Atomic Zombie's Carnage chopper bicycle

Full suspension mountain bikes with v-shaped frames have become very popular over the years, so it's no wonder that the local landfill has been seeing more and more of the cheap steel versions lately. The typical lifespan of a department store type bike seems to be about three years. Although fully suspended, the inexpensive steel versions have no more quality about them than their non suspended counterparts, and this makes them great for chopping and welding. A full suspension chopper? Nah, what's the point? Of course, the unique qualities of the v-shaped frame were quite appealing.

I came across the idea for this chopper by accident one day when I was moving the giant pile of scrap bike frames from one end of my small garage to the other. This regular ritual involves throwing one frame after the other across a 10 foot distance until the pile was at the other end of the garage. As I tossed this full suspension frame onto the pile, it landed upside down with the rear triangle extended outwards as far as it could travel and voila! An idea came to me as you will soon see as you read on.

More cool projects can be found at: http://www.chopzone.com and
http://www.atomiczombie.com

Step 1: Find a donor bike

The donor bike has a single spring connected to the rear triangle which is hinged just behind the bottom bracket (Photo 1). The frame consists of two nicely curved oblong tubes shaped like a wishbone; this could easily be transformed into a cool chopper with loads of style. The condition of the suspension is not important, in fact, you do not even need the spring for this conversion. Same principle for the front fork suspension as well. This bike was found at our local landfill, and is pretty much shot - no cables, shifters, brakes, and the front suspension was floppy - a perfect candidate for chopping!

Comments

[8thDay]

What kind of welder did you use and what were the settings and type of wire or rod used Thanks. P.s. the trike rocks

[KoolKat]

I have welded much thinner than .035 using my AC setup, and without a doubt MIG, TIG, even DC would make the job much easier. When I started doing this, I made a decision to never use anything else in my shop but an angle grinder AC welder and the most basic tools. My welder actually has a DC setting, but I always leave it on AC and only use 6013 rods - 3/32 for almost everything, and 1/16 for steel as thin as bike fenders. I only do this so that anyone can do what I do without spending a lot of money on tools. But without a doubt MIG, TIG, etc are the logical progression as you become more skilled and need to work with aluminum or exotic alloys. Chromo is no problem with AC, though. I guess I do get a twisted bit of satisfaction when I show a welder some of the complex robot body parts made from 1/32 steel, and try to convince them that I welded all the edges with 3/32 6013 ac rod. I do have some advice for those just starting to weld with stick – cover up, or remove the Amperage settings on your welder, and adjust it by feel. 45 amps may be good one day, but 2 hours later, you may be doing the same weld at 60 amps. Be one with the machine, forget about the numbers on the dial. Stubborn forever, Brad

[scottwheels299]

It would "be nice" if you mounted a costom penispump on your'e choper!

[8thDay]

awesome reply especially about the feel of the welder. I suck at brazing and I was trying to decide between a wire feed or stick welder and will mostly want to work with bikes I have used a Hobart Handler 125 in the past just wire no gas and did not know if it would work. thanks again and keep up the sweet rides

[tinker234]

nice i like the idea i was wondering if i could possably make a eltric version

[curious youth]

you could make a petrol version or a gassy as they are known in Australia. you can buy a kit of ebay with the everything you need motor included for around 200 bucks. just search bicycle engine kit. or check out this forum topic on make for some cheaper options.

[tinker234]

ok thanks

[landongaga]

thats cool beans

[zack247]

i was thinking about doing some bike modifications myself for in my welding class, would i be able to weld a bike frame using a MIG welder or am i better off with arc?

[thomasready]

SWEET JOB DUDE

[thomasready]

Bet that was hard to hold off for now.

[chef]

I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW what kind of conduit you used was was it emt.And as far as welding the conduit is it galvinized steel because everyone should know the hazards with welding galvinized steel.If its not galvinized than what kind of conduit does not have a galvinized coating

[thomasready]

I also would like to know this.

[caarntedd]

I just bookmarked your sites. This is a cool instructable and a cool machine. Have you ever tried your hand at chopping a motorcycle?

[lvahamaki]

can you make a step by step on how to make a chopper bike?

[wayfaring-stranger]

Dude, I've been looking at instuctables for years and never bothered to sign up until I read your article,,,,, Awesome! Thank you so much, very helpful.

[tercielo]

can this bike fit those 80cc bike engine conversion kits?

[husamwadi]

yah, they can.

you could also follow my plan

http://www.instructables.com/id/Mountain-Bike-Chopper/

[tercielo]

nice!!!
what size rims did you use on the back and on the front/?

[wade7632]

can any one tell me if it is posible to braze a bike together. i went to an ask ? web set it says yes what do u think.

[j0nathan]

awesome, just finished mine, great instructable

[ElvenChild]

 will you stop being such a coolkat withe your bikes this is like the 6th one I've seen in the past 5 minutes

[Squid Tamer]

I love the extremely long front! (Makes me imagine/want to build one that's 2-3 times longer. It would look absolutely ridiculous!)

[ElvenChild]

Would this fit in a bike rack?

[iamtoats]

Im definitely going to build this thing.... I have a pretty nice mongoose, but I hucked it off too big a ledge when I was at a local mountain last summer, and ruined the suspension! Its all stripped, and shot... It would cost more to get it fixed than buy a new one.... (of the same type (my uncle owns a bike shop. (bikes=free labor=expensive))) But he lives in colorado..... Im from NY.

Looks nice

[j0nathan]

that so sick .see pic when I make mine for under R400

[ZomBen]

Hey man, Nice bike and tutorial. I looked over all your work you posted here and was just curious. Is there any way you can make a real cool chopper (similar to this) in a trycicle form with the back so someone could stand on it or with a side car? I'm just thinking it would be cool if (without making it look stupid) if you could have a 2nd person on the bike. I have always been a fan of sidecars and trycicles.

[greenjedi]

Looks sweet... but how well does it ride?

[wildbill333]

this is awsome. me and my friend are building a coupe of bikes loosely based on these designs to ride around campus .

[Derin]

Would'nt the front wheel fall over if you turned the steering wheel,handlebar or axe handle too much?(gives back joke)

[wilsonjames]

hi. My name is JR Wilson, and i'm living in thailand at the moment. i'm 14 years old, and have quite a wide range of experience with motorcycles. i've been racing since i was 7, and currently i have a honda CB 400. its pretty sweet. well, i got interested in chopper bicycles a few months ago, and i think it would be cool to build one. i like the stuff you do. its some really good stuff. i wanted to know if you could help me find a design for a chopper bicycle. i kinda want it to be long, as well as tall, but i want a laid back riding position. i dont know what sort of a thing i should do. i saw your mountain lion bike, and i really liked what you did. i just didnt like the akward riding position. if you know of the blue chopper that Robert Lalonde made, i think that would be nice. but difficult to make. i need to find the right way to build the frame. i like the second one as well, but i just cant figure out how to make it. i was wondering if you could help with an idea? i have a guy down the street that can do the cutting and welding....i like your work!

[butthead95]

make the back tire 8" smaller than the front. you might want a banana seat tilted back real far. and finally extended handlebars at a 35-40 degree angle. my cousin and i are 13 and do stuff like this but no frame xtension bcuz we dont have the sources

[chopperman]

thats a cool bike..i wanted to build one like that..but to find a donor bike its pretty hard..

[nobby_sk8]

im currently making a combination bewtten this one ane the mountain lion chopper its gunna be sweet when its finished :P and the suicide leaver gave me a good idea ........ suiside gear shifter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[csharpdeveloper]

don't you get to a stage with the slant on the forks that when you steer your basically just turning the wheel sideways???

[Doveman]

You should post the Overkill chopper on Instructables.

[Fliboi]

This is great bike and I love riding mine I just completed mine but it appears others think its cool too cause after to weeks it was stolen last night >< so make sure its locked up ALOT cause there are talantless people that cant build their own that steal other peoples creations

[paappraiser]

are you stick welding ? Ive been looking to do some fun bike project like this and want to pick up a cheap welder and cant decide on stick or gassles mig. Suggestions on a cheeepie?

[cvxdes]

Gas isn't that expensive, and it's definitely better than flux core in my opinion. It's worth your time to just use gas, if you do mig welding. If you're doing arc though, I don't see how you can go wrong with a "cheap" machine. As long as it works, there isn't much that CAN go wrong with an arc welder

[Cam F]

I suggest NOT buying a "cheepie"-think of is as and investment in all your future projects