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Bicycle Built For Three
"My kids love to ride it," says Wisconsin farmer Douglas Fletcher about the "bicycle built for three" he made out of three old 20-in. single-speed bikes.
Fletcher removed the rear wheel from the front bike, both wheels from the middle bike, and the front wheel from the rear bike. He welded the front forks of the
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Bicycle built for three FARM HOME Novelty Items 17-1-19 "My kids love to ride it," says Wisconsin farmer Douglas Fletcher about the "bicycle built for three" he made out of three old 20-in. single-speed bikes.
Fletcher removed the rear wheel from the front bike, both wheels from the middle bike, and the front wheel from the rear bike. He welded the front forks of the middle and rear bikes to the frames of the bikes ahead of them, just behind the seat. He also bent the forks to make room fora chain that connects the drive sprockets on all three bikes. He bought a used 20 in. wheel rim equipped with a 5-speed sprocket for $20 and mounted it on the rear bike, then mounted a 5-speed gearshift lever on the middle bike.
"I took it to a Sunday school picnic last summer and could hardly get the kids off it," says Fletcher, of Waupaca. "I built it be-cause I wanted something different and I had never heard of a home-built bike for three. The front rider must be older because steering takes a lot of strength. My 11-yearold daughter rides in front and my 7- and 9-year-old boys ride behind her. Everyone has a job. The middle rider controls the gear shift and the front and rear riders each control a set of brakes. I added the 5-speed gearshift because with three people peddling you need more than just one gear.
"One, two, or three can ride it. My daughter sometimes rides it by herself. It doesn't turn very short - she can hardly turn it around on a 16-ft. wide road. The disadvantage of having only one rider is that they can't use the rear brake, but generally the front brake is enough to stop the bike. The front rider can reach behind to shift gears."
Fletcher also modified a 10-speed bike by mounting a tricycle seat onto the frame between the handlebars and rider. A child carrier is mounted behind the rider. "It lets me carry a 2 or 3-year-old in front of me and a 4 or 5-year old in back," he notes.
For more information, contact FARM SHOW Followup, Douglas Fletcher, N4253 E. Ware Road, Waupaca, Wis. 54981 (ph 715 258-0615).
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