homebuilt lowrider - backyard engineering goodness.

[Dicky]

Time to post her up.

A mate's neighbour built it a few years ago. I would always ride around the street on it whenever I was over there.
He decided he no longer wanted it, so it ended up being an unofficial 18th birthday present.

It looked like this when I got it:

Rear detail shot - dropouts above the chainstays means you have to route the chain around a jockeywheel.

Fork detail shot - dodgy engineering goodness.

next shot - I changed some parts around.
22" front wheel from another cruiser I had at the time
20" rear coaster brake wheel
ape hanger bars
headlight (not functioning)

Then I decided it was time for a major overhaul.
Cut the old seat off with an angle grinder, fitted a new banana seat instead.
The 'seatstays' are in fact an old 22" cruiser fork, bent out to fit the wider axle spacing, then a bloody great bolt through a hole drilled in the fork crown.
Somehow convinced a 22" 3 speed wheel to fit into chainstays designed around a 20" wheel

edit: Shimano GT7 3 speed shifter bolted to top tube
Thanks to Arthur @ Alstar Cycles for having one of these - manufactured around 1974 - still in its original packaging, complete with cable and mounting hardware.
There's a few kicking around on E-Bay in the Dragsters section if you want one.

new chrome bars
BMX to Euro BB converter
3 piece cottered steel cranks, 46 tooth chainring (cheers again Arthur)
brakes from an old BMX, connected to 70s motorcycle drum brake style levers
oldschool GT 1" threaded stem

Complete paint strip and respray gloss black.
Clean up and polish all chrome.

and she looks like this now....


not shown in these photos is the circa 1980s Shimano 600 rear derailleur bolted to the chainstays, just forward of the rear tyre. 198 chain links need a tensioner of some sort once they wear in a bit.

[big_pete]

Respect dicky, can you actually ride it up hills?

[ridemotocross]

nice as, strictly ghetto of course

[rebound01]

dude thats so sick, but let me ask you a question, how do you even ride it, you must be stretching so hard to reach the handlebars

could you get some measurement on how long it is and how high the highest point on the bike is? it might give the pictures more perspective, because right about now it looks a good 2m long

[Lowrider#1]

Hey, man, i made somethin like that a while back, but i chopped it up for spare metal which i really regret doing. i Really like your frame geometry and I was wondering if i could get it off you.
Cheers,
Lowrider#1

[Dicky]

pete,

I used to be able to pedal it up Allambie Road, then most of the way up Forest Way.
Starting doing damage to my knees, so I stopped.

It has been city riding about 8 times. This includes the 40km round trip from my place to the ferry.

Lowrider#1:

yeah mate, you're welcome to the specs. I'm out digging jumps tomorrow, but I'll go over it with a tape measure when I get back

some crazy facts though:
axle to crown height is almost exactly 3 feet.
chainstay length is also about 3 feet.
It needs close on two full BMX chains to drive it.
Wheelbase is about 6 foot - this makes the bike approximately 8 feet long.

I'm 5'11' ish, and it's really comfortable.
Max speed I've done on it is about 70km/h, northbound down the hill into Newport.

[Dicky]

fork:
Stan removed the old 1" steerer and crown, and welded in a 1 1/8" crown/steerer.
new headset: FSA Pig Pro DH - polished silver.
new stem: Axiom BMX. Cheers Timmae...

rear wheel:
Shimano 3 speed internal hub
boggo chrome steel 20" rim, 28 hole
DT Competition custom length spokes
Maxxis Hookworm tyre

front wheel:
Shimano M475 disc - swap boltup 9mm axle from Formula hub
boggo chrome steel 20" rim, 36 hole
DT Competition custom length spokes - recalculate / cut down / re-thread
build wheel
Maxxis Hookworm tyre

front brake:
Avid SD 2.0 lever - oldschool 3-finger blade
Shimano mechanical disc, 6 inch rotor
Raceline rear disc tab / Shimano IS > 203mm rotor adaptor
2x M5x40mm / M5 washers x many
drill fork to fit tab
install caliper / rotor
cable + housing

rear brake:
Avid SD 2.0 lever - oldschool 3-finger blade
.243 Racing rim brake adaptor lugs. Cheers Naz.
Shimano V brake
4x M5x40mm / M5 washers
drill chainstays to fit lugs
install brake
cable + housing


seat:
existing banana seat / Raleigh MkII chopper seat?
remove fork crown from seatstay cruiser fork
drill + eyelet
fit to banana seat
dropout / axle clearance?

cutout frame for seatpost
cut down seatpost
install seat

drivetrain:
MRP roller for driveside dropout? Mounting? - there is currently an anodised blue jockeywheel routing the chain around the chainstay. It makes a lot of noise... (see 2nd photo in 1st post)
install chain. 2 going to be enough?
install shifter + cable
BB bearings could probably do with a repack
Clean up crankset. Minor surface rust.

Lighting:
Rather old and dusty BLT Light Systems 3 watt rig.
God only knows how long we've had it in stock.

A mate once had a tail light that you wired up to V-brake arms, so the light would change phase from flashing to solid under braking. I'll see if I can track one down...

New paintjob.
Stan to respray frame and fork gloss black.
New stickers
when I can afford that sort of thing.

Maybe:
polished chrome fenders - they've been sitting around for ages.
Probably just the rear one - my arse is now much closer to the rear wheel.
Tyre buzz is bad, getting clothing/backpack sucked into the 1"-ish gap between the tyre and seat is also bad.

3 foot long sissy bar, much the same as the one on my dragster.

and NO TWISTED STEEL CRAP!

[Butch]

Where did u get the wheels from , looks like they have had better days

[aday]

Wat a beast. I've seen heaps of people getting bikes like that. They look kool as.

[Dicky]

Where did u get the wheels from , looks like they have had better days

the 22" wheelset and tyres came from a 30 ish year old Speedwell cruiser I found in the council cleanup.
The muck on the sidewall is probably from losing the tail on purpose while racing the Entertainment Centre carpark...