So you want to be loud? You want to make a statement? You want to scare the crap out people? A train horn will do the trick. Do you want to stand out in the process? Than a bike with a train horn attached will defiantly do the trick!
So you may be asking yourself why would you possibly attach a train horn to a bike? Well the first reason is that I currently do not own an automobile, so this is the best that I can do. The second reason is that it just so unexpected and fun to use. Have you ever heard a train horn in the middle of the street and seen that it was coming from a bike? I didn't think so.
To start off, let me explain some things:
1. The reason why there is a portable air tank on the back of my bike is that hooking up an air horn to an air tank is much louder than attaching an air horn with the provided compressor.
2. The horn I used can be heard from over half a mile away. Although this is not as loud as an actual train horn, it does the job.
3. The total cost of the project varies. If you happen to already own all of the materials, it will cost nothing. If you own none of the materials, it could cost over $200 to construct.
4. It takes about 30 minutes to construct.
5. This is an extremely fun way to scare/prank innocent pedestrians, although it should be used respectively. Blowing it near traffic is NOT a good idea!
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Signing UpStep 1: The Bike
The most important part of this instructable is of course the bike that your going to be using. While you could use any bike for this project, a cruser is 100% recommended. The reason why I recommend a cruser is that most of them include luggage racks on the back. This luggage rack is vital because this is where you will place your air tank.
* If you do not have a bike with a luggage rack, you could build one using either wood, metal scraps, or even PVC pipes.
Some nice instructables on building bike luggage racks...
carpespasm's instructable
darlingtom's instructable
graphicsman's instructable
* If you do not have a bike with a luggage rack, you could build one using either wood, metal scraps, or even PVC pipes.
Some nice instructables on building bike luggage racks...
carpespasm's instructable
darlingtom's instructable
graphicsman's instructable
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But I'm afraid I'm gonna have to jump on the safety bandwagon here, but I'll jump off pretty quick.
You say the tank is old. When compressed air is cooled, the humidity in the air condenses and pools up in the bottom of the tank. The tank is probably fairly rusty on the inside, especially where it's welded together. Assuming the tank is about 8" diameter, you have roughly 50 square inches in the welded-on ends of the tank. Assuming a modest 100 PSI (you didn't say what pressure you fill it to, or I missed that part), that's 5000 pounds pressing against it. IF the weld were to break simultaneously all the way around, and someone got in the way, they would be hurt, probably severely. It's unlikely, but I like to play it safe... when there is no fun lost in doing so :)
I DON'T suggest doing the following (it's probably considered dangerous or something..., I want no liability here):
What I do to pressure test an old tank is duct tape the pressure relief valve so it doesn't open at the pressure it should. Somewhere on the tank it will have a maximum pressure and burst pressure stamped into the metal. I fill the tank to 20-30 PSI below the burst pressure (or as high as my air compressor goes, depending what the rating is) AFTER placing it in a steel box. I fill it while monitoring a second pressure gauge outside the steel box. If it holds up, I use the tank for another year. I had one break once, and it put a good sized dent in the side of the 1/8" thick stainless steel tool box in the bed of my truck. But it was also about 14" in diameter and burst somewhere around 140 PSI, so a lot more force.
If you do decide to use it, I hope you have good insurance.
http://www.amazon.com/Delta-Airzound-Bike-Horn/dp/B000ACAMJC
Its great if a pedestrian waddles out in front of you, a loud horn will give them an obvious warning, but for actual danger situations - basically if a car has swerved across you and is heading for impact... blowing your horn will just reduce your controlled braking reaction time. Sure, if a car is slowly drifting across a lane it will help - but that is not a terminal manouvre. Regardless of that, i would always install a set of compact air horns on my motorbikes, however i never felt that much safer with them on board, its road craft that will keep you alive - not relying on a loud horn.
On a bicycle its not much different, except you are going to be peddling this extra weight everywhere with you, and when you need to leave your bike somewhere - is this going to be tempting for somebody to steel? or maybe you could carry your huge air tank in a bag with you for safety!
So i would also lean towards airhorns on a detachable bracket for a bike. I built some spotlights for my bicycle that are powered by an SLA battery in a drink bottle, the bulk of the setup dettaches in seconds. It would be possible to do something similar with a minicompressor and avoid carrying the huge air tank.
The risks and inconvenience seem to outweigh the benefits, regardless of that i commend the builder on their ingenuity, it is an innovative build - and an interesting read.
http://www.amazon.com/Wolo-836-Silver-Streak-Compressor/dp/B00029XI2G/ref=sr_1_16?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1333334351&sr=1-16
Still, this is a very cool idea, and could be a good thing for bike safety in a slightly quieter version.
Might also want to beware of using this in residential areas.
I'm a third shifter and asleep in the daytime.
If one of the neighborhood kids used one of these in the middle of the afternoon, I would call the police on the little brat after I unstuck myself from the ceiling. And since I'd be unlikely to be able to go to sleep again, it would cost me a days work. Can't afford to use high speed power tools like I do when too tired, so I would be looking for a way to scare the piss out of the kid that did it.
Very fun, very cool.
Thumbs down to all you Safety Stormtroopers, cellphones cause more accidents in 5 minutes than this would in 100 years !
Then I visited my local public library, and sounded it off behind a book shelf.
It was a great success which I repeated at my local general store and other places. It was marvellous keeping a straight face during the mayhem.
Had problems Kayaking in L.A. Harbor and getting ran down by powerboats,
Threw a pair of Kahlenberg's I was refurbishing on it temporarily. A Foss Tug
was coming a little to close. 5 burst later they finally saw me.