Thread started by VioletMoodSwings at 06.30.09 - 7:23 pm

My uncle found a bike in the trash, but I am giving it new life! As AN ART BIKE! It's my first bike-reclamation project. I'm pretty sure it went through Hurricane Katrina here in New Orleans, so I'm going to call it "The Hurricane".

Anyhow, one of the things I want to put on it is a flagpole to hang a "hurricane warning" since off of. The closest thing I've been able to find as far as DIY is concerned is this guy's bike here:

http://velospace.org/node/3021

(Jolly Roger FTW!)

He used a big ol' piece of PVC, and the frame is pretty close to my trash, er, art bike's is. Any ideas on how to attach such a thing to my bike?

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Looks like the guy just stuck the flag pole between the seat stays and that brake bracket piece thingy. If the flag does get away from you, looks like all that's needed is some duct tape to tape it.

See if that dood can send you a pic and post what I said above if you still need help.




User1
06.30.09 - 8:32 pm

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I actually emailed the guy, and if anyone's curious, here's what he had to say:

Reecy,

That sounds like an awesome project...and I do hope you'll send photos to
share when it's all done.

Let's see...first thing is to get a piece of schedule 40 PVC. You'll want to
use the thick-walled tubing if your flag is bigger than about 2'x4', because
of the wind load generated while riding. The thin stuff will break pretty
quickly. The thick tubing really doesn't weigh much more, and once it's on
the bike you won't notice it.

I got a long bolt and affixed it to an endcap, then glued the endcap onto
the tube. That long bolt went through the kickstand plate on the bike's
frame. Then, since there was an old reflector bracket behind the seat, I
just ran another bolt through the tube and bolted it to that bracket. The
tube is flexible enough to bend a little bit, and the two attachment points
made it rock-solid.

Since then, the cruiser is gone, but I've modified the original flagpole to
use on the back of my Xtracycle. With some thin aluminum strip, some
hardware and a drill, there are all kinds of things you can do to make "art"
out of any bike! Oh, and lots of zipties...here's a link to the updated
flagpole mount:
http://www.bikecommuters.com/2008/07/29/diy-xtracycle-flagpole/

Your bike won't handle weirdly with a flag flying...but it will make a lot
of noise (clanging and banging). You could probably muffle that with some
foam padding or duct tape. My only real suggestion is to not make the pole
too long -- on my first voyage around the yard with the original bike, I got
caught up in our house's telephone line...which is right next to the main
power line running from the alley to my house. You do NOT want to touch a
power line with your flagpole!!! The point is that too long means you'll
get caught in all those low-hanging oaks, overhanging ironwork and the other
catchy bits NOLA is famous for. Be careful and have fun!

By the way...If you've got an EL wire tutorial for your wheels idea, I'd
love to see it. I've been playing with a pre-configured length of the wire
from a company called Bike Glow, but am itching to try something a little
more dazzling.


Jack Sweeney
"Ghost Rider"
Tampa, Florida
http://www.bikecommuters.com



VioletMoodSwings
responding to a comment by User1
07.1.09 - 12:59 pm

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