Builders gallery updated

A whopping 17 new projects are now a part of the growing Atomic Zombie bike hacking community. This month's additions include: tall bike, trikes, trailers, choppers, electrics, long wheel base recumbent, trailer, lowracer recumbent and crazy bikes.

Soledad Hassett of Melbourne, Australia, built this OverKill style chopper .

This pair of custom accessorized bikes from Koji in Brazil features ultra cool wheels:

Jim Pachla and his son Scooter spent part of the winter months building their custom Kyoto Cruiser trike:

Bob of Niceville, Florida, sent in pictures of his new LodeRunner Cargo Trike:

AZ building guru and long-time forum member, Sir Joey, sent in pictures of four bike projects, including The Bulldog Electric Trike (glad to see you back in the swing of things, Sir J):

And, there are six new crazy bikes, five of which were submitted by Cap'n Bikebeard and company from Bristol, England.

There are many more cool bike projects in the gallery, so be sure to check them out - www.atomiczombie.com/gallery.htm .

Cheers, friends

Atomic Zombie fan motors our way

Peter (University of Toronto student) spent the night in our make-shift guest room as it was getting dark and we all ended up chatting until the early morning hours.

He spent hours in the garage with Brad marveling at the latest AZ projects and the electronics stuff Brad's been working on.

He got to see the soon-to-be-completed Terminator Chopper, the LodeRunner 2 Tandem Trike, E-Style Electric BMX and Arcturus Solar and Human Powered Motorhome, as well as DeltaRunner Trike and Streetfighter Quadcycle.

"I can't believe I'm finally meeting you in person," Peter said.

We don't meet many like minded garage hackers here, especially into bike building so it's kind of strange hearing that Atomic Zombie has quite a following in the Greater Toronto Area and abroad. We were impressed to learn that Peter and ther students have been involved in grassroots projects helping to fix and refurbish bikes, even choppifying bikes for younger riders.

He's been involved with a volunteer group of bike hackers called Bike Pirates that fixes and builds bicycles, the Atomic Zombie way: http://bikepirates.com

He's so enthusiastic about do-it-yourself projects and having a zest for life. Before he dives in to his practical training as a medical student this fall, Peter decided weeks ago to pack up his motorcycle for a Canada tour, stopping along towns, cities and sights along the way.

It's the first time he's ever traveled throughout Northern Ontario and western Canada. It's an eye-opening journey, and he's enjoying the varied scenery, meeting folks along the way, especially those he says have influenced him. So, it was a dream come true to finally meet the real Atomic Zombie in person. The guy was just beaming!

He and Brad talked for countless hours, followed by a BBQ here, and a ride on our recumbents around the neighbourhood.

Peter left late this morning after a light breakfast. I packed him some homemade oatmeal cookies and bran-cranberry muffins that I baked last night for the journey westward toward Dryden and Kenora, some AZ gear and a book, "Dances with Dependency: Indigenous Success through Self-Reliance".

He will reach Saskatchewan this weekend to visit friends, then journey back this way in a week or so. Hope he stops by for another visit.

Cheers, friends.

Warning about using aluminum forks with hub motors

You know boys, I love the taste of concrete in the early afternoon!


The local boys survey the damage to my bike and my body.

Although I was planning to advise against using an aluminum front suspension along with any hubmotor, I decided to play the fool and see how well it would hold up to some hard riding.

Here is the painful lesson I learned today...


Aluminum + hubmotor = missing teeth!

I came flying into the parking lot of a coffee shop at 50km/hr and as soon as the front wheel hit the curb edge, the dropouts snapped off and I went down for the count. The bike rolled over me twice, and although I have a bad ankle and some "cool looking" road rash, I think I ended up much better than the bike.

The forks and frame are bent. The rim is warped and there are damaged spokes. The wires have ripped right out of the hubmotor as well.

So let me repeat the lesson I have learned today...

DO NOT consider using any aluminum frame or forks with a hubmotor. Aluminum fails instantly without warning and becomes brittle over time due to vibration.

Now I get to limp for a week and spend the day picking little rocks out of my palms.

At least now I have a photo for the plans showing why aluminum forks are bad for electric bikes!

Cheers!
Brad <- official crash test dummy

Canada Day, builders gallery updates, project updates

It was an uneventful national holiday yesterday. The rain held off all day so the fireworks at the marina went off as planned. We just hung around at home doing some odds and ends, nothing special. Had a nice dinner with East Coast lobsters, though. That was a real treat.

Added 14 new additions to the Builders Gallery this week, too. More choppers, recumbents, a tallbike, SpinCycle, and trikes. Some are featured below:

Mike of Pennsylvania sent in a photo of his old skool chopper with lots of chrome and black accents.

The talented gang at Crank It Up Cycling for All in UK sent in another amazing build. This one is modeled after the Atomic Zombie OverKill chopper.

Mike from Illinois sent in this one based on the HighRoller short wheel base recumbent design.

This trike beauty from Jon in Maryland is made of carbon fibre and maple seat and accessories. A true work of art!

There are many more cool bikes in the Builders Gallery, so be sure to check them out and log on to the forum if you have any questions or comments about these and other projects.

The July issue of the Atomic Zombie newsletter is now online here: http://www.atomiczombie.com/newsletter/july-2009.pdf.

This month's features include:

• Recumbent bike project is a labor of love
• Garage News
• Crazy Canadian Trivia
• Cranking out an extreme chopper
• Ottawa-Gatineau shared bike project
• Bike Builders Tips
• Pedalpalooza wraps up
• World class skateboard/BMX park
• Bicycle Film Festival
• E-bike technology leader
• Builders Gallery new additions
• Builder feedback
• Events and recipes

Previous newsletters dating back to 2006 can be found here: http://www.atomiczombie.com/newsletters.htm

As for current bike projects, the Terminator Chopper is almost done, in addition to the E-Style BMX and the trike/quad cycle, tentatively called Quadzilla, but the name is probably going to change, as well as the final design. Looks like it will be a trike now. Some issues about the braking and cabling system, so the trike may be more feasible and less complicated than the quad design. Stay tuned to the forum for updates and announcements. We're already in July and anxious to get at least a couple of new projects online this month.

Have a safe Independence Day long weekend to our friends and family in the USA.

Cheers, friends.