Atomic Zombie's Granny's Nightmare bicycle chopper

You know what really irritates me? I drive all the way out to the dump, pay my five bucks to get in, and the only bikes laying around are those granny bikes from the late 1970's. Dog, what's the deal? I need some new parts!

Ok, enough whining, it's payback time. A real chopper artist can chop any bike, even this crusty old codger cruiser. In fact, the more I looked at the bike, the more I thought it would be a sweet ride. Check out all that chrome, look at that long spindly frame, yeah, I could make this happen...

Normally, I do not even bother with these frames because of their "lugged" construction. Lugged frames are not really welded at the head tube and bottom bracket, they are press fit and brazed. Because of this, you cannot really salvage the head tube or the bottom bracket, and this makes the frame useless for parts normally. Even the rims are those goofy 27-inch size, too big for a mountain bike tire. Because I was planning to hack this granny cruiser into something evil, I would be keeping most of the frame in one piece, so the project was still doable.

"Turn down that devil music, you crazy kids!" I could hear the bike talking to me. I thought I'd better rip it all apart before I start wearing a helmet and worrying about brakes! Photo 1 shows the old fashioned bike before hacking. These styles were easy to find at the dump or at yard sales.

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

Step 1 Reduced back to a pile of parts.

Here is the donor bike, taken apart for chopping. Even though this bike is older than time itself, it came apart very easily, and the chrome parts had only slight surface rust - easy to clean with steel wool. I will be using all of the original bike, as the theme for this chop will be Granny's Nightmare!

Comments

[Mr.Sanchez]

Thnks Man you were My inspiration...behold my Humble copy of your Work: I Give you " La Patrullera.a.k.a The trooper.

[xd12c]

Try IMC metal Conduit.
http://www.grainger.com

[heathbar64]

 Sweet bike! kinda inspires me to start some choppin'  

[davidorchard]

this conduit you speak of, is it the same that electricians use? or is it actually tubing of a more structural use?

[KoolKat]

You are correct - Electrical Magnetic Tubing (EMT).

http://www.alliedtube.com/electrical-raceways/conduit/electrical-metal-tubing.asp

http://www.atomiczombie.com

[pteranosaur]

...also approx welding settings and info on Silent Speedster hubmotor kit ----THANKS a MIL................

[pteranosaur]

Hey Kool Kat-canyou pass on my e-mail address to Brad G ? I need to ask him on some components in an electronic circuit found in Make...I'm at [e-mail]   . .circuit is Altoids mystery box-hidden noise prank

[Coati]

Electrical Metallic Tubing,I'm not a a grammar nazi just a disabled electrician.Sick bike by the way,I have always wanted to try one but was afraid my welding skills would fail me,no good with the thin stuff.My Pops just bought a new mig that will do stainless and aluminum and I imagine has better heat control.We are in the process of having a 30' x 50' shop built so hopefully I will soon have room to play.

[Expertmurderboy007]

how to get the grips off and on

[chef]

what kind of conduit did you use for the forks???

[pteranosaur]

...ya,thet's why I'm lookin here-tubing type and sources...he did say conduit-EMT seems too weak.......agggh-brain lock-up.....

[dinzel85]

This is the best bike ever!

[itsaidhi]

how would you get a kickstand. sure don't just want to set it on the ground.

[zak.gillies.oo]

i'm in the process of making 1 out of a three wheeled huffy green machine so it can drift better

[jinnan_tonnix]

I like this. I've dug out a 25 year old ladies racing bike and started hacking... I've got a couple of twists to add; if they're successful I'll add them as an instructable. For the forks, I've found a local steel pipe warehouse - I had an 8-foot long 1.5 inch tube for £2. Bargain!

[jinnan_tonnix]

Ok, all done:
Here's my finished chopper bike

[camb00]

£2!!!!!

[jinnan_tonnix]

Yep - two UK pounds. That ware house is a treasure-trove full of off-cuts of all shapes and sizes. I started chopping a 25 year old Raleigh Wisp (see pic). I've only done the forks (see pic) but I'll finish it this summer and post an instructable.

[tilbrook]

Hey, did you actually use an arc welder for this bike because I thought it would melt through the thin bike frame.

[DuctTapeRules!]

'"Turn down that devil music you crazy kids!'" Best. Old joke. Ever. Pretty cool bike, too!

[losdinspace]

Sorry the pic did not work but here it is.

[losdinspace]

Here is mine, I am waiting for the snow to melt so I can ride it more.

[ItsTheHobbs]

you've inspired me to try makin my own bike btw, your site is so awsom

[rollerdame]

BEAUTY Koolcat! check out these cats... tallbikeposse.com

[KoolKat]

AWESOME! We'll put a link on our Links page this month. You folks are way cool!

[Larvice]

Great instructions and a great bike you made! Do you think it could be made with a gas welder?

[KoolKat]

You could do it if you have one, but wouldn't recommend going out and buying one just for bike building like this. Too expensive and welds don't always hold up very well, in our experience.

[ageyfman]

sweet bike - congrats - in another instructable, you should put together an explanation on how you painted it - it looks sweet!

[yitong leo]

front-wheel drive very big:(

[Generz!]

Hey man, nice chopper. If you are on myspace, check us out:
Bone Shaker Bikes
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=61512918

[KoolKat]

Sweeet bikes!

[Generz!]

OH, btw, did you reinforce your front dropouts at all, or just weld them on as pictured? They look susceptible to breaking off... or do the super long forks take up the necessary shock from rolling uneven terrain?

[KoolKat]

Dropouts were welded as is. Definitely don't wanna ride this baby over potholes, jumping curbs and speed bumps. The welds have held up so far. Not designed for long distance rides, but the "shock and awe" factor is worth building it. People tend to like this old school type of bike. Reminds them of their younger years, I guess. Stop by our forum when u have a chance.
http://www.atomiczombie.com

[Alecw35]

I got a lot of old bikes. But thought there was no use in those ladies bikes. Think I'll get my grinder ready. Theres a forum called customcycles.info They go on about Raleigh Mixtes. They are multitube frame ladys racer bikes. I got one that Im going to sort up.

[trebuchet03]

Beautiful... the gusset is a nice stylized touch. Curious... how long did this take you to complete? Oh how I wish I had a welder :P

[KoolKat]

Thanks very much! Took less than 3 days to build, 2 days for priming and painting, then at least a week for the paint to cure.

http://www.atomiczombie.com

[trebuchet03]

oh wow, that's you :P That site came up on one of the blogs I follow..... if only I had a welder :P

[KoolKat]

You know, you can buy a basic arc (stick) welder for well under $200. The one that we use was about $175 CAD. You don't need to spend a lot of cash to make the kinds of projects we build.

[intoon]

nice instructable, one of the best yet!

[KoolKat]

Thanks so much for the nice comment. We have forums, a blog, videos, games and a builders gallery where you can see more bikes, robots, spy gadgets and other interesting stuff. Maybe we'll see you there some time! Your projects are great!