Recumbent - im making an atomblaster

well after drooling over all the pics of the awesome bents i decided to build one......for me the atomblaster was the best chioce cuz i had most of the stuff already and i used to ride a big banana trike when i was 18 til the front end broke and i didnt have a welder at the time so i gave it away......it was fwd and ya leaned into the turns to pivot the rear wheels (thats for anyone who hasnt seen one)......talk about pedal steer

anyway im almost done mokin it up and im gettin my welder tonight so it should be ready for paint this weekend.........i made an electric scooter thing awhile back out of bike frames so i had a little experience.........i started yesterday and i only have one main piece to cut and fit.........id probly be done if i had all the stuff to begin with but one of the frames was too rusted so i had to find another (gotta love goodwill) and it was late so i stopped for the night

and for all the "i dont have the tools" people.......my tools consist of a sawzall, a grinder, a wiggly *** vice that barely holds anything and a wire feed welder........oh yea and a sharpie.......i had to stop welding in my living rom due to the smoke..lol..........so dont let your lack of a fully stocked shop let you think you cant do it too

i wanna thank all you guys for being here and posting all the great stuff and especially atombikes for the great design and all the great pics

i'll have pics today sometime

The Atombike guy is selling his AtomBlaster frame on ebay, if someone else wants a "prebuilt" one.

yup thats the one.........i bet he's busy buildin somethin new

Hi all,

I emailed with JunkyardWarrior last night; he told me about this thread, so I thought I would chime in.

I am auctioning one of my frames, so if you want an atomBLASTER but would rather not build the frame yourself, this is your frame. Sorry, I can't link to the auction directly, but if you search from atomblaster I think it comes up.

Anyway, here is my new project. It is a 700/406 mid wheelbase bike that will be VERY easy to build, and will offer a mid-drive that doubles as an idler.

That would be search for "atomblaster", all one word.

here it is so far...........tacked together rolling chassis

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hmmmmm......cant figure out how to get the full size pic

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the front end is a little different...........i cut it shorter on the seat post and welded it to the forks.........it seemed to line up better and i have short legs so the cranks should be closer.........i left the bottom tube so long cuz it has the mounts for a water bottle..........i also used a top tube including the seatpost tube for the downtube so once i inserted a seatpost it made it very easy to line everything up.....i used another seatpost tube for the bottom tube and the forks were the same size as the seatpost so it all just slipped together..........plus you get extra strength cuz the bottom tube is basically one tube inside the other..........the only part that is crucial is to make sure you keep the 60 degree angle to the head tube............i picked it up by the end if the bars and it came right up off the ground totally level..........whether or not that will be the same once the drivetrain and seat are on is uncertain but im happy so far............its very light...........when i was puttin it together i swore it was gunna wiegh a ton........im glad most of the wieght will be added to the front..........the seat should be light......as long as im not on it...lol

well for the first time on a recumbant i think i did ok.........did some trial runs in my grassy alley which turned out to be a good idea............i didnt fall but if i did i could see my elbows gettin beat up..............once i got about 20 feet down the alley i figured it was time for pavement............made it about a block down the road and back............was a bit wobbly but thats probly normal for first timers................its only single speed right now but it'll be a 6 speed soon...............its not too bad as it is tho............next are the brakes, hence the short test ride..........maybe i'll build a rear drive with a stationary crank something next to see how that feels

wish me luck

JunkyardWarrior,

Sometimes it's best to simply glide down a small hill on your first ride attempt. Do this without feet on pedals. This will let you see how well the bike will handle without any inputs from your legs. The way you have your front end arranged, you will have the weight of your legs kind of high (think center of gravity). So it may take a little while for you to become acclimated to this new kind of bike. But don't give up, it will come!

yea i thought of the hill idea but im in florida.........no hills around here............but a good kick off with the pedals in the right position and im off..........no crashes yet

i think id have some issues with any bent.............ive been on bent trikes but this is my first with 2 wheels........whole new world..........altho the trikes were the tilt to pivot steering so i am used to the wobble...........just not the fall over part.......lol

well i moved the handle bars and it made a world of difference..............took most of the wobble right out..............more gears would help...........im workin on that...........heres more pics
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heres after the handle bar adjusment

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still dont have any brakes but those will be soon

ok...............front brakes are on and working......installed new cranks with a ringset (tryin to learn the termonology) and new derailers...........adjusted seat back some and leaned back a bit more

so far im really happy

the pedals barely interfere with the steering

It's looking really good Mr Warrior :) . Very friendly build by the looks of it. Just a bunch of bike frames and away you go. Keep the updates coming. Can't wait to see it complete.

ok.....the bike still looks the same but is almost done...................has 18 gears now (shimano biopace exage community.....dont know if its any good but it looks alot better than what i had on there).............and after the test ride my hair was spiked so i assumed i was goin fairly quick..........just need to put the rear brake mounts on it then i can tear it down and paint it.............then i'll take more pics.............for now im gunna just have fun ridin it til i decide what type of seat i want...............the seat i have now was a quick generic one so i could ride it and size everything up but it doesnt have the cool factor id like

ok got some new pics............rear brakes are on.............seat is done as much as its gunna for now (its really comfy...........didnt think it was gunna be)..................next weekend im getting new brake lever/shifter combos so while im replacing all the wires im gunna strip everything off the frame..........finish welding everything........clean it up ........prime it and paint it............anyone have any color suggestions...........im leaning twards a charcoal metal flake (auto touchup paint)...........but bright colors would make me more visable

i cant believe how much i like riding this bike...................the only bad part is my buddy is taller than me and cant really try the bike cuz its too small for him..............im gunna have to make an adjustable one for my friends to try..............it should be easy cuz i made mine smaller to custom fit me............its pretty fast but ive been takin it easy going zigzag thru my neighborhood to get used to turns and slow riding...........once i get better then i can go fast............im still nervous im gunna swerve out of the bike lane and into traffic

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one last change.......removed the seat back supports and added a tube to the frame for the new support

i like the look of the floating wheel better ..............or if i decide to add a rack of some sort i can mount it where the seat was mounted

i also added a trailer mount to the one side of the rear fork......no pic for that yet......the size of the fork was too big plus it tapered and wasnt gunna hold the trailer