rear wheel mounting question

[jc33]

i am building the marauder based on the plan from the bicycle bonanza book. so far i have one question which isnt that clear in the book. for the rear triangle can u use seat stays or is it better to use forks. my donor bike is a hybrid with larger seat stays.

the second part to my question is if i use the forks do i chop off the front wheel mounting flange and weld on the dropouts for the rear? or can i use the forks as is
thanks in advance

[AtomicZombie]

Hello.

You could probably get away with a rear triangle as long as you keep the general placement of the rear wheel correct. You might need to lengthen the chain stays though.

If you use forks, you can keep the original dropouts although it is easier to get the rear derailleur on if you replace them with rear dropouts.

There are examples of both designs in the gallery...

http://atomiczombie.com/gallery-lowracer.htm

Brad

[jc33]

thanks for the tips ill probably just weld on the dropouts, I'd rather it be easier to get the derailleur on later.
thanks jesse