POISON APPLE: '79 Schwinn Fair Lady Trike

[Superman1984]

Thanks! Yeah, I seriously lucked out on that fat tire bike! They're really closer to 29.5" x 4.5" though, which is what makes finding fenders for these balloons really difficult. I'm hoping I don't have to pay someone to make a set of fenders for these tires, but we'll see. I can't say I plan to use the Alice in Wonderland font at this point, as it might be too difficult to cut out of vinyl at a size small enough for the chain guard. I am looking at different Snow White fonts, though. Patience is a virtue, but it's not as easy to practice when you've got an actual deadline to get everything done by. The Muscle Bike Build Off that I'm building this for ends January 15th, which will be all too soon if I can't get these last few parts assembled.

I know overall the tires are much taller. I get plenty of clearance on 26x2.125 with the Switchblade & the Monark Super Deep fenders but with the 26x3" Duros there is absolutely little to No room for Error when mounting them. Sidewall wise they're already close as hell to the chain even in 2.125 so going 3"+ is always a tough decision but it jus' looks So Bad Ass Sick!!! Especially on a chopper, stretch & trike!!! I just want wider wheels now to let the side walls balloon out more to get the actual fat look vs what I have now

 

[Guest2]

Took some time to color the sketches I drew earlier this week, and touch up the icon design for Poison Apple. Everything's still open for revision, but this is the direction I want to push this trike towards.
View attachment 1299764

So what do you guys think? As always, I'm open to critique and other feedback.

Awesome! I vote Green Fuz

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Try as I may, I can't stop thinking of ways to make this build more complicated for the sake of aesthetics. My original idea was to just shave the top of the seat pole and weld a tank over the frame, but I just didn't like the rake of the fork, nor the seat tube and original top tube interrupting the lines of the overall design. So, in an effort to streamline the design and make my trike look even more chopper-inspired, I removed the seat tube and original top tube, and slanted the headset back a few degrees.

I'm thinking of adding either a Mattel V-RROOM! motor or a Sears Hot Rod Twin Fire motor to help fill the void, but I don't know the dimensions of either, or how much it'd cost to get one for that matter. I'm hoping someone here or on ratrodbikes.com could answer that for me.

My biggest concern, however, is how this idea would affect the structural integrity of my trike. I'm hoping my plans to sit over the rear axle, and therefor take most of the weight off the bike frame, plus welding a new solid cantilever-style tank and top tube will help compensate for the lack of a seat tube. I'm no engineer though, so what are your thoughts?

 

[1motime]

Great project!

 

[Superman1984]

Try as I may, I can't stop thinking of ways to make this build more complicated for the sake of aesthetics. My original idea was to just shave the top of the seat pole and weld a tank over the frame, but I just didn't like the rake of the fork, nor the seat tube and original top tube interrupting the lines of the overall design. So, in an effort to streamline the design and make my trike look even more chopper-inspired, I removed the seat tube and original top tube, and slanted the headset back a few degrees.
View attachment 1310497

I'm thinking of adding either a Mattel V-RROOM! motor or a Sears Hot Rod Twin Fire motor to help fill the void, but I don't know the dimensions of either, or how much it'd cost to get one for that matter. I'm hoping someone here or on ratrodbikes.com could answer that for me.
View attachment 1310498
My biggest concern, however, is how this idea would affect the structural integrity of my trike. I'm hoping my plans to sit over the rear axle, and therefor take most of the weight off the bike frame, plus welding a new solid cantilever-style tank and top tube will help compensate for the lack of a seat tube. I'm no engineer though, so what are your thoughts?

Those Vroom fake motors aren't usually cheap and the frame should be fine (will flex some -seat tube but welding a tank or even plating the cantilever frame will stiffen it a good bit. Not sitting over the crank also relieves the stress point to just where you're planted. Worse case you ride wheelies. I eventually will be doing this

to a Huffy Cranbrook and removing the seat post once I position my S curls where I think they'll look best. Going to use a set of regular forks with the bending method from RRB and stretching it a little further using steel plates shaped like the Murrays to add a little more style to the generic frame design. Everything make sense?

 

[Superman1984]

Oh and if you wanna cheat some look into bending that springer as mention by the RRB method. Especially once you have your tire picked. You won't need to add head tube rake (less welding) but it will put the front down lower so take that into considerations.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Those Vroom fake motors aren't usually cheap and the frame should be fine (will flex some -seat tube but welding a tank or even plating the cantilever frame will stiffen it a good bit. Not sitting over the crank also relieves the stress point to just where you're planted. Worse case you ride wheelies. I eventually will be doing this View attachment 1310514to a Huffy Cranbrook and removing the seat post once I position my S curls where I think they'll look best. Going to use a set of regular forks with the bending method from RRB and stretching it a little further using steel plates shaped like the Murrays to add a little more style to the generic frame design. Everything make sense?

I was afraid of those motors not being cheap. How "not usually cheap" are we talking? Sounds like my idea could work then, but I should probably get a cheap cantilever frame and test this whole cut/weld frame flex theory at some point; might help someone in the future.

What's the RRB method of bending forks? Other than that, everything you said makes sense to me. Keep me posted on that Cranbrook when you start on it; I'm very curious to see what you do with it!

Oh and if you wanna cheat some look into bending that springer as mention by the RRB method. Especially once you have your tire picked. You won't need to add head tube rake (less welding) but it will put the front down lower so take that into considerations.

I'll consider it, but I don't want the springer fork to look like a lowrider springer fork. I want this trike to look more like a chopper with a long, mostly-straight fork.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Here are some sketches I did to try and figure out the seat and trike frame. It's tough to figure out though, as I can't really sit over the rear axle with the current wheel brace in the way, and I still haven't found a set of fenders yet. Nothing's carved in stone yet, but I'm still figuring it out. F.y.i., I drew all of these before I came up with the idea to angle the headset back and remove the seat tube and original top tube.

Meanwhile, I've been tinkering with the design further. I had the idea to make the open part of the frame look like the shape of an apple seed, to further the apple motif. I'm also in the process of getting a Mattel V-room motor to fill the space. If that doesn't pan out, I can always sell it and make my money back.

I also had another idea for this trike, thanks to this sweet rat rod Monark I saw for sale here on The C.A.B.E. I'm thinking about maybe putting some USB battery-powered LEDs in the fenders and the frame to add to the wicked vibe I'm going for. Just imagine this thing with lime green lights glowing from inside of it. I think that would be cool, but I need to get this custom fab work done first.

I've just put a slight pause on working on this trike this week while I try to finish up a Christmas gift for my dad. I'll share it after he opens it. I think you guys would like it!

 

[Superman1984]

Here are some sketches I did to try and figure out the seat and trike frame. It's tough to figure out though, as I can't really sit over the rear axle with the current wheel brace in the way, and I still haven't found a set of fenders yet. Nothing's carved in stone yet, but I'm still figuring it out. F.y.i., I drew all of these before I came up with the idea to angle the headset back and remove the seat tube and original top tube.
View attachment 1312027
View attachment 1312028
View attachment 1312029
View attachment 1312030

Meanwhile, I've been tinkering with the design further. I had the idea to make the open part of the frame look like the shape of an apple seed, to further the apple motif. I'm also in the process of getting a Mattel V-room motor to fill the space. If that doesn't pan out, I can always sell it and make my money back.
View attachment 1312031

I also had another idea for this trike, thanks to this sweet rat rod Monark I saw for sale here on The C.A.B.E. I'm thinking about maybe putting some USB battery-powered LEDs in the fenders and the frame to add to the wicked vibe I'm going for. Just imagine this thing with lime green lights glowing from inside of it. I think that would be cool, but I need to get this custom fab work done first.
View attachment 1312032
View attachment 1312033

I've just put a slight pause on working on this trike this week while I try to finish up a Christmas gift for my dad. I'll share it after he opens it. I think you guys would like it!

That Monark is jus' cool n trippy

 

[1motime]

Monark is Trippy! That would work on the trike for night rides also