Here we go again, new build, new thread. A friend wanted me to help him build a replica of a 1915 Merkel Board Tracker, so I donated one of the bikes I got for my last project and off we went. We made up a simple jig out of a couple of 2x4's and 'C' clamps to keep the front and rear wheels aligned in the lift and started hacking. It was a girls bike so after the dropped crossbar was removed and the lower down tube severed, we extended the wheelbase by 5", lowered the seat post by 4" and started sticking it back together again. The photo shows what we've got so far...We wanted to get the pedal gear located in a quill shaft arrangement (one shaft inside another) something like the real thing, so the old pedal carrier was too small and had to go. A new one was fabricated out of an old piece of 2" pipe. We had some difficulty trying to explain to the salesman at the local bearing supply shop what we were trying to do, so we just hit the local auto parts/ hardware store and bought the biggest ball bearings they had in stock and machined a couple of bushings to fit between the new carrier pipe and the bearings.
, but don't think for even a second that I don't appreciate the suggestion. Any input on anything in the build will be more than welcome...the more ideas, the better the results.
