A Father-Daughter Build Thread

[Colinmclelland]

Actually, seriously -is it a fixie? If it is you need to watch Mathilda like a hawk, or get her to understand not to touch it. Lot's of opportunity for little fingertips to accidentally become separated! A freewheel is less cool but way safer where curious kids are involved...

[cblandford]

Actually, seriously -is it a fixie? If it is you need to watch Mathilda like a hawk, or get her to understand not to touch it. Lot's of opportunity for little fingertips to accidentally become separated! A freewheel is less cool but way safer where curious kids are involved...

My bike is fixed, yes, though not the first she's been around. I can appreciate the concern! She's well aware. (More worried about getting grease on her fingers than losing a finger, but in any case keeps her distance.) She had a run in with one of my other two-wheeled object's hot exhaust pipes a while back, and has distrusted pretty much all of my belongings ever since.

(Her bike is, obviously, a freewheel!)

Thanks for the compliments!

-Chris

[mnoble485]

Still my favorite thread.

Chris, Mathilda’s bike is fantastic!

Chris,
I’ll echo what Matt said. Thanks for taking us along for the ride.

Mike

[oneonethreefour]

Finally, while Mathilda’s bike was at paint, I managed to get the adult-sized version built as well.

WHAT!? For all of the understated, amazing work in this thread, this line of text might be my favorite...

[cblandford]

Chris,
I’ll echo what Matt said. Thanks for taking us along for the ride.

Mike

Absolutely - thanks for following along. It was really enjoyable to build something and be held accountable for photos and descriptions... Not something this hobby typically provides.

WHAT!? For all of the understated, amazing work in this thread, this line of text might be my favorite...

Ha. It was 7ish weeks, a portion of which was during stay home orders. Even someone inexperienced can get a bike made pretty quickly, when they know exactly what they're building. Most of the time spent on Mathilda's bike was of the confused-staring-until-a-solution-presents-itself sort... None of that on a more familiar bike. Just hacking, brazing, and filing.

-Chris

[hackdyne]

I'm loving the daughter bike, but I agree it really needs a chainguard, even if it's not a fixie.

Most of the kids bikes I build are in fact fixies, at least to start, but I make 3D-printed chainguards for them. They can either mount to braze-ons or clamp around the frame tubes. If you don't have 3D-printing capability, you might want to look into it because it's not so expensive anymore. I got into 3D printing specifically to make chainguards, but now I also use it for things like bar-ends, certain spacers. I'm working on fenders too. I attached some chainguard pictures.

cheers.

Charles Miller

[cblandford]

... Most of the kids bikes I build are in fact fixies, at least to start, but I make 3D-printed chainguards for them...

Charles - That's really cool! Thanks for sharing. I'd probably be more inclined to buy some flat sheet and figure out how to cut and and bend it to form a chainguard, but the 3D printing stuff is really neat to see. I'd be really curious to see fenders!

-Chris

[hackdyne]

Before I got a 3D printer, I made chain guards out of polycarbonate angle from McMaster. They worked more or less satisfactorily, just not as cool looking and less coverage possibility. I attached picture of an older model with the polycarbonate chain guard. Also a prototype fender still printing.