lol i like how it says "then slapped some spare parts on" who has that many brand new spare parts? but that is the best home made bike i have seen. props
nice welding and seat mast design. but is single pivot really the way to go? your chain stays appears to be a touch too thin for this aggressive build. all im saying is if a big guy jumps on itl probly snap.
It's funny how that is - It's almost intangible, but it really does feel good. I love my aluminum bikes (trance, Slayer, Transition), but this bike feels like it has some sort of musical quality - like it hums or something (not audibly).
Agreed, I've owned two 4130 steel bikes from SWD Racing (the Crazy 8 and the 6Gun) and there is nothing like the feel of steal on rough terrain. The first time I hopped on one I thought there was something terribly wrong with the frame, but I just wasn't used to the quiet / smoothness. Sometimes I miss my steal bikes...
If I pull the spring and compress the shock, the distance to the center of the shock from the bottom of the seat tube is about a 1/4" more or so than the radius of the spring. The shock doesn't really swing up much (which is where the concern would be)- it mostly moves in, towards the upper pivot. It does move a small amount up, but less than one would expect. Good question though!
how important is that last little inch of seat post tube? always seemed a bit unneeded, and looking at some pictures i saw the new driver 8 has the same piece.
Oh its SUPER important! Without it, the entire bike collapses into itself, causing a giant rift in the space time continuum. Basically the whole universe is destroyed without it.
No, there are a couple of reasons I did it that way: 1) overall symmetry - I thought it looked better with the amount above and the amount below the seat mast tubes roughly even 2) Since I bored out the seat tube to accommodate that seatpost size, there is a lip at the bottom of the seat tube, so the seat post can't be pushed down past the end of the seat tube. That keeps me from accidentally dropping the post into territory where it might interfere with the shock.
I have looked at the SWD frames - the implementation of the pivot appears to be similar, although I never really could see a good picture of how they are put together. There are really only a handful of simple ways to tackle a pivot in a steel frame. It's entirely possible that we did it in a similar way. Thanks for the compliment!
The wheelbase is long. I'd shorten it up a little bit next time, but I wanted stability for some extra-steep trails in the area (e.g. Eula trail). The extra stability is nice to have, but getting it around sharper corners takes more effort than with a shorter bike.
You could even make another swing arm for it so you switch them depending on the track. That would be sick! It would just need some intelligent mucking about with the suspension
No, this picture isn't very good. I am using a carpenters square propped up directly behind the crank and pedal, and it is black, so there is a dark patch where it seems a pedal should be. The center of the crank is actually at about 14", which is not really all that low.
It's around 44 lbs as shown. The frame itself is around 11 lbs. That 888 is rediculously heavy, and the DB is a bit of an anchor as well. The frame can be lightened a bit - I plan on reducing the wall thickness on the swingarm, which I believe will be strong enough for DH use, but considerably lighter.
To accommodate 6" of travel on a BB pivot you'd have to have very long chainstays and that is not really trick-friendly. Plus why would you ride a 6" single speedbike? you'd have to push the bike up on the slightest uphills.
but that is the best home made bike i have seen. props