make me nervous. Anyone who has skated or skateboarded knows that small pebbles will stop the wheel dead in it's tracks. See this scar on my chin? With these large wheels you can get high speed without worrying about flying over on to your face. I made the deck long enough for both feet. That helps out when changing kicking legs. I usually make two kicks then change sides. It looks like a slow motion run when riding it. It's very nice to ride for long distances and my back feels more relaxed after a ride, also seems to be a good gut burner. The down tube is 1 inch by 2 inch steel. The bottom rails are 1x1 square steel tube. Brakes front and rear. Brake cable is from a tandem bike. When I was looking for a donor bike, I went into a bike shop and told the owner I wanted to spend $20 on a used bike to chop. I picked out an old Royce Union 10 speed. The owner said forget it, he had over $20 in the pedals alone. I said keep the pedals, I don't need them. He took them off and I got the bike. Keith Moss

Keith Moss: Schwinng! QueenMary Recumbent, AutoPed

Here's yet another use for the discarded lightweight bike. I found an old Schwinnn Varsity Deluxe behind a dumpster. The wheels and chain were rusted-out but the frame was fine. I was talking to Jay Stewart about building a swing bike with the old Varsity. With the horizontal top tube, two fronts could be cut and joined in the middle. Jay said a Schwinn would be good because the head tube and seat tube were of the same diameter and were interchangeable. This would allow a seat tube to be put in the rear head tube to connect the seat. Jay donated an identical frame size Schwinn Suburban to the project.  The two top tubes were cut and sleeved with an inner sleeve. I found some brass plumbing pipe at the hardware store that fit inside the tubes very tight, making an inner sleeve to connect between the tubes and hold them together tightly for welding.  The down tubes of each bike were cut and sleeved to make horizontal, parallel to the top tube.  The handlebars are home-made from an old "Abdominizer" exercise machine I found on the side of the road on trash day.  I found out the old Varsity was a Deluxe when we disassembled the crank and a million ball bearings fell to the ground. On this model the rear wheel was fixed and the front crank was free-wheeling. That way the the chain was always moving so you could shift gears while coasting. Pretty cool. We switched the crank and put on a 26" wheels.  At first, this bike is very difficult to ride. It will throw you to the ground. It is the sensation of learning to ride a bike all over again. Some fun tricks like the U-turn in the driveway, or swerving the front wheel side to side can be learned quickly. No serious injuries have been reported from riding the "Schwinng Bike".

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Below: Queen Mary Recumbent

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Left: AutoPed.

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I have always liked recumbent bicycles, the riding position makes sense to me. You can get more power to the pedals when you're pushing with your back against a seat. I had a BikeE recumbent and liked the seat-to-pedals postition. The BikeE handlebars seemed too close to my chest and were not

adjustable. The backrest wasn't comfortable with no lower back support. I didn't like the small wheels. It felt like I was riding a child' bike. I prefer large wheels for large people. I sold the BikeE. I call my long-wheeled-base-above-seat-steering recumbent the "Queen Mary" because it is so darn long. Even with the extra length, it is still possible to navigate a riding U-turn on a two lane street with the handlebars at full turn. The riding position is very comfortable, sort of like driving a car. The bike started out as a 26" girl's 10 speed. The frame had a slight 3" horizontal curve where the down tube connected to the seat tube. This is where I hacksawed the frame to allow for a 37" tube extension. I found a tube that fit tightly over the bike frame so no jig was needed for welding. Another bottom bracket from an old Raleigh was cut sleeved and welded to the front. Another tube was cut and welded between the two bottom brackets. The first backrest was a pair of handlebars inserted into the seat tube with a camping chair sling. It worked surprisingly well, but I wanted lower back support. The current backrest is made from an old skateboard deck, upholstered with material from a discarded office chair. The gear shift is in front of the seat, which allows for a shorter cable and one less cable on the handlebars. First-time riders are in for a totally new riding expereience. The long-wheel base takes a bit of getting used to. Soon you can sit back and relax. My lower back feels good pushing against the backrest as I pedal. My arms and shoulders are relaxed. I can ride this bike all day.

There's a great deal of interest with autopeds in the Netherlands. They have a National Autoped federation over there. After seeing the Helsinki's club page I made my own. It's a scooter with 27" 10 speed wheels with the high pressure 120 lb. tires. The kids shouldn't be the only ones to have fun on their Razors. Those small wheels

make me nervous. Anyone who has skated or skateboarded knows that small pebbles will stop the wheel dead in it's tracks. See this scar on my chin? With these large wheels you can get high speed without worrying about flying over on to your face. I made the deck long enough for both feet. That helps out when changing kicking legs. I usually make two kicks then change sides. It looks like a slow motion run when riding it. It's very nice to ride for long distances and my back feels more relaxed after a ride, also seems to be a good gut burner. The down tube is 1 inch by 2 inch steel. The bottom rails are 1x1 square steel tube. Brakes front and rear. Brake cable is from a tandem bike. When I was looking for a donor bike, I went into a bike shop and told the owner I wanted to spend $20 on a used bike to chop. I picked out an old Royce Union 10 speed. The owner said forget it, he had over $20 in the pedals alone. I said keep the pedals, I don't need them. He took them off and I got the bike. Keith Moss

Left: Schwinng!