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2 Wheeled Cargo Bike from old mountain bike frame

by nthomas12 on February 18, 2013

Table of Contents

2 Wheeled Cargo Bike from old mountain bike frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro: 2 Wheeled Cargo Bike from old mountain bike frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1: .................................................................................................................. 2

Step 2: .................................................................................................................. 4

Step 3: .................................................................................................................. 6

Step 4: .................................................................................................................. 6

Step 5: .................................................................................................................. 7

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http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Wheeled-Cargo-Bike-from-old-mountain-bike-frame/
Intro: 2 Wheeled Cargo Bike from old mountain bike frame
Here's my contribution to the Homemade Cargo Bike revolution!! :) Used an old Mountain Bike frame from a great junk bike store close by. I basically followed the
instructions from this guy: http://www.instructables.com/id/build-a-2-wheel-cargo-bike/
with a few of my own modifications. The bike is functional, but not done at this point. I still have to engineer and build a kickstand, install the brakes and shifters etc, and
decide what kind of platform or box I would like to have.

Note, I brazed the entire frame, which I have never done before, but since I didn't have a working TIG welder I went with this because of better control than with MIG or
standard oxy-acet welding. The joints are not all pretty, but they are strong and beefy!!

Materials used: Mountain bike frame, 2 BMX frames (used for the steerer tube and the 20" fork). Cost: $20
Some scrap steel tubing, I used various cutoffs from the local steel yard. Cost approx. $30
Bike components: had a bunch lying around from my various bike projects over the years, bought some others. Cost: depends on how high end you want to go.

Image Notes
1. First you have to extend the steerer tube

Step 1:
Next I used some thin walled 1 3/4" diameter steel tube for the main frame extension off the front. Figured this would be nice and stiff since I'd seen lots of variations
where people tried to engineer multiple tubes together to add stiffness. This worked great. This also allowed enough clearance so I could keep the entire length made
from 1 piece of steel instead of 2 separate pieces.

Harbor Freight Tube Notcher was a great investment (with some slight modifications to make it more accurate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty915Z0GrJo

Image Notes
1. Not bad for a first time Notcher. A little filing and it fit pretty snug. Not much
filling needed with the brazing rod.

Image Notes
1. Steerer Tube cut through the front extension
2. Tube double notched to fit around the bottom bracket shell

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Wheeled-Cargo-Bike-from-old-mountain-bike-frame/
 Image Notes
1. Left the extension tube extra long, had no real idea exactly how long I would
want it.

Image Notes
1. I inserted the old BB locknuts to keep the shell from warping while brazing. I
knew I wouldn't be using that old thing anyways.

Image Notes
1. After my 1st braze broke, I thought I'd add a decorative sleeve to reinforce the
joint, as well as the angled brace. As I said, my brazing was not the best
especially early on.

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Wheeled-Cargo-Bike-from-old-mountain-bike-frame/
Step 2:
The hardest part was getting the front steerer tube and fork aligned and the correct height so that everything would end up level with the wheels installed, and there would
be the correct clearance for the front wheel to the frame. Took multiple tries, and I had to recut these pieces of tub several times before I was happy with everything.

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Wheeled-Cargo-Bike-from-old-mountain-bike-frame/
 Image Notes
1. There's a nice amount of overlap where the downtube wraps almost all the way
around the steerer. It's not the prettiest way of doing it, but it's extra strong.

Image Notes
1. Here's my makeshift frame jig.

Image Notes
1. Steerer brace, and that's only flux, not my brazing isn't that bad!!

Image Notes
1. Earlier attempt at getting the angle setup!!

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Wheeled-Cargo-Bike-from-old-mountain-bike-frame/
Step 3:
Figured, while I had the paint off, why not go for disc brakes!! I have no experience with disc brakes as they weren't invented back when I was working on bikes, so it took
some figuring out to position the mount!!

I also ended up switching to a different fork because the fork I started with didn't have clearance for the brakes.

Step 4:
Took a break from opening presents on Christmas Day to lace up and build the front wheel.

Image Notes
1. Testing brake fitting!! Studio work bench junk!! :)

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Wheeled-Cargo-Bike-from-old-mountain-bike-frame/
 Step 5:
First attempt at connecting the steering rod. I ended up cutting the connectors down so they didn't stick out as far. This was based on looking at various manufactured
bikes like the beautiful CETMA Cargo: http://cetmacargo.com

Image Notes
1. First trial ride

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http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Wheeled-Cargo-Bike-from-old-mountain-bike-frame/