Mk. 2 Finishing

These are photos that are long overdue, but here they are, the pictures of finishing up, and some of the first rides of the Cartbike Mk. 2.

Day Seventy-Three

Yesterday, for three hours of work and having my hands look like the tin man's by the end of the day, I finally got tires! However, I am short one, maybe two tubes. The 27" wheel has a tire and a tube already, but the tire is rotted through, so there's a fair chance the tube might be as well. It is possible however, that the tube is in a usable condition, in which case it will be used. I'm planning on using the 700c wheel on my 10-Speed, as it is nicer than the 27" that's currently there. I'll then have both of the 27" wheels mounted to the front of the Cartbike, and have radness ensue.
I'm debating whether or not to just go ahead and set up the cartbike, assuming the tube is fine, and worry about getting a tube for my road bike later. I might just do that tonight, seeing as how wready I am for this project to be finished.
On a related note, I very nearly got a solid rubber tire for the rear wheel of the Cartbike. The bike shop was throwing it out because it weighed around four pounds, but seeing as I'm making a bike out of a shopping cart, weight is no issue for me, and it would be nice not to have the risk of popping the rear tube of changing it ever. If it's still there the next time I visit the shop, I will grab it for sure. The only risk is that I'm unsure of what size it is, so lugging it all the way home only to find out that it doesn't fit would be awful. I might just cry.



 
 
 The two tires! Oddly enough, the new and all-black one is the 27", and the old one with the yellow siding is the 700c. That tire is crazy thin.

This is where the other 27" would come from. I apologize for not having an aesthetically pleasing quick-release angle.

Day Sixty-Six

 Today I finally got wheels! I sent out a plea on the Internets, and I got a reply. One super rad person had an old 27" steel wheel, and a 700C which had been crashed, and damaged. Luckily, he has much higher standards than I, so I jumped on the opportunity. And so it came to be that I traded a bag of Jet Puff Marshmallows and a bag of Grandma Utz's Chips for two bike wheels. I also discovered that the Shaw/Howard University Metro station exists in four dimensions, but that's another story.

The two wheels.

















There's the bend in the rim. Luckily, I'm not using front brakes.












I need to sand off the rust. And for some reason, I suspect that the tires aren't very capable of high pressure.











Time for a new tire, but otherwise, wheels!












In an unrelated story, I have a corrugated plastic box that I found in the gutter, time to make some polo wheel covers!

Day Fifty-Three

      I pulled a tri-wheeled stroller out of the trash today as a potential source for wheels, because this is getting kind of ridiculous*. The front wheel will work perfectly, the same can't be said about the rear two, they have a different type of axle, which only has a bar on one side. I will try to replace the axle or add a quick release to make them usable. If they aren't however, it's cool. the wheels are all somewhere in the 12"-14" range, and are tiny, but sturdy. I would rather have some 700c's, because they are sexy, or at the very least, some 26's.






* And I'm getting desperate.

This will work beautifully.

These, not so much, but they have potential (like Existential Hero!).

I did get a rad handle-bar bag, with cup holders and other-thing holders. It solved the problem I was thinking about, about how I should add cup holders. I may still add some purpose-built/more permanent ones, but this bag is pretty great.

I'm pretty happy with it.

Day Ten

     Last night Jeffrey came over and we pulled an all-nighter (along with numerous trips to the shed, which is really scary at night!) to ready the cartbike Mk. 1 for road tests. It was incredibly intense, think every shop montage you've ever seen, we were using arc welders, and hammers, and circle saws, and scroll saws, and forklifts, and cranes, and jackhammers. We used none of those things. Some plaid duct tape on the seat, some zebra print rim (duct) tape, threw the tire on, then hose clamped the fork to the cart. In our case, the more you tightened the fork, the more the rear wheels of the shopping cart rose off the ground. Right now I've got it tightened so that the rear wheels aren't touching the ground, but with the added weight of a person (or two) they touch, and the connection to the bike is pretty stiff. 

     There is also a bit of bad news, the bolt that clamped the stem onto the handlebars was so rusty that I accidently stripped it. It's attached to the cart well, but it's kind of stuck that way...

     On the topic of handlebars, eight zip ties and the Mountain Bike's old handlebars make a very secure place for the passenger to hold on to.

Snazzy!

Another, less pretty angle.

Duct Tape worked as a rim tape substitute. Please note I am in no way recommending that you do this. If you can do anything on this blog better than I can, by all means, do. This is just on a No Dollar Budget.

The wheel inflated and ready to Roll. I'm sorry.

Jeffrey tightening the fork's hose clamps. Tight now there are only two, but eventually we'll have more, and more secure connections.

 



Passenger's bars/grips. I hadn't imagined how terrifying it would be to ride in the cart until after testing.

Day Four

    I took the rear wheel off, took off the tire and inner tube, and cleaned off the cassette. It spins well, coasts easily  and is fairly in true.

     The innertube remarkably still holds air, which is great, although the rim tape is completely disintegrated, so that'll need to be replaced.

The wheel before taking the rust off the cassette and cleaning it up a bit. 

After cleaning, the cassette looks really good, and is in pretty good condition.