The Creature!

[Night Train]

Having been to the Cycle Magic closure sale, with Arch, with the intention of just saying 'Hello' to old friends I appear to have returned with a trike, in bits! (photos later)

The trike is/was a Stein of some indeterminate age and model though possibly a Road Shark. It has been 'messed about with' and currently has had the seat raised around 2" and the steering bodged to the point of dangerously problematic.

The plan is to reassemble the Stein as it is, but static, and to see what is wrong with it overall and where it can be improved to get the geometry correct. Then it will be mixed and merged with Ratrike to form a 'better' and more usable trike.

There is also the possibility that the resulting 'Creature' will be a little bit electric.

Mary Shelley will be proud!

 

[byegad]

A brave buy!

I suspect the mucking about was an attempt to make a silk purse out of a sows ear. However there are Stein enthusiasts around who may be able to help.

 

[Night Train]

A brave buy!

I suspect the mucking about was an attempt to make a silk purse out of a sows ear. However there are Stein enthusiasts around who may be able to help.

It won't be a Stein for long though and I was only buying for the parts and some frame structure to set up a jig to.
It will be very much along the lines of Baron Victor Frankenstein's creation of the best bits from a rough lot.

Anyway, photos:

The front mudguards were my own addition, I just fancied them on there with a little 'bullet' light on the flat top.

The welding seems to have been done by one of the local pigeons!

As you can see, the steering ball joint goes over centre locking the wheel at a very sharp angle.

The boom is very high, hence the seat having been raised. I will lower the boom and the seating.

You can see the two clamp bolts under the backbone of the frame to make the frame separable. I am not sure if I will keep that as there is a lump of 'gas pipe' inside it that weighs as much as the rest of the trike!

TBH, there may not be much of it reused, the Sachs front wheels and drum brakes, the seat, the boom, the steering headstock assemblies....

I am looking for an eights speed SA hub gear with drum brake to replace the rear wheel and the steering and control levers and gear selection could well be from the Ratrike.

 

[byegad]

Interesting. I'll keep an eye on this as you transform it.

 

[Night Train]

I have dismantled most of it now. The front wheels would never have worked. There was no spacer between the brake plate and the hub bearing. Both inner hub bearings were loose and almost completely out of the hub.
I also don't like that they are not handed. I wish they were SA hubs, I have a set of handed brake plates.
None of the handle bar and steering assembly is reusable, I might just be able to reuse the steering track rods, maybe.

 

[Panter]

Looks an interesting project, good luck!

 

[TheDoctor]

Holy crap.
I reckon I could do a better weld than that, after half-an-hour of practice, and I have done no welding ever. That steering setup is indeed a crash waiting to happen.
I don't doubt that you can get something rideable out of that, but I sure-as-hell don't envy your task.
Now, practicalities. Is an 8-speed hub going to have enough range? Or are you planning on keeping a triple up front for a 24-speed hybrid system? You're going to need some means of chain control, as that looks like a vertical rear drop-out...

 

[byegad]

+1 that 8 speeds doesn't sound enough.

If you are going to ride it by human power alone I'd suggest 8 speeds are way too few, or rather the range will be too narrow. Even if you live in Norfolk you'll need a reasonable range and elsewhere in fairly rolling country I'd suggest 500% is only a marginally wide enough range. The ranges of gearing on my trikes are QNT 708%, Kettwiesel 630% and Trail 674%. I regard the Kett' with only 630% as slightly over geared in bottom gear and slightly under geared in top. I do ride the QNT up 25% hills and the Trail up 33% hills on occasion and both up 20% hills regularly. The Kett' would not manage anything steeper than 20%, partly due to the too high bottom gear and partly due to front wheel hop, it is single wheel drive. There again the Kettwiesel is my 'into town' Trike while the others go pretty much anywhere.

If you electrify it will the electric be driving the rear wheel? If so will the hub take the strain?

 

[TheDoctor]

Or, forget the whole electric thing and just use the engine and back wheel off one of these.

You may want slightly thicker chainstays.

 

[HovR]

There is also the possibility that the resulting 'Creature' will be a little bit electric.

Electric, you say?

 

[TheDoctor]

Oh.
My.
FECKIN'
GOD!!!!

That looks absolutey brilliant!!
WANT!

 

[Night Train]

Electric, you say?

Fercrytsake don't show that to Arch! She'd have me tied to the sofa and my workshop dismantled!

+1 that 8 speeds doesn't sound enough.

I have a rear wheel with a SA drum brake and a 6 speed that I might use.
I was thinking of the SA 8 speed hub being amidships where the guide rollers would go. That would give me the triple chainring, driving the 8 speed, driving the 6 speed.
It all depends on how I decide to set it up.

The common sense approach would be to use the 24 speeds as it comes and keep it very light weight.
Realistically I might just have a SA 8 speed hub gear in the back wheel with the triple at the front.

I am still pondering front wheel drive though but at the same time I am waiting to see if this Berkut gets any cheaper.

 

[Arch]

Fercrytsake don't show that to Arch! She'd have me tied to the sofa and my workshop dismantled!

Seen it!

 

[HovR]

Seen it!

Don't worry, it's limited to 15mph. He's pedaling the rest.

 

[TheDoctor]

I am still pondering front wheel drive though but at the same time I am waiting to see if this Berkut gets any cheaper.

FWD tadpole trike?
I take it all back. There is someone in the world madder than NT
Kudos for making it, but...erm...why?
As if tadpoles didn't have enough in the way of stuff going out to the front wheels, so lets stick some driveshafts in and engineer a teeny-weeny differential!