Bikes are a great way to get around. They’re cheap compared to cars and can be faster through city traffic, and you can get some exercise at the same time. The one downside to them is that the storage capacity is often extremely limited. Your choices are various bags strapped to the bike (or yourself), a trailer, or perhaps this bicycle side car made from a beer keg.
Sidecars are traditionally the realm of motorcycles, not bicycles, but this particular bike isn’t without a few tricks. It has an electric motor to help assist the rider when pedaling. With this platform [Laura Kampf] has a lot of potential. She got to work cutting the beer keg to act as the actual side car, making a hinged door to cover the opening. From there, she fabricated a custom mount for the side car that has a custom hinge, allowing the side car to stay on the road when the bike leans for corners.
For those unfamiliar, [Laura] is a master welder with a shop located in Germany. We’ve seen some of her work here before, and she also just released a video showing off all of her projects for the last year. If you’re an aspiring welder, or just like watching a master show off her craft, be sure to check those out or go straight to the video below.
There’s no way she’s getting the deposit back on that keg now.
Thats some Löwenbräu humor right there.
I am filing that one away for a future.Dad joke.
Thank you for open-sourcing it!
Another one for the dad joke folder
“What Mexican food do you get if you walk barefoot through a puddle of glue?”
“Tacky-toes.” (Taquitos)
Absolutely a V good welder and a master of quick and not-too-dirty. I’d love to see some of the things she took time with, or, Ver 2.0.
Except for welding carbon steel to stainless with (probably) carbon steel wire. Its going to be a rusty mess in no time.
I started watching Laura few years ago and I must say every video she made is a piece of art. The skills she gather during the years allow her to do so many and beautiful projects which are real joy to watch. The details, the edit, the passion… maaaan you should really watch it
Who wants some foam?
Laura isn’t the queen of r/Frankenbike, but she really ought to be.
I added a sidecar to my mountain bike a few years ago, mostly as a lark on a weekend. The plan was to drop my son off at his first day of school with it, which was pretty awesome when we pulled in through the dropoff line out front. When the fun was over, we pulled it apart and made a small trebuchet out of it.
Mine was rigidly mounted to the frame though, where Laura’s is a floater. My rigid mount was a real challenge to control, I googled some stuff about sidecar axle geometry then eyeballed the rest… it really liked to pull to the right and try to run into parked cars.
A trebuchet is unquestionably a faster way to get to school .. but in my experience, teachers, other parents and various “authority figures” are usually quick to disapprove.
https://youtu.be/fGXy-Lari9A
Is the bike also home built?
The boxy frame and long seat are new to me.
It’s got a strong resemblance to a 1970’s era mini-bike.
The front axle mount differs from the old style, crimped and slotted pipe ends and the extended & braced frame, beneath the rear of the seat.
Of course the propulsion methods have their structural demands.
No, its a commercial electric bike. https://urbandrivestyle.com/products/unimoke-urban-utlity-electric-bike
Thank you for the link!
(but it is a bit out of my price range).
Beer keg and a fat bike – some would say that’s the solution for a Canadian winter!
Fat Tire is a Colorado brew.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/607/