2009

We've made some changes to better keep in touch with you on a regular basis, so our regular blog will be updated on Blogger instead of here. We are on many social networking sites and expanding into more every month. The best way to keep updated on Atomic Zombie news is to subscribe to FeedBurner or through your favorite newsreader service. You can easily subscribe with a couple of mouse clicks and best of all, it's totally free!

NEW - Custom Made CDs

We are now offering custom made CDs.

You pick the projects you want, submit your order and within three business days (Monday to Friday, your CD will be shipped to you.

Choose from three, five or 10 projects on a CD.

Shipping is available to USA, Canada, and many international countries.

Log on to the main page AtomicZombie.com for more information and to make your selections.

A chopper CD will be available in a couple of weeks! Stay tuned to the forum and Blogger for the official release of the chopper CD. More stuff will be announced very soon.

Cheers, friends.

The TriCruiser Long Wheelbase Recumbent Trike is an easy-to-build and easy-to-ride comfort trike perfect for all-weather riding as well as city driving. The rear suspension and laid back recumbent seat make the TriCruiser a very smooth riding trike. Under seat steering allows a very natural and relaxed handle bar position that also keeps your view ahead clear. The TriCruiser also includes a fully adjustable bottom bracket so that riders of varying leg lengths can adjust the pedals to suit their needs.

The TriCruiser can be built with round or square tubing and requires only basic tools and some spare bicycle components. The steering system is very easy to build, and no special axles or front wheels are necessary. There is a lot of room for modification, and the building process is designed to allow anyone with a Do-It-Yourself desire to finish his or her own version of the TriCruiser without requiring previous bike building experience or specialized tools and skills.

With plenty of room behind the seat for a battery pack, the TriCruiser lends itself well to become a street worthy electric commuter by adding a hub motor kit. The plan is laid out in a format that makes customization or alternate parts usage a breeze, so you will certainly be able to include your own imagination in the process of building a recumbent trike.

Get your TriCruiser Recumbent Trike instant download Do-It-Yourself plan today!

Cheers, friends.

Thanks to those of you who responded to our newsletter survey. The contest is now closed. The lucky winners have been notified by email minutes ago and they are:

Larry Orr, N. Carolina - Atomic Zombie long sleeved black t-shirt

Phil Giddens, New Zealand - free downloadable plan

Dave Fried, Ontario - free downloadable plan

Chris Kaminiski, UK - free downloadable plan

Joe Hand, Florida - free downloadable plan

Barry McGregor, British Columbia - autographed Atomic Zombie's Bicycle Builder's Bonanza book

Stephen Laroux, UK - autographed Bike, Scooter and Chopper Projects for the Evil Genius book

Daryl James, UK - AZ short sleeved black t-shirt

Congratulations to all of our winners. Another survey will be announced soon, so stay tuned!

We're listing all of the web sites Atomic Zombie has a presence on, especially the social networking sites. Will be adding more to the growing list soon.

http://www.atomiczombie.com/social.html

The TriCruiser Recumbent Trike plan will be online later today. Stay tuned.

Cheers, friends.

Cheers, friends.

Greetings Atomic Zombie Krew members.

We are pleased to announce that the Voyageur Long Wheel Base Recumbent is ready for download.

Voyageur features:

* Under seat steering
* Recumbent design
* Adjustable bottom bracket
* Round tubing main boom
* Suspension
* Back rest
* Basic tools and skills
* Basic welding

And, don't forget to send in pictures of your completed homebuilt bike projects, too.
Check out the Builders Gallery for information on how you can be a star in the gallery!

*** Subscribe to Atomic Zombie Daily Blog & News Updates:
http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=blogspot/qcYA&loc=en_US

*** New Atomic Zombie store - shirts, mugs, water bottles, decals, hats and more:
http://www.cafepress.com/atomic_zombie

Cheers, friends.

OK, now for some good news. Today, we put eight bike projects online just for kids. The .PDF download is 12MB.

There are 8 projects - choppers, trikes and an electric bike - in this downloadable plan:

1. Whipper Snapper
2. FireCracker
3. ChopWork Orange
4. AfterBurner
5. The Stinger
6. The Wizard
7. Little Warrior Trike
8. Mini Electric Trike

There are 117 pages of detailed instructions and 142 high quality photos, building tips, and suggested parts sources so you can create your own custom bikes. No experience is necessary, but welding is required. Most of these projects can be built over a weekend and use easy-to-find parts. The youngsters will love riding their own homebuilt custom bikes.

Click here for more information on kids' choppers, trikes and electric bikes.

Cheers, friends.

The Warrior Racing Trike takes performance and looks to all new heights. With triple disc brakes, under seat steering, and a general racing attitude, the Warrior would easily pass for an expensive production import.

Built using inexpensive bicycle components and steel tubing, the Warrior weighs in at only 43 pounds, and has perfect handling and braking characteristics. There is not one single machined part on the entire trike, and everything can be built using only a basic welder, hand drill, and angle grinder!

If you have been eyeing up those expensive imported recumbent trikes, but think $4,500 is a bit too steep of a price tag, then get out your tools and build it yourself! For 10 times less the price of even a basic tadpole trike, you can create your very own racing trike that will rival many of the factory built machines available.

Because no special tools or machined parts are used, anyone can built the Warrior, making it seem worth so much more. Build it, ride it, and show it off!

You can see more about this cool new ride:
www.atomiczombie.com/product-warrior.htm

Since this is an ongoing project that many people have expressed an interest in following, we decided to devote a web site just to the Arcturus Human and Solar Powered Motorhome.

Brad hopes to do some work on it every month, time permitting, and have most of the main frame and transmission done this year.

If all goes well, we hope to have the fairing done in 2010, then work on the interior. It will be a bit of an investment, so will have to budget this one carefully. The main reason we want an HPV-solar motorhome is for camping and short trips in our region to enjoy the outdoors. Since we had to part with our Duct Tape Palace tent trailer this year due to its deteriorating canvas, we have to take our tents to campsites.

Arcturus will be an engineering feat for us, and a practical vehicle that will run on human, solar and an electric power assist motor. We can only work on it from time-to-time because it takes up so much room in the garage. Updates of the project will be posted as soon as they become available, so stay tuned.

www.arcturusproject.com

Cheers, friends.

Greetings Atomic Zombie Krew members. We are pleased to announce that there are two new projects ready for download.

LodeRunner 2 Tandem Trike features:

- Two independent transmission systems.

- Overseat and underseat steering.

- Recumbent design. - Rear cargo area. - Disc brakes

- Adjustable bottom bracket.

- 209 high resolution color photos and illustrations. - 198 pages of step-by-step instructions.

- Tons of handy building tips!

E-Style Electric BMX features:

- BMX converted e-bike.

- How to choose a hub motor and batteries.

- Great for urban and long haul riding.

- Sleek and built for speed.

- 66 high resolution color photos and illustrations.

- 73 pages of step-by-step instructions.

- Tons of handy building tips!

The E-Style Electric BMX is a fast and rugged human/electric hybrid that operates without making any noise. For only a few pennies to fully charge the batteries, you can zip along on roads, bike paths, and off-road trails without bothering your neighbors at home or at the cottage.

The E-Style BMX is perfect for the road, as well as the trail, and it allows you to slip silently along without even being noticed, which is a bonus in places where laws have yet to classify these small electric vehicles. The E-Style BMX can be built to travel well over 30 miles (50 kilometers) on a single charge, and will do so at speeds equal to or greater than some posted city speed limits.

 Because the E-Style BMX is built around the battery pack and the type of hub motor you choose, you can build the base vehicle to suit your needs, altering the top speed, acceleration, weight or range. Many inexpensive electric scooters have chain driven drive wheels or gear reduction motors, so they make a lot of noise, or suffer from inefficient power transfer, but the E-Style BMX features a quiet and efficient hub motor design that can spin up dirt and climb hills without any problems.

The E-Style BMX looks much like a typical freestyle BMX, and includes all of the standard safety equipment, so you will be able to ride happily on public roadways and recreation trails without disturbing the peace. Because the pedals are still functional, the E-Style BMX also can be made legal in most places that now include electric assisted bicycles in their bylaws. To see more about this electric BMX bike,

A whopping 17 new projects are now a part of the growing Atomic Zombie bike hacking community. This month's additions include: tall bike, trikes, trailers, choppers, electrics, long wheel base recumbent, trailer, lowracer recumbent and crazy bikes.

Soledad Hassett of Melbourne, Australia, built this OverKill style chopper .

This pair of custom accessorized bikes from Koji in Brazil features ultra cool wheels:

Jim Pachla and his son Scooter spent part of the winter months building their custom Kyoto Cruiser trike:

Bob of Niceville, Florida, sent in pictures of his new LodeRunner Cargo Trike:

AZ building guru and long-time forum member, Sir Joey, sent in pictures of four bike projects, including The Bulldog Electric Trike (glad to see you back in the swing of things, Sir J):

And, there are six new crazy bikes, five of which were submitted by Cap'n Bikebeard and company from Bristol, England.

There are many more cool bike projects in the gallery, so be sure to check them out - www.atomiczombie.com/gallery.htm .

Cheers, friends

July 9

A Happy Zombie fan motors our way

Peter (University of Toronto student) spent the night in our make-shift guest room as it was getting dark and we all ended up chatting until the early morning hours.

He spent hours in the garage with Brad marveling at the latest AZ projects and the electronics stuff Brad's been working on.

He got to see the soon-to-be-completed Terminator Chopper, the LodeRunner 2 Tandem Trike, E-Style Electric BMX and Arcturus Solar and Human Powered Motorhome, as well as DeltaRunner Trike and Streetfighter Quadcycle.

"I can't believe I'm finally meeting you in person," Peter said.

We don't meet many like minded garage hackers here, especially into bike building so it's kind of strange hearing that Atomic Zombie has quite a following in the Greater Toronto Area and abroad. We were impressed to learn that Peter and ther students have been involved in grassroots projects helping to fix and refurbish bikes, even choppifying bikes for younger riders.

He's been involved with a volunteer group of bike hackers called Bike Pirates that fixes and builds bicycles, the Atomic Zombie way: http://bikepirates.com

He's so enthusiastic about do-it-yourself projects and having a zest for life. Before he dives in to his practical training as a medical student this fall, Peter decided weeks ago to pack up his motorcycle for a Canada tour, stopping along towns, cities and sights along the way.

It's the first time he's ever traveled throughout Northern Ontario and western Canada. It's an eye-opening journey, and he's enjoying the varied scenery, meeting folks along the way, especially those he says have influenced him. So, it was a dream come true to finally meet the real Atomic Zombie in person. The guy was just beaming!

He and Brad talked for countless hours, followed by a BBQ here, and a ride on our recumbents around the neighbourhood.

Peter left late this morning after a light breakfast. I packed him some homemade oatmeal cookies and bran-cranberry muffins that I baked last night for the journey westward toward Dryden and Kenora, some AZ gear and a book, "Dances with Dependency: Indigenous Success through Self-Reliance".

He will reach Saskatchewan this weekend to visit friends, then journey back this way in a week or so. Hope he stops by for another visit.

Cheers, friends.

Added 14 new additions to the Builders Gallery this week, too. More choppers, recumbents, a tallbike, SpinCycle, and trikes. Some are featured below:

Mike of Pennsylvania sent in a photo of his old skool chopper with lots of chrome and black accents.

The talented gang at Crank It Up Cycling for All in UK sent in another amazing build. This one is modeled after the Atomic Zombie OverKill chopper.

Mike from Illinois sent in this one based on the HighRoller short wheel base recumbent design.

This trike beauty from Jon in Maryland is made of carbon fibre and maple seat and accessories. A true work of art!

There are many more cool bikes in the Builders Gallery, so be sure to check them out and log on to the forum if you have any questions or comments about these and other projects.

The July issue of the Atomic Zombie newsletter is now online here: http://www.atomiczombie.com/newsletter/july-2009.pdf.

This month's features include:

• Recumbent bike project is a labor of love
• Garage News
• Crazy Canadian Trivia
• Cranking out an extreme chopper
• Ottawa-Gatineau shared bike project
• Bike Builders Tips
• Pedalpalooza wraps up
• World class skateboard/BMX park
• Bicycle Film Festival
• E-bike technology leader
• Builders Gallery new additions
• Builder feedback
• Events and recipes

Previous newsletters dating back to 2006 can be found here: http://www.atomiczombie.com/newsletters.htm

As for current bike projects, the Terminator Chopper is almost done, in addition to the E-Style BMX and the trike/quad cycle, tentatively called Quadzilla, but the name is probably going to change, as well as the final design. Looks like it will be a trike now. Some issues about the braking and cabling system, so the trike may be more feasible and less complicated than the quad design. Stay tuned to the forum for updates and announcements. We're already in July and anxious to get at least a couple of new projects online this month.

Have a safe Independence Day long weekend to our friends and family in the USA.

Cheers, friends.

Bad day

Cheers, friends

More gallery entries were uploaded yesterday. Twelve new submissions: choppers, trikes, quad, crazy bike, tall bike and a long wheel base recumbent. Below are a few highlights of some of the awesome projects created by Atomic Zombie krew members:

This chopper is called the Easy Moe created by Maurice Cormier of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.

This sleek long wheel base recumbent with underseat steering was built by Earl Randolph of Oregon.

And, this is the second quadcycle by Jim Brown of North Carolina. Be sure to check out all of the cool rides in the Builders Gallery. There are now over 600 submissions and more to be added every couple of weeks. Keep up the great work, everybody!

I found an interesting article recently about bamboo bicycles to be exported from Uganda to California. It's an interesting project  and may be the next wave of future bike designs.

Bicycles made of bamboo heading to California

A new project in northern Uganda will soon start exporting bicycles made out of bamboo to California. The African Ellipsi Project, a church based organization, is finalizing plans to build a factory in Gulu town to make the bicycles known as Bamboosero.

“One frame of these bicycles goes for $500 in California,” Sally Baynton, the executive director of the project told journalists on Wednesday at the Gulu Bible Centre where a sample of the bicycles are being made.

She said six sample bicycles would be ready by the end of next week.

“These bicycles are in Ghana and Zambia. We shall make the bicycles in large quantities and ship them to California where there is ready market,” she said, adding that the bicycles would be sold cheaply to the locals.

Baynton said the bicycles would assist the farmers to transport their agricultural produce to the markets for sale. According to Baynton, the bamboos are cut into small pieces and then treated for five months to make them strong and water proof before being joined with sisal threads and gum.

“They are cheaper, stronger and more environmentally friendly than the ordinary bicycles,” she said.

Baynton is being assisted on the project by her husband, Barr and a colleague, Deo Chate. She added that they also plan to start bamboo farms in the north to ensure that there is constant supply of raw material.

According to her, the Bamboosero bicycles will be made under the Gulu Hope Project and the proceeds from the sales would be used to drill boreholes, support education and other development activities in the region. Baynton said the pupils of Antonia school in Texas have partnered with Palyec village in Patiko sub-county in Gulu district where they are building a school and drilling boreholes.

The district speaker, Martin Ojara, pledged that the district authorities would provide land for the bamboo farm.

“This is just the beginning. We want to prove to the world that Gulu can be the heart of creativity despite the suffering we faced during the LRA insurgency.”

Source: http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/16/683920

Work on the Terminator Chopper is progressing very well, with the front forks welded and ground, waiting for the main body work to begin. Brad's been putting alot of time into this project, but the results will be well worth the effort. He expects to have it finished in the next couple of weeks. Looking pretty awesome so far!

Cheers, friends.