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Archive for the ‘Bicycles’ Category

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Portlander Drew Devereux scratch-built this swell Dog Bus cargo bike so his canine pal, Sadie, could come along on rides. [via BikeHacks]

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Bicycles could quite possibly be the most popular maker vehicles. Here are some bikes and bike accessories for the cycle-friendly folks on your gift list.

College bike trunk, DIY on Make: Projects by Frank Yost, from MAKE 23

Growing up, I would often visit my grandparents in Dinkytown, the southeast Minneapolis neighborhood near the University of Minnesota that was named after the freshman cap worn there a century ago. I remember seeing students on ten-speeds carrying their stuff in milk crates that they strapped to the rear rack with bungee cords. Inspired by that image, I wanted something better and more secure. Car drivers can lock things up while running errands, so why should cyclists have to carry everything around with them? So I designed this sheet metal bike trunk. I sized it to hold two 1-gallon jugs of milk with a little room to spare. Its top angles away from the seat like a saddle does, so nothing rubs against the rider. And its 2 latches will accept 2 padlocks to secure the contents against casual theft.

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"Road Popper" bike seat bottle opener, $40 printed by Shapeways

The Road Popper is a bike-mounted bottle opener that we developed for our own use and decided afterward to share. We designed it to fasten discreetly to the rails on the underside of the saddle to help keep your bike looking crisp. So far, it's worked on all the bottle caps we've tried it on. Material options are bronze infused stainless steel. Finish options are plain (on the right in the photograph), matte gold, glossy gold, matte antique bronze, and glossy antique bronze. The Road Popper is not intended for alcoholic beverages. Chromoly does not condone cycling while under the influence of alcohol.

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Warranty Voider Leatherman PS4, $36, Maker Shed

New from Leatherman! The new Squirt PS4 is small enough to fit on your key chain, this pliers version now also comes with built in scissors! The MAKE: Warranty Voider is the perfect companion for mobile fixing, hacking and MacGyvering. This is a limited offering with custom "Make: Warranty Voider" laser etched using a 35w laser.

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Ottawa maker Nigel Vezeau built an adorable kiddy trike for his daughter:

When my first daughter was two and a half, she started showing interest in things with wheels. I was keen to get her started on a bicycle, but realized she didn't have to coordination to balance and learn to pedal at the same time. I decided to build her a recumbent trike so she would be able to get around without the risk of wiping out. I used discarded 12" kids bikes and some other recycled bits and pieces, including the rectangular tubing from an office desk for the main frame.

Child-sized recumbent trike

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We featured the meticulously-organized workshop that Milwaukeean Cindy Smith shares with her husband, Craig, back in March. Craig saw our recent human-powered lifting devices post and wrote in to share with us the custom snow-plow-tricycle he built for removing light snowfall from his driveway:

The custom 3-wheel bike with sidecar was made years ago, a replica of a bike my childhood friend had. Last winter I added a snow plow accessory. Up to 1 inch of snow doesn't make it worthwhile to fire up my big 8HP snowthrower. And shoveling my 90' long driveway by hand can be too much. So my bike plow makes it easy to make a few runs up and down the driveway to make 2 or 3 piles that can then be easily hand shoveled off to the side. A lever pulls up or lets down the plow with a rope and pulley. Pulling the lever all the way back cantilevers the rope and pivot point so it locks in place. The plow blade is hinged with a bungee cord, so hitting a discrepancy in the road allows the blade to flop and give like a real plow. The bike can turn on a dime so raising the plow and returning up the adjacent path is quick and easy. I can do 'reverse' by pushing down on the front wheel with my foot to roll it backwards.Totally useless with larger snow falls, but the light ones make snow removal fun. (yes, my neighbors do think I'm odd)

[Thanks, Craig!]

More:

• Pedal powered snow plow
• Pedal Powered World, #3: Outdoor Tools

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From the MAKE Flickr Pool:

Check out the latest work by Make: Online fixture Peter Wagner, who built this excellent frankenstein bike that sports a pretty radical suspension.

My current main ride, with dreamed-of front end made real. The whole machine is bolted together..no welds or cuts at all. The wheel base expands about a foot in a deeep bounce.

It is a bit heavier than with a plain fork as I first built it, but the added weight makes unintentional wheelies lower and recoverable... So I feel it's worth it.

The front 'fork' frame is a 12" kids 'Next' bike, but its rear triangle is from a full-size 26" bike. A stem into a fork-less "head stem" is again bolted into the fender brace hole of the stock fork.... And the top front fork drop-outs receive the big triangle's crank bolts.... She's a sweeter ride yet!

On the rained-on cloddy alkalai playa of '10 Burning Man, the ride on this was glassy smooth.....

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