My Klunkerz.

[pistonpopper]

Today my little mini-moto engine arrived...



As you can see I'm not going the e-bike route. While I believe the e-bike route is probably the future, it kinda leaves me cold, it just feels a bit soul less to me. But there is a problem, the problem is that I had planned to fit this engine to a Mongoose BMX, like this one...



Its a bit smaller than a regular moountain bike and has 24" wheels, but for a BMX its quite big. It's big enough for me to ride fairly comfortably, but still small enough for my littlest Pistonpoppet to ride without having to be on tip toe. The trouble is the whole in the frame just isnt big enough to fit the engine into, which is sort of the point of building the thing in the first palce.

Stupidly, about six weeks ago I had the perfect bike, but thinking that I would use this Mongoose BMX I sold it as part of a job lot of bikes. Now I've gone through my stash of bikes and the smallest frame I have (apart from the BMX) is 21", which is just too big for my littlest Pistonpoppet to get on. So what I am loooking for specifically is a Townsend Switchback, like this one...

Like I said before, annoyingly I had one about six weeks ago. So I guess I'm on the scrounge, do any of you guys have a Townsend Switchback with a 17" or 18" frame I could buy from you, or know of anyone who does? Or even just have the Switchback frame? Ideally it would need to be both cheap, and close to where I live. Anyhow, it has to be a Townsend Switchback frame as I kinda like how it looks, and I would be grateful for any help with finding one, but if not I have an old 17" Decathalon frame that I would have to build into a bike before turning it into a moped.

[pistonpopper]

Episode 147. Raleigh Mustang 20". (part 1).

[astranaut]

Jul 19, 2020 19:19:29 GMT pistonpopper said:

Episode 147. Raleigh Mustang 20". (part 1).

Nice find, Facebook marketplace has been my go to now our tip shops closed (for good it seems ) but everything seems to be hugely expensive, or scrap. I've had a big bike cull, only got 4 left now. Need something to play with...

[duncanmartin]

You finally decided you liked drop bars. Yay!
What is it with kids - pestering for a bike that fits them, you get one and then they decide riding is over-rated! After much pestering I even rebuild a turbo trainer so that her bike would fit it, and she had a couple of goes and decided that was no good either. When she won't even watch TV and ride you know it's not working!
Maybe next year when racing starts again...

[jpr1977]

Christmas 1988 All I wanted was a Mustang SIS....

You can imagine lil 12yr old JPs face when i opened the garage and I got its fatter (cheaper) cousin the Marauder... My parents excuse well we remembered that it began with an M and we thought you'd prefer blue to red... Still pains me now.

The Marauder did eventually die an honorable death, loosing very badly (cracked/twisted frame) to a tank trap on the Aldershot ranges after I'd bailed into a bush as the lesser of two evils on a eventually uncontrolled steep decent.

[pistonpopper]

Jul 19, 2020 19:51:18 GMT astranaut said:

Facebook marketplace has been my go to now our tip shops closed (for good it seems ) but everything seems to be hugely expensive, or scrap. I've had a big bike cull, only got 4 left now. Need something to play with...

I've noticed the price of all manner of junk on ebay has gone up quite a lot sice the lockdown began, bikes that I was picking up for £10-£20 are now selling for £50+... Mind you, perhaps I should have a culling and try and re-coup some much needed funds!

Jul 19, 2020 21:05:15 GMT duncanmartin said:

What is it with kids - pestering for a bike that fits them, you get one and then they decide riding is over-rated!

To be fair to my one she did wait until she'd completely stripped it to its component parts before deciding she doesn't want to ride anymore. However, her boyfriend has been on to me to let him have one of my bikes. I've told him he can have whichever one he wants, after my daughter puts her bike back together and rides it... My feeling is that he's going to be on foot a lot this Summer!

Jul 19, 2020 22:06:14 GMT jpr1977 said:

Christmas 1988 All I wanted was a Mustang SIS....

You can imagine lil 12yr old JPs face when i opened the garage and I got its fatter (cheaper) cousin the Marauder...

Funnily enough I saw a Marauder on farcebook marketplace, go on jpr1977 re-live your youth!

[pistonpopper]

Episode 148. GT Dyno Glide. (Part 2)

[jpr1977]

Funnily enough I saw a Marauder on farcebook marketplace, go on jpr1977 re-live your youth!



I'm currently trying to rid my life of detritus before i have to move due to mini JP no's. expansion, so thanks for the thought but no thanks... (I don't think the single 4m sprinter load I moved in with would even make a dent now in the plastic tat children seem to attract)

Got a couple of bikes that are about to go to the tip (including that ladies bike i picked up off you years ago i have done very little with) if you need any parts.

[drseg]

read it all and klunkkers website, like old mountain bikes we have 3 hers is a royal enfield bought new 30 years ago (i had one too but got stolen but was insured) a lanuti chrome framed that i bought with the insurance and a green machine that i built from a skipped frame for my now deceased mate, not used em since '99 when mate died (motorbike accident) but may just get them out and play, see if i can get them to function.
upgraded mine and green machine to 21 speed and sequential index changers alloy wheels and wide chunky tyres as we used to off road exclusively partially to get fit for skiing but was fun being dumb playing follow my leader through holly water off cliffs of sand etc had a crew of upto 10 on sunday mornings in sutton park (look it up awesome huge nature reserve type place 6 milkes from Birmingham city centre 2400 acres one of largest urban parks in europe) around 15 mile run even in snow ice and rain. will take pics if i get em out. enjoyed your ramblinbgs very interesting to read, thanks!

[pistonpopper]

Episode 149. Clements Racing Bike. (Part 2).



Episode 150. Real Easy. (Part 8).

[jpr1977]

Loving the Clements...


In my youth of being 'alternative' and riding racers instead of mountain bikes, I used to flip the drop bars and chop them to make Bull horn handlebars (or so they seem to now be called, in the late 80's Fleet cycles failed to provide my parents with the right bike so getting something out of the ordinary from them was beyond the YTS boy)...

These days they seem the hipster fixey de rigueur choice...

How to..

Handlebars

[pistonpopper]

Episode 151. Bikini Hurricane. (Part 2).



Episode 152. Electra Townie. (Part 1).

[astranaut]

In a very weird coincidence, I've been looking for a beach cruiser lately, in fact I meant to message you to see of you had one you would part with the wife has bought me one, but not knowing what to look for it has 24" wheels and isn't even close to being rideable for me

[pistonpopper]

Aug 14, 2020 16:46:53 GMT astranaut said:

In a very weird coincidence, I've been looking for a beach cruiser lately, in fact I meant to message you to see of you had one you would part with the wife has bought me one, but not knowing what to look for it has 24" wheels and isn't even close to being rideable for me

Beach Cruisers are pretty cool, but in all honesty if you ride in hilly terrain, a single speed bike probably isn't the way forward, so look out for one with gears which although probably not proper to the anoraks, still look good, and work well. Did your wife get you a blue Apollo Retro? I feel your pain, I remember excitedly buying this Bomber...



and after driving for a couple of hours to collect it I found that it was a 24" wheel, and although I could just about ride it, it was far too small really. Still, my oldest daughter got a good couple of years use from it, and now my youngest has taken it over, so I guess it was money well spent... Still want one for myself though!

[astranaut]

I've made exactly the same mistake with Apollo Retros, had loads of red ones, wanted a blue one, never realised blue was 24" only no this is a Paul Frank bike, ill post a picture when I finish work. I could probably fit a layback seat post and apehangers and make it rideable, but I'd rather just buy a cheap 26" wheeled one. Had a few blue bombers, and black ones, was only 3 years ago I sold a couple for 30 quid, mad what they're making now.

[astranaut]

This is the offending article:-




All works OK, coaster works, its just too damn small, ill see if the kids like it at the weekend, or on ebay it goes.

[astranaut]

Scratch that, claimed already. Asked if I can sell her Chopper instead. Suits me

[pistonpopper]

That looks superb astranaut . I bought a red Apollo Retro brand new when they came out, and almost immendiately replaced it with the Dyno Glide. I've never seen another red apollo retro since buying mine, none at the tip, none for sale elsewhere. I was hoping to get one for her worshipfulness so that I could reclaim my Bikini Hurricane, but I couldn't find one. But I picked her up this yesterday...

An Emmelle Bondi Beach, which I feel has only been ridden once or twice. I think I spent more than I wanted to, and had to drive 120 miles to get it which was far further than I usually would go. But I want to ride my own bike, and the only way I'll be able to it seems will be if Mrs Pistonpopper has one too! We had planned to go out on our bikes today, but the weather here has reverted to British Summer time, and so it's chucking it down!

[astranaut]

My dad had one brand new, I claimed it after he died and rode it as a teenager, got stolen from my mums garden i think. Been a few up here but seems they're quite rare now. And stop buying all the beach cruisers, i still need one

[pistonpopper]

Fear not astranaut... I've no plans to buy any more Beach Cruisers at the moment