help with trike ideas

[stuee147]

I may have missed something, but are not the seat and backward moving wheel going to get in each others way. Is will of cause still be narrower.

By way of a daft alternative. Put 4 casters on a bit of board with an old cushion on it, tip the trike on its side with 1 front wheel on the cushion. Then push it through the house like a df. Or just knock down part of your fence and g out through the woods.

your right the wheel that goes backward will touch the seat or the headset will atleast but i think it will be able to piviot enough to fit threw the door as its only about 2 inches to wide at the moment to fit. the idea is that the two frount wheels will still be facing forwards when folded so it would almost be 3 wheels in line (but obviusly not in a perfect line)

i did think of turning it on its side and using an old skateborde to bring it in but its taller than it is wide and with the pannier boxes its not as easy as it sounds lol heres a how my MK2 trike looks

 

[voyager]

Hi stu

what about build the normal streetfox style main boom and instead of welding the cross boom on, weld a piece of 40mmx 5 mm about 6" long in its place - This plate should have 2 10mm holes in it that will correspond to two holes in the cross boom . The cross boom will need 2 anti crush tubes - Shorten a pair of QR spindles to fit and use 2 QR spindles to attach the cross boom . The fiddly bit is to fit a pair of track rod endsand tie bar that WILL NEED to be above the boom and IF you use L & R hand front braking on DKS style steering , and the rear brake / gear levers are fitted to the main boom then you have a trike that will split into 2 parts and can be assembled in 5 minutes.

What could be easier with the luxury of Disc brakes and centre point steering and with the correct shaped handle bars / disc brake mounts I would think you have a winner on your hands

If you need a sketch I will draw something up on a " fag packet or beer mat "


Regards emma.

 

[starhawk]

Agree with paul, trike with folding front part usually have a type of kneejoint so the wheels join up on each side of the boom. There might be a very good reason why your solution haven't been used apart from the problems that paul points out. I always tilt my trike on it's side when negotiating doorways

 

[classic33]

Have a look at the means of securing the two gates on the haybob in this link
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/i-wont-be-around-much.178162/post-3648634
Spring steel used means they're limited to approx two tonnes. I've yet to see one give in use. The lighter material used down the comb yes, but never the top arms.

Whichever method you use on the front, worth considering. You'll be using shorter pieces as well.

 

[paul fellows]

well spotted.

 

[stuee147]

Hi stu

what about build the normal streetfox style main boom and instead of welding the cross boom on, weld a piece of 40mmx 5 mm about 6" long in its place - This plate should have 2 10mm holes in it that will correspond to two holes in the cross boom . The cross boom will need 2 anti crush tubes - Shorten a pair of QR spindles to fit and use 2 QR spindles to attach the cross boom . The fiddly bit is to fit a pair of track rod endsand tie bar that WILL NEED to be above the boom and IF you use L & R hand front braking on DKS style steering , and the rear brake / gear levers are fitted to the main boom then you have a trike that will split into 2 parts and can be assembled in 5 minutes.

What could be easier with the luxury of Disc brakes and centre point steering and with the correct shaped handle bars / disc brake mounts I would think you have a winner on your hands

If you need a sketch I will draw something up on a " fag packet or beer mat "


Regards emma.

i sort of had the same idea but useing 2 plates one on the main boom and one on the boom arm but i may just be over engenering it lol
as for the QR skewers thats a good idea i wasnt awear that you could shorten a QR skewer i supose i should take one apart and have a look and try to work it out lol
one thing why would i need to fit the track rod above the boom ?

Agree with paul, trike with folding front part usually have a type of kneejoint so the wheels join up on each side of the boom. There might be a very good reason why your solution haven't been used apart from the problems that paul points out. I always tilt my trike on it's side when negotiating doorways

you could well be right but the problem i have is iv got a 26" rear wheel and a pannier rack thats set high enough so the rear suspention has good travel without hitting the wheel and then there is 2 small hoops on th top of the rack that i use as a handle to lift the trike to move it about in the garden and getting out of the cycle park at lidls lol and it giving me a total hight of around 34" . where as the front wheels from the outside edge of one wheel to the outside of the oposit is only 31" and seeing as a door way is around 30" its eisier to try and bring the front wheels in together and wheel it threw the door than try and tilt it.
also bear in mind im disabled and my left arm is more or less useless when it comes to griping and holding any weight so tilting the trike is a real problem for me hense the reason i fitted a couple of little handles on the rear and one on the frount so i can lift it with my good hand and move it a bit at a time

 

[voyager]

Under the boom and you will have a problem removing the cross boom and taking it away .unless you unbolt a rod end .

With L & R braking and everything on the main boom , the cross boom will lift away

you might find a couple of long QR seat pin bolts and they are 6mm diameter

regards emma

 

[stuee147]

Under the boom and you will have a problem removing the cross boom and taking it away .unless you unbolt a rod end .

With L & R braking and everything on the main boom , the cross boom will lift away

you might find a couple of long QR seat pin bolts and they are 6mm diameter

regards emma

ahh i get it now its because the boom arm is ontop of the main boom you will need the track rod above the boom of course it was my brain for some reason i keep seeing the boom arm bellow the main boom so the main frame sits on the boom arm.
i have the street fox plans downloaded to lol i think its because iv been looking at putting the boom arm bellow the main boom which if having a take down rather than fold up i would find esier for the boom arm to be bellow the main boom as it would mean i dont have to sort of hold the boom in place as i bolt /QR together i could just rest the main frame on the boom arms and then i have both hands free to insert and titen bolts if that makes sense lol

 

[paul fellows]

This might work, be worth thinking about.

Sticking with your idea of having the wheel boom rotate about vertical axis, but switch it so that rotates about a 45 degree angle. That way the wheel that travels backwards will also move downwards, under the seat. You will need to lock it into place for when riding or it will tip you of.

 

[voyager]

Putting it UNDER the main boom and you will have great fun with the chain line

 

[stuee147]

This might work, be worth thinking about.

Sticking with your idea of having the wheel boom rotate about vertical axis, but switch it to that rotates about a 45 degree angle. That way the wheel that travels backwards will also move downwards, under the seat. You will need to lock it into place for when riding or it will tip you of.

yea i see what you mean i will have a think about that im not to sure how to get it to rotate back and down maybe some form of angeled joint.

all im really looking for is a simple way to tempory narrow the wheel track so i can wheel the trike threw a doorway with minimal effort i dont need to make it to narrow as this could then make it unstable as i wheel it which could cause problems due to my grip simular to laying it on its side yes it could work but would be awkward and painful.

Putting it UNDER the main boom and you will have great fun with the chain line

ahh yes i must admit i hadent thought about the chain lol having said that MK3's chain will be a single speed chain on the left which would be quite easy to rout giving clearence for the removerbal boom under the main boom.

i really need to try and remember all the bits of a trike i get focused on one part and forget to take into account how other parts such as chains will work lol

im so glad i have people like @voyager to point these things out (and have a good laugh lol)

 

[stuee147]

ok here is a question what sort of hinge would you use for a folding trike ?
iv been looking at these

they are made from 6mm plate designed for trailers ect

then for the locking system i was thinking something like this

again these are built for trailers ect so i would have thought they will be strong enough has anyone any thoughts or better ideas

 

[paul fellows]

they look good

 

[voyager]

The problem with MOST of these manufactured items is the POOR tolerances they are made to - Trikes especially , the steering end do require a good tolerance fit so it is not sloppy . .

5 mm minimum is ok obviously 6 mm is good but slop is the main problem
John ( sandman ) has made his own in the thread " my electric tourer " on the AZ site


regards emma

 

[classic33]

ok here is a question what sort of hinge would you use for a folding trike ?
iv been looking at these

they are made from 6mm plate designed for trailers ect

then for the locking system i was thinking something like this

again these are built for trailers ect so i would have thought they will be strong enough has anyone any thoughts or better ideas

What part of a trailer are the designed for though.
Door/ramp hinges won't be strong enough.

If you do decide on using those in the top picture, condider removing the pin that's used in them and drilling all parts to the same internal diameter. Then use either steel rod, bought to match, or bolts.
The steel rods can be left protruding slightly and welded into place. Whilst tacking the bottom hole would ensure the pin can't just fall out.