It's BACKBONE TIME boys and girls !!!!! In this post I will be showing you how to make the backbone that ties the frames together at the rear. This is the same backbone that I use on all my bolt together tallbikes. STEP ONE- get an axle from an old 6 or 7 speed freewheel hub. You will also need 2 of the thin lock nuts that fit the threads of your axle AND 6 regular axle nuts as shown. Cut the axle in half and clean up the threads so you can easily put on the nuts. STEP TWO- Now take a look at your dropouts,if they are the kind that already has a hole in them,skip to step 3. If not ,then using a 3/8" drillbit,drill holes in the center of the dropout as shown. STEP THREE- Now put your axle half through the hole and thread one of the thin locknuts on the inside of the dropout. Next take an axle nut and put it on the OUTSIDE of the dropout and tighten it down. Next take another axle nut and thread it on backwards as shown. Tighten it up against the previous nut.Now put another axle nut on the end but don't tighten it down yet. STEP FOUR-Get a 26" MTB fork that has fork tips like the ones shown. This will be the bottom of the backbone. Now pull the fork blades apart until they are wide enough to fit on your dropout studs. Be sure that they are even on both sides relative to the center of the fork.Now put the fork on the studs BACKWARDS as shown. This is done so you will have enough clearance to remove the rear wheel. STEP FIVE- Find another fork that is the right length to fit between the bottom fork and the seat post clamp on the top frame.This will be the top of the backbone. Bend this fork inward so the gap between the fork tips is the same width as your seat post clamp. STEP SIX- Holding the upper fork to the side with the holes in the fork tips lined up with the seat post clamp holes,mark the handlebar stem tubes of both forks approximately 1/2 way down each one. Using a pipe cutter,cut the h-bar tubes at those marks (this is only an approximation, you may have to cut one of them again for a good fit). STEP SEVEN- Now get the center bolt and nuts from an old seat,and put the stud in place of your seat post bolt. Attach the upper fork with washers and nuts as shown. Now if it fits and lines up with the bottom fork,measure the distance between the fork crowns,add 1/8' and cut a piece of tubing to that length. The tubing should be just large enough to slide over the fork tubes. STEP EIGHT- Put the tubing in place and make sure everything fits well,the tubing is 1/8" longer because it will crush onto the forks when tightened down. STEP NINE- Get another axle, 2 more thin locknuts,2 washers,and 1 regular axle nut. Install the axle and hardware as shown in the drawing,with the 2 thin locknuts at the bottom. Tighten the top nut until the tubing crushes snugly in place. Cut off the excess axle and file it smooth. STEP TEN- Now tighten the nuts on the dropout studs and the seat post clamp at the top and your done !!! Okay the frame structure is finished !!! Oh yeah,if your using a banana seat mount the sissy bar on the studs NOT the rear wheel !!! You can use 2 extra axle nuts to tighten it down but DON'T cut off the stud excess just yet !!! Part E will be about making an extremely FUNKY new kind of steering wheel!!! Any questions,comments,criticisms ( positive or negative ) E-mail me at omahgarsh@gmail.com I'd love to hear what you have to say !!!!!!!!!!!
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