jeremygrant.com

The “Mixte / Cargo”

I’ve had to withold this stuff for a couple weeks for a surprise.
It was worth it. you’ll see at the end…

Mixte is the new fixie. I’ve seen the increase of mixte use in LA and suprisingly many of them are young teenagers that throw a track wheels set on. They gotta know what they’re doing, right? Maybe mixte is the new “frame i can afford because I can’t purchase a FTP yet“. When I think of mixte I want to see velo couture & copenhagen chic… Thats romance. I’ve seen a couple around the westside, tonight I saw one – a ninja girl on a black oma feit blow thru a red in front of three cars! Going up Pico no less. WTF.

Cargo is the new Magna. Or more aptly put: People are attaching racks to their Magnas and actually using them or at least looking like they could possibly use them in the future. Nice new basket bikes are appearing locked up in the neighborhood every couple weeks. Around the beach I see more people with racks and baskets, flip flops and boogie boards. Even people without racks are trying to carry huge things. I wish I had got a picture but there was this guy carrying a 36×48 artist board, a box and a bag in his hands riding brakeless. thats refreshing to see in LA.

So, I started with a bunch of old/spare parts to see if anything was ridable. The object was to build a cargo/mixte/townie style bike for little to no cost. sure you can buy a $50 magna, slap on some racks and call it a day; but, this bike has demand for style. What better than a piece of American history/trash and hack it into something you’d find on the streets of paris selling flowers. Something that says, hey, thats from another dimension. Romantic.

^this is not romantic
(it’s road warrior-esqe — if i want a bike like that I’d make an endo/cargo LARGE MARGE (badass) or something like this)

anywayz, here’s the (functioning )parts list

frame/fork: AMF Roadmaster Nimble, beat to hell and heavy as BRICKS
rear wheel: J.C. Higgins 26″ rim/coaster hub w/1.5″ Specialized Armadillo Nimbus & Mr. TUFFY
brake arm: J. C. Higgins, this is real nice old school QUALITY
cog: J.C. Higgins 1″ pitch, crazy nice, but HEAVY
front wheel: 700c Vuelta mach. rim/Formula hub w/25mm Kenda & Mr. Tuffy – LIGHT and MODERN!
crank/bb: JC Higgins 1″ pitch, from another dimension, WTF, need to machine down to newer standard.
chain: J.C. Higgins 1″ pitch, from another dimension, TOUGH
stem: AMF quill riser, stamped trash
handlebars: AMF townie bars, OK
brake/lever: AMF, ? grip is stamped on LOL
seat post: J.C. Higgins 13/16″, trash
seat post collar: AMF, stamped, WEAK
seat: Electra, USED
pedals: AMF, actually… these are light and spin OK i like em.
grips: AMF, like first tricycle LOL

Riding around town on a 10 mile jaunt on this thing was fun. It was remarkably fast (& nimble); but, the 700c in front threw the steering off slightly. I did think about putting a 26″ or 20″ wheel on there and fabricating some fork and brake mounts… since that costs money I decided a little wonky steering can always be compensated for. Weight was of no concern (cargo phil. 101) It was simple old school mechanics and it worked well enough for a good distance with an oversized operator. I didn’t jump the thing off a RAMP but I did rally some corners, leave some sick skidz, hit a thousand potholes and rode the scary no hands mode. Scary. The wheels didn’t fall off when I dropped off the curb. So it worked.

Next was the color and functional concepts. Functionally was mostly based on what can be achieved for the lowest cost and still outfit the bike completely as a cargo bike. I only had to buy a rear rack and fabricate the front rack out of old parts, metal tubing and plastic crate. (check out the bike hack here). I’ve built a couple of these so far and they work great. Of course the bike had to have fenders, reflectors, a chain guard and a bell to finish off the style. A bike like this should be able to perform any hour and any day.

A lot of color concepts looked cool — this one seemed to be the perfect fit as far as time, money, durability and style:

Don’t we all wish the sky was always as perfect as that… and as easy create?

Painting by hand is fun because you can do a little at a time over the course of a week and kind of let it be your canvass. Letting it get messy (but still stay classy) lessens the appeal to would be thieves. They want a nice even finish.

paint: rustoleum, can, easy cleanup
fenders: AMF, nice, but short
chain guard: AMF, its nice
rear rack: Topeak, way overbuilt, cheap, weird
rear baskets: Wald, used
front rack: diy milk crate, fun
bell: i love my bike, more fun!

The outcome turned out better than expected… probably because I just “went with it” and made design decisions as I painted. I did everything by hand (no spray) and even stripped the frame by hand. I feel better about a bike when it doesn’t needlessly consume the atmosphere. Painting by hand also adds a unique personality. PLUSSS its fun.

The bike definately has some ancient technology on there and I felt like a cross between Dr. Frankenstein, Yehuda Moon, Sheldon Brown and a circus clown face painter when I worked on it. The components performed remarkably after some stipping, rebuilding and repacking. There must have been 90 years of crap in those bearings. The front rack is a little too extended and I’d like to find something else to use. Another thing… this bike is HEAVY! The rear tire alone weighs 2 tons. But thats ok… it gives a good workout and the bell supplies some extra endorpins. I still think it should have a cup holder (to rival enemy minivans and suvs cupholders).

So the bike had to make the trek across the city. Lucky I installed that bike hitch a couple months ago. A front fenderd / front racked bike requires a little work to get hitched… that was a 10min pita i didnt forsee.

One cargo bike towing another…

Makes for one looooong cargo bike… drivers gave me extra room and I got a lot of WTF stares LOL. No drivers messed with me and it was during rush hour on a friday. this makes me strongly support the usage of oversized bikes that can do some serious damage to a car when hit. Because no one in LA wants a ding on their car!

Like I said, the surprise was all worth it. The Birthday Girl loved it! Happy Birthday!

The “Mixte Cargo” was in service the very next day.

now thats CHIC!

If you’ve read this far maybe you should start thinking of making your own mixte cargo bike? or maybe one for the special person in your life.

Here’s a short mock video for more information & entertainment:

• Yay! RT @YehudaMoon: Yehuda Moon returns June 17, 2009: Dailies will run Monday through Saturday. http://yehudamoon.com #
• public school in violent ghetto looks nicer than most high end retail architecture in los angeles… http://twitpic.com/5ipk5 #
• It was an earthquake! LolZ #
• It’s not too late to get out and QUAKE the VOTE! http://twitpic.com/5j0nr #
• Superathlete Steve Larsen died from a virus? – http://tinyurl.com/r4gucv – unbelievable at age 39! scary stuff. #
• RT @LATimeshome: Architects report contracts are down but new business inquiries are up http://bit.ly/183aiu #
• When more architecture inquiries come at a time like this it means developers want something for free with an empty promise of pay later. #
• …payment that usually comes 6+ months late, if at all! Imagine if i did that with my rent, utility or food bills! #
• crudd suckers : retail gas up 25¢ this mo. – http://tiny.cc/suckers – crude oil up to $60 – http://tiny.cc/crudd – LOLZ #
• Long ride today punctuated by a memorial at the 19th hole.
  Mackey Deasy RIP #
• Saw this Lkwd today. If it’s on purpose or a mistake either way it’s a glorious stripe of green paint for a mile! http://twitpic.com/5o4bi #
• i just feel like crap right now… #
• METRO ALERT!Metro kills two people in the last day. http://tiny.cc/metrokills (did i see another one tonite at 9:30 on wash blvd/blueline?!) #
• Free ice cream at lifeguard station #22 Santa monica now! Yum #

• Mackey Deasy, a great Architect, teacher and mentor, has passed away. The man who made possible many opportunities will be missed. #
• http://twitpic.com/1qsvn – man peeing himself with his penis out on sunset and vine, los angeles. #
• http://twitpic.com/1ptae – new pedals. #
• http://twitpic.com/20ebt – classic california vegetaion in spring #
• RT #RAAM – The World’s Toughest Bicycle Race. Profiles of all the current solo racers. http://bit.ly/oSvtO @ohioraam #
• Wow, a lot of snide comments from motorists today. WTF #
• Oh I get it now… i see gas prices going up again. Im outta touch! Let’s hope it hits $4 (or more) this summer!!! #
• Bill Burr is so funny. #
• Showing some love on the new cargo bike! @baniigaaru LQQking good! http://twitpic.com/5amph #
• Perfecto! http://twitpic.com/5bqca #
• Bon appetit! Merci beaucoup @baniigaaru http://twitpic.com/5bv0a #
• French bread: prf 2t yeast 15m. Mix 4c flour/2t salt/1.5c h2o. Combine/knead 10m. Rise 2h. Knead&form. Rise 1h. Steam@400F 5m/Bake@350F 20m. #