Starting over on the blog idea

Apparently, I don't know how to use the internet, so all the pictures on this page are clumped together in a weird order. It's like those books where they put all the color pictures in a few pages in the middle.

Normal people won't be showing so much leg.

This is the version 1 chassis for the organ trailer. Ultimately, it had poor rider ergonomics, so I am working on version 2, which is much improved.

Organ trailer suspension.

 My old blog was full of boring stuff. You can see boring stuff any old time. I'll try to keep this strictly interesting stuff.

Solar panel rack:
Some cool folks with a school bus conversion ("skoolie", in fancy pants parlance) contracted me to design and build a solar panel rack based on this Youtube video. It has panels that deploy on drawer slides using pneumatic cylinders.
This has been a really cool opportunity to learn about pneumatic systems. Pneumatic components are relatively cheap for how versatile they are. The catch is that compressed air itself is expensive to create. Thankfully, the school bus has an onboard air system for operating the brakes, the windshield wipers, the flip-out "STOP" sign, and the door.
This project is done except for the final installation, so I will have more pictures later.

Keg Person:
Dave from the brewery had me cut up some kegs for a stainless steel suit of armor. Hilarity ensues. Attaching the legs was tricky, but I ended up bolting some steel "cleats" to the bottom of some sacrificial shoes that lock into some hardware at the bottom of the leg.

The Organ Bike:
I keep calling it the "organ bike", when really it's a trailer. This nonprofit called Orgelkids USA  has contracted me to build them a trailer to support their miniature, 25-key pipe organ and its player. It has a system of linkages that allows the organist to pedal to pump the air for the organ. It's been an honor, and they have been exceedingly patient with my excruciating pace on this project. Designing the suspension was a challenge, but illuminating.

Framebuilding:
I've been doing some framebuilding. It is the logical solution to being super tall and a welder. I like bikes that have:
- As much tire clearance as possible. Even if you never use it.
- Disc brakes. They just work, get over it.
- Mount points for whatever necessary to make the bike truly convenient. Why have a custom bike if you're not going to bedazzle it with stuff. My bike weighs about a gazillion pounds, but it is still the best bike I've ever had.
- A fit to my ginormous legs and arms. I have never until recently owned a bike that truly fits me. A lot of this is the fork. My fork is 900mm long. The longest commercially available fork that I know of is 780mm.

I've built some frames for friends too, which has been a good way to fund the learning experience. The latest one is a touring bike for 27.5 x 2.4" tires with very high handlebars. I'm using a curved top tube to give him some more stand-over clearance.

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Solar panel rack. There are two sliding panels that deploy from underneath a stationary set of panels on pneumatic cylinders.

Mapping out chainstays for my friend Donn's bike. I disapprove of dimpling chainstays if at all possible. I need a better bending setup for chainstays.

Humongous. 490mm chainstays. 65cm seat tube. 29 x 2.35" tires. 340mm long headtube. 50lbs of pure awesome.