parked until it got enough dirt and dust coating it.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

This thing had to be throwing
WD-40 off like a rooster tail and leaving puddles when parked until it got enough dirt and dust coating it.

That coating of grime is a preservative, gunk preserves the bike

 

[Ed Stately]

That coating of grime is a preservative, gunk preserves the bike

You are correct, the paint and chrome underneath looks new, still a pain. Went through about 50 Q-Tips. Lol.

 

[Ed Stately]

Picked up a new wheel set with disc brakes, a mismatched pair of carbide bit infused snow and ice tires for the main bike. Swapped out the front forks, stem and handlebar with parts from my now out of commission 27.5" ebike. (Only forks I had with disc brake bracket). Will be mounting the new front wheel/tire later today. Waiting on the rear until the .... brake add-on bracket I ordered for it and the trailer gets here. Plan on operating both the trailer brake and main bike rear brake with one lever. So I ordered a double barrel brake lever as well. I'll post pictures after the wheel's and brakes are installed.

 

[Ed Stately]

I'll be using this as my daily as I build it. The snow is a bit much for the older bikes and my electric mountain bike finally got to the point where it'll be cheaper to buy/build a new one rather then fix it. It held up to three and a half years of year round all weather use, so I got my money out of it. Plus now I've got an aluminum MTB frame with super wide rear stays. It'll be part of a future project.

It's snowing again so I'm going to go test drive that snow tire while nobody is around to see me crash this thing if it don't go as planned. Lol.

 

[ingola]

I'll be using this as my daily as I build it. The snow is a bit much for the older bikes and my electric mountain bike finally got to the point where it'll be cheaper to buy/build a new one rather then fix it. It held up to three and a half years of year round all weather use, so I got my money out of it. Plus now I've got an aluminum MTB frame with super wide rear stays. It'll be part of a future project.

View attachment 256350
View attachment 256351

It's snowing again so I'm going to go test drive that snow tire while nobody is around to see me crash this thing if it don't go as planned. Lol.

Snow tire is best on the front front as it gives you more control

 

[Ed Stately]

Yep, that's where I put it. I went down 4 times last winter and 3 were because the front wheel slid out from under me. The 4th was because I got hit broadside by a 45+mph wind gust. Luckily because of my dare devil BMX days in the late 70's to mid 80's I know how to crash correctly. Lol.

 

[Ed Stately]

Wasn't able to check in for the last week or so. I was a passenger in a pickup truck roll over. Got a bit banged up, but my cellphone did not survive. Got a new one this morning. So I'm back. I was able to find some time to work on this though.
I will be using this for my daily rider until I finish building my electric bike, so some of this will be removed for the final build.

I replaced the handlebars. And because they are much taller than the original flat bar I had to replace the shift and brake cables so I could turn without yanking them out. I converted the bike to disc brake and put the new rims on. I replaced the seat with a more modern looking spring seat. I have a second matching seat for the trailer. And temporarily installed my motorcycle Viking saddlebags.
The brake calipers will be getting replaced now that I have the bracket placement dialed in. Look at full hydraulic possibly. The handlebars will be replaced by a set I ordered this morning and I also have a shock absorbing stem on the way. I'll be turning my attention to the trailer this week.

 

[Pondo]

Looking good! Those handlebars are a trip. Looks like endless adjustment potential.

 

[Ed Stately]

Looking good! Those handlebars are a trip. Looks like endless adjustment potential.

Yep, you need 3 extra hands to get them started. But once you do you can customize every aspect of them. One of the best $30 I spent on bike parts. Found under motorcycle handlebars on Amazon. They come in silver and black as well..

 

[Ed Stately]

The handle bars I order for this build were delivered today. I like the blue bars for daily riding use, but I don't think they would hold up well on any kind of trail riding because there are so many movable parts. I also really like the cleaner simpler lines of the silver bars. Also replaced the solid stem with an adjustable stem.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Is this a Jones bar? Looks practical and comfortable, always wanted to check those out

 

[Ed Stately]

Is this a Jones bar? Looks practical and comfortable, always wanted to check those out

AkiiGer Bike Riser Handlebar 31.8mm, Length 690mm, Universal Bicycle Handle Bars for MTB Gravel Bikes Touring Bikes, Aluminium Alloy, Silver https://a.co/d/9XRyQ47

 

[Ed Stately]

Is this a Jones bar? Looks practical and comfortable, always wanted to check those out

So far I like them. Wide and plenty of room for phone holder lights etc. I think I'm going to get a black pair instead for this bike. Had planned on replacing all the black painted components with silver, but it may not happen. Still deciding. These bars would be great on a cruiser or klunker as well.

 

[Ed Stately]

So we've had some nice weather the last few days and have a couple more forecasted. So I pulled the back half of Tail Gunner out and hooked it up for the 1st time. I mostly like it. It will need to be painted. It rides a bit closer then I had pictured. Anyway the handlebars that came with it are a miniature version of BMX handlebars and they looked a little small and out of place. And I had an aftermarket crotch rocket adjustable windshield that has a piece chipped off on one edge, (I have tge peice and will be reattaching it). but is surprisingly close the the same shape as the handlebars. I have the bars going through the mounting plate but after mounting the bars I think I'll remove the shield and make a plate to mount it on the front of the bars. Then I can take advantage of the back and forth adjustment the mounting plate provides. I'm also going to see if I can get a 24" wheel to work on it rather then the 20". The saddlebags will be removed before the deadline. It's currently my daily rider so the bags are temporarily installed.

 

[jimmythefly]

The fairing is super cool, as a kid I would have been so stoked to have something like that.
In my experience a rear fender on the bike, or at least a wide rectangle of plastic attached to the down tube of the tailgunner are a good idea to keep the passenger from eating too much gravel.