A Place to Sit

The crank is secure. Secure enough that I can sit on the bike, put my feet and the weight of my legs on the pedals, and pedal. The first of many tests.

Which brings me to the place of making a more comfortable place to sit. I have a fine plan to make the seat, two pairs of poles joined at an obtuse angle, and joined by two parallel poles perpendicularly, and a back and seat made of nylon. But the big questions are where to put it, and exactly how wide an angle, and how large must the seat and back be.

I answered the last question by measuring some chairs and the placement of my butt on them. I didn't want to make the seat too large, as I didn't want my pumping legs to chafe agaisnt a seat edge. I want it under by butt, not my legs. I answered the second question by sitting against a board and reclining it to a good angle, then replicating the angle.

I thought the last question would be the easiest, because I could simply put the seat on and secure it. But I find that the placement of the seat is dictated by the placement of the pedals and length of my legs, and I fear that the place dictated is so far forward as to make the bike front-heavy. Depending on the weight of the rear-mounted engine, during a hard stop it could try to do a nice face-plant on the pavement.

I was imagining the only solution would be to cut off the nose and shorten it, but while I was typing it occurred to me it would be far easier, and involve less threat of weakening the structure, to cut off the crossbar and move it forward. Problem solved, thanks for listening.