# If You Haven't Ridden A Clown Bike You haven't Had A Tip Top Ride



## Goldenrod

If You Haven’t Been On A Clown Bike, You Haven’t Had Tip-Top Fun

 Squeeze the budget for a few hundred dollars, find a sponsor or use the bike for a rental to pay for the first one. This project is newspaper worthy just because it is so odd. Once the wheels arrive in the mail, you need a few hours, a six-inch kid’s bike sprocket and an old near worthless bike. It can be converted back to the original. Any old girls bike that moves in a way that seems rickety, but can still keep up with other bikes will capture the attention away from $2,000 bikes. Use a boys heavy duty if you want a Masonite belly sign that can be changed by cutting its cable ties. 24-inch wheels in a 26-inch bike will clear the fork and rear fender bridge. The fork may need to be lengthened if you make the offset too much. Too small of an offset makes the wheel movement less dramatic. See the photo of the adjustable offset jig.
The smaller crank and sprocket are needed for ground clearance and easier pedaling. Braking requires a longer push back. Cheaper light weight bikes work also. Wheel width that matches the frame size is less relevant. The 1.50-inch offset will clear the 2-inch difference in bike/tire sizes. Suggestion: You can offset your own 24 -inch wheels after the first set of converted wheels have been purchased. More strain than normal is put on these spokes and tires. The adjustable, offset spoke conversion jig (wooden) is pictured.
Fenders are not necessary but they show the strange wheel action in a more explicit and dramatic way. Using a kick stand will require tires to be rotated to a specific place where the frame height is correct to the length of the kick stand. We chose the low rider look for sitting on the kick stand. All of this engineering was developed by Jim Owen, a former Chicago Schwinn employee, who is also an Ingo bike expert. A conversion video is available. I can’t sell my bikes but there are several ways of getting your own. I still want to help CABE members so view Google/Jim Owen Clown Bike. Most of the old types (wooden disk) did not work well even with only one-wheel offset. A longer distance can be covered with less effort than a regular bike because you can thrust with the handlebars without pedaling. Ape bars add leverage. You can set them for galloping (up and down together) or bucking (one and then the other). When the opposed sex watches this action it has an effect that I can’t explain on a family website. Just keep your wife inside your house or you won’t get any work done. In a parade you can outrun the older women.*

                                                            The Red Swing Bike Was Made From the Same Near Worthless Girls Bike

The only additional part is the extra fork tube and its square steel mounting piece. Internet videos show how to do this but they use small 20-inch, difficult (for adults) bikes to ride before and after the conversion. Notice that the middle bar must be level to the ground. The rear rack is from an old Sears bike. The girl tubes were cut and welded into an oval design after one was bent more. The Masonite oval plate was glued to inside the oval space. “Spring? ,we don’t need no stinking spring”. Long pants are needed for protection from sprocket rubs. Your better balancing skill will come with practice. The worst that can happen is that you have to put your foot down. The value of all three types of bikes is that they look dangerous but are controllable.

                                                                 The Purple, Steel Fork-Jointed Roller Skate Bike Will Work While Making Wide Turns.

All three of my bikes have been powder-coated. This is the most crowd-pleasing bike on the planet. Extend the fork length, add a steel joint and then use the leather part of the shoe for a cover. The plastic “carrot” and wooden “stick” is an old school term for encouragement. Real carrots are not practical. The broom is temporarily attached by a steel pivot bolt. All skates come with pivoting, rubber shock absorbers. Remember that Alice needs the second skate for when the wheels wear out. All accessories were purchased off the internet. This was designed as a comical Zamboni for a skating rink but the rink folded just as I finished the bike. Parades are the best venue for the odd bikes as they are ridden in an inter-winding group of riders, from ages 12-74.
*Mr. Goldenrod is prone to fabrication.


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## 49autocycledeluxe

I want to see video of the white bike going down the road


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## Sevenhills1952

Check Curley out!

Watch "Ingo Bike Curly" on YouTube





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## JIM OWEN

49autocycledeluxe said:


> I want to see video of the white bike going down the road



On YouTube enter: clown bucking bike 5 to see the white bike in action.


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## 49autocycledeluxe




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## the tinker

Great video, of a great guy, James Owen of Chicago, former Schwinn employee.


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## Sevenhills1952

Nice neighborhood. Look closely and one neighbor is watching him!



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## Sevenhills1952

It looks like it wouldn't be that difficult to make your own from scratch. Here's one place to buy spokes...

Universal Cycles -- Wheelsmith Straight Gauge Spokes - Silver
https://www.universalcycles.com/sho...MaM3bedopYLizJ4OEZH5Jp35ra_JzFOBoCuYIQAvD_BwE

They sell 174mm to 310mm (about 6.8" to 12.2") in 2mm increments. So you could fabricate the wheel jig easily, measure and order the spokes.
To me both wheels made like that would be a wild ride!


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## Sevenhills1952

Looks like Curlys bike just the back was made like that. The James Owen bike both wheels. Spokes from place I listed are 75 cents each.

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## Goldenrod

Sevenhills1952 said:


> Looks like Curlys bike just the back was made like that. The James Owen bike both wheels. Spokes from place I listed are 75 cents each.
> 
> Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk



You are correct.


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## Sevenhills1952

What's interesting about Curly's bike is once started the hopping motion keeps it going. No pedals/gears. 

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## bricycle

If You Haven't Ridden A Clown Bike You haven't Had A Tip Top Ride

...why no, I haven't ridden a Schwinn lately


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## Sevenhills1952

I want to make a real tall bike. I made a fairly tall one years ago and it was fun to ride.

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## mrg

My newest version, most people don't really notice the wheels unless your riding it!, guess I need to put a video in my for sale thread.


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## Fritz Katzenjammer

Yer a properly sick little puppy.... its great!


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