HOMEBUILT BICYCLE CHOPPER PART 2

This was not very complicated. Building the fork being the hardest part, the rest was to find and assemble some parts. I got the seat and handlebars from the CCM Galaxie project. This bike will be getting brand new units to replace those. I didn't want to waste brand new parts on a rat chopper project.

The only serious issue was installing the sissy bar on the bike. Mountain bikes are not built for this, but installing them directly on the rear wheel was not that hard. All you need is some thin nuts! I then installed a gooseneck shifter for the rear derailleur and a brake lever for the V-Brakes.

Slapped everything together and went for a ride. Objective 1 was speed: check, it's pretty fast. Objective 2 was braking power: check, those v-brakes lock up that rear wheel on demand. Objective 3 was comfort: check, very comfy riding position. I will however raise the seat one notch for the sake of my knees. Received the following comment while doing a very short test run around the block from some guy: "COOL!" It would seem that Objective 4 (looks) is not as bad as I taught.

Next step will be to get a fresh can of flat black paint for the entire thing. I will also go shopping for a 26X2.125 whitewall rear tire, add a headlight and make a big suicide shifter. The shifter will not only add to the cool factor, but will also be more practical than the current set up. That tiny shifter is too far away for proper shifting. I will replace the 3 gear chainring with a one gear unit.

So, total cost of the prototype so far: ZIP, ZERO, NADA! Not one penny, I just used what I had to figure out if it was possible. This ride is so much fun, that now I am more the willing to drop a couple of bucks in it. It sure isn't pretty, but it rides great.

I will post one last article when it is painted and finished.

Til next time, ride safe and Godspeed.

Gerry