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01-20-09, 07:20 PM
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/8758/coffeebikecomplete2mra6.jpg (http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/1243/coffeebikecomplete2de3.jpg)
About a year ago I was checking out cargo bikes on the internet and happened to stumble upon this bike. The Coffee Bike: distributed through Project Rwanda (http://projectrwanda.org/) as a third world means of transportation. The bike looked awesome – like a Big Dummy but more versatile, not to mention cheaper. You can buy a Coffee Bike complete directly off of Project Rwanda's web site (http://projectrwanda.org/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=13) for $750. I actually got mine from a dude who's neighbors with Tom Rithcey.
The setup:
The Coffee Bike came pretty much ready to ride. Most of the components were lower end. I replaced nearly everything but the wheels, headset, handlebars, and seatpost. The original crankset was some kind of generic with a non-removable chainring: lame. Bottom bracket was a loose ball and cup type. It had a cheapo Sram dérailleur with a cheapo twist shifter. Saddle was some kind of comfort seat.
I bought a Dimension cyclocross crankset, a 34 tooth Surly ring, and a Spot ring-guard. I fashioned up a chain-guide to keep the chain on the front chainring. I replaced the crappy generic cassette with a crappy Shimano 8 speed cassette (12-32). I threw this old Deore rear dérailleur on it with a brand new Sun friction shifter. I replaced the stock brake levers with Avid FR-5's, but kept the Promax v-brakes. I put on brand new ODI lock-on grips and a take-off WTB saddle.
The owner of my LBS gave me a long board (http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/166/longboardox1.jpg) to mount on the back. It's made of bamboo and has super tough clear grip tape on top. It is awesome.
Issues:
I kept the wheels. Rear is 48 spoke, front is 36. Both are, unfortunately, the english axle size of 3/8” x 26tpi. They are loose ball and cone style, with no rubber seals or anything. Oh well, they'll work great for a long time as long as I repack the hubs regularly.
The Coffee Bike will probably only have one chainring in the front. The frame has some tubes coming from the bottom bracket that will interfere with any type of front dérailleur. Right now, the smallest chainring I can fit is a 34 tooth (110 bcd). The biggest a rear cassette goes to is 34 tooth; mine right now only goes 32. Will 34x32 or 34x34 be a low enough gearing to make fully loaded mountain passes? I hope so.
The rear v-brakes weren't hitting the rim properly when the rear wheel was all the way back in the dropouts. Rather than have to mount the wheel considerably farther ahead in the dropouts, I decided to move the brake boss location. I found this adapter (http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/2100/brakeadaptervr8.jpg) in QBP that I mounted to a different part of the frame with hose clamps as seen below. The adapter is very secure, and the original brake bosses remain on the frame as a backup.
The Coffee Bike came with a motorcycle-style kickstand. The mounting position is kind of awkward and it doesn't operate very smoothly. I may be able to modify it to work better, but for right now I just don't have it on there.
The ride:
The Coffee bike is super stable. I took it over a bunch of snow and ice with no problem. Turning is almost just like a regular bike. The friction shifter works great. I made it up some huge hills with one more lower gear to spare. No complaints here.
Cargo system:
I bought two 80 liter widemouth drybags for cargo. I also recently purchased a sewing machine and ten yards of 1000 denier cordura nylon fabric on eBay. I plan on kind of copying the xtracycle bag system, but making it better and custom fit for the Coffee Bike. Right now I'm waiting on some of the hardware and webbing before I get sewing. It should work out well.
Future upgrades:
New front fork with disc-brake tabs. Front disc-brake. New front and rear wheels with standard metric 9x1 and 10x1 axles. Odometer. Possibly getting the new rear brake bosses permanently brazed on.
About a year ago I was checking out cargo bikes on the internet and happened to stumble upon this bike. The Coffee Bike: distributed through Project Rwanda (http://projectrwanda.org/) as a third world means of transportation. The bike looked awesome – like a Big Dummy but more versatile, not to mention cheaper. You can buy a Coffee Bike complete directly off of Project Rwanda's web site (http://projectrwanda.org/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=13) for $750. I actually got mine from a dude who's neighbors with Tom Rithcey.
The setup:
The Coffee Bike came pretty much ready to ride. Most of the components were lower end. I replaced nearly everything but the wheels, headset, handlebars, and seatpost. The original crankset was some kind of generic with a non-removable chainring: lame. Bottom bracket was a loose ball and cup type. It had a cheapo Sram dérailleur with a cheapo twist shifter. Saddle was some kind of comfort seat.
I bought a Dimension cyclocross crankset, a 34 tooth Surly ring, and a Spot ring-guard. I fashioned up a chain-guide to keep the chain on the front chainring. I replaced the crappy generic cassette with a crappy Shimano 8 speed cassette (12-32). I threw this old Deore rear dérailleur on it with a brand new Sun friction shifter. I replaced the stock brake levers with Avid FR-5's, but kept the Promax v-brakes. I put on brand new ODI lock-on grips and a take-off WTB saddle.
The owner of my LBS gave me a long board (http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/166/longboardox1.jpg) to mount on the back. It's made of bamboo and has super tough clear grip tape on top. It is awesome.
Issues:
I kept the wheels. Rear is 48 spoke, front is 36. Both are, unfortunately, the english axle size of 3/8” x 26tpi. They are loose ball and cone style, with no rubber seals or anything. Oh well, they'll work great for a long time as long as I repack the hubs regularly.
The Coffee Bike will probably only have one chainring in the front. The frame has some tubes coming from the bottom bracket that will interfere with any type of front dérailleur. Right now, the smallest chainring I can fit is a 34 tooth (110 bcd). The biggest a rear cassette goes to is 34 tooth; mine right now only goes 32. Will 34x32 or 34x34 be a low enough gearing to make fully loaded mountain passes? I hope so.
The rear v-brakes weren't hitting the rim properly when the rear wheel was all the way back in the dropouts. Rather than have to mount the wheel considerably farther ahead in the dropouts, I decided to move the brake boss location. I found this adapter (http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/2100/brakeadaptervr8.jpg) in QBP that I mounted to a different part of the frame with hose clamps as seen below. The adapter is very secure, and the original brake bosses remain on the frame as a backup.
The Coffee Bike came with a motorcycle-style kickstand. The mounting position is kind of awkward and it doesn't operate very smoothly. I may be able to modify it to work better, but for right now I just don't have it on there.
The ride:
The Coffee bike is super stable. I took it over a bunch of snow and ice with no problem. Turning is almost just like a regular bike. The friction shifter works great. I made it up some huge hills with one more lower gear to spare. No complaints here.
Cargo system:
I bought two 80 liter widemouth drybags for cargo. I also recently purchased a sewing machine and ten yards of 1000 denier cordura nylon fabric on eBay. I plan on kind of copying the xtracycle bag system, but making it better and custom fit for the Coffee Bike. Right now I'm waiting on some of the hardware and webbing before I get sewing. It should work out well.
Future upgrades:
New front fork with disc-brake tabs. Front disc-brake. New front and rear wheels with standard metric 9x1 and 10x1 axles. Odometer. Possibly getting the new rear brake bosses permanently brazed on.