Hack bike

[Nabeaquam]

Bits from everywhere. Seven frames donated parts. Gob welds galore on seamless mild steel. Almost no chrome moly. I’ve been slowly working on this for years. Most of the time it hangs on my shop wall and I collect parts from bikes people give me. I threw the parts in a box. This winter I did an inventory and found out I had enough to start again. I had no more excuses. The main frame is from a fixie picked up cheap as the craze is over. I had to buy pedals, cables, seat post, tires and two seats to cut up and make into a reasonable facsimile of a new Brooks B 72. It’s geared as original so it’s no good for modern single track. The original was a downhill bike as there weren't good climbing gears. The originals were made from bulk aircraft chromo and was light so the laterals were added. I wouldn’t trust my welds for downhill. It’s welded by stick, MIG and some brazing. The high heat, poor fitting tubes and gob welds make for a brittle frame. I hope to gravel race it this year, if I finish it. The tire tread pattern is similar to the originals but the tread is not flat like a car tire as were the originals. It took awhile for the rounded side wall grip design to be be developed. The story goes that 70s racers would cut the tread to make it round and cut grooves in the trimmed area to improve cornering grip. The vintage motorcycle brake/clutch levers were picked up a few years ago. I have another set of vintage motorcycle levers but they aren’t as nice.

 

[moonlite]

This is intriguing . . . It'll be interesting to hear how it rides when it's done!

 

[retrobikeguy]

like the look of that.

 

[Nabeaquam]

Here is the hack fake B72. Made from a junk real one and a 15 pound ($20) China seat. It’s for the hack bike. Looks OK. I still need to work on the rivets. I made a seat sandwich so I could use a modern style seat post on the double rail. It’s welded steel. I thought it was unwise to buy an expensive CNC alloy one when I could easily make one myself by welding cut off tubing sections to a steel plate with a hole drilled in the center. I could only find the seat sandwiches for sale in the U.K.

 

[Nabeaquam]

Bogus is mocked up for it’s test beat. I’m riding trails with friends today but I might take it out tomorrow but it’s going to rain untIl Wednesday. I’m sure there will be a lot of issues after the test ride. The brake cables need different routing as the original style isn’t working that well.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

I like this bike, wherever you post it!

 

[Nabeaquam]

I took it for a test beat today in the rain. I couldn’t take it, couldn’t wait for it to dry out. Two issues. The motorcycle levers are so powerful that I’m not strong enough to tighten the cables so they don’t slip. I frayed the front cable. I did finally succeed in keeping them from slipping but they may not stay if you really clamp on them. Gary Fisher said they really stop, but I thought it was hype. I’ll have to have my son out here to get them tight enough. The other issue is that the down tube cable guides are no good. I have one more set so I’ll try those. They are small and thin so they are difficult to weld to the frame. The ones on it now bent during shifting. I took them off. The white zip ties are an original feature, state of the are in 1977.

I like this bike, wherever you post it!

hello there

 

[Nabeaquam]

Well, the original fork was welded up from three different ones but the basic piece was for a 24 inch wheel. I hate to buy stuff but I broke down and purchased a new 26 inch cruiser fork. The original was sketchy. Yesterday I welded cantilever bosses to the new fork I hacked off another junk frame. I lost count of how many donor frames I hacked stuff from. I think it was ten, but since I replaced the original home built beater fork it looks like seven donor frames, maybe more? The most frustrating part was putting on the cable guides I hacked off other bikes. I had a very difficult time centering and clamping them so the welding wire would fit in the tight space. I vaporized something like seven of them before I decided good enough was perfect.

 

[Nabeaquam]

This is intriguing . . . It'll be interesting to hear how it rides when it's done!

I have ridden it short distances, working out bugs. It’s heavy and geared with touring gears so you notice that climbing. The rear wheel is round true, but it has a fearsome hop. I have a new hoop that will go on after everything else is sorted. I enjoy the friction shifting and the vintage Sun Tour derailleurs are a joy. The MAFAC canti brakes with new orange soft rubber pads and motorcycle levers makes it stop much better than stock MAFAC brakes. It really rides and feels much like a vintage department or hardware store bicycle. It doesn’t quite have that good steel frame feel of Lugs or tight fitting fillet brazing. It does have a different feel than aluminum, which some people like. I would describe the ride feel as a little dead for steel, but it’s made from heavy seamless mild steel. Easy to weld, but probably not too responsive.

 

[DrGooGoo]

Awesome!