Built a foot bike/scooter

[Snax]

I got distracted from the recumbent build project this week and decided I needed to build something that would produce a faster payoff for my efforts, so I built a foot bike. It really only took about 5 hours total time to build from a junk mountain bike and square tubular steel and it has tuned out well worth the effort.

The foot bike is fun to ride and everybody in my family except for our two year old can ride it without making any adjustments. It's really quiet and can carve some seriously tight corners.




I added a foot board to the frame today, but it is otherwise complete save for some paint and probably a different set of wheels.

I don't really consider it serious transportation for more than a quick 1/4 mile trip to the store or just farting around, but I might try taking the 2.5 miles to work tommorrow.

[Erdrick]

How exactly are you computing your mpg..? You might consider taking off the listings, as it is kinda skewing the top ten standings.

Otherwise it is pretty sweet. I must ask, where did you get the idea/plans to put it together? I ask because a guy down the street from me (in Japan) has a very similar setup, which looks to be hand-made.

[Bill in Houston]

The fun of a scooter with better handling. Cool stuff.

Is that a jug of 303 protectant on the shelf?

[Snax]

Oops, I didn't think about the standings. I'll take it off. (When I figure out how!) :P

There are two companies that I have found who market adult sized scooters of this sort, Kickbike, and Footbike. I simply modeled my own dimensions after what they produce, though mine lacks their swoopy styling.

And yes, 303, good stuff!

[Snax]

Oh, and the equivalent fuel economy for the bike I got from a website that calculates it based upon the calories consumed as compared to the energy available in gasoline. It took into account the bicycle type, tire type and width, combined weight, and average riding speed. It's worth noting that a good roadbike ridden at the same speed I ride is 10-20% more efficient, probably mostly due to skinnier tires and a more prone upper body position.

[kickflipjr]

good job snacks. It the scooter strong? I was wondering because there is only one tube holding it together.

[Snax]

Well I have been doing my worst to test that question. I haven't done any drops off of high objects or anything, but bunny hops are absorbed with aplomb. One thing about this design is that it lends itself well to allot of flexing which is not something you want much of in a conventional bike, but not a bad thing here.

My first test rides of it did produce a failure at the main downtube joint, but that was only because I hadn't closed the top side of the square tubing and bunny-hopped it. Even in this weakened state after straightening it out and patching over the top side with a solid plate, it has shown no sign of failure looming.

I'll probably build another one very soon that is a little more refined in appearance with a round down tube all the way down. It will also have a 16" rear wheel vs. the 12" one on the current project because of greater wheel and tire options.

[MetroMPG]

Looks like you're having fun making stuff. Cool, cool, cool. I'm having fun just reading about it!

[Snax]

This scooter is now more or less complete. I could still do some touch-up painting on the stem and forks, but other than adding a rear brake (which I will probably be too lazy to actually do), I consider it done.

Total cost = $25 ($15 for a quality used front wheel, $5 for the donor frame forks and bar, and $5 for the tubing)

[Bill in Houston]

You need some purple streamers for the ends of the handlebars. :-)

[Snax]

Well the bike the rear wheel came off of used to have them. We do have some ribbon laying around . . . er, no.

[MetroMPG]

Looks like there's a magnet on the front wheel for a bike computer.

What's your max speed so far?

[Bill in Houston]

Looks like fun. I like riding my kids scooters, but the handling is pretty twitchy. The foot bike should be a little more stable, as well as smoother-riding...

[Snax]

A scooter like this is just as stable as any bicycle, and by making the head tube angle more laid back, more trail* can be built in to make it even more stable. Those damn Razor scooters and the like have less than 1/2 of it one way, none if you flip the bars backwards. Way too twitchy for me. But if you can ride a bicycle, a scooter like mine has a learning curve of virtually nil.

It's pretty amazing to ride. I can corner far harder on it than I would think about trying on my bicycle because instead of low-siding, I can just throw my foot (or both feet) down to catch a slide. Plus I think the standing position allows better shock absorbtion for better grip overall.

And no, I don't have a computer on it. The magnet came with the wheel, but I don't really want to know how slow I'm going.

*The distance the contact center with the ground follows the pivot axis.


And are you happy now Bill? (See pic.)

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Snax

A scooter like this is just as stable as any bicycle, and by making the head tube angle more laid back, more trail* can be built in to make it even more stable.

Unless you add so much that you get "chopper flop"!

(EDIT: which you obviously didn't.)

Only suggestion: you gotta spray that rear tire black!

[Snax]

I need to get a new rear tire for it. It's the oddest thing I've ever seen. If I inflate it to anything over the 40 psi rating on the sidewall, it leaks. But once it's down to 40, it stops! It has held air for 5 days at that pressure now. I'm having trouble finding a good narrow 12" tire that is not an all-terrain tread though.

The front tire is holding up impressively well considering how scary the sidewalls look. For what have to be at least 15 year old tires, they grip pretty well too.

[Bill in Houston]

Originally Posted by Snax

And are you happy now Bill? (See pic.)

Oh, now it's pretty. :-)

With the stabilty built in, I was wondering if you could ride without hands... Definitely a bad idea.

[Snax]

Seems a question worth exploring by encouraging my children to try it.

[Bill in Houston]

I always like to throw something like that out to my kids, and then say, "oh, that's probably not a good idea" and then leaving so that they can try it out. :-)

[usedgeo]

I always knew someday I would regret not having kids. I didn't think it would come so soon .

By the way that is a nice scooter.

Originally Posted by Bill in Houston

I always like to throw something like that out to my kids, and then say, "oh, that's probably not a good idea" and then leaving so that they can try it out. :-)