smurray

I'm contemplating building my wife a ss/fg townie type bike, but have a question for those of you that have done it. Right now my wife has a single speed Electra Townie, and she enjoys that bike quite a bit. The main reason she rides that bike is because she doesn't have to but much (if any) of her body weight on her hands/wrists. She has a very mild case of cerebal palsy, and because of that has very limited use of her right arm/hand. She has enough use to hold the grip and steer, but not enough to support much of her body weight. Would it be possible to build her a bike based around a more traditional looking frame that would still allow her to sit almost completely upright and have very little weight on her hands? I know there are "townie style" bars like the Nitto B302-AA, but I have no experience with them so am not sure whether they'd give a similar riding experience to her current bike or if it would still be quite a bit of weight on her arms. I'd appreciate any input I can get.

Nagrom_

What? a new thread that requires legitimate posting???


I would convert an old mixte for her.

hairnet

Check out the Nitto Technomic stem to help get her quite upright

striknein

Swept bars like the Nitto Albatross or Velo Orange Left Bank provide rise and a rearward position, which helps to get a rider much more upright. I'm not sure I understand the motivation to get her on a fixed gear though, especially if she has a physical condition that may make it difficult to ride the bike comfortably. So much of what we do on a fixed gear has to do with resisting against the momentum of the bike, and that can necessitate using arms and back to wrestle with the bike. So why a fixed gear?

smurray

Swept bars like the Nitto Albatross or Velo Orange Left Bank provide rise and a rearward position, which helps to get a rider much more upright. I'm not sure I understand the motivation to get her on a fixed gear though, especially if she has a physical condition that may make it difficult to ride the bike comfortably. So much of what we do on a fixed gear has to do with resisting against the momentum of the bike, and that can necessitate using arms and back to wrestle with the bike. So why a fixed gear?[/QUOTE]

I'm not necessarily 100% decided that it will be fixed gear. Right now I'm trying to decide whether to use a flip flop hub to give her some flexibility, or possibly using a Sturmy S2C. Her current bike is a single speed w/ a coaster brake, and she's perfectly happy with that setup. I thought it might be fun for her to try a fixed gear (with a brake of course), but if she doesn't like it at the very least I'd want to be able to flip it to a freewheel. Reason why I'm considering the S2C isn't even so much for the multi gear aspect (though that might be nice for her) as much as it's for the coaster brake. using a right handed brake lever isn't really possible for her, so in order to have two brakes she'd either need a coaster brake or one of those levers that lets you activate two brakes at once.

In the end I would just like to build her a bike. I know it won't have gears, so I figured this was the most appropriate forum regardless of whether we try fixed or not. She likes her current townie, but I think she'd like something a little more vintage looking. I figured building something would be more fun that just buying a Linus or something like that.

Bat56

lolwutrutalkingbout

bfloyd6969

the guy is talking about working something out for his ill wife in need.

I agree on going with a mixte. With high rise stem options and high rise cafe/cruiser bars, you ahould be able to get her perfectly upright. Then, make the ride even more comfortable with a well suportive upgright riding position saddle. Best of luck.

fuzz2050

Fixed gear town bikes are great, you get the cable-less rear brake without all the problems with coaster brakes (The main problem being I don't like them). A fixed gear, geared appropriately, isn't any harder to ride than a single speed, especially for in town purposes. I only really find the need to wrestle with my arms if I'm trying to take off hard from a stand-still, which is purely optional.

Start with either a nice mixte, or an old mountain bike, add a Nitto Technomic stem and a pair of swept back bars, Velo-Orange has a number of offerings, and I happen to quite like the Wald 867. Between the two of those, you should be pretty well upright.

Add fenders, a rack and maybe a basket, and you're pretty well set for an awesome bike. If she's really been good, maybe throw in a Brooks saddle

striknein

He's asking questions, getting answers, and hopefully learning something along the way. If he can keep his ego in check (a lesson you still haven't learned), he'll be fine.

I think something many of us forget is that this isn't microsurgery, rocket science, bridge building or global economics. It's a friggin two-wheeled machine that we use to get from place to place. One guy might be doing it wrong, another might be doing it stupid, but who the hell cares? The best a person can do is try to educate and not lose any sleep over the kid with his jack bike.

smurray

What makes you think my build turned into an ongoing mess? It's true I'm still trying to tweak the fit a bit, and have been swapping out a few parts, but the build itself went fine. I ride the bike every day to and from work.

Why is it every thread I start turns into an argument somehow? I want to thank those of you who have given me some honest input, I really do appreciate it. To the rest of you, please stop trolling me.

seau grateau

Check your local Craigslist for used cruisers and mixte frames. Build one up with whatever wheels you want, fat gumwall tires, a nice upright handlebar, a sprung Brooks and a basket and Sha-Bang! Classiest townie on the block.

Bat56

Will you PLEASE tell me what a traditional looking frame is?

smurray

Are there mixte frames made specifically for a fg/ss build? It seems like all the ones I've found so far are geared bikes, which isn't necessarily a problem, just assume it would be easier if it was made to be fg/ss.

smurray

Perhaps I didn't use the best terminology. By traditional frame, I meant something that isn't semi-recumbent like her Electra Townie is.

Scrodzilla

Colossi makes a very nice mixte.

smurray

Thanks, that looks like a great place to start.

ddeadserious

Soma too.

hairnet

Not really, so far every mixte I have seen has horizontal drop outs. The only difficulty would involve removing the unneeded parts for SS/FG.

Would you/she consider going with a 3 speed IGH?

seau grateau

I think Soma makes one.

edit- Ah'm late

Scrodzilla

You may have a hard time buying direct from them but I happen to know a guy who knows a guy...

cobrabyte

Check out Linus Bikes: they have some nice mixte models, as well as a few Dutch style bikes that would be even better than a mixte to keep the weight off your upper body/arms/wrists IMO
https://www.linusbike.com/models/

Siu Blue Wind

Okay you all, I just cleaned up the thread of all un necessary cut downs and sarcastic remarks. I think it would be more productive helping the guy out. So stop the crap. Thank you.

Bat56

That semi-recumbent is aka crank-forward. To a lesser degree it just means a really slack seat tube, which is what gives you the upright position and less weight on the hands.

The closer you stick to "traditional" the more you will have to deal with the weight on the hands. Unless you use a layback seatpost, in which case you should use a frame that suits the task in the first place.

Bat56

One down. 50,311 to go. It's gonna be a long night.

Siu Blue Wind

Not tonight. I'm tired. I need to tuck myself into bed soon. Y'all be good, okay? *yawn*