30 mile RAIL BIKE Adventure on Abandoned Railways
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- We set out for a 30 km rail bike ride shakedown trip to make sure the device was able to hold up to a day of riding. So far, it has not let us down. We had no issues, no derailments, and the only real problem was large blowdowns along the tracks. Some weeds and overgrowth had us slowing down at times, but wasn't a major issue. We are ready for our upcoming expedition in the coming weeks.
This 2 person, side by side, tandem rail bike device was designed and built for use on abandoned and defunct railways only. For those who have followed this journey, the new style of rail bike that you see here allows an easier universal fit for all bike sizes and styles, and it relies only on the top and inside of the rail as contact points. This is based on our experience that many of the old abandoned rails have very rough and corroded outer rail walls while the inside wall, on the majority of them, are still in suitable shape for guidance.
The bikes used in the video are 29" mountain bikes. The front wheels straps to the aluminum frame so that when the rider completes the rail section of a trip, they can put the front wheel back on the bike and continue in standard mountain bike mode.
I used aluminum extrusion on this version so that modifying and adjusting the geometry was simple and cost effective. I want to try and make the device as small as possible, while still maintaining the optimal performance.
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I'm sooo looking forward to see the expedition... Great job all around Steve!
It'll be fun. Definitely different!
Love it. This shows me two things. One, you guys are two kids from the 60s or 70s, making your own fun. Two, Cdn railway tracks were assembled with pure expertise! But bridge, what bridge…? 😉🤔🤔
I had to laugh at this. You got it right, born in the 70's and still having fun like a kid. The rails are very well installed, and this line in particular is recently abandoned so it's in really good shape. Glad you like it.
How do the back wheels not slide off the track. What is the penalty for getting caught doing this?
Great new way of doing a rail to trail.
Damn that looks so easy and relaxing. Wouldn't mind doing that on the weekend as a meditation
It's great fun and fairly easy going. No need to rush when the surroundings are so enjoyable.
It's been fun watching your progress. I can't wait to see the final journey
It's been a fun project. Time for some epic trips with it now.
cool thing you built there. looks like you dialed it in. some extra bolts and lock washers and wrench along with a bottle of locktite or 3m 5200...😁. I'd probably pass on the handsaw and just bring makita chainsaw or reciprocating saw and a bunch of batteries.
dang....your going into some virgin ( kinda) territory and it's not going to be steep climbs. just cruising and soaking it all in. you probably should have a couple or 3 cans of bear spray as well. can't wait to watch the next video! 😎👍
Glad you liked it. It's still in development form, but this version is getting pretty close to final. I've got spare parts and tools with me. It's a blast to ride.
@@Suluk46 I clicked on the Suluk46 ultra light gear website but sadly there are no rail bike kits for sale
Excellent... great camera work.
Thank you kindly.
Very cool vid.
I got into the habit of placing a stone under a wheel when stopped as often my rail-bike would roll off LOL, on a slope barely perceivable.
So friction free 👌
That's funny, I actually do the same. If I don't, it will roll away.
I love this design! The design that I had in mind is very similar. I never thought of using 80/20 though. Simply brilliant! This set-up would be able to house a battery bank, some solar panels and some electric bikes, instead of peddle bikes.
The options are endless. 80/20 allows tons of adjustments.
I'm glad to have found this video... I'm looking forward to join with you both on the next journey... I'm curious how you're connected with the Rails ✌🏽😉
It just rides on top. Next video I'm explaining how it doesn't fall off.
Nice video, Your drone could use an ND filter like an N64. Something you might look into in the future.
I don't know much about editing and filters. But I'm learning!
@ your use of setup, showing going to and going from a location works really well. But it does add a lot of time going back and forth.
Maybe a saw next time. Pretty cool adventure.
Lol....I can't even believe myself that I didn't bring one.
@@Suluk46 i take one on bike rides and hikes, just in case. I should put one in my car really. 😀
@@Suluk46 I would recommend the UKI Buck Saw. I'll try to find you a link.
Sounds interesting. Who makes this highly recommended Uki Buck Saw? 😉
I take either a Bahco Laplander or Silky Gomboy, both folding saws. They get through most branches and small trees.
Отличная поездка, виды природы и заброшенной гидроэлектростанции впечатляют!
У вас самая технологичная конструкция адаптера под колею! В моих конструкциях боковой упорный ролик был неподвижен, и повреждался при изменении колеи. А расстояние между рельс в россии и на незаброшенных железных дорогах разное. +/- 20mm)
Awesome. It's good fun. Thanks for watching.
My one rule for ride old railway rights of way: always start on the downstream end and ride upstream! That way you're riding downhill on the way back, when you're tired.
This is good advice...I actually started looking into that after this trip.
Love it
I need more to see lol
150km, 2 day Rail bike expedition gets released tomorrow morning.
you need a cutter kit for the branches and logs along the way and see if you can get permission to be a trail cleaner !!! and see if you can install swing gates with keys after !!! that would be a kick ass system to ride !!!
We joked about that when we were filming this. Need a weed whacker on the front.
Just some good snips and a saw of some sort. same way I keep all the trails open on my small rez in Canada !!! And I get full travelability/use of the trails since I keep them open and cleaned up !!! and make bypasses if need be because some quads and sxs's dig deep ruts making mud holes !!! I hope you have fun keeping the trails open. and get them to make a gate there with keys you can sign out. with a do not copy, because the keys change every month !!! 30 keys at a time. and run tourism groups would like that kinda ride !!! and e-carts. would work fine on there. just gotta know if the tracks don't spread to wide. and have a time trials with bring your own ride. and you have to be able to disassembled and put back together under a certain time limit. and damn the 30k would be a awesome race track every month !!! and hope you find more track like that. I wanna build a gas kart ride what track are left. but still have steering if need to leave the track !!!
Awesome system - looks like fun!
What is that slotted aluminum stock called? Would love to build something like this.
Just look up aluminum extrusion and there will be many options. I used 30mm for it.
Perfect - thanks!
Love the content
Thanks!
Few questions:
1. Would you consider getting some smoother rear tires for the trip?
2. Do you know your average moving speed? Seems pretty relaxed, is that mainly for stability?
3. What are you gonna do about the audio? External mic pack? Damped mounts?
4. Is this the greatest railbike ever constructed?
1. Not against smoother tires if maybe I had planned to only ride the railway and maybe paved roads. The upcoming trip will be a combination of trails, logging roads, and the railway so MTB tires are ideal.
2. I don't know, but it was pretty mellow at times but also pretty fast sometimes. These old railways are pretty beat up and overgrown. We covered 30 km in about 4 hours, but that is with dealing with blowdowns and such. I would guess 10-15 kph is safe. I've had derailments on my other railbikes, it ain't fun :)
3. The camera is mounted to the rigid frame, that's why it sounds so terrible and picks up all the mini bumps and clicks. The bike fork has suspension so it is actually quite smooth, so I'll mount it to the handlebars. Hope that works better.
4. Haha. I've built many railbikes, this style certainly seems the easiest, most reliable, and most universal. Is it the greatest? I don't know about that!
Super interesting, what type of wheels did you use? I am thinking of constructing my own very similar to this
Just skateboard wheels from amazon. Rollerblade wheels work too. Both are fairly economical.
Amazing! When are you gonna start selling this in the shop?? Or at least the design?
No plans to sell them. I just built it myself.
@@Suluk46are you sharing your parts list and design sketches? I’m wondering if bigger diameter wheels would be quieter?
Inspiring! Where are you guys? Did I hear Ontario? Thanks for the vid
Looks like the recently abandoned line between Brampton and Orangeville (Ontario).
Try a single speed freewheel or fixed gear drivetrain and Surly Extra Terrestrial 29x2.5 tires. The fixed gear will propel you forward with very little effort.
Looks like the old king horn division of CN RAIL east of thunder bay ontario
This one is in Brampton. I read that they will be tearing up the rails soon to turn it into a bike and walking path.
Could you make the plans available? I would LOVE to build one of these!
Interesting…how do you make rear wheel stay on the rail?🤔
Electromagnetic pulses inside the wheel. Watch my latest video. I go over it in detail.
Battery powered sawz all (demo saw) with a pruning blade would do some serious damage to those branches/debris.
Why such small front wheels? bigger>>smoother>>lower RPMs
I've tried all kinds of sizes and materials. Mostly stick to smaller ones to reduce rotating mass.
Where is the full vid ... no links not on your page ... 🤷♂️
Soon
Which one of you had the most face-slaps from overgrowth? 😅
Haha. We took some face shots 😂
what wheels are you using?
Roller skate wheels were used on this version.
@@Suluk46 I used roller skate and inline skate wheels.
Does the back wheel fly off the track?
No, it doesn't. It actually never comes off the track.
@@Suluk46 Any idea your fastest speed? I keep tripping out thinking that the real wheel will pop off, and that probably wouldn't be a good time.
10-15 kph is a safe speed. The wheel just falling off for no reason shouldn't be a concern. The real issue is with these old railways, lots of things will launch you off the tracks.
@@Suluk46 I'm thinking maybe a hard gust, old tracks or even if you lost balance, ect... But regardless this is super cool.
Where is this?
Up in Canada.
@@Suluk46 In Quebec ?
Looks like Ontario, maybe the abandoned line between Brampton and Orangeville.
first view
Lol. Yes, you are the first!
You need mics..
Likely not going to happen. Might just position the camera on the bike instead of the device.
@@Suluk46 A lav mic is a super easy purchase - you can get a pretty decent one for less than $100. I HIGHLY recommend doing so, as it'd improve your audio quality drastically and make your videos a lot nicer to watch! Just a suggestion, still a cool video :)
A battery powered chainsaw and you could clear that faster than moving the bike around it.