Rail Bike with folding outriggers - riding abandoned railroads on the central coast
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- Опубліковано 6 чер 2021
- This is my Railroad attachment for my bike that folds up onto the bike so it can be ridden on the road and then unfolded on the railroad tracks to be able to ride the rails. The tracks I am riding are abandoned tracks in central California. The ride I go on is about 10 miles south down the coast on the tracks and then 10 miles north and with about 5 miles on the road.
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As a Keen Cyclist, Lover of Railways and an ex railway worker myself this is the coolest thing I have seen in ages. Love it
yes I agree no competing with road traffic!
Best way to get home drunk I’ve seen!
You said it, brother!
Yes this CAN’T go wrong right? Just kidding. I’m impressed. Just hoping that people who have some issues and are fixated on railroads and trains don’t get themselves into horrible situations riding this amazing new toy! I really love it.
@@LK-pc4sq Don't be so sure about that.
Honestly I would keep things like this secret. Peace and quiet with no traffic…what a treasure
With 7, going on 8 billion people in the world.... unfortunately I agree.
And such a slick way to get around on a bike, coasting up and down gentle grades.
In the future people will cross the continent on these.
a bicycle is light enough that if someone else came you can just get off the track for few seconds to let them pass
And imagine how fast and far you could travel with an electric pedal assisted motor attached to it
As a kid, I was an avid reader, and would pick up obscure library books to read.
One of them was a (very outdated) book on HPVs, or "human powered vehicles". It was really in depth, going from the history of the bicycle, to more modern developments for car replacements in highly aerodynamic recumbent bikes. It also went over just about every type of vehicle you could imagine being pedal powered, including boats, blimps, airplanes, etc, and what has been made in those areas.
Apparently, it was relatively common to make rail mods for bikes back in the early 20th century. Rail companies across the country would shut down on sundays, so the rails were completely safe to ride for sunday picnics. The photos in the book of people doing this were very similar to your design.
I think perhaps the practice died when it became rarer for companies to close on sundays, as the country became less religious. I hope it makes a comeback though. It should. The US's railways have been so mismanaged that trucking has taken over much of the freight industry (despite being an objectively worse way to transport cargo than rail). This has resulted in a lot of abandoned railways across the country.
The reason you find it easier to ride across town on rails is that the single biggest advantage of rails is a low coefficient of friction between your tire and the rails. This reduces rolling friction a ton, meaning youre putting a lot less work into pedalling.
@@avidreader100 it does not he’s using Mountin bike tires he has less rubber on actuly
he probably finds it easier because he's not constantly stopping for stop signs and traffic signals
Railroads as you know are always made with a minimum grade in mind. Where as roads are made by removing the least amout of material as possible. Hence up , down and around and repeat. Really cool project!
I literally remember this book
No traffic surely ?
This is simply absolute perfection. As a railway enthusiast who likes to disappear away from people on a bike this could not be a better vehicle for me.
Go electric or gas motored engine would be a blast, just wondering how he came about with the contraption on front wheel, and his side bar to stabilize bike, if could sell some? Or show how he made his!
The wires you show are not grounding wires....they are called "bond wires". RR signals and crossing gates are actuated by low voltage electricity that flows through the rails. When the rail segment ends you need a bond wire to complete the circuit. In continuous welded rail that is not needed so often as the lengths of CWR are usually very long. When an engine or other rolling stock travels over the rails it "shunts" the electricity traveling through the steel wheels and steel axles from one rail to the other completing the shunt. This is what actuates crossing gates and signals.
so you are saying if i take a wire ....
@@dollyhadbraces9361 well that depends. There's different types of crossing arm actuation. Sensor, circuit, and rolling circuit. Obviously a sensory relay will not activate with a wire. A regular outside circuit on either side of the crossing will, but a rolling circuit uses a specific number of circuits up to the crossing and calculates if the train is moving or not so that if it stops short it won't foul the crossing gates. There's also overlay circuits and sensory combined with circuits too but you get the idea.
@@jasonw833 the way I recently learned about that as I understand is about the most common measures the time delay of low-frequency AC signals transmitted down the tracks. This lets the systems determine distance-with continuously welded rail, a train anywhere along a huge stretch of the line completes a simple circuit.
@@PaulFisher that would be deemed an overlay circuit using frequencies within a circuit like a zepic. Then you have what is a solid state circuit, genracode or elektracode that basically can incorporate multiple circuits into one for a grade crossing approach.
@@jasonw833 thank you! I was not aware of the terminology.
"I've actually found that it is easier to ride across town on the rails than it is the road" - if only there were rail vehicles regularly operating on them providing this very service
spot on :-D
But then you would have to travel with other people.
@@viron6734 oh no...
The city I live in has an abandoned rail going from downtown to the mail about three miles away, I always thought it'd be cool to have a tiny train to run passengers
It's only convenient because he's the only one. It would get bad quickly as you add more people.
A really well executed conversion. Here in the UK, we have literally thousands of miles of disused rail lines so I'm thinking of doing something similar. But you have raised the bar in terms of quality of execution.
Sorry for being a "pillock" or whatever but, You'd need to seek permission from the rail operator to use it, Even if its disused, Doubt BTP would do anything if it was reported but I wouldnt wanna chance it
@@doggsumodo4591 no, definitely don't seek permission. By asking for permission, you'll just needlessly risk getting rejected. If you know the rail lines are disused and you do not see any immediate danger, just use it. If it turns out that you can't use it after the fact, you can just plead ignorance then.
@@MondeSerenaWilliams Fair enough, But there would still be the risk of a trespass fine...
@@doggsumodo4591 they'd need to catch him first 🚴⚡🏃
@@NotQuiteFirst Lol, True
I have miles of disused track around my area and been thinking of doing exactly this!
Now I know it works rather well.
Brilliant work old son👍
Very clever, here in England they remove the rails of abandoned railways and leave them as cycle ways and footpaths, some of the Victorian viaducts you can cross are pretty spectacular
Thank you for the video
Greedy
@@TheKitMurkit indeed
They do the same in Germany and it´s actually pretty awesome to walk or bike along these phaths.
It's the same across the whole of the Britain.
Aye, and dont the folk regret it, we could have a nice national tram system cutting down road traffic
I've been doing this since the 1980's.
Back East, the rail is pretty beat, worked like an old cold chisel. The rails get wide and ragged on the outside rail, and the inner rail gets super narrow, on sharp curves.
There's also ballast stone piled to the level of the rail on the outside, occassionaly some hardware. This, and the ragged rail, will launch you. I'm done with the double flanged guide. Too many injurous crashes due to these hazzards.
I used 4130 tubing, logged thousands of miles.
Beautiful build. Very tidy.
Can you send me a pic or some info?
Show us you're stuff! We want to see how you improved this type of device?
I agree, more info please!
U r ahead of the curve ain't you Bud
I don't know why but it would be hilarious to me if while making this video the guy ran into someone else doing the same thing. Either in the opposite direction or going too slow in the same direction.
Never would have conceived the rear wheel and trailing so well without it having some type of guide like the front wheel. And very eye-opening as far as how things can be simplified.
🤔 👀 👍🏻🇺🇲🇺🇲
this is an AMAZING idea
can you imagine bike touring on an abandoned railway?
no focus on avoiding anything, just hop on, start pedaling and enjoy the journey
As a mechanic I’m really impressed, as a lover of the outdoors , I’m inspired…… however for the life of me I can’t understand how you are so stable …. The outrigger is just sitting on the top of the rail , and the only thing guiding the bike is the front wheel/ guide !! It’s extraordinary, really….. because coming off on those rails and sleepers could be painful…. You have my entire respect ✊
I know right? like in a turn, wont the back end just slide off?
@@crispysocksss railway turns are so wide that there would be no risk of this, as otherwise actual trains would run into similar issues as you describe.
Since fromt wheel is locked and can't be turned the back wheel always follows the front one. Side wheel keeps the bike upright and because of that it doesn't slide of because of lean.
@@rokasbitinaitis669 thanks 🙏
@@crispysocksss haha had me …. But I think the explanation posted in the other reply’s is correct , just I think it would be a trust thing in the end … experience creating that trust that is …..
I have wanted to make something like this for years. Looks like you have perfected it. I always assumed that I would need flanges on the rear wheel too. Great engineering!
Yes rear wheel flanges would be easy to attach and work to keep it on the staight and narrow.
What you have done is very ingeneous. Hats off to you.
What type of work are you in. Machinery?
This probably has given ideas to other budding cyclist to come up with a quad version of what you have put together.
Would be super cool. Could even be used as another mode of transport for all that could pedal a bike.
Can see an opprtunity there
I just feel like I have to lean to keep it on the tracks or maybe stay turned like a bad alignment... Then again I haven't been in one so...
@@facial210 I've been thinking about that myself. When you are riding a bike normally you don't need an outrigger, so I think it only comes into play occasionally. But without riding it who knows.
@@bigredc222 maybe fix the bars straight when attached to the rail so it would feel more stable and could even ride freehand.
Back to original thought I'd I feel if I leaned right it's gonna tip over or lift the other side wheels up constantly
@@facial210 You definitely don't want to lean right or you're going over.
Hot damn, this is so cool. Train tracks are graded super gently, I bet it feels great to ride on such a smooth rail too. Added bonus, you can look at the scenery without worrying about balancing or running into stuff!
This is insanely cool, I love the practical and functional design of that telescoping side wheel.
This is sublime. I don't know of anything cooler on a bike. To have that view all to yourself, quiet and alone... Jealous of your building skills. Subscribed.
Wow, your roll rate/distance after that push was impressive! Great engineering 👍
I wish my roll rate was that big
He's riding a bike on the smoothest surface probably with freshly pumped tires, the engineering is great but it would be hard not to have low roll resistance on a smooth steel bar.
@@dominicdeluca6378 There may also be a grade that we can't see, a slight downhill would make a world of difference.
As an ex-cyclist (been disabled with chronic illnesses/pain for the past 29 years), and someone who grew up living on the platform of a country railway station, I think this is a wonderful idea! You'll have to hope that it doesn't catch on though!! Lol
An amazing way to get around.
I love this setup! Thank you for sharing.
This is the best buildup i've seen, simple and light.
Wow! That is super sweet, not only the invention, but the tracks you get to ride.
This is perhaps the coolest thing I have ever seen in my life
Man, that is fantastic. Just watching you bike was peace inducing.
This is brilliant, great job. The beauty of this is you could take it overseas and easily adjust it to different rail gauges.
It would instantly sink if taken overseas
This is the humor I needed, thank you 😂
@@shaunlastname391 Dad, is that you?
@@No-Pro probably not, I would remember if I had an offspring named Nopro
@@shaunlastname391 Yeah that’s definitely you. Come on, my mum told you to keep your jokes out the comment section.
Great design and execution. Decades ago a mate and I pondered this type of design over a few beers. It only stayed a pondering but yours is great to see working so elegantly and efficiently.
Jesus Christ it's satisfying to see how smooth it coasts. Trains are the most efficient transit you can make!
I just love this.
The combination of all my favourite hobbies.
this is such a great and simple design, you made a really cheap rig that totally accomplishes your goal, riding the bike on the railway. i clicked on this video expecting a much more complicated build but this totally gets the job done and its pretty much perfect. great way to make use of those abandoned railways aswell!
Depending on your idea of "really cheap." Definitely a great simple design.
I remember seeing plans for making one's bicycle able to ride the rails in a Popular Mechanics magazine back in the early to mid '60's. I always dreamed about doing that. Great video thumbs up.
🙌 you sir have made something absolutely amazing
I’ve always had this idea as a kid thank you for putting it into reality. This is amazing
Thank you for the insightful and intelligent idea. I want to build this so bad right now! Awesome!!
Super cool. In Oregon, we've converted a few of these unused railroads to paved tracks. Inclines are smooth and views are great.
Where in Oregon?
Nicely designed and engineered, a fantastic use of old train tracks.
I hope you sell the blue prints
What a wonderful video, thank you for the upload.
That front wheel guide works so much better than I had anticipated. Very nice work!
Very nice job you did. I made one of these too to see how it works. I did the same as you and had rail guides on both sides of the front wheel and some rake. My out rigger was not extendable, like yours. I tried it on the RR tracks on my street and was amazed how the rear wheel tracks behind and does not come off the track, so no wheel guide was needed for the rear wheel.
I got some pretty funny looks from the neighbors, as these tracks were still being used.
What keeps the rear wheel in place? Is the front steering locked in place?
@@DanielNorton My outrigger had a RR type wheel and that helps track it. But a bicycle and motorcycle, if straight, will naturally track the wheels in a straight line. The out rigger just helps as an extra.
Yah, being used by you!
I applaud your ingenuity. The scenery that you've made accessible to yourself is so beautiful!
He just had to build it. This exists and have existed for at least 120 years.
@@Hhh-j8o thats the amazing thing because he was able to BUILD it.
Love everything about the video. You wanted to do something you enjoy, you worked out a solution yourself. Loved seeing you enjoying your scenic rides after all the work. 🙌
fantastic setup! really well done!
Incredible views on that old line. And it's neat to see how little locating that setup seems to need.
This is probably the best shtf vehicle adaptations I've ever seen, you put a front hub electric motor on that and you could pull a trailer loaded with gear in a fairly stealthy and fast way
I build DIY hub motor ebikes and I was thinking about that, but I didn't think about being able to pull a rail-cart behind it! You can tell how much more efficient the power delivery is due to the smooth rail. It'd be nice if our country would build more rails!
Till you get run over by a train
Legs are already the motor. You can pull huge weight because the incline is always gradual.
I was already thinking about how my pedal assist bike would straight fly down those trails.
There are human powered rail carts, which were used by every railroads for track maintenance and these were fast enough and capable to carry fro 1 -4 people, track maintenance gears and some personal supplies. These were also light enough to be taken off the track by two people. Surprisingly built like a rail car (but open) where you can add portable canopy if required. These are easily visible by trains on the same tracks.
Wow! Well engineered, well constructed & just so damn cool!
Free railway trips. I saw some pretty cool places to just camp and relax.
That's awesome!
I spent ages trying to work out how to make a pedal-powered platform to use on an old railway, but I couldn't quite get the idea right. Your design is brilliant!
That is so cool, I've always wanted to explore rails but you've come up with the best idea I've seen.
The idea alone is crazy, but even more that you get it work and enjoy it regularly. Inspireing!
Very professionally done. Excellent job.
I did not even know this was a thing. It really looks like a great way to cycle and it certainly gives a unique cycling perspective. Enjoy!
Yep, search for railbiking here on UA-cam.
Amazing work, if you were able to mass produce these I would buy 100 of them off you right now, its just what I need. Trying to get from Quebec to British Columbia and I figured this will save me so much time and energy. Great work seriously love it
If he were to mass produce these things it would get so many people killed.
Why would you need 100? And why not just hop the rails? Montreal is a great place to cash out or outside Toronto
This only works if one person has it. Lots of users means people coming from the opposite direction or someone riding faster causes one of them to dismount the bike from the rails everytime.
@@CANControlGRAFFITI So they can link them all together and make a bicycle train obviously!
@@tommaguzzi1723 like they do in India or Nepal or somewhere over there
Great practical engineering and construction! I like most how quiet it is 👍
That is so clever!! Looks like a lot of fun!
Was a bit uneasy watching you traverse the bridge crossings, but otherwise it was a magnificent insight to a marvelous and well executed idea. Kudos!
Nice work!! Well thought out, and extremely functional. I wish I was 20 years younger and I'd try this myself!!
Nicely designed, good solid adjustment too.
Now and then youtube blesses us with something special. Its rare but it happens. This is one such case. Wonderful
Near my former home in Denmark we had a discontinued railroad, functioning till 1958, which had been converted into a walk- and bike pass, going flat through fields and woods for about 4 km with a slight raise (The rest had sadly been given back to the farmers). I used it for years going to work.
I like the self contained design and this gives those of us who have that creative bend to see another way of doing a rail bike. I ride a recumbent and I would be a bit lower to the track and on smooth tires so would not hear the tread as I can hear yours. No potholes , smooth as fresh pavement with the only caveat being you may be riding on private property. So much more to see than riding on the road.
He’s on railroad property.
@@dr.jamesolack8504 You are correct it is on railroad property even if abandoned . The main reason the railroad does not want you on the racks is liability concerns , you fall down ,hurt yourself and hey lets sue the other guy for my mistake as if it is their fault.
That is an AWESOME idea! Thanks for sharing!
Great video, two things that I love, bicycles and trains combined!
Nice build and the scenery fantastic!
On a bicycle the rear wheel automatically tracks the front wheel. The reason for this is that the movement direction of the rear wheel is always towards the point where the front wheel contacts the ground. The same is true for the bicycle front wheel relative to the rail guide wheel. No second guide wheel needed, automatic tandem alignment does the job.
Suggested improvement: Build a foldable luggage holder on the outrigger and put your backpack on it. This improves the balance and allows you to get a nice sun tan on your back!
Awesome idea!
When I used to do cycle touring, I was planning my route along the train lines, as they never have a gradient of more than 2%.
The only drawback I see is the suspension, which is completely useless here and makes you lose a bit of power every time you press the pedal.
Great idea! Some mountain bikes have suspension lockouts that solve this problem, making the front fork rigid for flat/stable terrain.
Here in Queensland, Australia, a lot of the old railway routes in the countryside have been pulled up and the routes converted to gravel trails for walking/cycling. I’d love to go for a cycling holiday along some of them.
I am in awe! Even seeing it work I somehow cannot make your solution work in my brain. It doesn’t sound or look feasible even though it obviously is. Great job and keep on doing what you’re doing. Hats off to you!
This is pretty slick! And it looks like a tremendous amount of fun.
"Why on Earth would you want to make something like this"
Simply because I can 😎 ... Amazing engineering just so simple but so effective ... Well Done 👏
That's neat! Do you every have any problems with the left outrigger rising? Do you have to focus your weight left? Also, have you found any deviations in the rail gauge such that one of your guide wheels wanted to fall off?
That's really cool man. Keep it up!
Simply beautiful!💚💚
By far the coolest thing I’ve seen all week
Great design; I was amazed to see how smoothly it operates; add steam power and you have the ultimate seampunk personal vehicle.
Shoot, today he can use an electric bike.
That is really cool!
In addition to rail biking maybe a system like this could be used to cross streams where one just has to build a light weight bridge made say with PVC pipes that act as rails, they can even be a bit submerged.
PVC rails have been around for backyard "trains". UA-cam has videos.
This is awesome. Looks really stable for something so portable! Great work 👌
You Sir, are a genius! That was very cool, thanks for sharing 🤩
Absolutely brilliant! I love it.
Well engineered and reduced to the minimum.
I would have probably guided in the rear too, but I am glad to see that it isn't necessary at all.
Very good job, man! 👏
Great engineering! It's also fairly easy to setup and pretty quiet. It'll come in handy in the post apocalyptic future where there are beings with super sensitive hearing.
Absolutely brilliant idea!
Awesome build. Professional quality! Riding the rails always interested me.
Would you ever consider offering instructions to build such a thing for ourselves, or selling kits for people to attach to their bikes? I am in love with this idea, and amazed that you thought up such a clever idea!
sounds like a good way to get sued when some idiot rides on an active line lmao
@@Seerinx dead people don't sue, their families can though
@@Seerinx Have to be sure that the RR lines are totally abandoned!
@@jtc1947 . . . and that they are available for use. That is: abandoned or not, someone still *owns* those lines. The whole "private property thing" has to be looked into.
@@TheStockwell GOOD POINT!
Great video, well engineered simple solution.. any risk of outrigger lifting off rail as you balance and rear wheel slipping off the rail?
COOL IDEA! RESPECT for YOUR engineering!
Nicely done. Works very well.
That's great. Good job engineering. Beautiful scenic ride. I hope rails to trails conservancy takes note and converts it to a paved rail trail for everyone.
Excellent idea and engineering! It's just a pity the track rides weren't longer. Here in the UK, they take up old unused tracks and turn many into cycleways, while others become heritage train lines.
They do that in US too.
Nive build, great way to go. Good video.
Thanks for the smile. :)
This makes for a great tool for an Argentinian holiday, hundreds of km’s of abandoned track over there.
Way to go man for thinking out of the box. 👍Living in Marin California, I thought about the same idea, but never acted on it. Some other advantages are railroad tracks always have a 2% grade or less keeping your Cruise speed at peak efficiency. Train tunnels really shorten the distance. I wonder if there could be a device that would detect vibrations of an oncoming trains. Recently I moved to Colorado, a more bike friendly state than California.
You want bike friendly? Move to western Europe. Stockholm has >1150 km of bike paths, which increases every year. The Dutch have a magnificent bike network.
Having lived in Amsterdam for several years, I can attest that the Dutch do indeed have a magnificent bike network.
I was also left wondering if there's a way to reliably detect or track trains on a railway, but wouldn't risk going on an actively used railway - trains can be very quiet these days. Besides there seem to be a lot of inactive rail paths - there are even some websites that map them, but how to be 100% sure that they are truly inactive?
Less gradient, fewer crossings, and less winding paths all have to make it so much more efficient to bike on rails though, but
@@joseville the awnser is no. Even back in the day, the railways themselves used to have these (one of many "critters" as they called them) and it was just scheduling/track crew skill* that stood between them and an accident.
*and a complete disregard for their safety as is typical of early railroads
I'm guessing the rolling resistance is probably pretty minimal. I'm curious if you have to any circumstances where the rails are separated?
You might want to patent that invention pretty quickly.
Also love the sound of it. It’s amazing.
Very innovative! I'm impressed.
I narrowed the guide wheel to 70mm and spring loaded it's sides. This has eliminated every single problem area except thick weeds past the 2 Aptos trestles. It sounds crazy but I'm getting serious about affixing my small battery operated 6" brush trimmer to the front "cow catcher". If you see mowed down weeds...
That sounds awesome. Do you have videos?
@@pappysproductions ua-cam.com/video/0_iAC9qnJKc/v-deo.html
I am thoroughly impressed! I'd love to see more specs on how you made this to attempt one of my own!
I could probably put up a cad model on my website
@@kev7777777777 I’m interested in this design. I’d like to purchase it if that’s possible?
Purchase the design or the actual device?
Devise
It probably wouldn't work on your bike because the mounts are made to fit my swing-arm and front forks. I would require quite a bit of fabrication to get it to fit another bike. Plus, I want to ride it a bit more.
This vid made my day, great idea, good design and way do go keeping the adventure alive!
What a great idea, congratulations!
Nice work! Great design. I bet the rolling resistance is way low and you can get it up to a good speed on the rails.
Imagine if he would use road bike tires!
@@twoeightythreez and lock the shock.
I used to have a reprint of a 1906 Sears catalog, and they were selling a device just like this. Quite amazing how everything old is new again.
As for the locating flanges, why couldn't you change them to a pair of rollerblade wheels angled down at 45 degrees? That would enable you to still track the rail, but avoid the bond wires. If you wanted to get really fancy you could mount them on a U-shaped bracket which is independent of the main roller and is forced downwards by a shock absorber, so if you did encounter some sort of obstacle, they would ride up and over it, then immediately be forced to return to the fully down position.
Great video, I really enjoyed it.
I have been thinking about something like this for years! cool to see it fleshed out I.R.L.! AWESOME!
Ingenious.Well done.
Wow! Amazing that the bike trails so well with just a front wheel guide. I’ve seen older rigs for riding the rails but they always had rear guides too. Ideal for bike camping off grid. I wonder how it would do with a trailer, hmm?
Interesting. When you were working on this project, did you ever think you'd see the light at the end of the tunnel? ... Uh oh...
just let the train push you from behind lmao
nice idea, well and simple built...thumbs up for this
Waauw, this is the coolest thing to do ever. And what a magnificent piece of enginering. Thanks sir.