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Showing posts from January 20, 2019

New Turn-Key Klunkers (Or DIY your own)

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Yep, my most recent distractions have been variations on the klunker. I've always been fond of upcycled vehicles, the ones where you take something old and uncared-for and turn it into something useful and enjoyed. Cafe racers, resto-mods, rat rods, lowriders, bobbers, all of them have caught my eye over the years. And the klunker fits right in. About forty years ago, some people in California started using old balloon-tired cruiser bicycles and modifying them to become the prototype for the modern mountain bike. If you do an image search for a klunker, you get something that looks like this: That's a whole lot of DIY retro-coolness! But wait.... Yep, at least eight of those are not DIY - they are new! Sure enough, for those of you with klunker lust who'd rather ride than wrench, there are options out there, and some are relatively affordable. The Retrospec Sully For a little over $300 you can have a well equipped klunker with retro looks and qu

Woohoo! Another Cheap Austin Shopping Cart Cargo Bike!

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 Admittedly, it's been a while, but it's a bit of a tradition around here to share low-cost DIY cargo bikes that pop up on Craigslist. Most often, they appear in Austin. You've got to appreciate that Keep-Austin-Weird mentality showing up in eco-friendly vehicles!   Lately, the pickings have been rather slim, but this silver beauty recently materialized and I knew I had to share it with you:    This one looks pretty clean and simple for a DIY bike: it's all one color, it looks pretty symmetrical, one gear, one brake, a seat that cradles your bum. Not bad. Here is the text from the ad:   So there you have it, a $125 shopping-cart cargo bike. You know, if you added a 3-speed rear hub, you could take it more places (and climb a few hills). Or...you could add an electric rear hub motor and go lots more places. Or you could just be satisfied with the thing just like it is.   The First 3-Wheeled Shopper Post   The Second 3-Wheeled Shopper P

Electric Two Wheelers: Post udpates and a few newbies

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Let's just jump into it: Convercycle The Convercycle (Click for original post) The Kickstarter was fully funded and closed, but you can still get one on Indiegogo for 40% off. Nope, I've never seen something listed on both, but the Convercycle fully funded on both crowdfunding sites. So, yes, you can still order yourself this transformer electric cargo bike for $1249 (before shipping) and can hope for it to be delivered this August. Dang, that thing is cool! Fly Free Smart Motorcycle The Old, The Classic, and the Desert (Click for original post) Fly Free introduced the third in their new trilogy this week. The newest is the Smart Old . (Yes, I love oxymorons!) Basically, these three are the same bike, but they are all dressed in different clothes. I'm torn -the Classic is my favorite to look at, the old would fit most of my riding, but the Desert's tall bars would make my back like it best. (And my back has a loud voice when choosing a ride.)