This is a continuation of the Serial Hybrid #2 bicycle. However, I decided to make some adjustments for comfort and to turn it into a tandem. Can this relatively compact bike be adapted for 2 riders and how will under seat steering and a better seat affect comfort? Now that I have 12 lithium power tool batteries, how will I manage luggage and charging?
Measure Once, Cut Twice, Throw Hands up in Frustration
Now that I have switched to lithium and the circuit work is still not completed, I have not ridden this bike much. I decided to convert it to a tandem and switch it to more conventional propulsion. I welded the old boom on to the back and then welded on two seat tubes– one in the usual configuration (almost vertical) and one at an angle, so I could attach a back rest to a seat post and place it in the angled tube.
I then spent a very long time trying to salvage a bottom bracket shell for the rear set of pedals (this is the tube that the pedals spin in). I could not use the original shell because with 20″ wheels the pedals would hit the ground. Removing the original shell would have created structural problems. So I needed to locate one higher. I would highly recommend purchasing bottom bracket shells from a place like UBI or NovaCycles, as salvaging an intact shell from rusty old bikes is not worth the $5 cost for a steel shell. I spent three evenings and three frames before I got one working shell. And that took a torch, a 4 foot breaker bar, a grinder, two dremel cut off wheels, and lots of elbow grease.
The previous seat was uncomfortable and deteriorating, so I built another one out of an office chair.
Unfortunately my other half was not around to provide measurements and I welded the shell on too far forwards. Oops. The seat also interfered with the rear riders pedaling. Oh, and I couldn’t get the chain routing worked out. I have now decided to return the bike to its original configuration except with the possibility of giving a lift to a rider on the back. I will weld foot pegs onto the rear so the passenger’s legs don’t just dangle in mid air.