Cycling Thread

[disconnected]

Does anyone ride a bicycle? I figured someone must with so many members.

I got out today. I rode to the state park/game lands and rode back and dirt roads. The blue sky was amazing! I was on my gravel/adventure bike.

 

[Fino]

I never learned how to turn. As a kid, I got on, rode in a straight line, got off, moved the bike, got back on, rode in a straight line... A neighbor taught me to get that far!

I haven't tried since. I find the whole thing terrifying.

I did rollerblade a lot as a kid!

 

[Mia]

I do, have for a really long time. Although I'm in snowland here. Do long distance cycling. Yesterday, I got out my big tire bike or fat bike, the one for snow. It needs some serious tuning up, which I'll do in the next week. Right now it's a little too cold. When it's above -15C I'll go out. One of the good things about biking in the snow, is if you fall, or slide, you don't get gravel embedded in your legs, it's pretty soft when you fall in snow.

Here's what they look like:

 

[Nitro]

Magazine pose
Freshly restored and headed to a bike show.
I hand carried it to the roadway to not dirty the tires just for this photoshoot.
I have two more of these Orange County Choppers Schwinn Stingrays in my collection.

2 Wheeled Fleet
The fat tire 7 speed Mongoose Dolomite bike was bought new. It has disc brakes and for an inexpensive machine isn't all that bad.
I custom fabricated the high rise handlebars to replace the shoulder destroying originals and added a much more comfortable seat to make it easier on my battered old body.

The Raleigh 12 speed is 1970s vintage.

The 1980s vintage Sears Free Spirit has a Shimano 3 speed planetary rear hub.

The two older bikes were both found as new old stock units that were stored for decades before I acquired them.
Other than little slight storage scuffs, they are in perfect condition.

I have over a dozen bicycles I consider my personal rides, plus about 30 more at any given time for a bike and safety helmet giveaway program I run for the less fortunate kids in my area.

 

[disconnected]

I do, have for a really long time. Although I'm in snowland here. Do long distance cycling. Yesterday, I got out my big tire bike or fat bike, the one for snow. It needs some serious tuning up, which I'll do in the next week. Right now it's a little too cold. When it's above -15C I'll go out. One of the good things about biking in the snow, is if you fall, or slide, you don't get gravel embedded in your legs, it's pretty soft when you fall in snow.

Here's what they look like:

View attachment 50549

I’ve been eyeing up fat bikes.

 

[Isadoorian]

I used to have a bike when I was younger; never used it much and so I gave it to my Moms Uncle who has Down Syndrome about 10-ish years ago; he was about the same height as me at the time so it worked

I've been thinking about getting one again once in a while but after not riding one in so long and also gaining quite a bit of weight since then, I'm not so sure I'd be able to keep a proper balance

 

[ftfipps]

I want a bike so bad. I had one over the summer but I sold it. It was a nice Schwinn beach cruiser. I bought it for 50 bucks off craigslist.

 

[Mia]

I hand carried it to the roadway to not dirty the tires just for this photoshoot.
I have two more of these Orange County Choppers Schwinn Stingrays in my collection.

That is one beauty of a Schwinn. Really like the look of that back fender.

The Mongoose looks perfect and pretty comfortable.

Like the Raleigh and Free Spirit, one of the reasons I use a hybrid bike for cycling is that my motobecane with the dropped handlebars hurts and your back and shoulders began to ache after two hours. You can't beat them for speed and a clean ride though, especially on a paved surface.

Not my motobecane, but very similar. Seat has been changed, cantilever breaks changed to shimano's, I have the original crankset like this one. When you lean over on this one, you have to watch your neck doesn't get impaled by the shifters. Hit a bump and it can be pretty close. Probably why I don't ride it all that much.

 

[TempeFan]

Today was such a beautiful day! We wanted so much to hit the trail but we had PT. Sometimes our livingroom looks like a bike shop.

 

[TempeFan]

We do bike-a-thons to raise funds for animals.

 

[Nitro]

That is one beauty of a Schwinn. Really like the look of that back fender.

The Mongoose looks perfect and pretty comfortable.

Like the Raleigh and Free Spirit, one of the reasons I use a hybrid bike for cycling is that my motobecane with the dropped handlebars hurts and your back and shoulders began to ache after two hours. You can't beat them for speed and a clean ride though, especially on a paved surface.

Not my motobecane, but very similar. Seat has been changed, cantilever breaks changed to shimano's, I have the original crankset like this one. When you lean over on this one, you have to watch your neck doesn't get impaled by the shifters. Hit a bump and it can be pretty close. Probably why I don't ride it all that much.

Those Stingrays steer like real choppers. It takes a wide area to pull a u-turn, and if you aren't careful when backing up, it will knuckle under on you.
The center set is pushed way far forward too, so you basically have the same feel as forward controls on a motorcycle.

They are single speeders with a free wheeling hub, and that one only has rear brakes. I suppose they are there just to trick you into thinking that it may stop you if you ask it real nice first
Technically, they are boardwalk bikes and nothing more.

I don't ride the other two older bikes very far,only around the block every once in a while because I'm trying to preserve them as survivors. Both of them still had the mould vent nubbies on the tires when they came here, and still have most of them left so far.

I have been known to take the fat tire on 15 mile rides, and really, on pavement the tires really don't present much added effort to the pedaling.
They do kick butt on loose stuff

Here in the rust belt, they heavily salt our roadways, so I only take out one of my crappier bikes in the winter if at all.

Have I ever mentioned that I hate winter?

 

[Nitro]

Today was such a beautiful day! We wanted so much to hit the trail but we had PT. Sometimes our livingroom looks like a bike shop.View attachment 50555

Very classy

Some time soon, I should scan and upload a picture of my Harley parked in the formal dining room of the 200+ year old stone house house I used to live in.



I had to see-saw the bars thru the doorway, but otherwise just rode it into the living room, turned right into the diningroom and dropped the kickstand beside the table

 

[Nitro]

My three OCC Schwinn Stingrays

https://www.autismforums.com/attachments/20151120_160335-jpg.21919/

One of them came fitted with a 66cc two stroke engine.
I named it the Gnarley-Davidson
https://www.autismforums.com/attachments/20151120_160008-jpg.21918/

I rode it when I first got it, and it was scary, like really scary

The assembly work was really poor and destined to failure, so the mech engineer/machinist/fabricator in me took on the challenge of making it both durable and reliable.
Oh, and don't forget fast, afterall, I am a gearhead

The engine mount was sleeved to fit the crankcase mounting lugs properly, and the lower tube on the bicycle frame was fitted with welded solid steel spacers to prevent crushing the tubing and bolster it's attachment.
Like I said, it was really clamped shoddy when I got it with no way to keep it tight.
The drive sprocket was sandwiched to the spokes with rubber and crappy loose plates and was on a collision course with disaster after the spokes all fatigued and broke.
That would never do, so it required a little modification of the wheel and attachment point:
https://www.autismforums.com/media/hub-and-sprocket.7904/
https://www.autismforums.com/media/drive-hub-detail-for-my-gnarley-davidson-project.7902/
https://www.autismforums.com/media/sprocket-mount-rear-view.7905/

The front brakes will be disc style that were retrofitted to the existing front wheel that never had brakes.
The caliper mount is a simple design mounted to the fork tube.

https://www.autismforums.com/media/disc-brake-rotor-adapter-hub.11131/

A huge 203mm racing rotor was chosen for maximum stopping power:
https://www.autismforums.com/media/stingray-brake-rotor.11130/

The rear 120mm brake rotor will be a part of the final drive jackshaft/transmission assembly.
The jackshaft assembly will make it very easy to make changes to the final drive ratio too.
Fast motorbikes do need good brakes, and proper gearing


The final drive chores will be fed thru a Shimano planetary geared 3 speed wheel hub before it drives a sprocket that will drive the rear wheel sprocket.
Everything is over engineered on it, sacrificing added weight for durability.

I have a racing carb and reed valve to add to the engine's intake to improve the performance and started machining a new cylinder head to improve the combustion chamber and cooling.
I also made provisions to adjust the compression ratio with different gasket combinations.
That's going to be a must when I feed it some nitrous oxide

My intentions for the engine is to attempt to triple it's power output with some speed demon wizardry I learned from building and tuning racing machinery.
If I grenade the wonder engine from China, it will cost less than $100 to replace it with a new one, so I ain't scared and my wallet won't take a beating either

Go ahead and give me grief for it being a motorbike wannabe, because in the end, it still has to have pedals to be legal

The goal here is to produce a really cool looking almost street legal moped that will travel reliably at 50 miles per hour

 

[disconnected]

New Years Day Ride.

I got out for a New Years ride.

 

[Sid Delicious]

I used to, but moved back to the city and it's a bit too dangerous around here for my liking. I was thinking the other day how I miss biking in the woods or elsewhere.

 

[tlc]

Mine is put away for winter, but I have a Schwinn Woodlands that I got new in 1988. Back when I was a kid I'd ride 10 or more miles a day up some pretty large hills. Later I tried going out with the guys from work and they whipped me pretty good. I prefer to leisurely ride the bike paths around here with my daughter.

 

[disconnected]

Sweet after work ride-

 

[disconnected]

Today’s aroma therapy.

 

[Kyou Nukui]

My three OCC Schwinn Stingrays

https://www.autismforums.com/attachments/20151120_160335-jpg.21919/

One of them came fitted with a 66cc two stroke engine.
I named it the Gnarley-Davidson
https://www.autismforums.com/attachments/20151120_160008-jpg.21918/

I rode it when I first got it, and it was scary, like really scary

The assembly work was really poor and destined to failure, so the mech engineer/machinist/fabricator in me took on the challenge of making it both durable and reliable.
Oh, and don't forget fast, afterall, I am a gearhead

The engine mount was sleeved to fit the crankcase mounting lugs properly, and the lower tube on the bicycle frame was fitted with welded solid steel spacers to prevent crushing the tubing and bolster it's attachment.
Like I said, it was really clamped shoddy when I got it with no way to keep it tight.
The drive sprocket was sandwiched to the spokes with rubber and crappy loose plates and was on a collision course with disaster after the spokes all fatigued and broke.
That would never do, so it required a little modification of the wheel and attachment point:
https://www.autismforums.com/media/hub-and-sprocket.7904/
https://www.autismforums.com/media/drive-hub-detail-for-my-gnarley-davidson-project.7902/
https://www.autismforums.com/media/sprocket-mount-rear-view.7905/

The front brakes will be disc style that were retrofitted to the existing front wheel that never had brakes.
The caliper mount is a simple design mounted to the fork tube.

https://www.autismforums.com/media/disc-brake-rotor-adapter-hub.11131/

A huge 203mm racing rotor was chosen for maximum stopping power:
https://www.autismforums.com/media/stingray-brake-rotor.11130/

The rear 120mm brake rotor will be a part of the final drive jackshaft/transmission assembly.
The jackshaft assembly will make it very easy to make changes to the final drive ratio too.
Fast motorbikes do need good brakes, and proper gearing


The final drive chores will be fed thru a Shimano planetary geared 3 speed wheel hub before it drives a sprocket that will drive the rear wheel sprocket.
Everything is over engineered on it, sacrificing added weight for durability.

I have a racing carb and reed valve to add to the engine's intake to improve the performance and started machining a new cylinder head to improve the combustion chamber and cooling.
I also made provisions to adjust the compression ratio with different gasket combinations.
That's going to be a must when I feed it some nitrous oxide

My intentions for the engine is to attempt to triple it's power output with some speed demon wizardry I learned from building and tuning racing machinery.
If I grenade the wonder engine from China, it will cost less than $100 to replace it with a new one, so I ain't scared and my wallet won't take a beating either

Go ahead and give me grief for it being a motorbike wannabe, because in the end, it still has to have pedals to be legal

The goal here is to produce a really cool looking almost street legal moped that will travel reliably at 50 miles per hour

I'm off bikes for a while due to surgery and the cold/wet/salt and not being interested in rides without a destination and purpose. I like riding to somewhere I can stop and do something else like camping out and fishing, snorkeling, etc, so when it's gross outside I stay in!

I have been riding my electric moped to the hospital but it is too icy for it right now and I can't risk a wipe out when I have wounds already.

But when it is warm and the fishing is good I ride a Specialized Sirius (frame) converted for long distance loaded touring with a steel touring fork I took off my Dawes Galaxy Cross, and the Dawes' wheelset too,
Specialized Nimbus 32mm tyres at 100psi on 622x19 36H V-section rims,
Truvative Touro crankset 52/42/30T, Shimano 9spd 11/32T, both SRAM shifters on the left (F trigger and R inverted gripshifter), XT rear derailleur,
Magura hydraulic brakes both front and rear (F225mm rotor & R622mm rim),
32x620mm bar, Nukeproof Electron Evo composite sealed bearing pedals and an SMP Hybrid saddle pushed back to let it flex.

Heavily loaded with the rods and reels, and
Pulling a single wheel Adventure trailer with shelter and cooking stuff.

It's pedallable up to about 35-36mph with that 52-11T top gear on 622x32mm slick tyres.

Beyond that speed the modified 66cc "Happy Time China Girl" 2T has to do all the work by herself.
I rarely cycle over 32mph actually though!

With the stock bearings I decided on a top RPM of 8000 even with the retarded ignition base timing and the crank balancing I did at the beginning of the build.
The 'unique five point mounted'© 2T, I modified to my own priorities of stealth and reliability, rather than top speed. No nitrous!
Some low/mid range torque mods such as an extended intake tract, raised compression, 0.55mm squish gap, large foam air filter, and flowed stock exhaust muffler for now.
I have done some mild porting work: redirected the transfers and removed the nasty casting flash for better Schnurle scavenging and smoother flow, and widened the intake port at the bottom and the exhaust port the top to make them round cornered trapezoid shape instead of the stock small ovals.
The next phase in the plan for the 2T is to make a stealth (not power-optimal) tuned pipe. Thick walled, narrow like the stock muffler, and centred/parallel under the downtube).
Wont be using this Aprilia RS50 pipe that's far too big for this but it shows the approximate position I'll be going for.. Except it'll actually fit so will be underneath the frame.

I have a RSE (small) reed valve too, so I can do a reed w/ windowed piston and third transfer ("boost port") conversion at a some point, when my workshop finally warms up bit lol!
The Reed conversion will help to improve stealth by reducing intake noise and also reducing my modal RPM (while using a smaller sprocket) by improving torque at low-mid RPM..
Although it is a single speed drive I have the ability to change the gearing without any tools (bar the shoelace to unhook the quicklink on the 11/128" KMC chain) on the 'unique four sprocket stack'© mounted to both sides of the disc rotor mount on my rear hub with double custom T6 hardened aluminium plates.
Currently 44/42/40/38T but the chain rubs the seatstay if I use the 38T so i need to swap that out for a 36T.

I have recently acquired a front 36v/250w hub motor wheel. I want to overvolt to 48v.
The fork is steel or chrome-moly with proper front eyelets and is made for loaded touring. I have a Tubus Tara rack which can be modified to whatever configuration necessary to carry 20-30ish Ah of batteries in fake or slightly repurposed panniers.
I want to carry the charger/s and a caravan hookup cable to the campsites 40-60 miles away (into the wind), so I can have a totally stealthy silent running (and legal-ish) mode of assistance wherever I decide to cycle.. But I'll be using the 2T for the hills and for having fun because I was born a rebel!

I win on the front rotor size. Hope floating 225mm

 

[Mia]

That is a beautiful rotor Kyou, amazing, the entire setup. I'm the same about not wanting to ride without a purpose, I need to do things when it comes to the purpose of riding a bike. I don't fish or hunt, but I do cycle and camp. Mostly I go to areas where I can find wild plants, identify them, or simply explore. I'm always looking for that secluded place to stop, where it's quiet and peaceful and I can sit comfortably and sketch.