Solarbird 

Thanks, I hate it!

I’m hoping it’s an art piece in which case I still hate it, but less.

#biking #bicycle #No #LakeForestPark

Feb 24 at 9:04pmWeb
Show threadAI6YR BenFeb 24
@moira LOL pretty sure that would not work, but, yeah.... Motorcycles did come about in that matter, of course 😢 ... then leading to cars, and our fossil fuel obsession.
Show threadjbaggsFeb 24
@ai6yr @moira Ha. I didn't even notice the adjustable crescent wrench hanging off the front at first, as I was too distracted by all the other horrors. This thing is a perfect monstrosity.
Show threadSolarbird Feb 24

@jbaggs @ai6yr And a screwdriver!

Those are in part why I hope it’s an art piece xD

Show threadJohn William David ThomsonFeb 25
@jbaggs @ai6yr @moira leave that that adjustable swedish nut lathe/hammer alone! It is obviously an essential component and/or essential to keep the other components functional.
Show threadD IngramFeb 25
@jwdt @jbaggs @ai6yr @moira The best nut hammer I've seen is this actual product...https://linemenssupply.com/products/hastings-adjustable-hammer-wrench-53-10-312
Show threadSolarbird Feb 25
@ingram @jwdt @jbaggs @ai6yr I like it!
Show threadJon RoachFeb 28
@ingram @jwdt @jbaggs @ai6yr @moira 😆
Show threadMike McCaffrey Feb 24

@ai6yr @moira Lol, look how the belt goes in and out of the rear wheel. If it does work, it certainly does not work well.

However, if it is a working bike that someone uses, I applaud their ingenuity. This sort of contraption is born of necessity and limited resources, and if is great if it gives someone greater mobility.

Show threadJoe Steinbring Feb 25
@mikemccaffrey @ai6yr @moira It looks like a hoot to me (assuming that it work?)
Show threadLovesTha🥧Feb 28
@mikemccaffrey @ai6yr @moira I think there is a second wider rim inside the rim holding the tyre, it might work.
Show threadSolarbird Feb 28
@LovesTha @mikemccaffrey @ai6yr Yes, there's a second rim holding the belt.
Show threadjbaggsFeb 24
@moira That's a lot going on between one's legs.
Show threadnickFeb 24

@jbaggs @moira certainly not for the risk averse.

Impressive work finding a v-belt that long!

Show threadjbaggsFeb 24
@nickzoic @moira This is really just a machine for removing your rear tire quickly without having to fiddle with tire levers.
Show threadnickFeb 24
@jbaggs @moira I couldn't really tell from the photo, I'm assuming they welded an extra rim to the side of the actual rim and used that as the belt pulley, but how they fit that all in the rear dropout I can't imagine. I like their idler/clutch setup though.
Show threadSolarbird Feb 24
@nickzoic @jbaggs Yes, exactly, there is an extra rim on the back wheel for the belt.
Show threadjbaggsFeb 24
@moira @nickzoic The picture made it look like it went under the tire. So the spokes go into the "normal rim" and there is a secondary on the outside (welded, brazed, or whatever) for the belt?
Show threadSolarbird Feb 24
@jbaggs @nickzoic Yes. The spokes go into the normal wheel and it has a second rim for the belt.
Show threadJohn William David ThomsonFeb 25
@jbaggs @moira @nickzoic I wondered that at first and it wouldn't entirely surprise me if the belt somehow went under the tyre.
Show threadMichael HanscomFeb 24
@jbaggs @nickzoic @moira And/or a machine for removing your pants quickly without having to fiddle with…anything!
Show threadDeterioratedStuccoFeb 24

@djwudi
And quite possibly being left with nothing to fiddle with.

@jbaggs @nickzoic @moira

Show threadSolarbird Feb 24
@jbaggs if that engine is between your legs i have questions about your anatomy xD
Show threadjbaggsFeb 24
@moira
Show threadthefathippyFeb 24

@moira

At least there are no safety concerns...

Show threadSolarbird Feb 24
@thefathippy Not after it kills the rider, anyway xD
Show threadMx. Eddie RFeb 24
@thefathippy @moira
*definitely* not concerned with safety, no.
Show threadEmily VelascoFeb 24
@moira yes!! fuck yes!!!
Show threadthere is beauty in simplicityFeb 24
@moira they just ride that standing on the right pedal
Show threadSolarbird Feb 24

@kinsale42 Actively wondering if that's how you start the engine

stand atop one pedal, let it drop

Show threadan interesting bean Feb 25
@moira @kinsale42 most of the sketchy 2 stroke kits just have a hand clutch and you ride along and dump the clutch to start, but this one looks more like you gotta pull start it
Show threadan interesting bean Feb 25
@moira @kinsale42 oh no it looks like the “clutch” in this case is like a riding mower PTO, the tensioner just releases belt tension and lets the fixed pully slip
Show threadJoe Steinbring Feb 24

@moira @MLE_online That reminds me of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pevK-NczzAY and looks more unridable.  

I was thinking about building something like that at one point but decided not to because you wouldn't be able to use a bike lane or a trail, it wouldn't be able to go as fast as a motorcycle, and it wouldn't be as reliable as an eBike. I'm not sure that spending $500 on a laugh would be worth it.

My Old Bicycle Has an Awful Engine From eBay

YouTube
Show thread.vad//hakara🧭Feb 24
@moira From what my eyes can see this appears to be mechanically viable. I particularly enjoy the return spring for the tensioner pulley being a bungie cord.
Show threadRegression To The MemeFeb 25
@vadhakara @moira And actuated by the brake lever - brake and clutch in one! Genius! Mad genius, but still, genius!
Show threadGabriel NFeb 24

@moira no brakes, no way to turn around without burning your hands.

So many questions:

Is there a gas tank? Starter motor? Battery for the starter?

Genius

Show threadSolarbird Feb 24

@wtrmt Oh I don't think there's a starter motor, I think you kick-start it (if you start it at all). I think the braking is by throttling down and using a combination of engine drag and given it's a fixie maybe pedal opposition.

(And the gas tank is visible, it's the black plastic box on the right side of the motor.)

Even if it's an art piece I want them to have used it to get it there.

Show threadGabriel NFeb 24
@moira don’t be mean! They would had maimed themselves
Show threadEric BrombaughFeb 24
@moira Bonus points if the exhaust is pointing right in the rider's face.
Show threadSolarbird Feb 24
@emeb I _think_ the grey housing on the left (in picture) / on the front of the bike that has a protruding bit going down is the exhaust.
Show threadJohn William David ThomsonFeb 25
@moira @emeb yeah right between the handlebars...
Show threaddragonfrogFeb 24
@moira Oooooh it's like the old farm machines where a steam engine stood some distance away from the thing that did the work, with a giant belt of buffalo hide whizzing away so the steam engine could drive the machine and/or rip the arm off an unwary farm labourer!
Show threadMeowbotage! >:3cFeb 25
@moira This thing is a beautiful work of art, and I love it.
Show threadPolly KraisusFeb 25
@moira the first Reevo batch
Show threadMinisterofimpedimentsFeb 25
@moira
…I’d honestly pay money to see the maker ride it. I mean how often do you get a guaranteed train wreck? The possibility of bodily harm, collision, and a possible fire? That sentiment is literally what keeps NASCAR in business. (Come for the racin’, stay for the crashin’)
Show threada high doomFeb 25
@moira unstealable. Id try tho
Show threadPossumanthaFeb 25
@moira better art would be to have the motor above the riders head and then the gas tank above that.
Show threadirrational methodFeb 25

@moira

This looks totally legitimate, and maybe an art piece but definitely ridable.

Not that I want to ride it, or be anywhere near it. But I'm sure the owner has fun with it.

Show threadirrational methodFeb 25

@moira

I've seen (or heard) a few bikes around town with a two-stoke conversion kit on them. Not my thing, but you example just seems like someone took it an extreme.

For example:
https://www.bikeberry.com/products/66-80cc-bbr-tuning-angle-fire-bicycle-engine-kit-2-stroke

Show threadThomas SibleyFeb 25
@moira and just a coaster brake, no less.
Show threadR.I.PienaarFeb 25
@moira @cks that surely won’t go. These are real though
Show threadSolarbird Feb 25
@ripienaar @cks I'm not convinced, it has all the parts it needs. It's incredibly dangerous but I think it might run.
Show threadInky says "What the hell?!"Mar 1
@ripienaar @moira @cks That reminds me of all the motor bicycle mods I saw doing my grad work in Long Beach CA. The beach cruisers with an engine didn't look that bad.
Show threadNihlFeb 25
@moira Not actually very far from the design of what's considered as the first motorcycle, the Perreaux from 1871.
Show threadThomas SibleyFeb 25
@moira Even as it is in some ways the antithesis of a bicycle, it’s also got that precisely bicycley quality of the whole mechanism by which the machine works being exposed and available for inspection and understanding. The more you study it, the more you see.
Show threadvxoFeb 25

@moira oh hold up THAT'S THE CLUTCH we're seeing lmao

this thing is, at heart, half maytag washing machine

Show threadvxoFeb 25
@moira maximum steering angle: until your fingers get pulled between the crankshaft pulley and the belt