bugout bike step by step my way

[jamoni]

http://salsacycles.com/components/anything_cage/
Something like these would be awesome, and not too hard to fab up.

[Privateer73]

http://salsacycles.com/components/anything_cage/
Something like these would be awesome, and not too hard to fab up.

Excellent! Buy I'm thinking one change I'll build it from heat formed ABS for more load options.

[PackLemming]

Since the forks have a massive chunk of aluminum as a brake mount I'm working out how to do just that, and keep it seperated from the section of the forks that cycle with the suspension. Im thinking of using a tube mount clamp below and a standoff bracket across the brake mount. Already looking at using that area for my bedroll and tent to keep the longer items out of harms way similar to a rifle scabbard.

You may find that it would balance the bike correctly to have your tent strapped to your rear rack over the rear wheel keeping center of mass inline. Riding with a typical light 3 season tent hanging for want of better description off one end of the handle bar will make your ride an unbearable chore.

[jamoni]

http://salsacycles.com/components/anything_cage/
Something like these would be awesome, and not too hard to fab up.

Excellent! Buy I'm thinking one change I'll build it from heat formed ABS for more load options.

Hmm. You just gave me an idea.
It would be simple to take a large diameter section of PVC tubing, say 10", and cut a slit in it. Heat it and form it to a more open shape. Make cutouts to save weight, attach to forks with u-bolts or some such. Add straps for tie down, and done. The whole thing could be fabbed in an hour or so.
Conversely, if you have access to flat material, that could work too.
I guess I know what I'll be working on after New Years.

[Privateer73]

I picked up a sheet if 3/16" abs 4x8 for $60 so flat stock is best for me

[jamoni]

Yeah, I actually have some sheets of 1/8" aluminum that I'll probably use. Scrap from work, perfect size.

[Privateer73]

Feel free to post up your progress and ideas here

[velojym]

Wow. I always kinda fancied myself a decent bike mechanic, but that's all bolting on and adjusting existing components and parts. I have some stuff
from my airplane repair days (where we *did* do a little bit of fabbing)... maybe I oughta get off my keister and think about making some of the stuff
I've drooled over!

[Privateer73]

Theres nothing like the satisfaction of fabbing something yourself even if it dosent look factory made as long as it suits your needs. I scored big while digging through my parts bins found 4 swadgelok pipe support kits http://www.swagelok.com/search/find_pro ... 8cd11d7d22 free from work from some long forgotten job. They fit my forks perfectly Now to cut my plates and shape them with the heat gun.

[Privateer73]

I fabbed up some equipment mounts for the fork tubes this afternoon. After some trial and error decided to go with flat plates instead if anything curved it will give me greater flexibility when hanging different gear. This will allow the suspension to travel and not interfere with the brakes or steering.


I need to pick up some countersunk bolts tomorrow so they dont damage anything strapped to the plates.

[velojym]

Hey, you could bolt a rifle scabbard to that thing!

[Privateer73]

Dont think I Didnt try my mollie scabbard for the mossy lol.

I stripped everything I have added to the bike and weighed it just out of curiosity. Without the bags the rear rack, front plates, air pump, bottle cage and tool / patch kit hits just under 5 lbs. Not bad in my opinion for the amount of capacity I have added.

[PackLemming]

My full suspension bike weighs in at 3.5stone (Steel tubed Y-swinger rear action), however once loaded with only two pannier bags of tools and tent it can easily double that. Ive been looking further into the front rack system and figured I would be better off fabricating a single wheel trailer and having that bare the bulk of my carriage with light objects such as clothing and dehydrated food stuffed in the side bags. The BOB trailer has given me a lot of inspiration and ideas for the project.

[Privateer73]

Just got in from a 6 mile shakedown ride with all the gear on, around 40lbs.
everything works perfectly other than a little more wind drag you dont really notice the load. Now the panniers hold most of the heavy gear while the cargo platform on the rear gets the clothes food and sleeping bag. The left fork plate had my tent and the right has my sleeping pad with my gerber jr machete rolled up in it. Other than needing to invest in better tie downs I'm completely satisfied. Now to trim the fat off my gut and quit these cigarettes so I can ride without looking like I'm dieing of asphyxia. Lol

[velojym]

My problem right now is certainly physical condition. It sucks to hop on a bike knowing how I used to ride, and giving a piss-poor performance over a tiny fraction of the distances I used to pedal. I just need to get over it.
Tannehill has a yearly pass and some decent trails... I really oughta just go do it.

[eugene]

I've tried to remind people of that on a few threads, you can't just buy a bugout bike and never use it and think your body will be able to ride a 100 miles in the PAW with 100lbs of gear with no conditioning.

[Privateer73]

I like to think I'm in decent physical condition at 6' 185lbs my work keeps me a little above average strength wise. But these dammed cigarettes are my downfall I can hike flatground all day with a good load and not break a sweat, but a bike is a whole different set of muscles and much more cardio dependent. Hence the slow progressive build up of my training runs I can already see a small improvement in the last couple of weeks.

On a lighter note I picked up a set of Planet bike clip on fenders today at REI really cheap and they install and detach in just a few seconds. I know there are some hard core cyclist out there that scoff at the fender option. but I really like to have a dry ass and dry toes when its wet out.

[velojym]

Absolutely correct, Eugene. If you aren't up to doing the average bunch of club runs, then getting out and riding is the only way to get there.
Some clubs have a dedicated group of slower riders, hampered by time away from the bike, age, or other issues. Good way to ride with moral support
until you can run with the hammerheads.

I once looked sideways at a fellow rider for having fenders and racks mounted to his bike (we had a support truck for our luggage) on an overnight road trip,
and by the time we reached the campground, we were all green with envy at his clean bike and clothing... the rest of us were grotty as hell.

[Privateer73]

I spent most of the day cleaning adjusting and pretty much tinkering on the bike. Now I think I'm going to strip it down check all the bearings and paint it. Still trying to come up with a paint color I like thats more neutral and not so noticeable. I tossed around the idea of semi flat black or coyote.

[velojym]

Naval grey camo? Paint it flat grey and throw in a few angled chunks of lighter and darker paint.

[Privateer73]

I filled and primed the damage in the top frame tube this morning then taped off the area and sprayed it with semi flat black rustoleum texture.
really liking the look has the same sheen as the hot rod flats we used to paint our street cars with.
(Yall young guns dont think you were the first to flat out a paint job did ya ). If I decide to tackle it tomorrow I'll post up the step by step.

[jamoni]

I really dig the look of those front carriers! Perfect for lightweight stuff.
Are you concerned at all that they might loosen up and turn into the spokes? Seems like it would be pretty simple to put a brace over the top to keep them from doing it.
EDIT: DUH, never mind. Just noticed that they extend beyond the rim and tire.

[PackLemming]

I spent most of the day cleaning adjusting and pretty much tinkering on the bike. Now I think I'm going to strip it down check all the bearings and paint it. Still trying to come up with a paint color I like thats more neutral and not so noticeable. I tossed around the idea of semi flat black or coyote.

I too was browsing the colour psychology which the commercial biking market engages in, I came to two alternative conclusions.

#1 There is a huge market for high visibility colouring, citric colours. Orange, Yellow, and neon Green.

#2 There is just as large a market for low night visibility colouring, Black. In matt and gloss finish.

In order to buy aftermarket replacement parts and spares you will be consigned to one of those two bins for selection.

Custom paintwork on the frame will either diminish your interchangeable options (if you intend to uniform your bike visual silhouette) or it will increase your work load.

My conclussion: The 'Black Bike' may make your road and country lane life a hazard but is by far the easiest to uniform into code.

An aside: Neutral earth tones will always provide low visual recognition rates, if I was looking to make myself hard to find on the trail I would probably wrap my Black painted bike in camo sticky tape, easy to apply, easy to remove.


Im not sure how this will treat the steel tubing in the long run (moisture retention) but it is a very quick and 'idiot proof' method to make a bike 'invisible' to the casual voyeur.

[Privateer73]

Not so much worried about camo because you can always hide a bike with very little natural cover. Im thinking more along the lines of not so shiny flashy in town. Trying to make it a litte less eye catching.
I went with satin black rustoleum and cleaned checked and lubed everything while I had it tore down. Ill post up the step by step after dinner.