Anyone ever build a bicycle frame?

[FOMOGO]

My experience is with motorcycle frames, and bicycles aren't really much different. The key is building the right jig, and learning to work with weld distortion. Looking forward to to watching your progress. Mike

 

[DavidR8]

My experience is with motorcycle frames, and bicycles aren't really much different. The key is building the right jig, and learning to work with weld distortion. Looking forward to to watching your progress. Mike

Might be a little while!
I’ll do my usual ‘research the thing to death and then jump in’ approach

 

[stupoty]

I've been picking up abandoned bikes and taking dontaions of old ones for cutting up and practicing copeing and also the welding of the bike tube.

Paul Brodie on youtube has a lot of good videos on frame alignment etc.

Stu

 

[wrat]

The problem I have with recumbents is there are just too many choices. Bike or trike. Short wheel base or long wheel base. Big wheels, small wheels or some combination. Sitting up high or sitting down low. Tadpole or Delta. Etc.

This too has vexed me.
Remember renting bikes from an old happy hippie in Ocean City, MD. He went through each of us and matched us with a different bike base on his experience with people. Worked a treat! Magic, really.
Why someone hasn't worked out a table or chart for recumbent bikes is beyond me. "You would be happiest with...." Or "based on height, weight, diet, roads, and attitude, THIS design is what you're after." That's what the old happy hippie did. I really liked that guy.
Instead they will, of course, sell you whatever you want, which I can't blame them for but doesn't really solve anything.
A standard two-wheeler is what we all learned on and there's huge refinements, i get that. But i've seen high riding recumbent that balance easy and corner scary; low-slung recumbent seem scary all the time; deltas and tadpoles that are really fun but sometimes awkward.
It's a tough decision.
And at the price point some of these guys want, I've just decided to walk away.
But NOW you guys got me really thinking about it.

I blame you.

 

[WCraig]

Hi David:

The TV show "A Craftsman's Legacy" did an episode with a bicycle builder in Season 2:

https://craftsmanslegacy.com/craftsmen/SEASON-2

I think if you sign up, you can watch it online. It is only a 30 minute show so there is not a tonne of detail. Note that he brazed the frame rather than welding it.

Craig

 

[DavidR8]

I've been picking up abandoned bikes and taking dontaions of old ones for cutting up and practicing copeing and also the welding of the bike tube.

Paul Brodie on youtube has a lot of good videos on frame alignment etc.

Stu

Practicing on old bikes is an excellent idea!

 

[FOMOGO]

This guy

(Michael Waller) does some pretty nice work. All silicon bronze tig work. Mike

 

[Aaron_W]

Contact member Erik Mannie if he doesn't respond to your post, he has taken classes on building bicycles and has a garage full of electric mountain bikes he has built.

 

[C-Bag]

The problem I have with recumbents is there are just too many choices. Bike or trike. Short wheel base or long wheel base. Big wheels, small wheels or some combination. Sitting up high or sitting down low. Tadpole or Delta. Etc.

I would like to try one sometime but they are just too expensive to make the wrong choice on what would work for me. It seems like everyone that rides a recumbent on an ongoing basis has several different ones so I don't think I am the only one that doesn't know where to start.

P.S. I am a person that will only buy used automobiles and with the price of bicycles I will pretty much only buy used there too.

I completely agree and just had to go with what appealed to my eye. I had decided on building the Atomic Zombie tadpole with the rear suspension and had gotten plans and started my parts accumulation….and up pops a deal. Doing my final run through CL before bed a ICE Adventure tadpole w/rear suspension comes up for $1,000. Yeah, way more than I’ve ever paid for a bike in my life but I had the bread and it was kinda life and death. A new one comparatively equipped was $4,500, such a deal.

It was going to be my plan to get some exercise and lower my BP. And knowing how my projects go it might be years before it got done so I went for it. It was basically new shape but had some damage from the owner taking it in and out he Prius. The Adventure has a really slick tilted hinge under the seat where you pop off the seat(quick release) and it folds up. So she had bent one of the tie rods and didn’t know what wrong with it probably and had worn out one of the tires. Straightened the tie rod, put a new tire and it and it’s like new. Two months later go back to the doc and my hi BP is gone, no drugs, and we are both stoked. I love the Adventure for the seat position and how adjustable it is. You can make it lay down or sit bolt upright. It’s well made and well thought out, especially the steering. It’s easy to repair and maintain. Love the variable rate rear suspension puck style damper. Simple and effective and the best thing is just pull a clip and the rear arm swings down free to change a tire.

My wife was getting extremely jealous as I just had this big stupid grin on my face all the time when we rode somewhere and she was on her mt.bike. Also my butt never hurts(hers did) and my hands weren’t asleep(hers were). So I found a TerraTrike in perfect condition for $1200. I traded my old Trek 6000 mt.bike to the guy for $200 off so got the TerraTrike for $1000. The Terra is a hardtail. Sits 2-3” lower but is also a CroMo frame. It feels like a rat rod while mine feels like a Benz. I’ve not rode a full suspension but I don’t get hardly any bumps through the front, I feel it through the rear tire though. Hers rides like a hay wagon and I just cruise. I rode bikes from about 7yrsld and if a tadpole would have been an option I would have bailed on a upright ASAP. If you want to get some good exercise and not feel you’ve been sitting on a fence post, go bent.

 

[DavidR8]

I've been picking up abandoned bikes and taking dontaions of old ones for cutting up and practicing copeing and also the welding of the bike tube.

Paul Brodie on youtube has a lot of good videos on frame alignment etc.

Stu

I used to own a Brodie road bike. Fine riding machine!
Thanks for the link Stu!