the unofficial Aline/removable dropout owners thread ;-) ...

[MattyCiii]

Well I must have been bitten hard by the e-bike bug, because I went ahead and bought both. First, a Rockshox domain RC dual crown fork from ES member Beavinator,
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=36429&p=527642&hilit=Never+used+Rockshox+dual+crown+forks#p527642 and concurrently a Lefty from Project321 inc. Shizzle I hope one stands out over the other because I only have one rim to lace and one tire to mount.

I guess when the rest of the parts come in (the lefty & spokes), some drive components, etc) it will be time to start my own A-Line build thread. For now I just drool over that sweet frame sitting there, a skeleton of its future self...

[fractal]

Well I must have been bitten hard by the e-bike bug, because I went ahead and bought both. First, a Rockshox domain RC dual crown fork from ES member Beavinator,
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=36429&p=527642&hilit=Never+used+Rockshox+dual+crown+forks#p527642 and concurrently a Lefty from Project321 inc. Shizzle I hope one stands out over the other because I only have one rime to lace and one tire to mount.

I guess when the rest of the parts come in (the lefty & spokes), some drive components, etc) it will be time to start my own A-Line build thread. For now I just drool over that sweet frame sitting there, a skeleton of its future self...

i know what you mean! i look at mine everyday too! when the snow melts, this bike is going to hit the streets where it belongs! any news from magudaman with those dropout mods? he has not posted about it on his thread in a while? he must be pretty busy?

[MattyCiii]

any news from magudaman with those dropout mods? he has not posted about it on his thread in a while? he must be pretty busy?

No word, I'm sure he's busy. I have not sent "any update" PMs and tried not to bump the main replacement dropout thread (http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=35654) as I'd hate to be a pain in the arse. I have a lot of other parts for that bike in flight to track already, so there's some cause for me to take the dropouts upgrade on a slow track. That said, if they were ready/available today, I'd buy without delay.

As a pretty risk adverse guy, I'd prefer to spend the dollars and have the dropouts sooner rather than later just to have them in hand; I'd hate to build a whole bike only to be stuck with the original downhill style dropouts (hard to use with a NuVinci). On the other hand, I do have a "Plan B", which involves some plate steel and a scrool saw.

[sn0wchyld]

any news from magudaman with those dropout mods? he has not posted about it on his thread in a while? he must be pretty busy?

No word, I'm sure he's busy. I have not sent "any update" PMs and tried not to bump the main replacement dropout thread (http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=35654) as I'd hate to be a pain in the arse. I have a lot of other parts for that bike in flight to track already, so there's some cause for me to take the dropouts upgrade on a slow track. That said, if they were ready/available today, I'd buy without delay.

As a pretty risk adverse guy, I'd prefer to spend the dollars and have the dropouts sooner rather than later just to have them in hand; I'd hate to build a whole bike only to be stuck with the original downhill style dropouts (hard to use with a NuVinci). On the other hand, I do have a "Plan B", which involves some plate steel and a scrool saw.

If you have to, you can make a set with nothing more than a drill press and an angle grinder, though they'll be a fair bit heavier if you use steel. On the other hand, they'll never break. ever. Took me a couple of days working on and off, but that was my first time working with metals since a brief period back in high school, about 10 years ago now!!! You could knock up a set in a day if you knew what you were doing.

[sk8norcal]

is there a build thread on here ?

dbakers cromo aline

[MattyCiii]

Daaamn those replacement dropouts are loooooooooong!
But with that bike's got-up-n-go, the length will keep the wheelies in check...

[deepfraught]

That's great (except the rack
Reminds me of this awesomeness
http://youtu.be/VYpOFimB7ZA

After seeing people momentum brake drift tandem bicycles, I wondered what would be possible with wet grass, e-power, and a very long swingarm =D
Also makes me think can I make my A-Line an Xtracycle, to get luggage and wet grass long tail sliding ability =D
PS: apparently a sequel vid to the one above:
http://www.rideicon.com/videos.jsp

[oatnet]

Great vid, thanks!

-JD

[dbaker]

No build thread; GCDC visited with his camera. What took the most time was the pinch bolt conversion of Doc Bass's torque arm/drop outs. They are damn hard; broke three taps and 2 drill bits. Had to finish drilling last hole with carbide end mill!

Cutting the aluminum bar stock was easy. I used a drill press to get holes correct and a carbide router bit in a hand held wood router to make the multi level curved cuts for the swing arm connections and the drop out and brake caliper reliefs. Just need confidence and a very firm grip and take it slow so the router does not walk away.

Drop outs are loooong because it is easier to cut them shorter than to lengthen ones that are too short. I have not yet resolved the shock spring issue; more leverage means a stronger spring is required. I got a stonger spring and need to try it out. Rack was used to get it running; not a pretty solution. I also need to put together a 24s3p battery pack; lots of voltage droop on the 24s2p 2 year old HK pack used in the demo. A 24/36 fet controller woul also help.

[oatnet]

Cutting the aluminum bar stock was easy. I used a drill press to get holes correct and a carbide router bit in a hand held wood router to make the multi level curved cuts for the swing arm connections and the drop out and brake caliper reliefs. Just need confidence and a very firm grip and take it slow so the router does not walk away.

Drop outs are loooong because it is easier to cut them shorter than to lengthen ones that are too short.

I really liked your approach of using a long dropouts that you can shorten for tuning, it didn't occur to me but makes great sense. Longer is better from a keeping-the-nose-down standpoint. Since the dropouts are effectively a lever, I was concerned that if I made mine too long, leverage could overload the 3 mounting bolts or the rear triangle itself. In that respect, you are definitely our canary in a coal mine and I appreciate your proving it out for us.

-JD

[MattyCiii]

Well it occurred to me that I never did show the results of my custom dropouts here. So, here are a couple of pics. Full build thread linked in my signature, with lots more pictures of the custom dropouts and the related process.

[dbaker]

Dropouts are artwork Is that a custom hub/rear wheel? What is your motor and driveline plan?