Bikes With Home Made Modifications



Dora M

Active Member
Feb 20, 2015
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Colombia
Here where I live, people depend on their bikes for getting to work, getting their kids to school, for transporting things around like furniture, bricks, glass, you name it. So, you see all kinds of interesting bikes and their various modifications on the road. A popular one is a small seat attached behind the handlebars. It's usually a seat for kids, but I have also seen adults and dogs sitting on it. It's also very common to see people maneuvering their bikes down the busy main street with a person sitting directly on the handlebars, either facing them (in case of couples), or facing the road.
There are no rules or regulations for these rather fascinating, and often dangerous vehicles.
How are things where you live?
 
You don't see a lot of modifications like that where I live. I suspect they are illegal.

I haven't seen very many non-cosmetic bike modifications around here. I used to have a friend who rigged up a system to put LEDs on his spokes which made his wheels light up with neon lights. I can't really explain how he did it but it made his bike much easier to see in the dark and it looked really cool. He said it made riding his bike in the dark a lot safer because it definitely attracted people's attention. I wouldn't mind trying to figure that out when I get a nicer bike. I'm sure there's a tutorial somewhere online since I doubt he's the first person ever to come up with that idea. He claimed it was a DIY project though.
 
Where I live cyclists do adhere to road rules.if one breaks the rules then other cyclist or motorists can report him to the traffic police. Otherwise most cyclists here do follow tho rules to avoid penalties.
 
Saw a lot of that kind of stuff one of the many many times I was in Thailand. Here in the USA we don't depend on bicycles so tou tend to only see them in stock configuration.

One of the other rather unique but probably not the safest things I saw over there was a scooter fitted with 3 outriggers made of pipe on one side with an outboard wheel and 3 seats on each pipe for a carrying capacity of 11 people. Crazy.
 
Other than small children riding bicycles on sidewalks it is unusual to see an adult on a bicycle, on the road, where I live...Ohio, U.S.A.

We drive cars and trucks and large, powerful motorcycles.
 
That would be awesome, but I don't know if it would be allowed on the road as the modifications might not be professionally done and may cause an accident.
 
9lines said:
Where I live cyclists do adhere to road rules.if one breaks the rules then other cyclist or motorists can report him to the traffic police. Otherwise most cyclists here do follow tho rules to avoid penalties.
I'm not allowed to ask where you live. It sounds like an interesting place! All I get is grief and sailor-language while riding around town.
 
I bought all of the components to build an integrated on-board power system to power and/or charge my lights, phone, speaker, and one or two auxiliary accessories such as charging my iPad while riding. I bought two high capacity battery packs to power all of this. That was gonna be a winter project that never happened yet.

Just get sick of plugging in and unplugging everythjng after every ride, plus dealing with all of the cables and outlets. This way everythjng will be permanent, and all I will have to do is plug in the two battery packs to charge when I garage the bike after a ride.

'Tis my problem - more ideas than time.
 
Some BMX bikes in my country are being used for work and transportation. The "Pedicabs" as they are called, are bikes that have a sidecar that are used as a means of passenger transport in the inner town roads. They charge a high fare, and operate like taxicabs.
 
MotownBikeBoy said:
I bought all of the components to build an integrated on-board power system to power and/or charge my lights, phone, speaker, and one or two auxiliary accessories such as charging my iPad while riding. I bought two high capacity battery packs to power all of this. That was gonna be a winter project that never happened yet.

Just get sick of plugging in and unplugging everythjng after every ride, plus dealing with all of the cables and outlets. This way everythjng will be permanent, and all I will have to do is plug in the two battery packs to charge when I garage the bike after a ride.

'Tis my problem - more ideas than time.
I think that would be a really cool project. How were you going to do it? I'd love to be able to charge my phone while riding because the battery is fairly shot. I hate how my phone always dies when I'm out on a ride, even though I'm not using it on the ride for obvious reasons. I think it'd be a fairly easy mod but I figured I'd ask anyway.
 
Jojo83 said:
Some BMX bikes in my country are being used for work and transportation. The "Pedicabs" as they are called, are bikes that have a sidecar that are used as a means of passenger transport in the inner town roads. They charge a high fare, and operate like taxicabs.
Absolutely. I agree.
 
Any form of modification that compromises the safety of the rider and those around them is not allowed. It is not about personal design, it is about safety for everyone. Riding your bike on the street is a privilege and not a right.
 
I never tinker with my bike. Even when I get a flat tire, I just ask someone to have it repaired. My bike would remain in its original glory - that's my idea of ownership. Besides, I don't have the aptitude for that. I am not a mechanic since my course is industrial engineering. I don't even know how to use a tire wrench properly. All I know is the screw driver.

But I enjoyed reading the posts in this thread, nice to give me ideas.
 
Catsyo said:
I think that would be a really cool project. How were you going to do it? I'd love to be able to charge my phone while riding because the battery is fairly shot. I hate how my phone always dies when I'm out on a ride, even though I'm not using it on the ride for obvious reasons. I think it'd be a fairly easy mod but I figured I'd ask anyway.
 
Bicycle modification was very common when I was growing up. However, that was a period when the BMX craze had started and everyone was trying to put together the coolest bike. I do recall that most BMX bikers would be careful in how they modded their bikes and would only purchase accessories that came from an authoritative brand. There were also many bicycle shops around that would do professional mods at a very reasonable cost.
 

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