With 2 brake mounts you could do a tandem brake set up and run double rear brakes set one up with a lever like normal and the second to a friction shifter for a drag brake. 🤷♂️
Ok I have an even worse idea.
Yes to double brakes *but* Paul makes a lever for bike polo that has two brake cables routes to the same lever. People run front and rear to just the left side so they can swing the mallet with the right. You should get a total of four brakes and run two per lever
This is a great idea. I’ve also seen Hope make a hydraulic version but doubt it would work for disc/rim combo (fluid mis-match for Hope disc and Magura rim brake).
Ok, hear me out. Yes second rear brake but make the lever locking and then lock it down with something crazy as an anti-theft device (likely going to need as much as you can get with that frame).
I honestly hope someone comes up with a weirder or worse idea. I’m sure there’s a dumb option to modify the elastomer spot but haven’t come up with one me myself yet.
Sometimes I wish I had a drag brake. The arm pump on long descents and grabbing brakes the whole time is real.
This is one of the only good arguments in favor of ebike hub drives with direct drive and regen braking that I've heard of. It doesn't put much energy back into the battery but it makes controlled descents way easier and saves you some brake wear.
Honestly on a tandem having a drum brake (it’s old) as a variable tension drag brake makes a huge difference for hand fatigue and managing the frame flex/wobble you can get on older tandems.
Not sure I’d want one on a non-cargo or tandem bike - certainly not on dirt roads at least.
If I may, a second submission:
Build it up as a period correct XC race sled and take it down a current XCO course.
Bonus points if that corse is Mont St.Anne.
⚰️
This is ultimately the only correct answer, even though that makes it a good idea. This bike deserves love, especially if it’s older and was made in the Kent Eriksen days.
Swap over a triple crown downhill 29er fork and make it a 29/26 mega mullet.
Toss a C-battery where that elastomer was to add some rigidity to the rear end.
E-bike conversion for the rear wheel.
Baskets front and back for camping.
Kickstand.
eccentric bb and it’s an fgfs ride now. learn how to barspin without hurting yourself. move to san francisco. get a little hat. share a bedroom with a stranger in a month to month rental. create content. fail at that. move back in with your parents.
I know you wanted bad ideas, but if you go in this direction I'd love to see what you come up with. Seems like you could build a pretty sweet gravel bike with this platform.
Install a small fan in the elastomer gap, perpendicular to the seat stays, so that it’s pointed at the saddle. The fan mount should be made using a “leftover” front hub from the parts bin, and the blades from a hacked up disc rotor.
The fan blades should be angle so as to spin when the bike is in motion.
Finally, install a drillium saddle.
Disk wheel on the back, deep dish on the front, 28mm Continental GP5000 tan wall tires, drop handlebars with time trial bars. Fill the gap with a tennisball.
I'd put the fattest tires possible on it, and then probably ride it on remote OHV trails with an irresponsible amount of camping gear and hallucinogens strapped to it.
Mount a double crown 29er fork, lessen the rear wheel size by one standard and smack on a high rise old mans bar.
I.e. turn it into a crackhead chopper.
A banana seat so any flex from the frame gap is transmitted directly back into your ass (or balls, depending on your position). Some wine corks in the frame gap so the two ends bang softly and with style. Some deep old school sprint bars for speed. Wheels, cranks and bottom bracket from a 10 year old Kent fixie rescued from the dumpster.
Softride beam seatpost with a Thudbuster or gas strut seatpost, oversized springer gel saddle with a gel seat cover over that, elastomer shock stem, a full moose rack of bar ends on trekking loop or butterfly bars, aero tri bars and pads, and finish it off with Tioga Disc Drive wheels.
And then run the skinniest, hardest tires you can find. Does Tannus make inserts for 22c tires?
For bonus points please lace up the Disc Drive kevlar cords with spokey-dokeys and replace any/all bar end plugs with tassels.
If that's not enough wrong for you, then do all of the above and then make it a swing bike. Yes, with the Softride still on it. Yeah, I *know* it's going to be weird. Squishy in all the wrong places.
Lol I just put that fork on a dirt jumper frame to try a street trials setup. One thing I didn’t consider was how far forward the front axle is relative to the steer tube. Im working with it fine, but I would be curious to ride the bike with something that is flush with the front of the bike
Fox 40's up front, with a 29in front wheel and 24in trials wheel rear, magic link fixed gear with at least a 70 gear inch ratio. Integrated carbon stem and drop bars with a Hope V-Twin system to 6 pot brakes pulled by Paul eLevers . 155mm cranks with toe clips and straps.
You're welcome.
Fun fact: fixing fatigue related chain stay failure is why Moots originally switched from steel to ti. They broke a lot of steel frames along the way. Then they just stuck with ti for all their frames.
I first thought the rear stay gap was occupied by a weird white elastomer, then zoomed in and noticed there was.. NO elastomer lol. Do they even make replacements anymore?
Gravel bike!
Here's my conversion of a Merlin MTB:
[https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ps5StXPQS8N3gv4DY28UJgzZzSHVnBYK](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ps5StXPQS8N3gv4DY28UJgzZzSHVnBYK)
I also want to drill a hole in a ‘99 aluminum trek for a dropper. Does anyone have any tips/places that this would be possible that wouldn’t destroy the frame or significantly decrease its life? I want the frame to keep kicking as long as possible given I just replaced about 70% of the parts on it.
- Weld a Rene Herse Nivex Derailleur to the chain stay
- Run a Marzocchi super monster with a 24" wheel in the front, but add a dynamo hub and a light mount on the fork bridge
- Combine the above fork with a triathlon handlebar and a handlebar bag
Convert it to a single speed with a coaster brake and strap a weedwhacker engine to it.
You did specify that you wanted bad ideas. This is my contribution.
A farmer stumbles upon a sleek titanium frame at a yard sale. The seller, eager to get rid of it, insists it's a state-of-the-art European cultivator. Intrigued, the farmer buys it, imagining how much easier it will make his work.
Back on the farm, he attaches makeshift tines and proudly drags it through the fields. It bends and twists at every rock and root, leaving chaotic furrows. Frustrated, he calls his neighbors over, hoping they can help him figure out this "high-tech" tool.
Each neighbor offers increasingly absurd advice: "Maybe it’s for aerating soil in a zigzag pattern," suggests one. Another proposes, "It might be a modern scarecrow frame—just add clothes!"
Finally, the farmer's son, home from college, takes one look and deadpans, "Looks like it's designed to break more than it fixes."
The farmer, undeterred, mounts the frame on his barn wall, declaring, "It’s a reminder that sometimes, the latest tech isn’t all it’s cracked up to be!"
In the spirit of xbiking you should put a cork where the elastomer was on the seat stay.
Whatever sprung material goes there, sleeve it in an Oury grip
Or an a’me!
Omg remember those pedals
Why? He has the lightest air suspension ever made.
Lol
Off of a bottle of 2 buck chuck from Trader Joe's
With 2 brake mounts you could do a tandem brake set up and run double rear brakes set one up with a lever like normal and the second to a friction shifter for a drag brake. 🤷♂️
Worst idea so far!
Ok I have an even worse idea. Yes to double brakes *but* Paul makes a lever for bike polo that has two brake cables routes to the same lever. People run front and rear to just the left side so they can swing the mallet with the right. You should get a total of four brakes and run two per lever
I wish the fork had v brake mounts now
I can help you out, I've got 2 forks sitting around that got canti and post mount!
Hey, three brakes is even more fucked up. Go with that
yes, this!
This is a great idea. I’ve also seen Hope make a hydraulic version but doubt it would work for disc/rim combo (fluid mis-match for Hope disc and Magura rim brake).
Swing the mallet? Could you explain?
[Check this out](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2013/08/20/bike_polo_01_wide-8ed044cb74c97abaa3e258baa734eb1f08f33a20.jpg)
Oh what?! Cool, never knew about that!
*so far*
Ok, hear me out. Yes second rear brake but make the lever locking and then lock it down with something crazy as an anti-theft device (likely going to need as much as you can get with that frame).
I honestly hope someone comes up with a weirder or worse idea. I’m sure there’s a dumb option to modify the elastomer spot but haven’t come up with one me myself yet.
Double rear brake AND double front brake. I call it the DOUBLE DOUBLE.
Sometimes I wish I had a drag brake. The arm pump on long descents and grabbing brakes the whole time is real. This is one of the only good arguments in favor of ebike hub drives with direct drive and regen braking that I've heard of. It doesn't put much energy back into the battery but it makes controlled descents way easier and saves you some brake wear.
Honestly on a tandem having a drum brake (it’s old) as a variable tension drag brake makes a huge difference for hand fatigue and managing the frame flex/wobble you can get on older tandems. Not sure I’d want one on a non-cargo or tandem bike - certainly not on dirt roads at least.
Drop-bar tracklocross. No elastomer.
Terrible. It’s perfect
Cut the other tubes so it matches the rear.
List it on marketplace for $5500 cause you know what you got
$10,000
Beach cruiser. Fat whitewall slicks. High and wide flared bars. And a cushy 10lb springy saddle as wide as a Lazy boy recliner.
Very nice
If I may, a second submission: Build it up as a period correct XC race sled and take it down a current XCO course. Bonus points if that corse is Mont St.Anne. ⚰️
…but thats a good idea
This is ultimately the only correct answer, even though that makes it a good idea. This bike deserves love, especially if it’s older and was made in the Kent Eriksen days.
Swap over a triple crown downhill 29er fork and make it a 29/26 mega mullet. Toss a C-battery where that elastomer was to add some rigidity to the rear end. E-bike conversion for the rear wheel. Baskets front and back for camping. Kickstand.
Yes
Mount a Hite-Rite between the seat tube and the seat stays
Lol wat
It's better that you DONT know what hite-rite is. But the idea 💯 should be top!! Lol
He said he wanted a dropper post!
this is brilliant
eccentric bb and it’s an fgfs ride now. learn how to barspin without hurting yourself. move to san francisco. get a little hat. share a bedroom with a stranger in a month to month rental. create content. fail at that. move back in with your parents.
Winner!
Bong. Turn it into a bong.
Fucking genius
put a spring in without a damper.... boing?
Make it into a coffee table!
Now you’re talking
someone’s riding the tour divide with a moots 26” with some sick mods Id check it out for inspo
Very sick
https://bikepacking.com/bikes/justins-tour-divide-moots/
650b with 2.0 or 2.1 tires if they fit!
Can fit 650b x 48mm in back and 29x3" in front
ReneHerse 48mm filetread rear. SabrePro TR 27.5x2.6 front. 3x silver crank. Selle Anatomica cutout. Crust bars.
I know you wanted bad ideas, but if you go in this direction I'd love to see what you come up with. Seems like you could build a pretty sweet gravel bike with this platform.
Install a small fan in the elastomer gap, perpendicular to the seat stays, so that it’s pointed at the saddle. The fan mount should be made using a “leftover” front hub from the parts bin, and the blades from a hacked up disc rotor. The fan blades should be angle so as to spin when the bike is in motion. Finally, install a drillium saddle.
Wow.
Put a tiny accordion where the elastomer was.
OMG, it would be constantly tooting the entire ride
If you want bad ideas, add axle pegs, top tube platform and a potts mod to make it a sick freestyler.
Yes
Wrap it with multi colored electrical tape, do some patterns etc.
Tall bike.
…beat me to it!
Put a dual wheel setup in rear- XBikeTrike
Show me how
The biggest widest ape bars you can find. And a fat bb spindle so you can pretend you're on a chopper.
Well it has both canti studs and disc mounts so obviously you should run a coaster brake
Yes
Brompton size wheels.
Xtracycle free radical set up
Ok you have my attention
Weld another ti frame on top and make a sweet tallbike
Weld a Huffy BELOW and make a really not sweet tall bike.
Tennis ball rear suspension
did you weld the disc tab yourself? i have a 90s single speed Moots RigorMootis that im tempted to update
Had it done at Ti Cycles
put a saddle on the steerer tube and handlebars on the seat tube
Another level of bad
Surf board rack
Fixed gear freestyle
Spray can paintjob!
Disk wheel on the back, deep dish on the front, 28mm Continental GP5000 tan wall tires, drop handlebars with time trial bars. Fill the gap with a tennisball.
😂
Bunny hops until they chainstays crack
Spinergys and a recalled Syncros stem
Turn the fork the other side.
Cut other tubes in same way and machine up some hardwood inserts so you have a alu/steel wood hybrid bike
I'd put the fattest tires possible on it, and then probably ride it on remote OHV trails with an irresponsible amount of camping gear and hallucinogens strapped to it.
my kinda guy
Probably put some ugly-ass mustache bars or some other bullshit with some bar end shifters.
Onza pedals and purple anodized everything
Triple serving Underberg holder in the seatstay gap for the win. Triple crown DH fork up front
Mount a double crown 29er fork, lessen the rear wheel size by one standard and smack on a high rise old mans bar. I.e. turn it into a crackhead chopper.
Mount 2 Bmx scooter wheels and make it a balance bike. No pedals no problems
Throw this xbiking stuff out of the window, put some nice big marzochi super monster ts, 26 inch wheels bmx bars, yeahhhh
Make it into one of those ski bike things
Di2
50cc Chinese moped kit and the thinnest road wheels possible with ape hanger handlebars. Is that a bad enough idea?
A banana seat so any flex from the frame gap is transmitted directly back into your ass (or balls, depending on your position). Some wine corks in the frame gap so the two ends bang softly and with style. Some deep old school sprint bars for speed. Wheels, cranks and bottom bracket from a 10 year old Kent fixie rescued from the dumpster.
Ski bike. Skis instead of wheels.
Softride beam seatpost with a Thudbuster or gas strut seatpost, oversized springer gel saddle with a gel seat cover over that, elastomer shock stem, a full moose rack of bar ends on trekking loop or butterfly bars, aero tri bars and pads, and finish it off with Tioga Disc Drive wheels. And then run the skinniest, hardest tires you can find. Does Tannus make inserts for 22c tires? For bonus points please lace up the Disc Drive kevlar cords with spokey-dokeys and replace any/all bar end plugs with tassels. If that's not enough wrong for you, then do all of the above and then make it a swing bike. Yes, with the Softride still on it. Yeah, I *know* it's going to be weird. Squishy in all the wrong places.
Dear god
Fixed gear conversion with chain tensioner, no brakes with skate board truck bushings for elastomers
flame ano and ali express parts
BMX bars and a gyro
Lol I just put that fork on a dirt jumper frame to try a street trials setup. One thing I didn’t consider was how far forward the front axle is relative to the steer tube. Im working with it fine, but I would be curious to ride the bike with something that is flush with the front of the bike
Fox 40's up front, with a 29in front wheel and 24in trials wheel rear, magic link fixed gear with at least a 70 gear inch ratio. Integrated carbon stem and drop bars with a Hope V-Twin system to 6 pot brakes pulled by Paul eLevers . 155mm cranks with toe clips and straps. You're welcome.
What is the gap between the seat tube and seat stay for?
It’s for an elastomer and spring assembly to be put in there. There is an inch of soft tail YBB suspension
No joint for movement, and the whole thing depends on frame flex. That's a new one on me, seems like a set up for a lot of metal fatigue.
Fun fact: fixing fatigue related chain stay failure is why Moots originally switched from steel to ti. They broke a lot of steel frames along the way. Then they just stuck with ti for all their frames.
I first thought the rear stay gap was occupied by a weird white elastomer, then zoomed in and noticed there was.. NO elastomer lol. Do they even make replacements anymore?
Yes they do! It’s on order! But the elastomer and spring are encased in a Ti slider when it is all put together.
ride as is
Would be wiggly af
Sell me the fork and then chop the frame up and make a wind chime.
I bet these tubes would really sing
Bike stool
Gravel bike! Here's my conversion of a Merlin MTB: [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ps5StXPQS8N3gv4DY28UJgzZzSHVnBYK](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ps5StXPQS8N3gv4DY28UJgzZzSHVnBYK)
Good idea…boring!
Yeah The Rad 113 going to be super boring on mine... https://www.theraddirt.com/info/#1631727959931-9a4eb10b-9271
In all seriousness, that merlin is dope af. That race sounds like death though
I also want to drill a hole in a ‘99 aluminum trek for a dropper. Does anyone have any tips/places that this would be possible that wouldn’t destroy the frame or significantly decrease its life? I want the frame to keep kicking as long as possible given I just replaced about 70% of the parts on it.
Don’t do it on aluminum
Sounds good. I’ll keep my eye out for an externally routed one then.
dildo for a saddle definitely.
Tall bike
Send it to me
AXS suspension???
I say just leave it like it is.
What’s the carbon fork?
Give it to me!
Fox 40s
- Weld a Rene Herse Nivex Derailleur to the chain stay - Run a Marzocchi super monster with a 24" wheel in the front, but add a dynamo hub and a light mount on the fork bridge - Combine the above fork with a triathlon handlebar and a handlebar bag
Convert it to a single speed with a coaster brake and strap a weedwhacker engine to it. You did specify that you wanted bad ideas. This is my contribution.
Make it a singlespeed
Single speed
Googly eyes over the mOOts, and a tiny butter churn on the seat stays.
Unicycle
tracklocross tracklocross tracklocross
Zip tie it
Toss it in the dumpster and get yourself a proper çâřböņ fĩbęř bice
A farmer stumbles upon a sleek titanium frame at a yard sale. The seller, eager to get rid of it, insists it's a state-of-the-art European cultivator. Intrigued, the farmer buys it, imagining how much easier it will make his work. Back on the farm, he attaches makeshift tines and proudly drags it through the fields. It bends and twists at every rock and root, leaving chaotic furrows. Frustrated, he calls his neighbors over, hoping they can help him figure out this "high-tech" tool. Each neighbor offers increasingly absurd advice: "Maybe it’s for aerating soil in a zigzag pattern," suggests one. Another proposes, "It might be a modern scarecrow frame—just add clothes!" Finally, the farmer's son, home from college, takes one look and deadpans, "Looks like it's designed to break more than it fixes." The farmer, undeterred, mounts the frame on his barn wall, declaring, "It’s a reminder that sometimes, the latest tech isn’t all it’s cracked up to be!"
Leave it on this desk as a paper weight
Titanium is strong enough that you don't need a top tube
Weld another one on top of it and make a fixie / touring tall bike. Bad enough idea?
[Bike lawnmower.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/ggiv6h/mountain_bike_lawnmower_that_is_all/) An oft-overlooked option.
Cane creek thudbuster with a brooks saddle. Slap a jones handlebar on that bad larry.
Melt it down and turn it into a titanium unicycle
Give it to me
I legit thought I was tweaking for a sec
Sell it to me:)
Banana seat. Sissy Bar. Apes. Total paradox.
Baseball cards in the spokes. Streamers from the bar ends. Banana seat.
Got some lube and a spare hour
I’d get colonel Moot to melt it down into a dildo and insert it straight into my rectum
couch
Cargo bike it
beach cruiser