August-September 2018
Shortly before building 'The Bus', back around April-May 2018, was when I had the idea to build my first Tall Bike. However, I had limited tools and resources, not to mention the lack of a welder. This was my first big step towards it.
This invention began with the 'Steering Wheel MiniBike'. I had brought it to my local dirt trails for mountain bikes with my friend, and wanted to see if I could do any jumps on it. Stupid, stupid me. Of course I was going to crash :).
We soon spotted an old, abandoned wheelbarrow frame which had been corroded and separated from its' body. There was also some lengths of old hose pipes lying about. It was too irresistible.
In about half an hour, we had somehow managed to tie the wheel barrow frame (fork facing backwards), to the back of the bike's rack, using the lengths of hose pipe. I proceeded to drag the frame about the area, even making it up a fairly steep hill and down the other side.
I decided that it might be better to experiment further back at home, so we biked home, with the frame noisily scraping the road behind us as we went.
When I got home, the first thing I did was to put the small wheel from an American scooter into the wheelbarrow forks.
It felt unfinished and unaccomplished, but that was all we could manage for a day's work.
A few days later, I was told about an old Morrison's shopping trolley which had long been abandoned in a ditch on a sidewalk. I went straight there, and towed this muddy, messed-up trolley down the road and all the way home.
It then took me a good couple of hours (by hand!), to cut off the legs and wheels from the trolley, leaving me with just the trolley part. I then attempted to lash the trolley on top of the wheelbarrow frame tied to the back of the Steering Wheel MiniBike.
It kind of worked, but looked very makeshift and extremely wobbly & unstable.
I salvaged two pairs of rigid front forks, and cable tied them to either side of the trolley for stability. Now the vehicle had 5 wheels, 6 if you included the steering wheel.
We soon spotted an old, abandoned wheelbarrow frame which had been corroded and separated from its' body. There was also some lengths of old hose pipes lying about. It was too irresistible.
In about half an hour, we had somehow managed to tie the wheel barrow frame (fork facing backwards), to the back of the bike's rack, using the lengths of hose pipe. I proceeded to drag the frame about the area, even making it up a fairly steep hill and down the other side.
I decided that it might be better to experiment further back at home, so we biked home, with the frame noisily scraping the road behind us as we went.
When I got home, the first thing I did was to put the small wheel from an American scooter into the wheelbarrow forks.
It felt unfinished and unaccomplished, but that was all we could manage for a day's work.
A few days later, I was told about an old Morrison's shopping trolley which had long been abandoned in a ditch on a sidewalk. I went straight there, and towed this muddy, messed-up trolley down the road and all the way home.
It then took me a good couple of hours (by hand!), to cut off the legs and wheels from the trolley, leaving me with just the trolley part. I then attempted to lash the trolley on top of the wheelbarrow frame tied to the back of the Steering Wheel MiniBike.
It kind of worked, but looked very makeshift and extremely wobbly & unstable.
I salvaged two pairs of rigid front forks, and cable tied them to either side of the trolley for stability. Now the vehicle had 5 wheels, 6 if you included the steering wheel.
It was soon after this that I made a good friend, Kiffer. He had plenty of experience with mechanics and was more than willing to help. We brought our sorry excuse of an invention to him, and he gave us some advice and got rid of the wheelbarrow frame & the rear wheel, replacing it with welds. The forks were now welded to the sides of the trolley, with a reinforcement bar underneath, and there was a tube welded to the front of the trolley, which connected rigidly to the seat-post of the bike.
A few days later, the steering wheel finally snapped, so I gladly replaced it with a pair of ape hanger bars.
After it was all working, I spray painted the trolley and its' forks bright red, to fit in with the bike's colour. This was how it got its' name 'The Bus', because of the steering wheel, and the red-and-black colours which slightly resembled an old-fashioned red London bus.
A few days later, the steering wheel finally snapped, so I gladly replaced it with a pair of ape hanger bars.
After it was all working, I spray painted the trolley and its' forks bright red, to fit in with the bike's colour. This was how it got its' name 'The Bus', because of the steering wheel, and the red-and-black colours which slightly resembled an old-fashioned red London bus.
It looked so good that I even made a number plate for the rear: 'SID 777', and put in a cushion for comfort, as well as a wooden floor and a matching poppy.
Over the following weeks I had people sitting in the trailer, getting a lovely view without doing any work whatsoever.
This wasn't without consequence of course, for the trailer had no suspension or flexibility, meaning that any tight corners would result in an upturned trailer, and bent seat-post and an injured passenger.
So we went back and had some help, returning the next day with a swivel joint, taken from a car's steering pivots. This was welded into the connector tube, and bolted into a plate which was welded to the seat-post of the bike. This made going round corners a lot easier.
The metal plate has broken at least 5 times since, as all of this was temporary and certainly not made to last. But I keep replacing parts, so for now it works.
The trailer later became part of a wider purpose; to transport my kayak to and from the next village, with an extra trailer extension, making it an 8-wheeled vehicle.
Over the following weeks I had people sitting in the trailer, getting a lovely view without doing any work whatsoever.
This wasn't without consequence of course, for the trailer had no suspension or flexibility, meaning that any tight corners would result in an upturned trailer, and bent seat-post and an injured passenger.
So we went back and had some help, returning the next day with a swivel joint, taken from a car's steering pivots. This was welded into the connector tube, and bolted into a plate which was welded to the seat-post of the bike. This made going round corners a lot easier.
The metal plate has broken at least 5 times since, as all of this was temporary and certainly not made to last. But I keep replacing parts, so for now it works.
The trailer later became part of a wider purpose; to transport my kayak to and from the next village, with an extra trailer extension, making it an 8-wheeled vehicle.
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