I’m looking for a bike to use to make into a strandbeest (replacing rear wheel with walking mechanism), The only requirements are that it has 26" wheels (normal full size bike) and have 10+ speeds / changeable gears (not single fixed speed / gearing). Does anyone have a bike I could have or purchase?
I’m sorry, I don’t have such a bike, but I do have a question for clarification.
Are you looking for a true mountain bike, which tends to have a suspension system in the front forks, or are you looking for a “hybrid bike”? Hybrid bikes are a cross between road bikes and mountain bikes, with the wider tires, but without the suspension system.
Just a generic 10+ speed (changeable gears) bike, looking for cheapest possible option, I mentioned mountain bike just to imply it would have gears (vs cruiser type bikes which usually have 1 speed / fixed gearing), no suspension needed, something like this 26" Roadmaster Granite Peak Men’s Mountain Bike
That’s a really good question. If the intent is to do the proto with a cheap bike (like that Roadmaster), even if it did have a hydraulic front fork, they’re going to have very little play so it may as well be a solid fork.
Additional clarification question, will the rear gears be incorporated into the design so shifting would affect the speed of the crawl?
1 Like
Yes, my plan is to cut off the spokes / wheel and attach a secondary sprocket to the other side of the rear axle (leaving the existing gears on the rear axle untouched), similar to what you would do to retrofit a small gas engine on a bike as shown in this video (The spokes not being there will make it more involved, but I’m assuming I will be able to drill some mounting holes in the rear axle where the spokes previously attached)
2 Likes
Very cool, thanks for sharing that.
When you say 10+ speeds, I assume you’re referring to both the front chainring and the rear gear cassette. Most cheap retail store bikes will have 3x7 or 3x8 giving 21 or 24 different speeds.
I would recommend you check craigslist, local resale shops, garage sales (you probably will or already have.)
PB&J classifieds on Facebook is a local-ish source for bikes.
1 Like
I may have a hybrid bike for you. I’m not sure of the wheel size, so I’ll check tonight.
1 Like
Bikes as low as $40.
1 Like
