Genesis cycletruck/Tricross/Solaris MAX - KingTwin tandem

As soon as the roadrat has mudguards it will get 10/10 as commuter bike from me!

Getting close with it, still need a dynamo rear light and to make up a bracket for it too.

Next project will be a full size cargo bike, I want to speed things up and re-use an existing frame from the headtube back. I've considered using the Plug frame but suspect it would be too noodly and lacks clearance. So I've been keeping an eye out for the last few weeks for a 26" MTB frame, ideally disc.

This popped up this weekend on eBay and I'm off to pick it up tomorrow, for what I think it a good price. A 26" Genesis IO SS in Reynolds 725. Decent selection of bits on it, including Mavic wheels, Hope stem, Surly fork, SLX brakes, FSA direct mount cranks and a complete set of new consumables (tyres/pads/Conti tubes/XT bb/FSA headset). Parts will mostly transfer to the cargo bike along with either an X7 3x10/X01 1x11 groupset and a dynamo 20" front wheel.

I suspect it might turn out to be too nice to chop up, but we'll see..

1 Attachment

As expected I'm now conflicted. It's turned out to be in even better condition than it looked from the photos, barely a mark on the 10yr old frame and pretty much all parts as new bar the bars. Going to think it over while I'm away the next couple of weeks then make a decision about chopping. I think it'd get more use as a cargo bike, but equally would make a great shitty weather/winter mtb.

One more crap photo from inside this evening (with bonus Ziggy), I'll try and get some better ones tomorrow if the weather picks up.

1 Attachment

Oh black cat!

I couldn't chop that up I think.
But then steel hardtails with disc for a reasonable price are hard to find, and if the cargo bike works out it probably makes sense.

Chop it, it's only a bike!

Nice find that genesis, I don't think I'd want to chop it, partly depends how much you paid for it I guess, and if you've got room for it as an N+1 rather than chopping it.

Re: the water carrying on No.1 - maybe better off with a full frame bag and a bladder? That was one of my big takeaways when I toured with a frame bag and two bottles... but I do ride silly small frames tbf.

cut it!

Can always buy tubing and make another!

Don't cut it. You'll never find another...

#shitstirring

The Genesis is heaps of fun to ride, haven't ridden a steep angled, small wheeled mtb for ages. But it'll be getting the chop. Don't have room for +1 especially with a big cargo bike to accommodate. And hopefully it'll still be nice in its new form. Paid a smidge over £200 and tubing alone for the rear end of the cargo bike would be approaching £150, bike maths..

More pressingly, off tomorrow to ride the Adriatic Crest. Not such a fan of bladders, find it easier to keep track of how much I've drunk with bottles. Plus I can ride with DT/seatstay bottles empty until needed.

Bike chopping will commence when I'm home.

2 Attachments

Croatia was fantastic, great weather for the time of year. We sacked off the actual Adriatic Crest route after day 2 due to the roughness of the off road sections (should have payed more attention to the advice about taking mountain bikes!) and followed a largely road route that was close to it. The roads were quiet and well surfaced, but everywhere else is hugely rocky!

Highlights included the climb away from the coast and the descent to Gospic, swimming daily in the sea, and the great bivy spots. The ride through the valley from Gospic to Gracac was sobering, large swathes of uncleared landmined farmland and plenty of abandoned houses riddled with bullet holes, a very real reminder of the war. Also saw bear scat on the only track through a 20km section of landmined forest, made for quick pedalling!

Guards now on the Roadrat for winter, pretty much complete as a commuter bar a rear dynamo light.

3 Attachments

looks great!

Guards on the RoadRat. Front spacing is well off and need to braze a chainstay bridge on rather than the rat's nest of cable ties currently holding it on, they're keeping me dry though. Also need to make some BIG diy flaps.

1 Attachment

Great thread.. awesome work on the bags and the bike.. Did you just use a normal sewing machine for the bags??

Cheers! Yep, just a standard domestic one, nothing fancy. All the fabric I've used is reasonably robust and it hasn't struggled with it, or zips/velcro.

Great, thanks.. Might have to dig out the wife's one :-)

Right, action time. The plan was for the Genesis to be chopped and turned into a full size cargo bike, but being realistic I have nowhere to store a bike that long under cover. Going to go with a cycle truck style now, very much influenced by the ratty GT Palomar @McFlyCustom has made. Shouldn't be such a problem to store. Drawing it up, rebuilding the jig, and ordering tubes this week.

Build will be 20" front/26" rear with slick tanwall Maxxis tyres. Need to build a disc (probably dynamo too, anyone got any experience with the cheap Shimano ones?) front wheel. Most bits will be from the existing Genesis build, plus a spare SRAM 11spd X01 drivetrain I've got. Pretty set on guards too, any work around to save buying two sets due to the differing wheel sizes?

Had a ride to the Brown Clee in the slop on Saturday morning, haven't been up there in ages and the Genesis really was great to ride, the perfect mucky weather bike.

1 Attachment

Genesis has been stripped and mounted to the jig. Frame is a reasonable 1850g, won't be light by the time I'm finished! Altering the frame should be relatively straightforward, chop off the existing HT, braze on a new longer one and then a horizontal brace between bottom of HT and middle of DT. Then build a separate rack that will bolt onto the frame. Sent a quote inquiry to Ceeway for tubes/braze one and ordered some square section from metals4u. Finalising the bits for the front wheel before ordering for that too.

Sorted the shed and moved a couple of bikes into the house to make room for brazing in the shed when the weather is rubbish.

2 Attachments

Part of me wants to persuade you to buy my inbred to save this lovely genesis from the chop! Though it is 29”.

I know right, still feels a bit wrong chopping it, but it is ideal for what I need so full steam ahead. Annoyingly I sold a 29" Inbred last year before I'd got all the frame building stuff, would have been good for chopping/adapting. Along with the dented YT that it would have been good to make a new front triangle for. Hindsight..

Got the quote back from Ceeway and as ever it was about 3x what I'd imagined, so knocked a few things off the list and will get some cheaper mild steel tubing for the rack.

Everything now ordered, bits should drip feed in the post next week. Will chop the HT off middle the week and start mitre-ing tubes. Sacked off dynamo lights/hub for the moment due to cost, easy to retrofit at a later date though.

Need to build the front wheel when the bits arrive. Gone for Maxxis DTH 26x2.3 and Grifter 20x2.3 because they come in skinwall and a big 11-46 11spd Sunrace cassette to go with the X01 drivetrain. Pretty much everything will be black (inc rack) with the odd bit of silver.

Got some proper SIF flux for brazing too, should be an improvement on the boric acid which doesn't give very good coverage, as well as some welding magnets.

Made a good start ruining the Genesis. Chopped the HT off, tidied the TT/DT and brazed on a new, longer HT. Prepped the frame for cable guides/bottle bosses/HT reinforcing rings to go on tomorrow. Pretty much everything has arrived apart from the Bike-discount.de order which has all the wheel bits, the rear tyre, and the cassette, hopefully that'll be here tomorrow. Aiming to get the frame sorted and built up so it's rideable first, then make the bolt on rack.

Had a minor break through with the brazing, adjusting to a much smaller cone on the torch, makes it a lot easier to control the heat. The new flux is much better too.

1 Attachment

That is so awesome!

Beast!

Did you manage to chop the original headtube off without losing too much length off the adjoining tubes? You going to brace the new headtube back to the downtube?

Yes to both. Completely sacrificed the old headtube to make sure I lost as little of the DT/TT as possible, probably 2-3mm?
I've got some hefty box section to brace between the bottom of the HT and the middle of the DT, which will give a flat surface to bolt the rack too. As well as a small bit of plate to go on the front of the HT that will bolt perpendicular to the bolts on the brace for more stability.

1 Attachment