Project -utility bike-

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Brucey
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Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Project -utility bike-

Post by Brucey »

well the deed is done, I am now the proud owner of a well used 'Pashley Postmaster', similar to the one in the first post in this thread, except that mine has forks that are not bent backwards. It is mostly in OEM condition, except that mine has a 3s rear hub (good) and completely the wrong kinds of mudguards fitted (which I don't care about).

Watch this space for updates!

cheers
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Steveo2020
Posts: 215
Joined: 26 Apr 2012, 8:57pm

Re: Project -utility bike-

Post by Steveo2020 »

Good work - you don't let the grass grow under your feet!

Looking forward to updates.

Out of interest will the finished product be red?

Cheers

Steve
Brucey
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Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Project -utility bike-

Post by Brucey »

Steveo2020 wrote: Out of interest will the finished product be red?


Probably, yes!

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Freddie
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Joined: 12 Jan 2008, 12:01pm

Re: Project -utility bike-

Post by Freddie »

What are you intending to ferry around with it, Brucey?
Brucey
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Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Project -utility bike-

Post by Brucey »

Freddie wrote:What are you intending to ferry around with it, Brucey?


Groceries for sure and any other medium-sized items that need to go a few miles, including bike wheels. Where I live, any given two-mile-each-way urban journey is usually a fair bit slower by car, so a utility bike can make life a lot easier. Some of the wheels I transport are worth several hundred pounds each and need to be unmarked when delivered; having them on the front where I can see them is a good arrangement.

One special adaptation I may implement is to arrange it so that I can shift 8' lengths of steel tube (which I need to do fairly often) lashed to the bike.

Another possibility is a bicycle portage bracket. I have a few ideas for that one and the front carrier might be a vital ingredient.

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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barrym
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Joined: 22 Jun 2012, 10:05am
Location: Corsham - North Wilts

Re: Project -utility bike-

Post by barrym »

Brucey wrote: Of these the Gazelle is the best made and (with the right saddle on it) is the nicest to ride, too.

cheers


What age Gazelle? Do you have experience of current models?

Cheers
Barry
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Cheers
Barry
Geoff.D
Posts: 1982
Joined: 12 Mar 2010, 9:20pm

Re: Project -utility bike-

Post by Geoff.D »

Brucey wrote:............. Some of the wheels I transport are worth several hundred pounds each and need to be unmarked when delivered; having them on the front where I can see them is a good arrangement............


It might be interesting to play with ideas for mounting the wheels vertically, one each side of the carrier, slotted into (upturned) drop-out-type-housings. I'm sure the carrier (frame) will be sturdy enough to accommodate the weight, albeit creating extra torque at the carrier/bike frame mountings.

Even more interesting would be a demountable space frame arrangement to do just this, on the assumption that wheel transport needs are not the majority of the usage.
Thomas125
Posts: 411
Joined: 23 Sep 2008, 6:50pm
Location: Telford, West Midlands

Re: Project -utility bike-

Post by Thomas125 »

Brucey wrote:One special adaptation I may implement is to arrange it so that I can shift 8' lengths of steel tube (which I need to do fairly often) lashed to the bike.


Mobile plumbing services:lol:

Random thought does anyone make front mounted trailers. Or cargo type bikes or trikes with a good platform at front.

Just wondering how it would compare to a bike like this.

Looks like it should be a nice bike when it's done. :mrgreen:

As for being fussy or trying to improve on the original I think thats par for the course with a lot of us engineering types.

If you know somethings not right it bugs you every time you see it.

Cant wait to see the finished article
Was 93.4kg now 78.3kg

Next target 74.0kg

"Life is one long bike ride" :-)
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[XAP]Bob
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Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Project -utility bike-

Post by [XAP]Bob »

Lots of bakefiets have front load areas.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
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mjr
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Location: Norfolk or Somerset, mostly
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Re: Project -utility bike-

Post by mjr »

Am I misunderstanding windage? Air resistance? If it's that, fitting bars that allow you to get narrow and/or low makes quite a difference.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
Brucey
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Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Project -utility bike-

Post by Brucey »

Geoff.D wrote:
Brucey wrote:............. Some of the wheels I transport are worth several hundred pounds each and need to be unmarked when delivered; having them on the front where I can see them is a good arrangement............


It might be interesting to play with ideas for mounting the wheels vertically, one each side of the carrier, slotted into (upturned) drop-out-type-housings. I'm sure the carrier (frame) will be sturdy enough to accommodate the weight, albeit creating extra torque at the carrier/bike frame mountings...


If I know I'm collecting a wheel (or delivering one) I can wrap it in pipe lagging and protect it that way. They strap on to the front carrier quite well. I've got my doubts about strapping them each side; the carrier is already wider than the handlebars as it is, and is at 'wing mirror height'. Anything sticking out sideways at knee height (such as a wheel axle) is quite likely to snag parked cars...

This afternoon I've been test riding it in its original form so as I know if I'm going forwards or backwards with my 'improvements'. It rolls quite well on its Michelin world tour (26 x 1-1/2" 584mm BSD '650B') tyres. But the rod brakes are exactly what they look like; antiques, both in design and performance. In the narrow streets with parked cars both sides hereabouts the front carrier is a problem in that oncoming motorists (who are on the wrong side of the road BTW) don't feel inclined to give you any road space. I'm already thinking about fitting switchable strobe lights to the carrier or something; as it is it doesn't look enough different from a normal bike; by contrast a bakfiets is given more road space every time.

Incidentally my first ride on the thing was dreadful; as it was to start with it was easily the worst-steering bike I've ever ridden. I quickly identified the culprits as being catastrophically worn lower headset races. They were so worn that under load the head tube was binding on the crown race. I had some used ones (I thought) in the bottom of a rusty cocoa tin somewhere.

Amazingly the cocoa tin (which I have not had cause to investigate for many years) was tracked down and opened in a few minutes and did indeed contain said races. I realised that I had put them in there 30 years ago; memory is an odd thing, I'm sure I can't remember anything else from round that time.... :shock: So with somewhat less worn races in, the thing steers very nicely, phew. The races that came out were very badly worn and corroded; I measured the ball bearings that came out as being ~0.3mm smaller than they were when they were new!

I think that rainwater can enter the frame (eg at the upper carrier mount), and perhaps work its way to the lower head race. I suspect some weather proofing and perhaps a grease nipple or two would be a good idea.

More bad news is that the original red finish is knackered in a few key places; no problem I suppose, it will need to be refinished wherever I'm modding the frame anyway.

Good news is that the clearances are indeed somewhat generous so I'm thinking that 700x38 tyres may squeeze in OK. This will raise the BB height by around 20mm but again this is not a problem because it is set low as things stand anyway.

BTW I don't think that there is very much scope for greatly improving the aerodynamics of this machine; if you fit the handlebars low down and forwards, they will just be in the way of the carrier and potentially its load, which kind of defeats the object of having the bike in the first place.

I've taken some pics and I'll post them when I get the chance.

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Steveo2020
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Joined: 26 Apr 2012, 8:57pm

Re: Project -utility bike-

Post by Steveo2020 »

Great post - especially the cocoa tins.

Look forward to seeing the pics

Cheers

Steve
bobc
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Joined: 5 Apr 2012, 11:59am

Re: Project -utility bike-

Post by bobc »

Just a thought Brucey, if you want to "guinea pig" a 14mm belt solution on this one, I'd be happy to help out.
It will mean taking a hacksaw to the drive side rear triangle..... but the method I used on my black commuter (which is not quite yet on the road) looks fairly bombproof. PM me if you want to try it out & we can see what the gearing options are.
The standard size belt nearest to what's needed is 100 teeth (1400mm)
Bob
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[XAP]Bob
Posts: 19793
Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Project -utility bike-

Post by [XAP]Bob »

Haven't I just seen a load of pictures with seat stays bolted at the top?
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
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breakwellmz
Posts: 1982
Joined: 8 May 2012, 9:33pm

Re: Project -utility bike-

Post by breakwellmz »

Shoopper (Small).JPG
5084062667_79d3053583 (Small).jpg


An unusual carrier bike

The argument for a step-through frame.
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