This Designer Built a Transforming Bike With Instructions to Create Your Own

It doesn’t get any funkier than this. You’re looking at a project completed by none other than rachl009 of Rako Bikes. However, not only is this project a one-off build, but it also comes with step by step instructions to create your own.

The Transforming Bike is a project posted by rachl009 on instructables.com. To sum things up into one easy formula, it’s a bicycle that can shapeshift from a tall bike down to a chopper, all in the blink of an eye. You can see it in action in the video below.

Sure, it may look complicated, but it’ll all work out for you if you follow the recipe properly. The designer took a full suspension MTB and modified it by removing the rear spring and extending the fork and rear triangle.

To get things going, you’ll need a full suspension MTB, but don’t start thinking Trek or Giant; think low-budget Huffy, one of those older models everyone could buy at K-Mart. Up next, three pieces of steel to extend the fork and rear triangle, gas shocks, longer brake cable, and two bike chains. Oh, and tools for cutting, welding, and grinding.

Once the components have been removed, rachl009 proceeds to “chop it up” and cuts the bike’s rear triangle right behind the BB and the front shock to weld on the extensions. Once extensions are in place, the springs need to be added.

Here’s where things got a bit tricky for the design. To function properly, the designer installed gas springs from LSTechnologies that settle under the proper pressure level. After testing, it was found that the rider's weight should add up to 66% percent of the shocks' push force in order to engage and disengage properly. However, if riding in tall mode, as you hit cracks and bumps, the springs slowly drop towards chopper mode.

The front of the springs is attached to a segment near the seat tube, while the rear is bolted into a small steel plate attached to the rear rack mounting holes. This little plate also allows you to modify different mounting angles. You choose which one works best for you.

Because the rear now sits further away from the crankset, that second chain will come in handy. For the Transforming Bike, the designer chose to eliminate the shifters and locking the rear derailleur in place using nothing but a piece of wire, now used as a chain tensioner.

To make sure something like this can still be stopped as you’re riding around town, new brake lines were also installed. The rear brake uses existing cable standoffs and a couple of zip ties to be fixed in place. The front is held in place with nothing more than a zip tie. One feature you can choose to add is a BMX peg to use as a step for getting on the bike.

Now the mechanism is so simple that all it requires is a shift in body weight to enter either chopper or tall bike mode. One thing rachl009 mentions in the building instructions is a very tricky dismount. If you’re riding along in chopper mode and decide to stop and dismount, the moment you shift weight off the bike by setting your foot down, the springs activate, and you end up possibly being thrown off the bike. Tricky stuff, if you ask me. However, that can all be resolved with nothing more than a hook and line lever.

Personally, I love it. I think it’s a wonderful something to make one weekend when you feel like doing things differently. Enjoy the ride but watch that dismount.