Here are sketches that got the project started. On July 14-17 I was in Minneapolis for my niece's wedding. I got there a few days early and was able to spend time with the Twin Cities HPV group and was graciously hosted by Mark and Janie Stonich. In the process of looking at Mark's bikes and touring his shop, I realized a simple solution to a problem that had been keeping me from building this design. I drew up sketches over the weekend and began collecting parts and gathering tools.

Originally I thought I could build this thing in a weekend, I was looking forward to it as a way of getting my hands back into building, and getting a good utility LWB for riding around town. However, it took me a while to find the donor bike. I finally visited the Clarksburg bikeshop where they had several kids' 20” multi-speed bikes I could choose from. I bought this one for $60. Because of the price I paid I still haven't gotten up the nerve to hacksaw it apart. I'm still hoping to get a cheaper one and resell this one, because it's really nice and there's a little girl somewhere who's just right for it.

Here's a schematic I did with MS-Paint to give an idea of the overall arrangement. The framebox will be plywood with foam core. There will be Al U-channel on each end to bolt the front and rear frame halves in. Steering will be by means of an indirect T-bar, similar to the old Raincloud arrangement. I'll re-use the wheels, brakes, bars, rear triangle and front frame/fork of the donor bike. It's my intent to mount a fairing by means of bulkheads on the front and rear of the frame box, fitting a nose and tailcone and wrapping the mid-section with flat-wrapped coroplast (or similar)

Here's where the project sits right now. I'm looking to buy or borrow a drill press so I can do a proper job mounting the donor bike frame parts to the framebox. When that's done I'll mount a BB shell mid-box for a conventional crank, with the chain going to the existing BB on the donor bike rear frame. I'll also skin the top and bottom with plywood, possibly wrapping the whole thing in fiberglass to stiffen the box assembly. Then I'll mount the seat, build the steering and make the fairing.

Closeup of u-channel in end of framebox. I plan to epoxy the channel between the plywood, then drill lateral holes to mount the front frame (headtube and forks). I'll epoxy the foam in between the plywood and mount a BB shell for the front crank at the proper distance behind the front of the box. Bulkheads will mount to the front and rear of the box to support the fairing.

Here's how I hope to look cruising down the road in the finished design. It'll be cooler than anything anyone around here has seen. I may lean the seat back further to get my head lower so I can put a canopy on for wet weather riding. Since this will only be a 6-speed (like the donor bike) I intend to use it for running local errands. My hope is to have this done in a few weeks so I can work on an aluminum version for long distance all-weather commuting.