MK3 build

[stuee147]

well not before time iv started on MK3. iv been taking it slow and this time like on my first build im not working to any plans.
i spent hours looking at plans and designs and lots of youtube and atomic zombie posts trying to find something that appealed, but i could never find just what i was looking for, so the idea to just see how it turns out came about.

i started off with the rear wheel and decided i wanted a 26inch rear wheel mainly for the ease of getting a ready built hub motor E-kit. i found some old rear triangles and started to play about with them i decided not to go for rear suspension this time, i have found that its a bit smother ride on MK2 with the rear suspension but the setup was a lot more complicated espeshely with the drive system and gears. iv also gone back to a similar frame design as MK1 with the pedals being slightly raised above the seat. i find MK2 very comfy but MK1 with the raised pedals i found a little more comfy over distance. and i found i seemed to be able to get more power into the pedals with them raised slightly.
i have also decided to play about with the drive system iv incorporated 2 drive systems onto MK3. the first is a fixed single speed system that sits on the left side of the frame from the front BB running to a second BB in the middle. this takes a direct drive from the pedals at the front to a BB in the middle just infront of the rear wheel. then the drive is transferred threw the middle BB to a triple on the right hand side which has a chain going to the rear wheel just like on a DF bike. the reasoning behind this designation is firstly with the fixed gear at the front it makes it easier to hide the chain away so i dont end up with the inside of my leg looking like an oil rag lol but also with the fixed gearing at the front i dont have as many problems with the chain line going under the seat and so on which has been a bit of a issue on other builds. im also considering covering the front chain either boxing it in or some form of tubing.
im also making MK3 a folding trike, its not designed to fold up and fit into the boot of a car or anything its more just folding the front wheels in to make the trike narrower so it will fit in and out threw standard doorways. iv played about with how i was going to do it and iv made it so all i need do is undo one bolt and then a QR balljoint on the track rod and the whole thing will fold so it should be a relitvely quick process.

iv not fully decided on the front wheels yet, i have been considering 18inch and 24inch wheels but i think ill probably stick with a set of 20inch on the front but as yet iv not made a final deasition . i would love to go with disk brakes on the front but as im not able to build the wheels myself (lack of confidence) and money is always an issue so getting them built for me isnt really an option so iv been considering a pair of 20inch wheels with disk brakes on but iv only been able to find them with a 10mm axle which wont be strong enough to be supported on just one side so i would have to make up a set of forks for the front wheels. thats no real problem its more the look of it i think it looks better with the wheels supported on just the one side like i have on MK2. but if i go with the 14mm axles like i have on MK2 i cant find them with the disk brakes. and i do find the brakes i have on MK2 (rim brakes) just dont have the stopping power i would like. im thinking along the lines of making a frame up to take the wheels with disk brakes, and making it so the frame work covers the top half of the wheels (sort of box them in ) this way im less likely to catch my hand or anything else in the wheel when im riding it but also it will help stop any dirt, stones or water getting sprayed up onto my hands and me. i think it will also make it look quite good, its something im going to need to make a desition about it very soon now, so any ideas or thoughts are as always more than welcome.

anyway here are a couple of pics of what iv done so far its not much but it is getting there lol.

and here is the front boom with the folding mechenisum tack welded together

iv also been spending on bits and bobs. iv got 3 x 12volt 14AH battery's that i have a plan to make a electrics box under the seat to take the 3 x 12V battery's for the E-kit and a 6V battery for the lights and a usb phone charger. the battery's are more powerful than the ones i have on MK2 so should give me a bit more distance (around 25 to 30 miles on a full charge) the 6V system will be charged via a dynamo on the rear wheel the same as on MK2 which works really well. i will have front and rear lights fitted and indicators and brake lights like i have on MK2. the main difference im doing to the 6V system on MK3 is im going to have a 5way waterproof connector at the rear so when i put the trailer on the back (as i do a lot with MK2 ) i can disconect the rear lights on the trike and connect up a set on the trailer by simply swapping the leads over. this is something iv wanted to do on MK2 for a while now but not got round to it. i use the trailer about once or twice a week on average so its something i need.

iv also got a new rear light cluster that i think is great and will look so cool on MK3

the large skull in the middle has both rear LED and brake LED lights in and the 2 smaller skulls are the indicators with orange LEDs in the eyes and nose and it looks so good when all lit up lol. i have found a matching skull for the front with whight LEDs for the eyes and mouth but its almost £80 so i might just go with a normal 6v light on the front but i am looking at getting the skull indicators for the front .

here are the mirrors im getting the red will match the frame when its all painted and yes black and red are my colours again lol

iv still got a fair amount to do to get MK3 running but im not in any real hurry as i have and use MK2 alot but its getting there. iv still got things to decide on such as the front wheels and braking system and even how im going to do the seat iv not decided weather to go for a fixed sold seat of one more like i have on MK2.
im also undecided on gears so far. on MK2 i have a shimarno system with a triple on the front and a 7 speed rear with mega drive 1st gear. i do quite like the gearing i have but since i have got the E-kit iv found i really dont need the mega range first gear in fact i dont think iv even put it in first gear since i converted it. also i find with the gearing i have on MK2 my top speed is about 18 to 20mph on the flats which is very good but i do find my legs are flying round a million miles an hour to get and maintain that speed so im thinking of going for a higher gearing ratio so in theory i will find it easier to get to and maintain a good top speed.

im hoping that when i finish MK3 i will have a lightish trike that will be good for nipping to the shops or going for a long days ride. like iv said i will be using a trailer quite a bit and im looking at fitting panniers to the back probably motorcycle ones like i have on MK2 as i like the fact i can lock them up and not have to worry about them getting stolen.

anyway iv been trying to sort my workshop out the past couple of days as soon as that's done i can get back to building MK3 as long as iv decided on the front wheels lol. as always any ideas or suggestions are always warmly welcomed

stuee

 

[voyager]

Hi Stuee

Here is the thread I started for building a set of disc wheels from BMX rims and MTB hubs

http://forum.atomiczombie.com/showth...ubs?highlight=

hope this might help

regards emma

 

[paul fellows]

Stuee you said something about lacking confidante. LOL we, or at least I do not believe you!
YOU HAVE BUILT YOUR OWN TRIKE, TO YOUR OWN DESIGN. All I can make is a mess.
I am not worthy .

 

[stuee147]

thanks @voyager i have read that post before and dont take this the wrong way but i really dont understand it lol. its not how its written or anything i just have a lot of trouble understanding written words and i find it hard to understand and make sense of things written down. if i see something i can understand it (some times lol) but reading about it i get confused.
i get that you had a bmx wheel and a mtb wheel and i think you took them both apart and then rebuilt the bmx wheel with the mtb hub at least thats how i think you did it but it threw me when you were talking about the bmx freewheel and welding it up then removing it ? or have i just got in a big muddle lol.

@paul fellows thanks give me bits of scrap and ill make you anything but when it comes to the finer details of how things like building a wheel thats a bit out of my comfort zone lol i have always wanted to build my own wheels but iv never seen or more to the point been shown/told how to do it and the bits iv tried to read just dont make any sense to me at least. im pretty sure i could do it but unless iv seen i dont really understand it and if i dont understand it then i cant do it if you know what i mean.

well iv almost got my workshop in order now when i moved in here the workshop was full of rubbish and so i had to clear it and when i did i found along the length of one wall there was a workbench made from old kitchen units and worktop and then a couple of hanging units above that. all of it was nice and solid and so i left it as was. but over the weeks iv noticed some of the chipboard that lined the stone walls was rotting and coming away so i ordered some cordex sheeting and stripped the entire workshop down to the bear stone work and iv lined the celling and the walls with the cordex and then one end wall iv lined with 1" chipboard and iv made that a tool wall where i can hang all my hand tools. then iv cut the bench down. it was nice having a long (almost 3 meters long) bench but as the workshop is a long but quite narrow building it meant that unless it fitted on the bench i couldn't work on it in the workshop. so now i have a large area of floor at the front of the workshop and benches to the rear. so now iv almost finished organising where to put things i can get MK3 set up next stage is the worst part for me setting up the front end and getting the steering geometry sorted but now i have the floor space im going to take my time and build a jig to hold everything in place untill i weld it and this time i dont have to worry about wind rain or anything as im inside under cover. just the fumes to think about now still it could make for some interesting design changes lol

 

[voyager]

Hi stuee @stuee147

knickers in a twist a bit

Here is a pair of BMX wheels that came from the dump a few months ago they were QUANDO hubs and they can be fitted with 14mm axles due to their large bore centres by changing the spindle and ball bearing . I was particularly lucky as the wheels were 48 spoked as I got the bike with wheels for £7 and the front wheel was a disc braked hub it was a definite result.
The rear wheel was a standard freewheel hub and the freewheel was swapped for a disc adapter and a rotor fitted to both wheels , total cost in Uk currency was under £15 for a pair of 20" 14 mm axled wheels that will fit the viking tandem tadpole that is on the cards . Opp's I let that one slip .

The freewheel adapter ( rear wheel left hand of the pair ) MUST BE FITTED TO THE RIGHT HAND SIDE to ensure that it will not undo under braking
unless you can drill through some of the bolt holes and stop the adapter from undoing .

wheel building made easy
http://atomiczombie.com/Tutorial - 3 Cross Wheel Lacing - Page 1.aspx


Regards emma

 

[paul fellows]

Stuee said....."give me bits of scrap and ill make you anything."
I might just take you up on that offer if i can find just the right scrap,

 

[stuee147]

hold on emma are you saying that you can remove the freewheel from a 20" rear wheel and screw on a disk brake adapter thinggy ?
would that mean i could order 2x 20" rear wheels with 14mm axles and just remove the freewheel and stick a disk adapter on and have disk braked wheels?
i understand if that is right that id need to have the disk on the right to stop it undoing but im sure i could rig up something maybe a locking nut similar to what you have on a bottom bracket, or even a couple of grub/locking screws to hold it in place maybe with a bit of thread lock, or even a few well placed welds as long as the adapter and hum are both steel lol
i think im finally starting to understand how to do it lol i like the videos on that link it made it a bit clearer i have several old wheels i think im going to sort one out and take it apart and then try to rebuild it see how i get on with it iv got a few old front forks that i can rig up to help true it up so watch this space to see if i manage it lol

 

[voyager]

There is NO PROBLEM using a screw on adapter on the right hand side of a trike as it is self tightening BUT the left hand wheel will undo

so we have fitted a screw on rotor adapter on to a LARGE FLANGE hub and drilled through the adapter and secured the rotor through the adapter and secured the assembly with M5 nuts inside the hub .

here is one I did earlier (The transportable tadpole trike on AZ )

http://forum.atomiczombie.com/showt...antable-transportable?highlight=transportable

6 bolts through might be a little overkill but its better to be safe than sorry .

The hub adapters are usually alloy and bolting it together is the better option using Large flange 14mm rear hubbed wheels
There is no space for a BB lockring and I would not trust glue or thread lock
PM me if you need a supplier for the rotors and adapters

regards emma

 

[Sandman-bm]

Hi Stuee
nice build so far, a question for you, the front crank , is that a standard set just flipped from right to left ? if so unless the pedal shafts are corroded in or locked in somehow they will undo themselves almost certainly. I used cranks from a tandem on my trike to get over that problem.

regards
John

 

[stuee147]

Hi Stuee
nice build so far, a question for you, the front crank , is that a standard set just flipped from right to left ? if so unless the pedal shafts are corroded in or locked in somehow they will undo themselves almost certainly. I used cranks from a tandem on my trike to get over that problem.

hi john
the BB up front is the normal way round and iv just swapped the crank/pedal stem around, at the moment iv just got an old set of pedals on and they will probably stay on for testing ect but i have planed that for the final build before paint im going to get a new crank and i was thinking of once the pedals are screwed on i thought of drilling a 4 or 5 mm hole threw the pedal stem and the pedal bolt and either a small nylock nut and bolt or maybe a role pin knocked into place. (sort of like the old type cranks where it had a pin with a flat edge to hold it on )
iv seen a lovely single speed crank in red that will match the trike (when its painted) iv been considering getting that but im going to have a look at tandem cranks now i hadn't thought of them they will be opposite threads wont they.

i have decided on going with disk brakes on the front of MK3 thanks to @voyager iv now found out how to make a couple of disked front wheels without the time and hassle of having to build the entire wheel. so i have 2 new wheels on order and they should be here on Monday or Tuesday when they arrive i can sort the axles out and weld the dropouts i have made to the head tubes and then im ready to get the headsets welded to the booms and i can start rigging up for a test ride to check everything is running ok before i start on the finishing touches.
the rest of the parts for the front disk brakes im still waiting to hear back about iv emailed the person asking for a price for the parts but so far iv not heard back from him yet but hopefully i will soon so i can get them ordered and fitted.