My Pine Conversion

[djnacory]

I went a little crazy this winter and rebuilt my conversion, changing out the Mongoose Y Frame for some Pine reinforced with Hickory and some aluminum bar stock. I've got no shocks on this bike and only a Shimano Nexus 3 Speed internal hub, but I live in the middle of Ohio where the roads are flat and smooth. Believe it or not I actually reduced the weight by 8.5lbs (3.9kgs)

I've only got a few hundred miles on it but it rides well. The end of June I will be doing my annual 150 Mile(241km) ride and really put it to the test. So here it is:

 

[Charles.Plager]

Talk about thinking outside

Talk about thinking outside of the (wooden) box...

Nicely done.

 

[Andrew 1973]

Great looking bike

If you documented the design and build, I would be interested in reading about it. At any rate, I can not wait to read your ride report.

 

[Doug Burton]

Pretty cool...

I like it.

 

[richa]

Ingeniously Simple

Best looking conversion I've seen. And shows how simple a front-drive bicycle can be. Brilliant idea and impressive execution.

The photo's great too. Minus the plastic water bottle... If the Cruzbike people used their clearly-abundant spare time to make a Cruz-bike calendar this would be April. Why waste time re-defining what a bicycle should be when there are calendars to be made!

 

[MrSteve]

Great Job!

That looks like something I'd build!

Please take this as a compliment....

-Steve

 

[Jerrye]

Nice, clean, simple, brilliant

So basic it makes total sense! Looking forward to hearing how it rides in the 150.

In looking at the rear "swingarm" (for lack of a better term), I wonder if suspension was needed if it could be done by enlarging the bolt hole closest to the seatpan, inserting a piece of urethane or rubber, and reinserting the bolt through the middle of the bushing. I wonder if an automotive bushing could be adapted for that?

You could then secure both bolts with a nylon locknut so that they could be loose enough to pivot.

I'm no engineer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express recently...

 

[djnacory]

Pine Bike - Thanks for the comments

Thanks for all of the comments! The conversion kit does make this project really simple. My original goal was to drop 10 pounds of weight off the bike which I didnt quite make but I'm really very happy with the final results.

I went out on a 35 mile ride today and had my first flat in probably 2000 miles. I stopped to change the tube and in a few minutes had 3 couples standing around me asking about the bike. Overall a good day.

The comment about the suspension intrigues me I may play with that next winter when it's too cold to ride.

Doug

 

[ak-tux]

Wow! Beautiful Bike!

I've always thought a wooden frame would make a very nice material for the main frame of a cruzbike. The Front triangle can remain an alloy but the main frame that supports the seat and rear wheel can be made of wood. When well engineered, wood can be very light, yet very strong and looks strurningly beautiful.

Wood is very good at absorbing vibrations. I hope one day Cruzbike can work with Renovo bikes (http://www.renovobikes.com/) to build the main (rear) frame. It could be the intermediate step to going to carbon fibre.

The good candidates would be the Silvio and the Vendetta.
alt="Renovo R3"

 

[Jerrye]

Bamboo perhaps?

I know, I know, not officially "wood"...but the cross section pic above reminded me of something.

Somewhere I once saw a DF bike frame made from bamboo that IIRC was supposed to be close to CF in strength and weight. This does not look familiar though it has been a while since I saw it, so I'm not sure if it's the same place.

Perhaps this would be another option?

 

[Charles.Plager]

Hi,
I'd definitely recommend

Hi,

I'd definitely recommend posting this over at 'Bent Riders Online, too.

If you could figure out how to support a head-tube in aluminum, you could also make a aluminum-only version as well that would probably be lighter. As it is, I wonder if the wood itself acts as something of a shock absorber.

Regardless, keep tinkering and keep posting.

Cheers,
Charles

 

[bladderhead]

That is so cool I am quite


That is so cool I am quite overcome. If I did something like that, it would look like it was about to break, and then it would break. I would trust your version, though. It looks as though you know how to do this.