Alt Bike Culture - Stretch chopp ??

How are stretch chopper framed bikes on hills ? Going up, I mean :p
Specifically, those generic stretchers you see on all of the lowrider
sites. I want to stay single speed if possible but I do have some hills.
Is this too rididculous to entertain ?

Half the fun is not being able to ride them half the time. Or better yet, ride them enough that you're the only one who can ride the monstrostities at all!

Incognito ZooBomber !!! Figures...........
Some of us dont have trolleys to ride us up the hills !!!!!!!!!


:p

:D

Lem, PDX has plenty of hills that don't have trains...:)

I went on a group ride this summer with a couple of people on super low stretch cruisers. Too stretched out to pedal while standing. They would go until they couldn't pedal, then jump up and run while straddling the bikes with their hands still on the grips. Funny looking but effective.

^^^ :roflmao:

As cool as that sounds I might have to rethink my first ground-up
chopp project .....:eek:

I've been able to climb almost every hill in town on my stretched choppers, but both are 10 speed, and are pretty much imposible to pedal out of the saddle.

Having a store bought chopper, a Giant Stiletto, I can only speak from experience. I've only made one long trip on it, to downtown to ride it in a parade. The bike is too small for me, so that is a handicap. But I managed to make it up and down some pretty large hills on the way. There were only a couple that I had to push the bike up.

Seems like the essential thing is to plan your gearing properly.

hey ianjk, are you in duluth, MN?

You could always build it up with a three speed hub. I like single speeds as well, but if you cant ride standing up then your walking. Pros of the 3 spd are the fairly uncluttered look (one cable), direct chain line (which is huge). Negatives: the weight (but if you are running a stretch it is going to be heavy), and cost if you can even find them.

i have a lowrider, atb, bmx,g-bikes, ratt rodd...etc.. and im my opinion choppers-lowriders and the like are worthless unless theyre on flat land or sitting still. i had a bar bent for my lowrider to put a cruiser seat as far back as i could, and its still hard to peal uphill, if your gonna commute or have any uphills on your pleasure rides get a road bike/atb/mtb fast eddie outty

As another member here mentioned, the Stiletto actually climbs hills pretty well. It has a 7-speed with a hyper gear for uphills. The only problem with the bike is it is about 4-5 inches too short for me so it is hard to get full leg extension. I've ridden most of the production choppers and not one of them can compare with The Stiletto for spreed though many rival it for looks and comfort. The Stiletto's seat is limited in range and VERY uncomfortable.

All single speed bike have this same problem---geared for flat land cruzing they are the pits on hills---geared for hills they work you to death on the flats--hub gears/derailers/flip-flop wheels all are used to correct his problem---retro direct or a two speed with the low gear by backpedling(not a kickback hub gear)is also a cool way to get a lower gear for hills---sam

I ride a SS and fixed in VT(very hilly) so Im familiar with, and prefer
no gears....its just I want to be able to ride everywhere, no pushing.
Speed is not relevant. I am thinking I have to go waaay stretch ~
almost recumbent style low or give up on the chopp and go for a Bobber
look. Right now its the latter....cantilever frame with a 4" over springer
and a 24" Nirve back rim laced to a Nexus 3 :D All raw metal instead of paint :D

Gearing will be extremely important, especially to help overcome the extra weight of a kustom bike. I have ridden bicycles with nearly 100 pounds of weight to them, and they performed incredibly well because the gearing was well thought out!

Long choppers tend to steer poorly when they are going slow (because of excessive rake and trail), and, as most bicycles tend to go up hills at a much slower speed than normal this becomes an issue! Keep a chopper to a reasonable length and you will have less problems. Choppers, and cruisers tend to be more comfortable for flat terrain rides unfortunately, and this is why gearing is so important in places with a lot of hills to cover.

Another problem is the seat position in comparison to the bottom bracket, when pedaling a stretch cruiser or chopper (with a solo seat) you find that it feels like your being pushed off the back of the seat!
If you could get a high back seat you could put more of your energy into the pedaling, like a recumbent.

Recumbents have no trouble going up hills normally, partly due to the rider having a back rest to push off of. If you design your chopper with some recumbent features then you should also have better uphill capability.




Here is a kid size chopper that I made last summer, it is semi recumbent with 18 gears and a high back seat for the rider to push against while pedalling. This bike can go anywhere uphill or down with little effort. I designed the springer forks in such a way that the trail is also close to a stock bike!
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k92/brainchopper/PhotoofBrainbike.jpg

There is no reason that a larger adult bike (with an even lower seat position) couldn't be made to perform just as well! Try to think of recumbent performance and seating position coupled to chopper style! The ideal rear hub would be a Nexus 7 or 8. Gearing and geometry are the key, get them right and you will be able to go anywhere!

John Brain

^^ Great stuff, John !! ~~ :D

Thanks for post

I've got a Phat Cycles Whopper Chopper w/ Nexus 7 hub. I had to downsize the chainring as the stock gearing was ridiculously high. It rides great on the flats and I can get it up most moderate hills in PDX, but it's biggest drawbacks are weight and length; I'm not sure any further gearing mods can overcome those two issues.

Wow Randya !! You are 2-k3wL-4-wirds ! :D
That bike is rippin' !! :D
I ordered a NIRVE knockoff today and Im getting a
Monarch dual springer to replace the single, old school
style lowrider springer than came on it. I wanted to
go ground -up but thats gonna have to wit 'til after we move.
This chopp project which will be easy to hang new/junque parts on
and ride will have to do for now.

I've got a Dyno cruiser (the long stretched kind) that I have ridden many times on a 50 mile fun ride from Rosarito to Ensenada Mexico. The course has many rollies and a couple of long (~1 mile) hills with a 6% grade.

While the big hills aren't easy by any stretch, I can ride them.

I've done the ride on this bike at least 6 times and I have more fun then when on my roadbike or mountain bike. I found that the key was (of course), slightly easier gearing and more importantly, keeping your cadence up so you're not just trying to muscle it up.

Put some gears on it to make hills easler. to keep the single speed look, use a 3 speed coster hub or even a Nexus 7 speed with the band brake option. you can rig a suiside shifter or stick shift to keep the bars looking clean.


^^^ :roflmao:

As cool as that sounds I might have to rethink my first ground-up
chopp project .....:eek:

Please stop replying to things without looking at the last posting date.
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