How to fit a round thing (sprocket / pulley) in the middle of another thing ?

[gentlegreen]

I am confused because at the start you were saying you had a couple of DC motors, do you plan to use them at all?

If it is a washing machine, how do you plan to add and remove water soap, rinsing water etc, will you stop cycling and use a hose / bucket?

In the first instance I will use one motor as a dynamo and see what effect adding electrical loads has on pedalling effort ... hopefully I'll be able to charge a 12 volt battery with it ... but I have the space to drive a drum - but that is going to have to wait - I can't see it making sense to use it to drive the second motor as a motor ... though they're very efficient and you can drive one motor by turning the other one by hand...

At the moment my laundry technique involves soaking in detergent and swirling it around in used bathwater so anything would be an improvement ...

 

[Chilli.s]

 

[gentlegreen]

That frame is in a worse state than mine !

 

[weltweit]

gentlegreen have you done any maths about gearing and the ideal rpm you want at your pedals and also at the dynamo end?

 

[gentlegreen]

gentlegreen have you done any maths about gearing and the ideal rpm you want at your pedals and also at the dynamo end?

At the moment I don't have much choice - the 28 tooth sprocket is the only one that fits the motor/generator.
If I can find another 28 tooth, I'll have 48 / 38 / 28 - so 1.7:1 / 1.36:1 / 1:1 - and with a cadence of 60 RPM (?) , relatively low gearing in terms of driving a generator.
In the first instance it's a way to put a load on my pedalling.

 

[SheilaNaGig]

I seem to recall that there are various versions of this idea, including one that allows you to do your laundry while actually touring about.

 

[Sprocket.]

What’s the saying about the devil and idle hands?

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

What’s the saying about the devil and idle hands?

I think it ends something like "...and behold their work, for they hath made a deathtrap"

 

[Sprocket.]

This is lining up to be a good thread.

Contender for Thread of the Year?

 

[Sprocket.]

I think it ends something like "...and behold their work, for they hath made a deathtrap"

Laying in the backyard, covered in tepid, soapy water and hacky undercrackers.

 

[WouldBe]

I've used a dynamo on a bike to charge a motorbike battery before. I stood 2 grass boxes from lawnmowers on end and stood the axle nuts on the grass boxes. It was remarkably stable.

 

[StoneRoad]

Definitely idle hands ... or should that be legs ?

 

[gentlegreen]

I'm still playing with how close I need everything to be like getting on a normal bike while keeping everything out of the pedalling arc and chainline.
I'm pretty sure the main support point will be under the bottom bracket.
The handlebar starts out being lower than I'm used to because I don't have a spare riser - but given I will probably be adding a laptop shelf, I may lose the fork in any case ...

I have spare knackered rear wheels I could use as a structural member in whole or in part ...

 

[WouldBe]

Put a wheel on the front. That should bring it up to normal riding height.

 

[Chilli.s]

Put a wheel on the front. That should bring it up to normal riding height.

And look really sporty too.

 

[gentlegreen]

Ultimately, this sort of thing is usually a lot more compact than a pushbike ...
I sort of want it to be different to a spinning machine, but I also want to have space in the house for actual bikes
The fork is probably going to go ...

Things have got a lot easier now that I have dropped the idea of running the chain in the conventional way and I plan to fit the generator / load at the front.
I'm going to rearrange the space at the back of the thing into a step to make it easier to get on and off ...

At some point I will have to think about some way of judging the equivalent miles I will be putting in ...
(I hope I actually use the thing )

 

[platinumsage]

If you have the load at the front won’t you essentially be pulling the chain up around the chainring and pushing it forwards? I think this might have some unintended consequences.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

If you have the load at the front won’t you essentially be pulling the chain up around the chainring and pushing it forwards? I think this might have some unintended consequences.

It’ll need something to tension the chain in the right direction.

 

[Saul Goodman]

If you have the load at the front won’t you essentially be pulling the chain up around the chainring and pushing it forwards? I think this might have some unintended consequences.

So long as everything is mounted solidly and the chain isn't too slack, it shouldn't make any difference.

 

[gentlegreen]

I may see what I can do with parts from my collection of broken derailleurs

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Excellent. What this project definitely needs is further complexity.

 

[gentlegreen]

Excellent. What this project definitely needs is further complexity.

Sadly I doubt I'm going to actually generate much electricity with this thing because of the low motor gearing, but even if I can't actually directly power a load of LED disco lights and amplifier, I may still fake it as a sort of power indicator for the amusement of the neighbours if the Thursday night thing carries on for months ahead ...

 

[teuchter]

My prediction is that any parts of the supporting structure which are bits of wood screwed together will wobble themselves loose within the first few hours of action. This will lead to an endless number of extra bracing members being added, and/or an eventual catastrophic collapse.

 

[gentlegreen]

My prediction is that any parts of the supporting structure which are bits of wood screwed together will wobble themselves loose within the first few hours of action. This will lead to an endless number of extra bracing members being added, and/or an eventual catastrophic collapse.

Once I have established the limits of the pedal ark wearing clown shoes and after a glass or two of wine, I will go to town on reinforcements.
It helps that I have a Double-Bevel Sliding Mitre Saw at my disposal ... who knows I may even use some glue

At some point in the nearish future I will probably treat myself to welding kit - it's a skill I'm long overdue acquiring

It's a shame that hot glue isn't appropriate - that's my usual go-to ...

 

[weltweit]

..
At some point in the nearish future I will probably treat myself to welding kit - it's a skill I'm long overdue acquiring
..

I have done some arc welding on various motorbikes, very useful skill.

 

[gentlegreen]

I've already identified the key weakness in the central pillar under the bottom bracket and torsion in the central beam .. since I have the tools and materials I'm going to skin it all with 6mm MDF and add some noggins - but what it really wants is some steel ...

 

[gentlegreen]

Slow progress so far today.
I've extended the main support beam the whole length and made the front support post detachable.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Please can you make a promise that you will film the results when you first get on this thing?

 

[gentlegreen]

Please can you make a promise that you will film the results when you first get on this thing?

I'll see what I can arrange ...

 

[gentlegreen]

I've been looking at old bike photos to see how my old bike was set up ...
Early 2010 - the fork stem rusted through at the end of that year - it must have been hanging on by a thread at that point.
Original 2001 cable outers ...