DIY Footsie Details

A couple folks asked for more details on the DIY footsies, so here you go.

Allman donated a chunk of leftover 3/4inch copper pipe he had after some DIY running boards he made (possibly more details on that later).

I cut the pipe into 8 inch lengths (same length as the Xcycle footsies).

I used some scrap plywood I had in the garage and cut a footish shape with the skillsaw.
I cut it with a 30deg bevel just because I thought it made it look a little classier.
I put a few coats of weatherproof stain on the plywood, drilled through the wood and pipe and bolted everything together.

I canted things toward center so it rested solidly on the halfmoon chainstay section on the Dummy.





I plugged the ends with some champagne corks I had laying around after last fall's Turkey Man event, and shellacked the corks to increase their longevity.
I used nylock nuts for an extra secure connection (I'll probably cut the excess bolt length off eventually). I used 1 1/2 inch bolts, I don't recall the diameter.

I screwed a short strip of double sided velcro onto the heel of each footsie to secure them in place when riding without a passenger. Xcycle does the same thing on theirs and it seemed like a good, simple, way to keep from losing one when riding around without someone on the back.

Honestly, these were a relatively crude hack I assembled in what spare minutes I have in my life.
Were I to do it again I might make the platform a little bigger, but for now I'm pleased with the finished product considering the limited amount of time and $ I've invested in the project.

I toted GSC around for a while Friday evening, and we bumped into Clyde Oak who was rather impressed and concluded he might need to consider a Dummy for his brood.

A Little More DIY action

$65 plus shipping was a little more than I cared to spend for Xtracycle's footsies.

So I thought I'd take a crack at it myself.

Plywood

Weatherproof stain

Copper pipe

a few bolts

a bit of double sided velcro and

2 champagne corks






I'm pleased with the finished product

Finished Fork

Here are some photos of the finished fork on the RB-1





A dramatic improvement if I do say so myself.

Fork painting

I've finished painting the fork for the Bridgestone, pictures to come.

I'm definitely pleased with the results. Right now it almost looks too nice, making the rest of the bike look older and a bit shabby.

It will get dirty soon enough.

Took it for a test ride after dark tonight. Only 8min or so, but ended up with a cop rolling up behind me while I was riding in the street, just before I turned around for home. I had no lights, no reflectors, and not a stitch of reflective clothing on.

Fortunately this cop wasn't interested in enforcing visibility laws for cyclists riding at night.

Painting Forks

I knew I'd get around to it sooner or later. Something had to be done about the color of the fork on the Bridgestone.

Inspired in part by SJ and her reports of DIY painting her bike I got to work last night.

Stripped paint off half the fork. I'll finish it tonight or tomorrow and then get around to the business of painting



It isn't a bad fork, except for the color. For now it didn't seem practical to drop a bunch of money into a new fork


We'll see how it turns out.

Hey There You Big Stud

Ready for a project?

If you are like me you don't have a whole lot of free time in your life, but you probably have even less free money. If the super sweet nokian studded tires are out of your price range at $180 for the pair and you've got some an old set of tires around it is worth your time to make some cheap studs.

If you're interested here's how to do it:

What you'll need:

-3/8 inch, #8 (i think) sheet metal screws, round (I've been corrected. If they're sheet metal screws it is called a pan head, not round. I apologize for any confusion), phillips head. 150-200 per tire. Buy 'em in bulk at the hardware store. $6 total when I made mine.

-appropriate phillips head bit.

-drill bit slightly smaller than your screws.

-2 old inner tubes for lining your tires.

-2 tires. large, deep, widely spaced knobs are best, but use what you got.

-Piece of scrap wood to drill into. (Better than drilling into your floor.)



Now pop in a movie and get to work. . . .

The necessary supplies

Drill bit, Phillips head bit, 3/8" #8 sheet metal screws.

Buy 'em in bulk at your local hardware store

Drill through the knobs into your piece of scrap wood.

Pre drilled holes, viewed from the inside.

Insert screws through the pre-drilled holes

Do your best to figure out a pattern and spacing that works for the

tires you are using.

.

Cut out the valve stem on some old tubes, then slice them up the middle

to line your new tubes and protect them from the screw heads.

New tube, liner tube, studded tire.

I eventually ended up filing down the points of the screws

on my tires because I kept scratching myself. Really

has no effect on traction. You can just ride them on bare

asphalt for a while and try to accomplish the same thing.

Looks pretty gnarly when it is all said and done.

Food for thought from Peter White cycles:

"To describe the stud's effectiveness, I'll use an analogy. Think about walking with rubber soled shoes on three surfaces; dry clean asphalt, glare ice, and glare ice that's been sprinkled with sand. On the dry asphalt you can run and make sharp turns without any concern about your shoes skidding. On the ice, you can only walk carefully, changing direction and speed slowly, lest you Fall Down Go Boom. On ice that someone has nicely sprinkled some sand over, you can walk easily and perhaps even run. But if you do run you won't be making any sharp turns or trying to stop quickly, as you would on dry asphalt, since you know full well that those little grains of sand aren't glued onto the ice, and can roll if pushed hard enough.
Riding on ice with studded tires is like walking on ice that's been lightly covered with sand. It's pretty safe. You're not likely to fall unless you do something stupid. You're not going to have the same traction you would have on dry pavement. But you're going to have far more than you would with regular tires on ice. Keep in mind that there's ice down there and you'll be fine. Try to be a hero, and you'll probably pay a price."

I made my first set 6 years ago now and have had some incredible adventures on them. I find myself looking forward to cold snaps, because there is nothing quite like cruising along a frozen stream or across a frozen lake on a winter evening.


Now go ride. . . .enjoy.


-bike wrider