2009

The June 2009 Atomic Zombie newsletter is now online, and it's growing every month. This month's features include:

* Family bike build
* Garage news
* Arcturus Camper Motorhome
* Gallery profiles
* Crank It Up
* Bicycle friendly states
* Montreal public bicycle system
* Portland's Pedalpalooza
* Western Australia's Munda Biddi Trail
* Builder feedback
* Events and recipes

http://www.atomiczombie.com/newsletter/june-2009.pdf

Submit your story ideas, events, recipes, and bike builders tips to KoolKat by the 20th of each month. Log onto the Builders Forum to contact KK.

After days of rain, hail and wind, the sun has finally come out in full force. Let's hope it sticks around for awhile. Not good weather for bike riding. My poor DeltaRunner Trike is still sitting in the garage awaiting its maiden voyage this year. The forecast looks good all weekend, though, so who knows. Maybe take my camera and go for a ride along the limited recreation trails we have around here.

The thing that sucks the most is you get into the groove, enjoying the scenery and fresh air, then suddenly the trail ends and you're faced with four lanes of traffic. Um, did no one think ahead before designing the trail system? Methinks not. There are supposedly plans to extend the system, but I'm not holding my breath.

Most cyclists here refuse to ride on the road, preferring to take the sidewalks whenever possible. Although there's a by-law against this, you have to weigh the consequences, breaking the by-law vs. risking your life by riding on the road. Let's face it, with today's distractions, traffic congestion, and road construction, drivers have enough trouble getting from point A to point B, let alone pay attention to the road and cyclists. I'm not sure if this summer I will be converted to a sidewalk cyclist or not.

In the meantime, the Builders Gallery was updated this week with 17 new entries choppers, quads, trikes, tandems, trailers, long wheel base recumbents, electrics and fun bikes. Below are a few newest additions to the Atomic Zombie family. Check out all of the amazing builds at http://www.atomiczombie.com/gallery.htm .

We were very impressed to see this OverKill style chopper built by Dan of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Another cool project was submitted by Mike of El Paso, Texas, who uses his bike daily for work, so he built a practical trailer to haul his work equipment.

And, this StreetFighter style quadcycle by Ron of Michigan:

Work continues on the Terminator Chopper, as well as Arcturus. Still working on the Arcturus web site. It is taking longer than expected. This weekend will be devoted to the Terminator Chopper build, though. And, stay tuned for the June newsletter, which will be online next week.

Have a safe long weekend to our friends in the USA as you celebrate Memorial Day on Monday the 25th. See you back here safe and sound.

Cheers, friends.

The first part will be a 1978 Jeep front differential

After much hunting, I have finally scrounged up an older front Jeep differential to be used as the "foundation" for the drive, steering, and braking systems on Arcturus. Initially, I thought a Jeep differential might be too heavy for this project, but after adding up the weight of a home built front wheel drive steering and suspension system, I realized that this was definitely the way to go.

By using this 150 pound Jeep differential to contain most of the complex mechanical systems, I actually save weight and end up with an extremely robust and easy to repair design that will last a lifetime. The plan is to adapt a belt drive to the differential so that a very powerful and efficient DC motor can drive the two front wheels. The steering, suspension, and braking system are also included in the front differential, so all of the complex and mission critical mechanics are contained in one area, allowing the rest of the frame and cabin to be made as light as possible. We will be sitting directly over the front wheels in the final design, so it will be easy to connect another control rod to the right control arm in order to create the under seat steering system for the pilot.

Taking the differential apart

It took the help of a diagram to pull this differential apart properly, an although following instructions is normally against my religion, I decided to take the easy way out this once. All of the bearings and shafts were completely cleaned, revealing that all of the important bits were in perfect order with minimal wear and tear. Maybe I got lucky here and this differential came out of a young Jeep with a blown motor? When you scrounge up your parts from a scrap yard, you never know what you are going to get, so luck was on my side so far.

Yes, it has happened. The Atomic Zombie garage is clean, organized and ready for another bike building season. Sure, there's snow in the forecast over the next few days, but that won't affect our plans.

It took Brad a full day to get things back on track and take inventory of parts he has. Next week, we begin the hunt for a Jeep differential for the Arcturus Camper Cycle.

But, in the meantime, work will begin on the newest chopper, Terminator Cycle Chopper. A follow-up to OverKill Chopper, this progressive style chopper will include a specific rear wheel with bicycle spokes and an "organic" frame style created from scratch. This show quality chopper will take garage hacking to all new limits.

Lastly, May is National Bike Month in the USA. The League of American bicyclists is promoting Bike-to-Work Week from May 11-15 and Bike-to-Work Day on Friday, May 15. There are many events taking place across the country listed on the official National Bike Month web site:  http://bikemonth.org .

Cheers, friends.

It's going to be a balmy +10 ºC (50 ºF) today! I know that sounds pretty chilly to some of you in warmer parts of the world, but to us that's awesome! Today marks the opening of the garage for some much needed spring cleaning and organizing. That's right - bike building officially begins next week.

We've been learning about an incredible not-for-profit organization, Bicycles for Humanity (B4H), that refurbishes used bicycles and sends them to parts of Africa where they are desperately needed. B4H is the feature story in the May issue of the Atomic Zombie Extreme Machines newsletter. They do some pretty incredible work in their communities to help the poor in many regions of Africa.

You can read more here:  http://www.atomiczombie.com/newsletter/may-2009.pdf .

It got me to thinking about how much we Westerners waste and how easily we throw stuff away instead of fixing it and reusing. Today was garbage day in our neighborhood. We had our usual one bag of stuff, others along our street had four or more bags (the limit is four bags). That's alot of garbage for one household. Don't those people recycle? This topic gets me riled. I digress.

Back to the newsletter, there's a funny piece submitted to the forum by one of our bike building gurus, Richie Rich. It will crack you up. And, there are some interesting stories on efforts in South Korea to expand that country's bike manufacturing and projects to promote the use of vehicles instead of gas guzzlers. Another piece details the electric bike phenomenon in the Netherlands and the European Union, and events by some Toronto artists who are also bike enthusiasts.

If you have news, events, recipes or suggestions for the next issue, contact Kat through the forum:  http://forum.atomiczombie.com .

Will be back tomorrow with more news about the garage cleaning progress.

Cheers, friends.

Added more choppers, trikes and recumbents to the Builders Gallery today: http://www.atomiczombie.com/gallery.htm . There are some really incredible bikes out there, and many talented home builders either building exactly from the plans, or making their own modifications to suit their individual needs and styles. Below is a trike similar to the LodeRunner Cargo Trike built by "Moon".

Check out the gallery and see the hundreds of cool bike projects. Be sure to stop by the Builders Forum and find out what projects our dedicated AZ Krew is working on these days.

The Freakbike Militia Golden Horseshoe Cruisers are holding their 4th Annual Hamilton Beach Cruise and Can-Am Challenge, July 17 and 18. The fun filled weekend includes pixie bike racing, social cruises, prizes and more. For information, contact fbmghc@hotmail.com . Atomic Zombie Extreme Machines will be sponsoring this event again this year. There will be AZ gear given away as prizes.

If all goes well, garage cleaning will begin this weekend. So far, no more snow is in the forecast. The streets have been swept, so maybe I'll get my DeltaRunner on the road this weekend. That would be shaweeeet!

Cheers, friends.

Yes, the garage door opened this past weekend, but we're still not in full bike building season yet. April is very unpredictable, so some spring cleaning will be done first before diving into this year's line up of bike and e-bike projects. Very soon, though.

We are completing work on a book  this week, and will be able to devote more time to the garage and building more bike projects this year. Hopefully, the weather will co-operate and this year will be the best ever Atomic Zombie building season.

A sure sign of spring are the tulips waking up from their winter slumber (right). Although I love summer, spring is my second favorite time of year, when everything starts over again. Really looking forward to planting the vegetable garden again and enjoying some fresh produce right from the backyard. I miss that the most over the winter.

We are very excited about starting work on the Arcturus Hybrid Camper Cycle project this year, too. It will be an ongoing build that we will blog about regularly and post pictures so that you can follow along, maybe even build your own, too. We are fielding alot of questions about that project, but honestly have nothing new right now to report on it. We are sourcing some needed parts and hope to start making some progress on it very soon. So, stay tuned here and to the forum for updates and news.

Also, two Atomic Zombie thumbs up to Cycle-re-Cycle, in Bradford, UK, for customizing a tandem bicycle to teach the blind how to ride a bicycle. Way to go Tony, Chris and the entire  gang! For more information, visit www.cycle-re-cycle.org.uk .

That's it for now. Will chat again soon. Cheers, friends.

The Arcturus Hybrid Camper Cycle Project History

 
The original Kyoto Cruiser Sociable Trike

Modified Kyoto Cruise test vehicle

Arcturus basic size and shape

Laying out the basic frame

Part of the main frame completed

Nomad trike with generator drive

Rear suspension swingarm parts

Swingarm and bearing tubes welded

End caps and rear wheel bearings

Swingarm mounting brackets

Swingarm brackets and bolt

Stay tuned, this is my "Spare Time" project!
 

Yes, I think it's safe to say that spring has finally arrived. Although we got almost 3 feet of snow dumped on us last week, it's melting quickly and the days are growing longer. You know what that means - the garage will be opening soon! Thank goodness, although we're not out of the woods yet. Anything can happen over the next two months. Let's hope that we can actually get a head start on this year's bike building season. I've been collecting interesting news articles from around the world to share with everyone. These are just a couple of items that I found recently.

Active Minds, Low Stress Important Factors in Alzheimer’s Disease Research

People who are socially engaged and can easily brush off stress may be at a reduced risk for Alzheimer’s, a new study reports. The study adds to a growing body of research linking lifestyle and personality traits to a lower chance of developing dementia in old age.

The research, from doctors at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, found that older men and women who were easygoing and had active social lives were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those who were shy and anxious. Earlier studies have linked long-term stress to poor memory, possibly because stress hormones can negatively affect the brain.

"In the past, studies have shown that chronic stress can affect parts of the brain, such as the hippocampus, possibly leading to dementia," said study author Hui-Xin Wang, Ph.D.

"But our findings suggest that having a calm and outgoing personality in combination with a socially active lifestyle may decrease the risk of developing dementia even further."

The findings appeared in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study involved 506 seniors whose average age was 83. None had Alzheimer's when first examined. After six years, 144 of the study participants had developed Alzheimer's or another form of dementia.

Those who were socially active but who tended to remain calm and relaxed under pressure were 50 percent less likely to develop dementia than individuals who were isolated and easily stressed. Protection against Alzheimer's was particularly strong among those who were socially outgoing and able to handle stress well. Extroverts who were calm and self-satisfied tended to have an optimistic outlook on life, the study found, and also had a 50 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer's than outgoing people who were nervous and prone to worry.

"The good news is, lifestyle factors can be modified, as opposed to genetic factors, which cannot be controlled," Dr. Wang said. "But these are early results, so how exactly mental attitude influences risk for dementia is not clear."

Earlier studies have shown that people who remain active and socially engaged into old age have a lower Alzheimer's risk. Regular physical activity and keeping mentally alert through word games and other mental challenges can likewise help keep the mind sharp, research suggests.  Source: http://www.alzinfo.org

Hang 'Em High - Anti-Theft Device

Dominic Hargreaves, 23, a design student at the Royal College of Art has had three bikes stolen since he moved to the capital.

And Dominic’s not alone: on average 52 bikes are stolen in London every day.  Looking at this modern urban problem as a design challenge, the young student realised that the only way to overcome the problem was to lock the bike somewhere out of the reach of thieves.

His solution? A bike lock located 8 feet above the ground.

How does it work? The bike cradle can be fitted to any wall and is attached to an electronic hoist which lowers to the ground when triggered by the owner’s remote control. The mechanism can also be programmed to read an oyster card if located at a tube station, or indeed any public location. Once the bike is placed into the cradle and locked in position, the user then activates the hoist to pull the bike up onto the wall. The bike is then safely out of the reach of thieves and their bolt cutters.

Dominic believes the idea would work on domestic dwellings such as houses or blocks of flats as well as public spaces like railway or tube stations.

The design is one of three winners in the £15,000 iQ Design Challenge set by Toyota to Royal College of Art students and alumni to create products that respond to modern urban life.  Source: www.rca.ac.uk

The new April 2008 newsletter is now online at :
www.atomiczombie.com/newsletter/april-2009.pdf .

We changed the format to PDF so it's easier to view and save to your computer. We are inviting all Atomic Zombie krew members to submit story ideas and contribute to the monthly newsletter. If you have something you'd like to contribute, please contact KoolKat through the Forum.

Cheers, friends.

Terminator Cycle Chopper - A follow-up to OverKill Chopper, this progressive style chopper will include a specific rear wheel with bicycle spokes and an "organic" frame style created from scratch. This show quality chopper will take garage hacking to all new limits.