What the Peddler ?

The peddler

The original goal was to have the bike ready by the first of the year for the second running of the fools or as the event hosts like to call it...the Papago Pounder. Its my home turf. Cut my teeth on that shitty little dusty box of rocks. Having the bike even built not to mention painted is a long shot, with all the projects i've got on the bench currently. Maybe the MBAA at Mcdowell Mountain.

cardboard mock up

Lets see what kind of a hand we have been dealt here. One third fender skirt, lays right along the seat stay for chain clearance.
The fender isnt a true "balloon" fender so the wrap is minimal, but the length is right. The rear suspension link is going to have to anchor and trim the front, and the rear will be held with standard fender braces. Due to the size of the knobbies and the clearance issues, they will have to be fabricated from flat stock. Probably aluminum. This bitch is going to be heavy, no doubt, but full fricken aero too. Look at this profile.

Making Chain Guard Design for dummy

Chain guard design

A shout out to my peeps at Bike Haus for lending me parts for the mock up. They have been what I call "drunk daredevil" supportive. It’s the kind of support you only find when a group of guys sit around drinking too much and then somebody brags about being able to jump over a van with their skateboard after being towed by an equally drunk friend in a late model chevy pickup.

Sober, somebody steps up and tells you that you are going to break your neck and they try and talk you out of it. After a few glasses of pale ale however, they are fighting for the steering wheel. It wouldn’t be the first failed project and I rarely abandon projects, they just sit waiting for a second wind in some stage of completion.

Mamma didn’t raise no quitter,

I would consider buying the fork if it could be resealed; it has a slight leak on the compression adjustment side. The "FOX SHOCK" stickers would peel off nicely leaving a nice anodized surface to paint. As for paint, I am now torn between BMW crimson red and Electric red, also a BMW color. Could go either way. 50/50, even money, no front runner, neck and neck.

I was sketching some form and design ideas yesterday and came across a nice way to tie the chain guard into the fender and to solve the problem of it floating as well. Since the front derailer will be removed, a down tube clamp with a ball joint should do the trick nicely for a rotating mount for the chain guard. Then, and this is the tricky part, ( I love it when a plan comes together) the tail will overlap the outside of the fender skirt, coming to a point well beyond the cassette. It’s kind of hard to explain, here is a sketch. As you can see, the chain guard then becomes the first of four to five white painted scallops on the rear skirt. I think I will cut a few louvers into the front portion of the skirt just for the hell of it. On the other hand…not just for the hell of it, for cooling purposes. That rear wheel is going to be turning at some crazy RPM’s with me turning a pedal in anger at the Peddler...ahem "The Pounder" (see prior post). I put the project estimate at somewhere around 40-50 hours not including design and paint. So we have our work cut out for us.

First Bike Project

The Project One

Project one presents quite an enigma. Take a fully functional 2005 FSR 120 (stumpjumper) operating mountain bike, and turn it into a replica (of sorts) of a 1950's era Schwinn Phantom. Oh yeah...and still have a fully functional mountain bike

The real challenge is that the bike we are trying to replicate is defined as much by the shape and geometry as by its details and look. I cant change the geometry of the FSR so we will have to compensate by creating what i hope will be "cultural camouflage" or fabricate details onto the new bike that could have been on a Phantom era bicycle but not necessary were on the bike.

What the hell am i talking about?

Well for starters, i plan on adding half skirts on both the front and rear wheels, where the phantom had only fenders. The skirts will give me some room to add era proper decals and design elements and give the nostalgic feeling of a vintage bike. I cant replace the fork with springer front end but could add a fin and integrated light into the fender (Chrome, lots of chrome) i love that integrated rack/tail light. I hope to fabricate or better yet, purchase a replica rack just like that for the rear end. A chain guard, replica seat, chrome bars, molded grips, all these things are easy (i hope) here is the stuff that wont be as easy:

Challenges: yes there are many.

1. The frame is constructed entirely out of aluminum, that means anything added has to be bolted not just welded or brazed on. or we have to involve professionals. If there is one thing i have learned its when you take a project like this out of the garage for a five minute fix at a professional shop, you end up with them trying to ei

Project One Plan

ther re-engineer your project, or you find yourself defending why you are cutting up a perfectly good mountain bike in the first place. I have found most people lack the vision for garage engineering and would rather just leave them out of it.

2. The variable suspension in the rear means anything i add to the rear also has to float, fenders, skirts, racks, lights, yes....anything.

3. The tank. The tank is as integral to the piece as the right paint job. The construction is the one part of the project i really haven't got a solid game plan for. I could find a motorcycle shop that does custom tanks to take on the project, however there are a few reasons i don't think that would work, firstly: see rant in #1, secondly it could be costly. Again the material of choice would be steel and attaching it will require some kind of complex strap or rig to keep it from rattling off. I could mock it up with foam and fiberglass, cast it backwards with resin and have essentially a hollow shell, but it would lack the chrome look i was hoping for. This for now remains undecided.



4. Keeping the bike light enough to be ridden but sturdy enough to not rattle apart on the first ride. I could easily create a great looking bike that would work well enough on the street, but what is fun in that? I could just get a replica cruiser to do that on. I want to be able to rock this bitch in papago.

5. Drive train. This is less of a challenge and more of a design engineering sticking point. the obvious choice is to go single-speed. The bike could handle it. I love my single speed, (see below)
A second choice would be 1x9, or one front gear, and keep the rear derailleur. this means the skirt couldn't hide the derailleur and it will show below the trick skirt. This decision remains still on the chalkboard undecided.

6. There are many more challenges not listed here, but these are what i would call "deal breakers" not being able to push past a challenge like one of these is the reason projects either get shelved for years at a time, or shit canned altogether. I will keep this diary apprised of the progress as it become available.