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Swampthing said:
Just built this up from a bike I found in the trash.
the intention was to build a disposable to use while on a cross country road trip in August.
South Florida to LA with my daughter.
we hope to hike, bike and camp at parks etc all the way.
Then I will give this bike to someone before I head back.
that was the plan, but it’s fun.
I think I’ll build up a 26” BMX when I get back.
Because every fat old man needs to ride like they are 12 sometimes.View attachment 158544
Click to expand...
Sorry, but I have to say that that bike looks unsafe. The upright angle of the head and the excess rake on the fork combine to give what looks like a zero (or even negative) amount of "trail". That is, it looks like the point where the head axis intersects the ground is right on (or even behind) the point where the tire makes road contact (where a line dropped from the from the front hub hits the ground). More trail (the amount by which the tire contact point trails the head axis point) = more stability at speed. Less trail= more reponsive and "twitchy". Negative trail= inherently unstable at speed: the more speed, the more instability. It might be the angle of the picture, but it looks from here like that bike has a negative amount of trail. If you take your hands off the bars at speed I think the front steering is at risk of doing a sudden and catastrophic 180. I'm surprised it's even ridable above 10 mph.
 
Swampthing said:
Just built this up from a bike I found in the trash.
the intention was to build a disposable to use while on a cross country road trip in August.
South Florida to LA with my daughter.
we hope to hike, bike and camp at parks etc all the way.
Then I will give this bike to someone before I head back.
that was the plan, but it’s fun.
I think I’ll build up a 26” BMX when I get back.
Because every fat old man needs to ride like they are 12 sometimes.View attachment 158544
Click to expand...
Looks Fun!
 
DaveH said:
Sorry, but I have to say that that bike looks unsafe. The upright angle of the head and the excess rake on the fork combine to give what looks like a zero (or even negative) amount of "trail". That is, it looks like the point where the head axis intersects the ground is right on (or even behind) the point where the tire makes road contact (where a line dropped from the from the front hub hits the ground). More trail (the amount by which the tire contact point trails the head axis point) = more stability at speed. Less trail= more reponsive and "twitchy". Negative trail= inherently unstable at speed: the more speed, the more instability. It might be the angle of the picture, but it looks from here like that bike has a negative amount of trail. If you take your hands off the bars at speed I think the front steering is at risk of doing a sudden and catastrophic 180. I'm surprised it's even ridable above 10 mph.
Click to expand...
Well,
It was built out of the parts bin and that was the only fork I had at the moment.
It does steer quickly, but it probably hasn’t been over 10mph yet.
just ridden through the woods and around the yard, and a couple miles of levee banks. If I do keep it, a different fork may be in order.
 
Swampthing said:
Well,
It was built out of the parts bin and that was the only fork I had at the moment.
It does steer quickly, but it probably hasn’t been over 10mph yet.
just ridden through the woods and around the yard, and a couple miles of levee banks. If I do keep it, a different fork may be in order.
Click to expand...
Embrace the twitch :113:
 
On the road for work this week. Figured I probably needed to bring a bike and keep my sanity

Touring around Concord NC on my 650b shod steamroller. Race city USA

IMG_20210523_175811377~2.jpg
IMG_20210523_175429205~2.jpg
IMG_20210523_175351807~2.jpg
 
A friend of a friend was throwing an all-day birthday party on a ranch North of town yesterday and I was invited to attend. There is a dirt MX track on the property and there were a bunch of old motoheads there. The host was really cool and in a convo he mentioned skipping school when the winds were offshore and Saddleback Moto Cross Park, very OG Orange County, CA. Later in the evening he and I were chatting and it was discovered that we were probably sitting in the same surf lineup at least a few times back in the 70's. Small World.

Oh yeah, never show up empty-handed and in Colorado this is most often a win at all-day parties:
20210526_204855.jpg


I was lightly chided a bit at first for showing up on a bicycle, however their tune changed in conversations when it was discovered that I am a motohead as well and know a bit about that realm and the history of it. Hey, two wheels translate well and respect does go either direction if people keep an open mind. One cat in particular had just placed second in a local motocross in the 60+ division on a rat rod bike made up of an early 70's Husqvarna frame with a custom ported/cam/tuned Honda powerplant. A Kindred Spirit in the realm of "it's not the bike, it's the rider".
 

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