Chopper complete construction

10-4-09

It's still a work in progess folks. Hope you don't mind seeing my ugly mug in the photos, had to do a pose shot!

Well, the major construction is all done for the bike to make it rideable. I'm considering doing a little more to it because I've got a decent amount of twist in my fork, making it tough to ride, but ride it I can! Plus of course I still need to make the rims and other pieces. The only other unfortunate part is that my gooseneck tore out, so I had to resort to using some heavy duty pipe clamps. But hey, I think I can still call it a wood bike ney? Fear not, there will be more in the future after I completely finish the bike, but for now, I'm gonna sleep on it for a bit.

Edit: 9-27-09
So I've accelerated my progress, and I'm almost done. As of right now I've got both wheels mounted and it's "sit safe". I've only got a chain to purchase and some handlebars to make to make it rideable before I finish the beast. Riding it is the first priority though, so it won't be as pretty right away, but I'll be on the road before snow falls.

P.S. I've got some vids on Youtube if you want to see the whole thing.
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Edit: 9-22-09
I've cut out the frame, and done much of the layering work I planned on. You can see the "finished" gas tank, and some of the curves for the pedal mount. Still not sure whether to paint it or not, but I'm slowly being convinced to not paint it. Left to do is the fork assembly, and then mount the swing arms and back tire!!
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Edit: 9-1-09
So forever later, I've done some work on the bike after making some changing to the design. I scrapped the car tire as well, and am now sticking with two bike tires. I started off making a prototype, but it didn't work out how I wanted, and would've taken forever to make it look good. So I've moved on to cutting the frame from plywood. This is basically the simply 2D shape of the frame. More layers will be added to this basic shape as well. There is still plenty of work to do obviously, but I'm on the way.
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Edit: 5-24-09
After talking with a fellow design student and a friend of mine who is studying mech. engineering, I made a pretty radical change to the design. This was for several reasons, but I really like the change.
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Edit: 5-20-09
Finished a final concept page for the bike, to give a better idea of the goal and the visual aspect of the bike. Also included some visual refs. and inspirations. Anyways, there it is.
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Edit: 5-16-09
Updated the design a little and included more build notes, still trying to work out the concept and capture that "chopper look".
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Sorry for the crap quality, I'm still working on the prelim sketches, but I'm still fishing for direction. This will be an updated project.

Ok, so something completely new to me. I have recently been inspired to build my own custom bicycle for use in my city and bike path. I'm doing this partly to be active and make riding my bike an event, increasing desire to go out. I also want to get a bunch of people making their own, and start a club like atmosphere for it. So I've started the process of prelim designs and here is one I've settled on for the time being. I would be more than happy to hear any design suggestions or construction clues.

I'm aiming to have a "chopper" look to it that will ride low. I want to give it a street styling also, and need to make it visually pop. It'll be a city cruiser basically. Besides the gears, chain, and various nuts and bolts, everything will be custom made, from the handlebars to the rims and even the tires. (I've got an awesome idea for the tires, but have a back up in case) I also would like to play with battery powered LED lights and maybe underglow.

Construction wise, it's not super difficult. The trouble is trying to balance the strength of the wood (which is considerable) with the design. This isn't a stunt, this is intended for use for years to come, and needs to be built to that standard. I also have a preference for recycled materials, as to be more eco-friendly.

Any thoughts?