March 12 2012 - AtomicZombie - DIY Plans for Recumbent Bikes

“Hey y’all. Just sending you a note to say keep up the
great work.”
~ Travis K., Texas
NEWS
March 12, 2012
Build Phat ass
chopper hub
Hub
AZTV
Atomic Zombie’s OverKill
T
Part 3
By Brad Graham , AtomicZombie.com
his concludes the last part of our basic Phat Ass wheel making tutorial that shows how to turn a
rusty steel car rim into an amazing rear wheel for an extreme chopper bike. Check out Parts 1 and 2
in the past two newsletters.
This part focuses on the actual hub, which has to
operate in the same way as a bicycle hub in order
to integrate the car wheel with a standard bicycle
pedal transmission. What's cool is that you can
make this ultra wide hub using only an old steel
bicycle hub and a piece of metal rod - no machined
parts are necessary.
Figure 1 - You will need a steel bicycle hub
All you need is a standard steel BMX or kids bike
hub like the one shown in Figure 1. This type of
hub has a thread on freehub that can be removed as shown in our "Freehub Basics" tutorial on the main
page of our website. It is important that the hub is made of steel, not aluminum as it will be cut and
welded. Not sure? Just drop a magnet on the hub and if it sticks then it's steel. Choose a hub with 28 or
26 spoke holes.
(Continued on page 2)
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“Thanks for the sites and plans. I was worried my
husband would be bored after he retired, but
building bikes keeps him active and happy.”
~ Marion Y., Arizona
March 12, 2012
NEWS
(Continued from page 1)
Figure 2 - Remove or cut out all of the spokes
AZTV
If you intend to salvage the spokes, then remove
the nipples by turning them a few times each as
you work around the rim. Rusted spokes are no
good, but slightly tarnished spokes can be cleaned
up using a bit of steel wool.
Remember that you will require double the
number of spokes from one wheel, and they all
need to be the same length give or take about
1mm. Spokes used to lace a 15 inch car rim are
taken from a 20 inch bicycle rim.
Figure 3 - Cut the steel hub in half
Once you have your steel hub liberated from the
rim, cut it in half using a zip disc or a hacksaw. This does
not have to be an accurate cut, just cut the hub in half to
separate the two flanges.
Figure 4 - Measure the overall width of your tire
(Continued on page 3)
2
"I love the fact you show us snippets of your lives in the
videos and forum. I thoroughly enjoyed your webisodes on
what you went through last summer. Hope you’re settling
into your country home. It looks beautiful."
~ Kal T., Austria
NEWS
March 12, 2012
(Continued from page 2)
You will need to know the overall width of
your rear tire so that the hub can be made
wide enough to allow the frame dropouts and
chain to pass along the side of the tire. Drop
the tire on a flat surface and then place a
board or tube on the top so you can measure
the width of the tire. Mine was 8 inches wide.
AZTV
Figure 5 - Drill a second set of spoke holes
Since the laced car wheel basically becomes
two standard bicycle wheel on each side of
the car rim, you need to double the number of holes in each hub flange. Use a punch to tap the area
between the existing spoke holes so you can drill them to a similar diameter. Don't worry about being
super accurate; just try to do your best to make the new set of holes in between the existing set of
holes. Any drilling errors will be taken up in
the wheel lacing procedure.
Figure 6 - Cutting a new hub center tube
The hub needs to be made much wider to
accommodate the car wheel, so a new tube
will be cut and welded between the hub
flanges. Any tube that fits over the small cut
section will work, but it should not be too wide as to cover the spoke holes. A piece of bicycle steel
tubing taken from a seat post or down tube will be perfect. Make this tube 1 inch longer than the
measured width of your car tire and ensure that it is cut off straight at both ends. A hand held tube
(Continued on page 4)
3
“From one birdwatcher to another, keep up the
great bird pics on the forum. I’m always interested
in the different species you have up there in the
North.”
~ Alex D., Maryland
March 12, 2012
NEWS
(Continued from page 3)
cutting tool is best for this job.
Weld the new hub center tube to the hub flanges
as shown in Figure 7, making sure that the new
tube is centered on the flanged and that the
flanges are at 90 degrees to the length of the tube.
AZTV
Tack weld the extension tube in three places
around the flange and then roll it along your
workbench to visually inspect the alignment of the
hub flanges.
With the hub extension tube welded to both hub
flanges, you can now calculate how wide the
threaded axle needs to be. Cut the original axle in
half and then lay each end along the wide hub so
that the bearing flanges are sitting in the
approximate place they would be if bearing were
installed. This is about halfway into the hub races.
Figure 7 - Weld the hub center to the flanges
You can then find a suitable length of steel rod to
make an axle extension. Beveling the ends of the
axles and the rod will also help to make a strong
weld.
Figure 8 - Making an extended hub axle
To help weld the new axle extension to the cut off axles, use a bit of angle iron as a guide as you make
the first few tack welds. You can also clamp the axle and rod to the angle iron to hold it while you make
the tack welds. This will keep the parts aligned while welding.
With a few solid tack welds on the axle and rod, roll it along your workbench to check its alignment. A
few hammer taps will help straighten out the parts as you make the welds all the way around the joint.
The completed extended axle should roll along your bench and seem fairly straight. If the axle is visible
warped, try to work it back to shape by holding the center rod in a vice as you pound on the ends with a
2x4. The axle does not have to be perfect, but try to get it close so that the bearings run true between the
(Continued on page 5)
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“You guys have got to get to Burning Man some
day! I can imagine the crazy bikes you’d bring with
you. It would be blast to meet you both.”
~ Zack W., Nevada
March 12, 2012
NEWS
(Continued from page 4)
cones and the races.
AZTV
Figure 9 - Using a jig to weld the axle extension
straight
Figure 10 - The completed extended axle
Install all of the axle bearing hardware and then
give the hub a spin to see if it turns with minimal
friction. If the hub seems stiff then perhaps your
bearings are installed in reverse? Check out our
bearing tutorials on the AtomicZombie main page
for more information on installing bicycle
bearings correctly. You new ultra phat hub is now
ready to be laced into a car rim.
When you are working with a Phat Ass car wheel
conversion, usually the best plan is to build up
your chopper around the wheel. Figure 12 shows
the basic frame for our OverKill chopper being
layed up around a super wide 15 inch car wheel
that has been converted for bicycle use. A chopper
with a car wheel is a real show stopper, and
nothing that will roll of an assembly line can touch
a true Phat Ass custom, so get out your grinder
and start hacking!
Figure 12 - Laying out a new chopper
Figure 11 - Reinstalling the axle and bearing
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“Great Facebook fan page.”
~ Robert U., Toronto
March 12, 2012
NEWS
Charlotte’s
first bike
AZTV
"Charlotte is a little person.
She is four years old and
wanted a "pedal bicycle" like
her friends have, but no commercially produced bicycle
comes close to being able to fit
her.
So, we started with a bicycle with 12 inch wheels and rebuilt it. The changes are: seat tube and pedal
cranks shortened, bottom bracket narrowed, rear stays shortened and reshaped, forks and steering head
shortened, main tube replaced with a curved tube to lower step-over height and bring handlebars closer
to seat, handlebars narrowed and reshaped, carrier reshaped. The only unaltered frame parts are the
front axle dropouts.
The full construction is covered in this thread: http://forum.atomiczombie.com/showthread.php?6214.
Custom-fitted-bike-for-little-person
The result is a bike that fits Charlotte and retains good proportions. More
importantly, it is a pleasure to see her riding her own bicycle,when at one
stage this didn't seem to be possible.
Thank you for providing the forum and website where so many bike hackers
can swap ideas and learn from each other. The world is a better place for it.
Regards,
Neville Whitlock, Grandad, Petone Bike & Velo"
6
Advertisement
“Anxiously waiting for your new web site
and gallery. Where do you find the time to
do everything?”
~ Jacob W., Kansas
March 12, 2012
NEWS
AtomicZombie Chopper wheel kit?
We are considering making a car
wheel chopper kit that includes the
wide hub and spokes needed to lace
up a standard car rim.
AZTV
If you might be interested in this kit,
then let us know here, and if there is
enough interest, we may have the
parts manufactured.
Wheel chopper kit would include
hub and spokes to make your own
phat ass chopper wheel from a car rim
(rim not included in kit).
Add your name to the list on the
Atomic Zombie forum.
Wheel chopper kit would include hub and spokes to make
your own phat ass chopper wheel from a car rim (rim not
included in kit). Add your name to the list on the Atomic
AtomicZombie
Facebook fan page
Show the world that you like
Atomic Zombie and bike
building.
Hope to see
Sean Nullmeyer, California
you there.
7
“I’m lovin’ the camaraderie on the forum. It’s a
fun and informative place to meet new people who
are as crazy about building bikes as I am.”
~ Virgil C., New Orleans
NEWS
AZTV
March 12, 2012
Building custom bicycles is a great hobby that
can be learned by anyone with a desire to
create. The skills needed to dismantle, alter and
repair bicycle components can be easily
learned, and the parts and tools you will need
are quite inexpensive.
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Discarded or worn out bicycles offer many good
parts and can often be found at local scrap
yards, city dumps, or yard sales for a few
dollars. Even if you plan to build a custom
creation using all new parts, this hobby will
seem inexpensive compared to many, as you
can purchase a brand new bicycle at a store for less than a hundred dollars.
The great thing about hacking and welding bicycles is that you will be working with all steel
components, which are much stronger, more common, and much less expensive than high
grade aluminum or carbon fiber bicycle parts. If you have never torn a bicycle apart before,
then this basic introduction will show you all you need to complete a total bicycle autopsy in
minutes, stripping an entire cycle down to the individual parts
using only a few basic hand tools.
You can build your own recumbent bike, tadpole trike,
chopper, velomobile, electric scooter, delta trike, quadcycle or
tandem trike from our easy to follow plans. All of our plans are
easily modified to suit your own needs and you can work with
the materials you have on hand.
Combine the ideas presented in several plans into a unique
home built recumbent bike, or create your own racing trike
based on one of our DIY plans. The possibilities are endless!
Join the Atomic Zombie family of bike builders
Send us a picture of your completed handmade bike.
Each picture less than 2MB in size, please. JPG preferred.
>> gallery@atomiczombie.com <<
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“Hello from Malaysia. Your bikes are very
good.”
~ Pat K., Malaysia
March 12, 2012
NEWS
It's an Atomic Zombie life
AZTV
H
ere we are at the beginning of March
and no sign of spring yet. Just when
we thought the melting snow was a
sign that we were in for some warmer
weather, over a foot of snow dumped
on us last week. You never know what surprises are in store at this time of year.
The best part is the sun rises at 7 am and sets around 7 pm. I love it when the
days get longer. Just itching to get started on something – gardening, bike
building, videos, etc.
Goldfinch
I’m enjoying watching various types of birds at the feeders, many of which I’d
only seen pictures of. Much more variety out here in the country. Every
morning, the Blue Jays call me to fill the feeders with peanuts. Spoiled birds!
They take turns with their cousins Whiskey Jacks (Gray Jays), and smaller
birds – Hoary Redpoll, Goldfinch, Chickadees, Nuthatch – at the feeders, but when the squirrel shows up,
the battle is on! Sometimes the birds manage to gang up on the squirrel and send it scurrying back to its
nest.
Looks like we have at least a few more weeks of winter left,
but in the meantime, we’re working on some new stuff for
this year. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s coming up:
(Continued on page 11)
Male Pine Grosbeak
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"Old guys like me need something to do.
Atomic Zombie keeps my mind going strong.
Thanks.”
~ Lou G., W. Virginia
NEWS
Recumbent tandem trike
Production Van Velomobile
AZTV
March 12, 2012
“Just about have the skin on the van.
put the lights on but have not covered
the head lights. I got to test ride today
for about 8 miles. I wanted to see if I
could run the batteries out. It went as
fast as 30.5 mph, but I ran out of road. I
still have no brakes on the rear. It stops
really slowly.”
More>>
“Hi, I’m a newbie to the forum from
Scotland and have question for any
recumbent tandem trike owners/
builders out there! My girlfriend and I
are planning to cycle across from
Hamilton to Vancouver, leaving early
May this year. Does anyone have a
tandem recumbent we could beg/steal/
borrow, or even hire?”
More>>
Help on what type of Welder
“ Hello guys man this is a great site. I
have a couple of question to ask!
I am looking to by one of these welders
could you tell me witch welder would be
better to buy? 90 Amp Flux Wire
Welder or a 100 Amp or 120 Amp Arc
Welder I don't have 220! Any help on
this matter would be great...just
starting out and don't have much to
work with yet. Thanks for your time
guys.”
Electric StreetFox/Warrior trike
“Did some testing today. Still working
on getting the derailleur working right,
but with the power the motor seems to
have, I don't plan on pedaling much! ”
More>>
More>>
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10
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Contact KoolKat for more information.
“Hey—we need more Canucks on the forum! Nice to
see so many folks from around the world meeting
there, though.”
~ Bobby K., Prince Edward Island
NEWS
March 12, 2012
(Continued from page 9)
AZTV
New Atomic Zombie web site. We’re about 75% done
the site. It’s a complete overhaul. If all goes well, it will be
online by the end of this month. It’s a huge project, but the
end result is well worth it.
New gallery. Forum members will be able to upload their
own pictures, and maintain their own galleries.
New videos. More DIY bike building tutorials and
webisodes. An exclusive look at your Atomic Zombie hosts
Radical Brad and KoolKat and why they spend an insane
amount of their lives promoting the AZ way of life.
New plans. Choppers, recumbents, trikes, maybe a velo?
More on that later.
New kits. Finally! We will be manufacturing parts to help
with your bike building projects.
AZ road trip. Will Radical Brad and KoolKat make an
appearance at an event near you? Stay tuned.
So, as you can see, we’re planning a lot of new stuff. It will take up a huge chunk of our time, but with our
new place and plenty of room to grow, we hope to keep you entertained and informed as we continue our
journey. ~ KoolKat
England
"G'Day Y'all. This site is excellent. Now
my friends can see I'm not the only one.
Here's my latest creation. Not painted
yet due it still being too cold hereabouts.
Pagan Psycle's - The Long & Low
sidehacker, from Sechelt, B.C., Canada,
eh. Aloha, Steve."
British Columbia, Canada
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