4-Lowco: Air Ride, 4-link, 3-spd

[Indychus]

Re: 4-Lowco: A newbie's first build

Finally got around to working on this some more, the holidays were very hectic and I didn't get much garage time.

Got the fork tubes welded up at the bottom. I'll trim the excess up top off later; my handlebars will bolt to the forks up top.

Mocked everything up again, this time at ride height to get some measurements.

Also stripped the cover off of the seat that was on the roadmaster and swapped the guts from the mountain bike seat into it so it will bolt to my seat post. I'll recover it later.

Now I have to do some more CAD work and get a few more parts cut, then I can get the front wheel bolted up and start on the rear suspension.

I was planning on running an air cylinder like everyone else does, until I found out that they require 170+ psi to achieve ride height, which necessitates a paintball or scuba tank for air storage. I'm planning on using the frame as my air tank and shop air to fill it, so I have to find another solution. I have a few leads, but finding an airbag which meets my budget and space constraints is proving to be the most difficult part of the build.

 

[wimpy]

Re: 4-Lowco: A newbie's first build

Some bikes allready have the looks of a winner, when they're not even remotely close to the finish. This is one of them...Far out! 8)

 

[Indychus]

Re: 4-Lowco: A newbie's first build

Not much of an update, but it's a lot of work. Spent a couple of hours grinding everything down, then filling pinholes. I also did a burst test on it by pressurizing it to 170psi, which is 50psi more than it will ever see in use. There are still a few tiny leaks, but I have to grind it down again before I can fill them.

I sent a few cad files to the machine shop, but no telling how long until they are done. I don't rush him.

 

[DesignIt]

Looking good! I think I would have to do the "burst test" from at least one room away. :shock:

 

[runningpanda]

Wow, this is so awesome!

 

[5lam]

There is no way that cylinder would need 170psi to lift a bicycle and rider. A fullsize pickup maybe, or a large car, but not a bike.

It looks great though. Would love to build something similar myself.

 

[mazdawg78]

Nice mini truck trick using the frame as a tank. Don't drag it too much lol

 

[alecw35]

The tube inside the steering head, that's called the steerer tube

As for the rear hub, the Strumley Archer hubs have a 3 number code on them. Its the date of manufacture. year and month.
You can get longer axles for them. But that means a hub rebuild to fit them. Not a bad idea as sometimes the springs get a bit sticky, and it wont engage the gears properly.

Sheldon Brown goes on about 3 speed hubs on his website. Also seen a few SA hub rebuild videos on youtube.

 

[31 gallo]

biting my nails off waiting to see your progress. thanks for the posts.

 

[Indychus]

Thanks guys! I haven't done any work on this in a long time, but hopefully I can pull it out and hack away on it some this winter. I haven't forgotten about it, I've just been extremely busy.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Looking forward to seeing more!

Luke.

 

[Lowlife Lucas]

Looking forward to seeing more!

Luke.

X2!

 

[Valocalrep]

ill be 3