The $3 Handle Experiment

Here in Tucson we have an awesome bike co-op place called Bicas that
takes in old unwanted bikes and teaches people how to fix them up.
Today my roommate and I were going to head down there to drop off a
whole bunch of decrepit bikes that were lying around our yard, and at
some point I recalled a custom road handle I saw on these forums a while
back. It was made from an upside-down top tube of a bicycle, using the
the seatpost tube to clamp to the seatpost of the unicycle (I can't seem
to find it at the moment...). I realized that Bicas probably had all
the parts I needed to make my own crummy version for cheap.

I rummaged around their throwout frames (which they turn into bicycle
artwork, very cool) and came across an old trek frame with a 1" seat
tube and an OD of 1-1/8" for the top tube. Perfect.

Of the many bins of parts inside, I was able to find a threadless stem
to fit over the top tube, some bar ends, and an appropriate handlebar to
cut down. The frame was free, since it was junk, and the bars and stem
cost me three bucks.

I built it up over the next hour and stuck it on my 26" unicycle, just
in time for the Tuesday Night Bike Ride. I was surprised at how easy it
was to adapt to the bars; by the end of the six or seven mile ride I was
able to turn gracefully and ride comfortably in a straight line without
effort. The ride was more comfortable, too, since I could adjust my
weight without having to ride standing up. It still wasn't pain free...
I need to upgrade from the Nimbus gel seat someday soon. Oh, and a
bigger wheel to put under the handle bars...

$3 well spent.


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Looks smart. I was eyeing a setup like that too and tried to get the
seat extension bit custom made. It cost something like $50 to make
according to the metal smith. Definitely a good bargain at your price!


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fluxusmaximus

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Very clever. Amazing how the ID and OD of the old frame tubes happened
to work out.


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Big dumb naked woman busted in library after team dance?

Pretty sweet. Pant it up and then it will look even better.


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john_childs;1133581 wrote:
Amazing how the ID and OD of the old frame tubes happened to work out.



I was surprised, too. The tube sizes vary quite a bit from bike to
bike... I saw a wrecked Bianchi frame (lugged) that had a top tube OD of
about 7/8" but took a 27.2 mm seatpost. I was planning on having to
compromise and do some shimming, but I got lucky.


Jerrick;1133583 wrote:
Big dumb naked woman busted in library after team dance?



Whoops, I forgot to make sure to check the poetry on the fridge.
Fortunately all of the naughty ones are out of frame!


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Spudman
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Sharp eyes, Jerrick!

Spudman, your handles are reminiscent of Eric's (Saskatchewanian).
looks like they'll do the trick and probably won't flex as much as T7s
would. The price is definitely right. There's a future for you in
unicycle R & D.

Geoff


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Well done and welcome to the world of custom handles.

This design is way stiffer and stronger than a T7.

The only problem I had with my setup was the integrated seatpost clamp
started to strip and I didn't leave enough room to add a separate
seatpost clamp.

I also used the long boom to clamp onto when using a bike rack like
'this' (http://tinyurl.com/65y47k). I was a bit worried that the bike
frame was not meant to take those kind of forces but it was fine for
thousands of Km on and off road no problem. My 36 was on the rack when I
got rear ended and my 36 was completely smashed but the handle was only
slightly bent with no cracks.

I think I will replace the boom when i get a new 36er but I am now very
confident in the strength and durability of this design.


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Looks quite like 'hbar' (http://tinyurl.com/6fo3bg) to me. Good job!

I'm going for a similar handle bar on my 29". But first I have to get
the unicycle. Anyway, your picture shows that there are plenty of room
for a brake handle, which makes me happy.

... hope something exciting will show up this spring.


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Nice set-up there Spudman. It's a great thing when a scrap or morsel
from the bike industry actually works for something you have to build
for a unicycle. Makes the prototype building process much easier.
M


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Max Taint
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i would just like to thank spudman for helping me zone out of all of my
class today i keep think about how i wanted to do this

think it would help on a 24 if i was just doing some high speed muni ??


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