Im gonna do it after all

[deacon]

I explained to my wife what I wanted to do and she doesn't mind as long as it is a one for one trade. I have the hub motor bike that I don't really like. I never ever ride it, so I am going to replace it with a new design for me. Well not completely new but I new idea on the bike itself.

First of all for those who know me it come as no surprise that I have a shop full of bike parts. I want a bigger frame bike but still low to the ground. I am going to find a 26" mountain bike with a one piece crank. I hall all the running parts to replace the crank and wheels with 20" stuff. The problem may lie in getting brakes on it. That I probably will need to just improvise as i go along.

Anyway that is what I will be up to next.

 

[deacon]

I went looking for bike frames today and found a couple. I'm going to wait for the price to fall a little first, but the project is doable for sure. I have another project in mind. All my rhino bikes now are on 20" frames. I think I might pick up a 16" bike for the wheels. I would like to put a 16 wheel on the rear of an existing rhino just to see what it would do. It might be interesting as an experiment. With a little luck I can get a thrift store donor for five or six bucks.

 

[wheelbender6]

What are you planning? Are you replacing the hub motor with an RC?

 

[deacon]

I bought the bike today. I have a glacier mountain bike 26" frame. The bike is huge.
It was really rusted up big time. So far I have oiled the chain and sprockets, removed the 26" rear wheel and replaced it with a twenty inch. Since I had a 20" with gears, I left the dérailleur. I replaced the crank with the crank from a 20" bike. I reused the multi gear sprocket set from the front. The chain guide was in place so I might be able to use the gears. I will have to test it to see. I removed the front fork and replaced it with a front suspension fork I had left from a 24" bike I had stripped out. I used a 20? wheel with that fork. The bike is very long and low now.

I have to redo the brakes for both front and rear so they will work, then I have to install a rhino friction drive that I build. I'm going to take it off a bike I have been using. I will probably take the trailer hitch as well. If not I will have to make a side connect hitch. I need that since the bike has the derailleur. If it had the coaster rear wheel, which it might have before I'm through, I would use the double axle mount hitch. I might be able to use it anyway. I will have to see what I can work out.

Once I get the brakes on tonight or tomorrow, I will make some pictures. It looks kind of striking, er make that strange, but I think I'm going to like it. I might just build a new rhino for it, then I wont have to break down one of the bikes I have now. I just have them running the way I want now.

I paid 16 bucks for the bike... I gutted it and have been able to reuse parts from my old hub motor bike. I just removed the hub and forks. I left them sitting in a corner. I will probably use them again someday. but not just now. I junked out the frame. I promise the deacones that I would only keep three bikes, so one had to go. The bub was my first choice.

Anyway the pictures will follow later.

 

[deacon]

It doesn't look all that stretch but it is a little longer than a standard 20" bike.

 

[deacon]

I had to remove the rusty old dérailleur so I pulled the chain guide as well. Turns out the chained lined up perfect for what I want. The highest possible gear combination. That works best as a single speed for the ebike. Allows me to pedal sooner so I can keep the speed up on the hills.

So I'm going to continue this in the ebike thread,

A couple of things I should mention if you want to do this kind of bike. You need to buy two bikes one 20" and one 26" the cranks should both be one piece so that you switch them out. It doesn't matter if it is a coaster or gears either will work. Whatever 20" you find will make the determination. I personally would use the chain ring from the big bike and the crank from the small. If you mix mt and coaster wheels. try to use the chain from the coaster bike.

The brakes have to be moved. I used a piece of metal on top of the rear and one underneath to make a clamp then after I adjusted the brake I welded the top piece just as a caution. Since I used a suspension front fork I just ran a piece of metal down and hung the front brakes from it. In the final version I used the handle bars from the small bike so I could sit up straight. I always find the mountain bike bars uncomfortable.