Friday, April 16, 2010

Q&A: AtomicZombie.com bike plans

What format are your plans in and how many pages do they have?

Each of our plans is created as electronic book portable document file (PDF) with high resolution color photos followed by detailed text. Our photos are print quality resolution of at least 1024 by 768 pixels. PDFs can be viewed using Adobe® Reader®, currently the global standard for electronic document sharing. It is the only PDF file viewer that can open and interact with all PDF documents. Every step of the build includes one or more photos, followed by the text explaining in detail how and why.

The length of our plans varies depending on the complexity of the project, with printed page count ranging from 80 to over 200 pages. A plan that includes 150 printed pages typically includes roughly 150 or more photos along with the included text. Printing the entire plan is not necessary as you can usually read through the plan and then print out only the sections that you need to take into your workshop for reference. However, feel free to print the entire plan if you want to. To ensure consistent image clarity in all of our plans, we use a high quality digital camera and take our photos in a properly lit room with a neutral background.

I have never tried welding or hacking up a bike, so can I really build my own?

You bet you can! Just take a browse through our Builder's Gallery and have a look at the hundreds of diverse examples of recumbent bikes and trikes built directly from our plans. While you are enjoying the photo gallery, keep in mind that most of these amazing custom creations were built by average folks and many were built by those who have never touched a welder before starting into this amazing hobby.

Keep in mind that there is a learning curve to everything, but many newbie builders are now seasoned veterans who have a lot of experience and advice to share.