recumbent trike build

[ufkacbln]

Peter Ross used to use a similar system on the Trice, but he used to drill through the normal cable end hole and insert a piece of metal rod. This then had two holed drilled at the ends. These were then countersunk to take gear cables

Worked fine

 

[fixedfixer]

Will the MK1 survive or are the parts going on MK2? The wheels look the business and the use of a jig to hold it all together whilst you measure angles will help. Tricky with trike to keep everything in line.

 

[stuee147]

Will the MK1 survive or are the parts going on MK2? The wheels look the business and the use of a jig to hold it all together whilst you measure angles will help. Tricky with trike to keep everything in line.

yea MK1 will live lol and i have plans to use some of the things i try out when building MK2 to improve MK1 i suppose im planing MK1.5 lol
and tricky is an understatement lol im planing that when i line up the front wheel jigs with the rear wheel i can use a pice of 20mm box section with holes drilled in and then i can pop a screw threw into the wooden base of the jigs so it will secure the jigs so i if i knock them they will stay aliened, and iv made the axle holes in the jigs about 1mm over size this then gives me a little play to ensure the wheel is set true to the frame rather than the jig. so hopefully iv covered all the bases (famous last words ) we will find out soon as im planing to get out side in the next hour or so to start wok on MK2

stuee

 

[stuee147]

MK2 day 1

my home made frame jigs using old bike frame sections and concrete slabs and a well positioned skateboard that i used the wheels off for chain guides for MK1

the main boom fitted to the rear section and the seat post/suspension support welded into place and bolted up

and i had to put the front wheels roughly in place just because it had to be done

i have also cut the two boom arms for the front wheels i just need to weld into place and then trim,
iv also cut out the dropouts for the front wheels, i had to cut 4 pieces of 6mm plate and weld 2 together to make each dropout and iv started to drill the holes for the wheel axles starting with a small 4mm drill and slowly working my way up to the 14mm i need iv only got it to 6mm holes in each dropout so far but iv got one problem. iv not got a vice !!!!!!! and i cant hold the pieces by hand normally i wrap a bit of inner tube around the work piece and put it between 2 pices of 4x4 timber and stand on kneel on the top piece and that holds it all together but it dont work with this as the pices are quite small and the thickness of the metal and the size of hole i need its just not griping enough so iv had a cunning idea........

iv used a scrap bit of 40x40mm box section and run a weld along the top of each dropout to secure it to the box section and now all i do is shove a bit of 1" box threw the 40mm box and stand on it and that holds it as good as a vice when the holes are finished ill just grind off the weld and im good to go

not a bad first day considering the rain showers that stopped play a couple of times and the doctors appointment i had this afternoon lol lets hope i can get a bit more done tomorrow

stuee

 

[fixedfixer]

Nice work. I see the four legged foreman is making sure the angles are correct. Are you following atomic zombie plans or doing your own thing?

 

[stuee147]

Nice work. I see the four legged foreman is making sure the angles are correct. Are you following atomic zombie plans or doing your own thing?

im sort of following the atomic zombie plans but with a few mods of my own like im adding an extra bit at the top of the seat back that will go over the rear wheel for a set of panniers. but im trying to keep rough dimensions and angels right specially the front wheel geometry.

here is the progress from day 2

the dropout have been drilled and iv welded them to the stems it took me a few attempts to get the angles right but it seems about there now

the head tubes fully assembled and bolted to the wheels

the seat back/suspension support all welded and started to grind the weld smooth

the front arm boom welded together and then welded to the frame, the plans call for it to arms to be welded to the top of the main boom as i have done. i have wondered if it would be strong enough but it seems ok i did think of dropping it bellow the main boom but i tried it and it set the front quite high as well as the seating position

once again i had to lay the wheels in position to have a look lol. i still need to trim the wheel arms down at the moment i have almost 40" wheel track id have fun trying to ride that threw my back gate lol im going for a 30" wheel track as that should just fit threw the gate with about an inch either side. you can see i have left the seat back long so i can cut it off and weld on a pannier support arm when i have all the wheels on the ground that way i can ensure its not at some strange angel lol.

im hoping to get some more done tomorrow id like to get the front end sorted so i have a rolling chase but i have an appointment again tomorrow just after lunch so im not sure how much time ill have but heres hoping.

stuee

 

[fixedfixer]

What is the plan for front brakes on this one? Looking great so far. I can see you learnt lots from Mk1.

 

[stuee147]

What is the plan for front brakes on this one? Looking great so far. I can see you learnt lots from Mk1.

the front brakes are going to be similar to MK1 but i have better brake callipers slightly bigger and with a better pull on them so they should be a lot stronger iv already made the new duel brake leaver,
i did want disk or drums on the front but i couldn't find anywhere that sold them ready built i could only find the hubs, spokes and rims and iv never made a wheel and don't feel confident in trying just yet. but i am thinking of just getting a hub and bits and trying to make one if it works i can get a second and build that then just swap them over at a later stage.

its been a lovely day and iv only managed to cut 2 pieces of metal today what with appointments and realising the kitchen was bear so i had to go food shopping god i hate food shopping lol

hopefully tomorrow will be a better day

stuee

 

[stuee147]

been busy the past couple of days but i have been out and done a few bits on MK2 i did take some pics yesterday but for some reason they haven't uploaded yet even though the ones from today have uploaded ??? i haven't got a clue to be honest all i know is that if i take pics on my phone they somehow get uploaded to my Google account. as far as i know iv never set it up to do that it just dose and i haven't got a clue how to do it manually.
basically if my phone didn't do it for me i wouldn't be able to put pics up myself without getting a headache and probably throwing the laptop threw the window in disgust lol bloody technology give me wood or metal and ill make what ever you want ask me to do things like upload pics or videos and you may as well be speaking Arabic lol

anyway yesterday (sorry for no pics) i got the front wheels fitted with the proper caster/camber ect took a while but got it sorted in the end, i also marked and cut the box section for the front brakes and the 6mm plate for the Ackerman steering and i think that was about it.

then today iv got the front brake tubes welded together ground smooth and then welded to the head tubes, and then i welded the Ackerman steering tabs on in the right place i also welded together a track rod and iv fitted it and adjusted the front wheels. iv also managed to weld the plates onto the bottom bracket and drilled and bolted them into place. and then i fitted the gears at the front and middle and have run the first length of chain heres some pics

the handlebars are just old ones i have fitted for the time being i have better ones i will use. the small pice of 20mm x 20mm box that you can see on the floor just infront of the rear wheel has been cut to fit as a support that will go just under the suspension spring mount on the seat back and reinforce the seat back

 

[roadrash]

excellent stu , i share your enthusiasm , but unfortuately not your skill and ability

 

[fixedfixer]

Good progress there. What with the plans and your experience of building the Mk1 this is going to be a fine trike.

 

[stuee147]

excellent stu , i share your enthusiasm , but unfortuately not your skill and ability

thanks but i always say its really not skill its more trial and error and a lot of luck lol

well the last couple of days iv not been able to do much just 10min here and there but having said that i got a fair bit done.
first job was fitting the front brakes

if you look at the left hand one you will see how iv got round the cable on the outside, iv used the bent tube thinggy that was on the V-brakes of one of the bikes i cut up for the build, the bent guide tube works really well and i think looks quite neat. iv inserted the tube into the adjustable bit where the cable would normally fit and iv used a bit of rubber tubing to hold it into place securely and i think it looks better with the rubber, and i can still adjust the tension of the cable if needed

the new duel brake leaver is working well. iv also connected up the gear levers and have an idea where the cables are going to run or at least i think i know but i may move them a few hundred times lol

then today i have been concentrating on the chain and drive system.
i started off playing with gears im still wanting to try having 2 bottom brackets giving me a total of 63 gears, 21 standard range same as on a MTB then 21 higher range and 21 ultra low range ideal for hills.
so i started off with a standard triple and removed the peddle stem and ground flat i then used the largest gear from an old triple and welded that onto the triple.

it took a few attempts to get it perfectly central, i then cut off most of gear i just welded on leaving the mounting holes for the gear i wanted to use

and then i bolted on the gear that matches the middle gear of my front triple

then fitted the main 3 gears are linked to the rear wheel with a chain the 4th new gear i have fitted is driven by a second chain driven by the front bottom bracket

i was really pleased with the way it turned out i ran the 2 chains and it was working grat some very very low gears all working well apart from the gear was slightly to far off to the right so i had to unbolt it and turn it around so instead of being offset to the right it was inset to the left and i had just enough room so the 2 chains had a few millimetres of clearance, then i shifted to high range gears. unfortunately the weld didnt hold when i really powered into it. when i cut off the gear that i used as a bolt plate off of its original triple i did notice that 1stly it had about a 5mm thick weld all the way around. and then the gear and the peddle stem were both toothed and interlocked and i was a bit worried that just a seam of weld would not be strong enough, unfortunately i was right and the weld broke, i had spent a good 3 or 4 hours just working out what and how i was going to do it and i wanted to do a proper test ride lol.
so i took the triple off in the middle and made a single long chain and went for a test ride and boy its a lot quicker and it feels more stable than MK1
heres a few pics

the cables are cut to length and i sort of know where to run them but at the moment they are just run anywhere, i still have to make the seat although the plastic bread board held on with cable ties works surprisingly well lol.

the chain is run using 2 guide wheels the top/power side of the chain runs under the inside guide and the lower/slack side of the chain runs over the top of the outer guide. and this time i made a support for the guide axle,

as you can see i have plenty of clearance on the chain no sign of rubbing or catching.

i am planing on trying again with the quad gear giving me 63 gears im thinking of grinding the end of the peddle stem bit into a square and then cut the same size square into the bolt plate then weld it together with a thicker weld hopefully the added square rebate should give more strength to the gear rather than putting all the pressure into the weld, but for the moment ill stick with just 21 gears and a single chain. iv got it so when and if i do try the quad gear again i wont need to do much to alter the setup and i shouldn't need to do any welding or grinding to do it so im not worried if i dont try it again before i do the painting

tomorrow im hopping to get the seat made. i also still have the pannier rack to make and fit and if all goes well it will just be a case of strip down grind down a few welds and paint. so not far to go now i was working it out today its taken me 5 days spending about 5 hours a day so far to build this trike and i think it will be about the same to get it finished, or at least as finished as it will ever be ill always find things i want to change ect lol

just remembered i have found one problem with the trike i set the wheel track so i had about an inch or so clearance between the outside of the wheels and the side gate on the garden. my problem is i forgot to allow for the front brakes sticking out a bit further than the wheels thus making the trike about an inch and a half to wide to fit threw the gate. im not sure what to do id rather not have to cut the front end up just to remove 2 inches it took long enough getting the wheel/steering geometry set up as it was, and i dont really want to lose the front brakes, but at the same time its hassle having to carry it threw the gate. im considering cutting a small bit of the gate post so the brakes will pass threw but then im just going to have the same hassle when i need to go threw a different garden gate.
any suggestions of and easy way out would be good lol

stuee

 

[Tigerbiten]

The easiest way to fit a fourth chainring is to use 15mm chainring bolts and some spacing washers.
They are used to fit bashguards to a MTB crankset so they are long enough to take a fourth chainring as well.
But they only come in packs of 4, so you'll need 2 packs.

 

[fixedfixer]

Can't remember where I found this picture so can't credit owner but wonder if this is the type of thing you are trying to do? This guy's set up was for a mid drive bike with one single chain from front to Middle then the second chain doing the triple to rear cogs. Not exactly what you want but maybe the idea can be adapted to avoid the weak welds.

 

[stuee147]

The easiest way to fit a fourth chainring is to use 15mm chainring bolts and some spacing washers.
They are used to fit bashguards to a MTB crankset so they are long enough to take a fourth chainring as well.
But they only come in packs of 4, so you'll need 2 packs.

that was original the idea but i was going to cut some small sections of tubing to use as the spacers. but iv not been able to undo the existing bolts on the triple they have a very very shallow allen bolt on one side its only about 1mm deep and iv got a very good set of keys but they just cant grip. the other side is a thin bolt that i can grip and turn that but with nothing to to hold the allen bolt it just spins. thats why i made a bolt plate but i think i may have to spend some time and drill out the bolts and try again.

Can't remember where I found this picture so can't credit owner but wonder if this is the type of thing you are trying to do? This guy's set up was for a mid drive bike with one single chain from front to Middle then the second chain doing the triple to rear cogs. Not exactly what you want but maybe the idea can be adapted to avoid the weak welds. View attachment 45709

yea thats just the sort of thing im looking for except i dont need the peddle arm bit so iv chopped it off.

i didnt get much done yesterday i seemed to be on a bit of a go slow. i have made the seat base frame and got that in position so the plastic chopping bored has gone lol iv made the seat base slightly bigger than on MK1 and iv put some webbing strap around as a temp seat cover. i have ordered a trampoline mat that should be here in the next few days and im going to use that as the seat material for both MK1 and MK2 i think it will be perfect it is weather proof and as its a fine mesh it shouldn't get to hot or anything, but ill let you all know how it is when iv got it i should have enough material for another 4 or 5 trike's lol

iv also started work on the pannier rack which im making myself from scratch. its going quite well so far i think it will look good and hopefully be strong enough. iv been testing it by sitting on it. so far its taking my weight (17 ish stone) so i think it will take a bit of shopping or just about anything i can fit in the panniers unless i get a job delivering lead lol

sorry i didnt get any pics yesterday i will try and remember today im hoping to get the seat back done and fitted and maybe finish the pannier rack main frame, i have some 8mm bar on order that im going to use for the sides of the rack to stop the panniers from hitting the wheel, so i can only get the main frame fitted untill the bar comes.

iv come to a designation about the wheel track i measured MK1 yesterday and from widest part to widest part (outer wheel nut on MK1 ) i can fit threw the side gate on MK1 its tight but i can ride slowly threw it and it came out at 34" so i measured MK2 the same way (outer edge of front brake to outer edge of front brake ) and it came out at 35 3/4" its the slightly larger brakes on the front that have made the difference. so what im thinking is i will mark the boom arms and cut a 1" section out of each side of the arms then using straight edges and clamps to hold it in line re-weld the arms back together. this should mean that i wont have to worry about the caster and camber angles as they should stay the same as long as i line the box section up. i will have a look at it when welded up i may use a small section of plate about and inch or 2 wide welded over the joint to strengthen it or maybe use something to slide inside the box section as a support. i think it will be a see what it looks like as i do it and see how it works lol

stuee