Weeks 3-4 progress

I am most of the way through with building the bike and have been filming everything. I have a few hours of footage that I will need to cut down and speed up to show a fast forwarded version of the build for the final video. So far, the build has been pretty fun but frustrating at the same time.

So far I have built the frame, both wheels, front fork, and front axle. By next week the bike will be fully done leaving me a week to work on the final video. To complete the bike I need to make: -seat -handlebars -rear axle -pedals

Week 2 Progress

I totally revamped my design and came up with a blueprint for an all wooden bike that should be totally rideable. The bike will feature a fixed gear drive system that will be powered by pedals mounted directly into the rear wheel.

The frame will be made from 2x4's and wooden dowels and everything will be held together with wooden pegs and glue eliminating the need for any metal screw or bolts. I believe the new design will be able to support the weight of a rider and allow the bike to be fully functional.

The wheels will be created from large sheets of plywood with a single layer inner spoke design and two layers of plywood sandwiched around the spokes to form the tire. This will provide strength and a larger surface area to grip the ground when riding.

I have gotten the plywood and some 2x4's from some scrap wood piles and am getting money together to buy the dowels, wooden pegs and glue to begin construction of the bike this week. I plan to start with building the wheels and then move on to the frame and rest of the bike as time permits, filming the whole process to put the footage towards the final video.

Week 1 Progress

Projected timeline for Project #2

4/03 Create timeline for project.
Draw projected plans/blueprints for bike
Decide on materials/strategy for building

4/10 Buy/Gather wood
Being building
Film building process

4/17 Keep building and filming
Organize footage as the project progresses
4/24 Finish building bike and filming

5/01 Edit footage into short video to accompany the physical project.

5/08 Final CRITIQUE/PROJECT #2 Due


I have two different way of making the bike in mind. The first way I would use dowels of various sizes for the main part of the frame and then cut wheels out of plywood to form the big circular parts. I would use glue and wooden pegs to hold it all together and it would most likely be rideable.

The second option I would like to explore is using branches from actual trees. I would have to hunt for pieces that are close to the actual shape of the frame so I could use as few branches as possible and have nature dictate the form somewhat. This would be much less exact and be more of a show piece than a rideable bike.

I made a general plan for the size of the frame but it is just a guide so I purchase or find the wood to start building with.