Winter project for my kid
03-30-2005, 05:23 AM
#1
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Flanders, NJ
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Winter project for my kid
Finally finnished my winter project for my kid. We've been wanting to build a home grown chopper bicycle for a while. So we collected some old bicycles, and chopped them up into various parts. Finally collected all the right stuff I needed to make it happen. I stretched the frame 10", raked out the head tube, and whipped up some long forks. All TIG welded, and painted high gloss black. Here is the result.
03-30-2005, 06:31 AM
#2
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Fairfax, Iowa
Posts: 1,111
Nice, build about 100,000 more and sell them for $125 each and you'll be rich, just like Schwinn!!
That's a cool lookin bike. I had a chop when I was little. 5' forks on that badboy. I could ride a wheelie for blocks!
That's a cool lookin bike. I had a chop when I was little. 5' forks on that badboy. I could ride a wheelie for blocks!
03-30-2005, 10:59 AM
#4
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Location: Flanders, NJ
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Actuall it rides and handles suprisingly well. Yeah, Iam definately think of adding some "forward controls" for coasting. Also may pick up a banana seat and some ape hangers off ebay. I really don't feel like dumping any cash into it, as it was a totally zero cash project. I'll see if my kid wants to fork over some of his allowance! 
03-31-2005, 10:29 AM
#6
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Tomah, WI
Posts: 171
I have been planing to build a chopper minibike for my neices and nephew. I just have to come up with the money to do it. I have noticed a few starters on ebay. I just want them to have one like I did when I was young.
04-01-2005, 07:35 AM
#7
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Meriden, CT
Posts: 525
when i was young my dad (stepfather) didn't know his *** from a monkey wrench so me and friend just hacked off the dropouts on the end of our banana seat bikes, then cut another set of forks off a donor bike up at the crown, hammered them over the existing forks, drilled and bolted them together. man was that squirrely!!! big fun though. taught us a lot. :-)
04-01-2005, 08:34 AM
#8
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Join Date: Mar 2004
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I did the exact same thing when I was a kid. Cut off the legs from some old forks, and hammered them onto the existing forks. Only thing was I wasn't even smart enough to bolt it all together. Just rode it as is! 
Very squirrely ride, just as you said. I figured rather than have my kid break his *** riding something that he cobbled together, I'd do it right (now that I'm older and smarter!) The BIG difference was increasing the rake on the head tube, along with the stretch in the frame. That resulted in the bike "sitting" normally. The bikes we used to make when we were kids handled like **** 'cause we never had the ability to change the head tube angle. With the long forks, the geometry was all screwed up. What the hell did we care? It looked cool, and hey, we were riding a chopper! 
Very squirrely ride, just as you said. I figured rather than have my kid break his *** riding something that he cobbled together, I'd do it right (now that I'm older and smarter!) The BIG difference was increasing the rake on the head tube, along with the stretch in the frame. That resulted in the bike "sitting" normally. The bikes we used to make when we were kids handled like **** 'cause we never had the ability to change the head tube angle. With the long forks, the geometry was all screwed up. What the hell did we care? It looked cool, and hey, we were riding a chopper!
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