Q: Hi Glenn, What other kustom bikes have you built besides Rollerbike?

A: Wow, my only hesitation in answering this question is that you're going to ask me to dig up pictures and send them to you. I built a three-wheeled stunt bike with 2 wheels in the front and another with 2 wheels in the rear. A bmx suspension bike with 5" travel in the rear. And a bike I call The GYROBIKE. This bike has an 8' wheel that rotates around you as you ride. To make that one work took a lot of speed, so I had to ride it down hill.

Q: Doesn't that add up to four? To ride those machines must take some pretty big balls, what kind of riding background do you have?

A: Yeah that's 4, but it would be a lot more if I had more money and time, and if my wife had less influence.My background is in BMX Freestyle. I used to compete and do shows, I still do shows once in a while.I will say the Rollerbike took some balls. I refuse to admit how many attempts it took for me to finally get the nerve to roll that thing. You see, it had never been done. When I was faced with actually riding up at a good pace and grabbing both front brakes (yes, there are 2 front V-brakes) I didn't really know what would happen. I had a lot of people tell me, it wouldn't work. I think that is what drove me the most to build it. I had to prove them wrong, and I did! It gives me a lot of satisfaction to say that. I came up with the idea in 1991 and actually built it in 1994. I had people telling me for 3 years that it wouldn't work.

Q:  I know the feeling, you have an idea for something kind of radical and there's always some doubt in your mind until it's actually ridden, or in your case rolled. Here's a link to my tall tandem project that I had some doubts about.

In building the Rollerbike, what type of tubing was used and how did you bend the "roll bar"? Tell us about some of your design considerations in building it.

A: Wow, that tandem looks like it was a lot of fun to build, and ride.

The Rollerbike is made of regular steel tubing. There have actually been a total of 3 frames. The first one I tried to build in 1991 (if we're lucky I'll find a picture of it) I never completed it. I took a junky old bmx frame, a galvanized fence pipe, bent the pipe between some tree branches and viola! A ridiculous bike that could never possibly work.

In 1994 I decided to get serious about the project and I used a BMX, Haro FST frame with GT forks. I had to do a little fabrication research before I could build a good roll bar. Some metal fabricators have pipe/tubing rolling machines. I lived in Salt Lake City at the time and my options were limited to the dies they had available. The machine is called a rolling machine and it was very interesting to watch, but basically you can have tubing or pipe rolled into any radius you want.

I laid the bike on the floor in my garage and used chalk to draw out the roll bar. Then I figured out what radius I needed. They did not have the dies I needed to use round tubing, so I used 1.5" square tubing. I had them roll it to a 3.5' radius. It cost about $50.00, the tubing cost me $23.00 at a local wholesale distributor. Believe it or not, when the bike was complete, I had only spent $110.00 on it.

I knew the bike would have to be strong to handle the stunt and there aren't too many places you can attach the roll bar to the frame. You have to be able to steer the bike and you need room to ride the bike. I quickly figured out that the only place to attach the roll bar was in the front and back. With only 2 points to attach on the frame, I knew those points would have to be very strong. I decided to use the left over 1.5" square tubing to connect the roll bar to the head tube. I used the rear triangle of a Schwinn Predator to attach it to the rear of the bike.

I was taking a community welding class at the time for the express purpose of building this bike. I laid the frame down and temporarily had the forks and wheels on it, so I could line up the roll bar. I used pieces of wood and metal to line every thing up (floor jig) and then mig welded it together.

I wanted the bike to go over easy, so I have the forks mounted backwards to reduce the rake angle. So the forks actually have a negative rake angle.

That frame is long gone in a scrap pile. After 4 years of abuse, the frame finally gave up. I broke and re-welded it many times in that 4 years. The problem was the weight of the roll bar. When the bike rolled and then came back down on the wheels, the bike stops rolling, you stop rolling, but the roll bar wants to keep going. It is a matter of momentum. Luckily in 1995 I was on a Japanese TV show and they wanted to show me welding the bike together. They actually wanted me to cut the roll bar off the bike and weld it back on. I refused, so they paid for me to make another one. This one I used a lighter weight, round tubing and I really beefed up the joints and I had the front bar angled up instead of going straight out from the head tube. When the old one broke, I swapped frames and never skipped a beat. I have been using it since 1998 and I haven't had a problem yet.

Now, to get the bike to roll, you need to do an endo. I like to think of the trick as a 360 endo. To do an endo, you need to lock up the front wheel. I found the finest caliper brakes I could at the time. They were Diacompe Bulldog brakes. They just slowed the bike down. I looked into disc brakes....too expensive. V-Brakes were the only other option at the time because cantilever brakes require a fixed cable position from the stem down to the brakes and the frame structure prohibits this option because you need to be able to steer the bike. I decided not to take chances and I brazed on canti bosses on the front and rear of the forks. I knew that two sets of V-brakes would definitely do the job, no more back to the drawing board for the brakes. The bike will roll with one, but 2 of them really lock that wheel up.

Next problem: How to keep from falling off the bike when upside down (no, centrifugal force won't do it). I made a harness out of luggage straps, washer hose, pipe insulation and duct tape. I also used MTB toe clips, but later found that they are not necessary.

The bike has tire tread on the roll bar. Originally it did not. The tread provides extra grip and reduces the noise (otherwise it makes a clanging noise). I have found it to be much safer to ride. Every one freaks out about the tire tread, like I somehow bought a huge tire. It is just three 20 X 2.125 tires cut up and screwed to the metal roll bar. The very front and rear of the roll bar gets the most punishment, so I have car tire tread there.

Q: Can you tell us about your three-wheeled stunt bike with 2 wheels in the front and another with 2 wheels in the rear; why and how did you build them?

A: At the time I was heavily into BMX Freestyle. I was looking for new ways of doing bike tricks. I always seem to gravitate toward what everyone else isn't doing. They were pretty simple projects. The one with 2 wheels in the front I just hooked three forks together and had wheels on the outside ones. The one with 2 wheels in the rear, I laced up 20" rims on a three wheel conversion and bolted it to the rear of a Skyway Street Beat. I was able to do a lot of unique tricks on those bikes.

Q: What kind of tricks could you do with the trikes?

A: Mostly wheelchair tricks. The coolest one I did was when I would get the bike on the rear wheels, stand on the wheels with the head tube between my legs and the bars in front of me, then I reached over the bars and grabbed the rear wheels, then I took my feet off the wheels and had my feet up in the air. It kinda looks like I'm doing a handstand while balancing on the rear wheels. Talking about it makes me want to put it together again.

Q: That sounds kind of nuts; did you do any half pipe riding with the trikes? Can you tell us, why and how you built the Gyrobike?

A: The trikes didn't work too well on ramps.

The GYROBIKE was going to be the project that took the ROLLERBIKE to the next level. The idea was to have a wheel rotating around you. It would use gyroscopic force to stay up. I figured that if I got up some speed and had brakes to lock up the mechanism, I could loop just like on the ROLLERBIKE. But I figured I could do much more. I pictured myself being able to feather the brakes and get myself upside down and with some practice be able to balance there while the wheel was still rotating around me. I also thought I might be able to pedal real hard and get myself upside down or maybe even loop around that way.

I had a 9' wheel made out of light weight 1.5" round chromoly tubing. The wheel only weighed 8 pounds. I screwed on tire, just like on the ROLLERBIKE. I took a 20" BMX frame and forks and welded the forks to the frame backwards and mounted 16" wheels on it with no tires. I wedged the bike into the wheel with the tubing and threaded fittings I made out of aluminum. I am greatly abbreviating the process. There was much trial and error along the way. That was 1995 and the project cost me $1000.00.

I tried to get it to work on flat ground, but I could only ride it a few feet, then it would tip over. I took it to a park with a tall, grassy hill. I was able to ride it down the hill. You needed to be going at least about 12 mph for the bike to work at all. I was not satisfied with only being able to ride down hill. I decided that the wheel was too big and too light and I needed to have the bike in a lower position on the wheel. I decided that some day I would get back to it. I never did, but I still have the wheel and I hope I will be able to try it again.

Q: That sounds amazing and a little spooky. Not to take any wind from your sails, but have you seen this machine?
http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues96/sep96/circular_jpg.

Would you like to talk about any other custom bikes that you've built? And,do you have any future projects in mind; for example such as a swingbike or a tallbike?

A: Wow, I think you should be interviewing that guy. If you happen to know how to contact him, let me know. I know other people have made gyro-type bikes. The one I was building was for the purpose of exploring stunt options with that kind of bike.

I think you have the scoop on my bikes.

I don't have a specific project in mind right now. I am getting into trials riding and trying to keep up with my freestyle riding. I will probably build more strange bikes. I am so thankful for your online magazine. Before I found it, I thought I was the only wacko doing this stuff. I think it has inspired me to keep going. I've always had a passion for bicycles. I just wish I could get paid to do this stuff.

Q: Thanks Glenn, I think that's a wrap. If you can dig up a few shots of the bikes that would be great. The custom bike thing is really snow balling, largely due to Bikerod&Kustom. To be honest, I've been inspired once or twice by what I've seen on the E-zine, I'm glad you've been too, there's times I even feel semi normal; amongst peers. One last question for you, the same one people are always asking me: What does your wife think of all this stuff?

A: There was a time that she thought that a person only needed one bike. She is used to it now. The problem I have is with my oldest son. He sees all my bikes and asks why he only has two.

Some extra info about the ROLLERBIKE:
Most amount of consecutive rolls - 14 down a hill
can not roll backwards (everyone asks)
Appeared in:
The National Enquirer
Bicycling magazine
BMX Plus
AXO video
Hammer Time (MTB video by Eddie Roman)
America's Funniest Home Videos
Japanese TV Show "I See The World" (English translation)
Glenn Fulcher Really Gets Around...
             


Q: Hi Glenn, What other kustom bikes have you built besides Rollerbike?

A: Wow, my only hesitation in answering this question is that you're going to ask me to dig up pictures and send them to you. I built a three-wheeled stunt bike with 2 wheels in the front and another with 2 wheels in the rear. A bmx suspension bike with 5" travel in the rear. And a bike I call The GYROBIKE. This bike has an 8' wheel that rotates around you as you ride. To make that one work took a lot of speed, so I had to ride it down hill.

Q: Doesn't that add up to four? To ride those machines must take some pretty big balls, what kind of riding background do you have?

A: Yeah that's 4, but it would be a lot more if I had more money and time, and if my wife had less influence.My background is in BMX Freestyle. I used to compete and do shows, I still do shows once in a while.I will say the Rollerbike took some balls. I refuse to admit how many attempts it took for me to finally get the nerve to roll that thing. You see, it had never been done. When I was faced with actually riding up at a good pace and grabbing both front brakes (yes, there are 2 front V-brakes) I didn't really know what would happen. I had a lot of people tell me, it wouldn't work. I think that is what drove me the most to build it. I had to prove them wrong, and I did! It gives me a lot of satisfaction to say that. I came up with the idea in 1991 and actually built it in 1994. I had people telling me for 3 years that it wouldn't work.

Q:  I know the feeling, you have an idea for something kind of radical and there's always some doubt in your mind until it's actually ridden, or in your case rolled. Here's a link to my tall tandem project that I had some doubts about.

In building the Rollerbike, what type of tubing was used and how did you bend the "roll bar"? Tell us about some of your design considerations in building it.

A: Wow, that tandem looks like it was a lot of fun to build, and ride.

The Rollerbike is made of regular steel tubing. There have actually been a total of 3 frames. The first one I tried to build in 1991 (if we're lucky I'll find a picture of it) I never completed it. I took a junky old bmx frame, a galvanized fence pipe, bent the pipe between some tree branches and viola! A ridiculous bike that could never possibly work.

In 1994 I decided to get serious about the project and I used a BMX, Haro FST frame with GT forks. I had to do a little fabrication research before I could build a good roll bar. Some metal fabricators have pipe/tubing rolling machines. I lived in Salt Lake City at the time and my options were limited to the dies they had available. The machine is called a rolling machine and it was very interesting to watch, but basically you can have tubing or pipe rolled into any radius you want.

I laid the bike on the floor in my garage and used chalk to draw out the roll bar. Then I figured out what radius I needed. They did not have the dies I needed to use round tubing, so I used 1.5" square tubing. I had them roll it to a 3.5' radius. It cost about $50.00, the tubing cost me $23.00 at a local wholesale distributor. Believe it or not, when the bike was complete, I had only spent $110.00 on it.

I knew the bike would have to be strong to handle the stunt and there aren't too many places you can attach the roll bar to the frame. You have to be able to steer the bike and you need room to ride the bike. I quickly figured out that the only place to attach the roll bar was in the front and back. With only 2 points to attach on the frame, I knew those points would have to be very strong. I decided to use the left over 1.5" square tubing to connect the roll bar to the head tube. I used the rear triangle of a Schwinn Predator to attach it to the rear of the bike.

I was taking a community welding class at the time for the express purpose of building this bike. I laid the frame down and temporarily had the forks and wheels on it, so I could line up the roll bar. I used pieces of wood and metal to line every thing up (floor jig) and then mig welded it together.

I wanted the bike to go over easy, so I have the forks mounted backwards to reduce the rake angle. So the forks actually have a negative rake angle.

That frame is long gone in a scrap pile. After 4 years of abuse, the frame finally gave up. I broke and re-welded it many times in that 4 years. The problem was the weight of the roll bar. When the bike rolled and then came back down on the wheels, the bike stops rolling, you stop rolling, but the roll bar wants to keep going. It is a matter of momentum. Luckily in 1995 I was on a Japanese TV show and they wanted to show me welding the bike together. They actually wanted me to cut the roll bar off the bike and weld it back on. I refused, so they paid for me to make another one. This one I used a lighter weight, round tubing and I really beefed up the joints and I had the front bar angled up instead of going straight out from the head tube. When the old one broke, I swapped frames and never skipped a beat. I have been using it since 1998 and I haven't had a problem yet.

Now, to get the bike to roll, you need to do an endo. I like to think of the trick as a 360 endo. To do an endo, you need to lock up the front wheel. I found the finest caliper brakes I could at the time. They were Diacompe Bulldog brakes. They just slowed the bike down. I looked into disc brakes....too expensive. V-Brakes were the only other option at the time because cantilever brakes require a fixed cable position from the stem down to the brakes and the frame structure prohibits this option because you need to be able to steer the bike. I decided not to take chances and I brazed on canti bosses on the front and rear of the forks. I knew that two sets of V-brakes would definitely do the job, no more back to the drawing board for the brakes. The bike will roll with one, but 2 of them really lock that wheel up.

Next problem: How to keep from falling off the bike when upside down (no, centrifugal force won't do it). I made a harness out of luggage straps, washer hose, pipe insulation and duct tape. I also used MTB toe clips, but later found that they are not necessary.

The bike has tire tread on the roll bar. Originally it did not. The tread provides extra grip and reduces the noise (otherwise it makes a clanging noise). I have found it to be much safer to ride. Every one freaks out about the tire tread, like I somehow bought a huge tire. It is just three 20 X 2.125 tires cut up and screwed to the metal roll bar. The very front and rear of the roll bar gets the most punishment, so I have car tire tread there.

Q: Can you tell us about your three-wheeled stunt bike with 2 wheels in the front and another with 2 wheels in the rear; why and how did you build them?

A: At the time I was heavily into BMX Freestyle. I was looking for new ways of doing bike tricks. I always seem to gravitate toward what everyone else isn't doing. They were pretty simple projects. The one with 2 wheels in the front I just hooked three forks together and had wheels on the outside ones. The one with 2 wheels in the rear, I laced up 20" rims on a three wheel conversion and bolted it to the rear of a Skyway Street Beat. I was able to do a lot of unique tricks on those bikes.

Q: What kind of tricks could you do with the trikes?

A: Mostly wheelchair tricks. The coolest one I did was when I would get the bike on the rear wheels, stand on the wheels with the head tube between my legs and the bars in front of me, then I reached over the bars and grabbed the rear wheels, then I took my feet off the wheels and had my feet up in the air. It kinda looks like I'm doing a handstand while balancing on the rear wheels. Talking about it makes me want to put it together again.

Q: That sounds kind of nuts; did you do any half pipe riding with the trikes? Can you tell us, why and how you built the Gyrobike?

A: The trikes didn't work too well on ramps.

The GYROBIKE was going to be the project that took the ROLLERBIKE to the next level. The idea was to have a wheel rotating around you. It would use gyroscopic force to stay up. I figured that if I got up some speed and had brakes to lock up the mechanism, I could loop just like on the ROLLERBIKE. But I figured I could do much more. I pictured myself being able to feather the brakes and get myself upside down and with some practice be able to balance there while the wheel was still rotating around me. I also thought I might be able to pedal real hard and get myself upside down or maybe even loop around that way.

I had a 9' wheel made out of light weight 1.5" round chromoly tubing. The wheel only weighed 8 pounds. I screwed on tire, just like on the ROLLERBIKE. I took a 20" BMX frame and forks and welded the forks to the frame backwards and mounted 16" wheels on it with no tires. I wedged the bike into the wheel with the tubing and threaded fittings I made out of aluminum. I am greatly abbreviating the process. There was much trial and error along the way. That was 1995 and the project cost me $1000.00.

I tried to get it to work on flat ground, but I could only ride it a few feet, then it would tip over. I took it to a park with a tall, grassy hill. I was able to ride it down the hill. You needed to be going at least about 12 mph for the bike to work at all. I was not satisfied with only being able to ride down hill. I decided that the wheel was too big and too light and I needed to have the bike in a lower position on the wheel. I decided that some day I would get back to it. I never did, but I still have the wheel and I hope I will be able to try it again.

Q: That sounds amazing and a little spooky. Not to take any wind from your sails, but have you seen this machine?
http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues96/sep96/circular_jpg.

Would you like to talk about any other custom bikes that you've built? And,do you have any future projects in mind; for example such as a swingbike or a tallbike?

A: Wow, I think you should be interviewing that guy. If you happen to know how to contact him, let me know. I know other people have made gyro-type bikes. The one I was building was for the purpose of exploring stunt options with that kind of bike.

I think you have the scoop on my bikes.

I don't have a specific project in mind right now. I am getting into trials riding and trying to keep up with my freestyle riding. I will probably build more strange bikes. I am so thankful for your online magazine. Before I found it, I thought I was the only wacko doing this stuff. I think it has inspired me to keep going. I've always had a passion for bicycles. I just wish I could get paid to do this stuff.

Q: Thanks Glenn, I think that's a wrap. If you can dig up a few shots of the bikes that would be great. The custom bike thing is really snow balling, largely due to Bikerod&Kustom. To be honest, I've been inspired once or twice by what I've seen on the E-zine, I'm glad you've been too, there's times I even feel semi normal; amongst peers. One last question for you, the same one people are always asking me: What does your wife think of all this stuff?

A: There was a time that she thought that a person only needed one bike. She is used to it now. The problem I have is with my oldest son. He sees all my bikes and asks why he only has two.

Some extra info about the ROLLERBIKE:
Most amount of consecutive rolls - 14 down a hill
can not roll backwards (everyone asks)
Appeared in:
The National Enquirer
Bicycling magazine
BMX Plus
AXO video
Hammer Time (MTB video by Eddie Roman)
America's Funniest Home Videos
Japanese TV Show "I See The World" (English translation)
Glenn Fulcher Really Gets Around...
             A BR&K
             Interview
             by  Michael
             Watson
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Fulcher GYROBIKE
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Fulcher Suspension Bike.
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Fulcher Stunt Trike.