I've wanted to build a custom bicycle for many years. I started wondering how fat of a tire I could accommodate on a bicycle. I had seen pictures of the Hanebrink Technologies extreme terrain bicycle, but wanted something still more extreme.

The problem I considered was one of drive train alignment. With the fat tire, the chain had to shift too far outside of the normal bottom bracket to rear wheel alignment, in order to clear the tire width. I also wanted to make this work with gears, as I knew the large tire would weigh a lot.

Originally I wanted to spoke up a fat tire rim with a standard bicycle hub, but this proved impossible due the the small rim size with the large tire.

After seeing one of the most creative bike ever (see Ode to the Chupacabra on

http://www.ridingthespine.com/Journey/category/chupacabra

I got the idea of using a standard geared rear hub as a jack shaft or transfer hub between the front (bottom bracket) alignment and the rear tire alignment. This also solved the problem of gearing the bike, since I didn't have to mount the gears on the wheel itself. Thanks to The Atomic Zombie for instruction on one of his bike for the widened hub concept and for much other inspiration.

It weighs a lot, but it is a blast to ride and you never saw a bike get so much attention.

It took me a few months of noodling this around in my head and on paper before I started in earnest to create the "Fat Bastard" extreme fat tire sand bike. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.



Let me also just say, for the record:

I did not set out to make the most efficient, or lightweight, or highest performance bike I could. It was all about maximizing tire size and working out the drivetrain issue. This was for fun! And also to learn how to weld and to see where this project might lead.



IF YOU LIKE, PLEASE GIVE THIS INSTRUCTABLE A GOOD RATING. THANKS!!



