@@royreynolds108 Fair enough. I just wanted to make sure people know I'm not riding rails with actual trains running on them...seems to be a common comment when I post these videos.
may I suggest some kind of 'rail sweeper' Something mounted at the front of the vehicle, ahead of the first wheel to sweep or knock off anything sitting on the track that might cause a derail? A piece of flat stock mounted at an angle? Just an 1/8" above the rail? Cool, simple design.
Where’s the build video for the aluminum frame? Design, details, success and failured attempts, creation is half the fun! We need specifics, like which wheels and rollers, width, length and height of the frame, total weight too. Awesome channel, great design creations and amazing drone editing. You opened my eyes to a new world. Thanks
I'm pretty sure I'll do an instructional video once I get it dialed in perfectly. Right now it works very well, but I'm still tinkering with small aspects of the design here and there. It's a ton of fun.
Can you make a up close video maybe of how it is pieced together and what material you used? My friends and I have always wanted to build a rail vehicle as a side project!!
If the horizontal wheels against the rail heads to guide the frame are 1 1/2 inches in diameter or less, they should go through the flangeways of the frogs and guard rails. Individual wheels from inline skates could be mounted so they are vertical or almost vertical to be the guide wheels to stay on the rails(say about 3/16 inch from each rail to give a 4 ft 8 1/8 in over the wheels to ride inside the gauge for standard which is 4 ft 8 1/2 in. Those bearings are meant to spin fast so the speed you will be traveling should be under their top RPM. With this setup, you could make it for any gauge you desired.
I had vertical and angled inside guide wheel on some of the previous versions but the end up causing the device to "climb" up the rails and eventually pop off. That's why these are in full horizontal position. I also had smaller guide wheels, which I could go back to, these are skateboard wheels and are about 2 inches in diameter. The rails in the video are wide gauge ~65.5" inside distance, but the aluminum extrusions is adjustable to match whichever gauge you are on. Still some work to get it perfect, but so far so good. Thanks for the input, sounds lie you know your railway dimensions well.
Awesome video! This version of the railbike seems to be very easy to build and carry. I've created one steel version, but it is weighing around 30kgs without the bikes :)) Did you use 30mm VSlot profiles? Do you have some plans / drawings of the construction? Thanks a lot!
I don't have plans but yes, I did use 30mm aluminum extrusion. Mine weighs 22 lbs, which is about 10kg and can break down for storage fairly quick and easily.
I got some cheap rubber wheels with bearings on sale at Princess auto. They will probably ride nice and smooth, and quiet on the steel rails. I would like to build a very similar contraption to what you’ve engineered. That looks like 8020 aluminum extrusions, is that right? How much do you think the aluminum would cost that you used, and where did you source it? That looks like about the best set up. I’ve seen so far. I am planning on getting some old plastic cutting boards to make a a bigger inside guide wheel on the same axles, to keep my big rubber wheels on the rails. It should avoid the problem of hitting most stuff, because it would more or less mimic a train wheel.
The entire device cost me around $500. I bought the 8020 from McMaster Carr. It's 30mm and the width is around 5 feet, and about 2 feet long. Hope that helps.
Concept is very cool, kinda like an amusement park luge track. Didn't look like you really tried to break it / stress test though. Weird how the bike wheels just follow. Maybe you could sync your brakes mechanically. Also wonder if you could get away with baldy mtb if not slick road tires, reduce that resistance. Good amount of luggage space though 😂
We were out on it for a while, this was more of a demonstration. We ended up breaking the fork mount so I've made new ones myself that are much stronger. Have to go out and test them to see what the weak point is now.
Awesome! What happens if one person pedals faster than the other though, would the frame twist ? 🤔 Also wondering if there's anything to keep the back wheels from staying on the tracks. I feel like it could slip off the rails. Great idea though, I love it !
It might. We broke one of the fork mounts when we hit some thick brush, so I've upgraded that part of it. It's pretty rigid but best if you ride at a manageable speed.
Honestly, not really. The 2 trips I have planned have been scouted extensively to ensure both the tracks are in descent shape (and are still there) so them being overgrown really isn't an issue.
Probably want tall stem extenders and riser bars or your backs, shoulders and necks will ache after about 10 mins. Mountain bikes are optimized to be balanced over, leaning forward, going downhill, not ridden for hours on flats. Nice front rack idea though.
I have lots of different wheels, all kinds of sizes. They all go clunk, even the bigger ones. These are about 3" but probably 5" is ideal. Any bigger and it's too much rotating mass.
What stops the rear wheels from slipping off the rail? Does it just track so reliably behind the front? I kind of want to see a version with an e-bike motor and luggage platform and some solar panels in the middle : )
