Homemade Cart Bike

The cart bike was my first major bicycle project. My bike was inspired by a cart bike by zieak and a model by bicyclelaneindustries. I wouldn't trust it to hold any large weights, but it sure does look interesting when you're riding it. It was pretty easy to make but not nearly as easy to ride. It has a tendency to swerve if it goes too fast. Don't ride it in any areas with lots of traffic.

I happened to have three old bicycles that I was willing to tear apart. I really only needed the forks from two of them. I also needed a long threaded rod and some nuts and lock washers. I needed some more washers and two bolts. I also used six hose clamps. I found the shopping cart in a pile of junk behind a trailer.

I used a drill with various bits, two 3 ton jack stands, a phillips and flat-head screwdriver, channel lock pliers, and a reciprocating saw.

I removed the wheel and front brake form one of the bikes. I drilled a hole in the legs of the cart and then threaded the rod through. Using the nuts and split lock washers I attached the dropouts for the fork to the rod. I wrapped several larger hose clamps around the bars of the cart and the rod. I attached the stem of the fork where the handle bar once was to the handle of the cart along with the gear shift levers. The plastic clamp keeping the brake lever to the handle bar would have snapped if I had tried to wrap it around the handle of the cart.

I used the saw to cut the legs off of the cart while the jacks held it up. I cut away part of the cage of the cart so I could fit the forks of the other two bikes onto the cart. I used several bolts, washers, and smaller hose clamps to attach them to the cart. At first, the forks would slide in and the wheels would grind against the side of the cart. Luckily, the prongs where the brakes once were could be used to push against the cart, keeping the wheel just barely away from the cart.

The bike doesn't make u-turns on its own very well, but it is surprisingly easier to turn than I thought it would be. If it goes too fast, the front two forks turn and cause the bike to swerve. Sometimes the front forks may turn a little and may need to be shifted back into place followed by a tightening of the hose clamps. I don't know how much it can carry yet. Be sure to where a helmet!