Night Train
Maker of Things
- Location
- Greater Manchester
I don't think I have done a thread on the Ratrike, the build has been dotted about on other threads so I thought I would bring everything together and include the current modifications.
The Ratrike started off life as a KMX with a broken back and much wear and tear.
The first job was to strip it and repair the broken back. I took some measurements of the wheelbase as it stood and worked from there.
My steel stock in my workshop is considerably heavier duty then trike material and so I paid a visit to the scrap yard. The thinest wall thickness tube I could find was a post from a child's bunk bed. Only snag was that it was 2" round and the KMX was 50mm square.
No problem, use just the Land Rover no1 special tool and bash the round to square.
Then I welded the tube in place.
Now normally bike and trike frames would be brazed, mig or tig welded. I only had an arc welder with 3.2mm rods more suited to 6mm plate, still, what could go wrong?
The frame had a very slight twist after welding so a big lever and a strong bench vice sorted that out.
The rest of the trike was reassembled with new cables but the same old chain. The chain had a couple of twisted links which were removed. The deraileur was missing a wheel but my spares box yielded one that was a close enough fit. I could only find one bolt in my scraps bin that fitted but it was, and still is, 60mm long. I will cut off the excess one day.
It the sat for a year or so while I pondered how to set up the brake calipers.
I then had to offer of a ride out with Arch and so I set about preparing the Ratrike for the road. I figured the brakes and got them working. The back one had a stripped thread in the clamp so the cable inner was slipping. An easy fix with an electrical connector block to anchor the cable.
I needed lights and a flag and mudguards.
Another visit to the scrap yard produced a cheap 'Argos' type telescopic clothes rack.
That gave me a telescopic flagpole, a place to mount lights and a coat hook!
For the mudguards I found some off cuts of hardboard which I glue laminated together using the front wheels as a mould.
I added a backing board to give a mounting point and then cut up the scraps of the KMX backbone to make the supports.
That meant the kingpin bolts on the steering was too short. I replaced them with some M10 studding and nylock nuts top and bottom.
I then met up with Arch to do a run but still needed a flag. I had an ancient cycling tabard which I took with me and, after fixing Arch's hand cranked Singer sewing machine, I converted the tabard into a flag.
We then did a ride across the Solar System with the obligatory cake stop.
So now I have a working trike I started to build a trailer, there is a thread on that one so I won't go into it here.
Today I decided to get a few more bits done.
First a front light mount. I needed to replicate a handlebar mount just above the BB and with a bit of digging about the scraps bin I found a metal leg bracket from a cupboard which I cut up and bolted to the BB stem.
I also fitted a bike computer and a bell. The bell was easy, I put it on the left grip so it can be flicked by thumb or finger while riding. The computer was a bit more fiddly.
I decided to mount it on the left side mirror stalk. That meant building up the thickness with bit of inner tube until it became bar thickness.
The wire is run inside the grips and then follows the rear brake cable to the back wheel. The cable needed to be extended as it could not be mounted on the front forks as instructed.
Fitting the magnet took a bit of thought, there being no wire spokes to clamp it to. I drilled a small hole in the web of the plastic wheel spoke and fitted the magnet there.
That left a bit of a problem. The instructions require the sensor to be about 3mm from the magnet!
I extended the magnet by bolting a long bolt to the spoke web and then screwing the magnet to the end of it with a lock nut.
The sensor was then fitted to a spare headlight mount clip which was then screwed to the rear fork.
I then fitted a luggage rack to the back. I had the choice of a 20" rack or a 26" rack. The 20" rack wouldn't clear the brake caliper so I bent the stays on the 26" rack to fit.
Next on the list is the rear mudguard. I had borrowed one from my Marin but there is now another bit of hardboard being laminated together in the workshop. At least I will have matching ones front and rear.
And then a tow hitch.
The Ratrike started off life as a KMX with a broken back and much wear and tear.
The first job was to strip it and repair the broken back. I took some measurements of the wheelbase as it stood and worked from there.
My steel stock in my workshop is considerably heavier duty then trike material and so I paid a visit to the scrap yard. The thinest wall thickness tube I could find was a post from a child's bunk bed. Only snag was that it was 2" round and the KMX was 50mm square.
No problem, use just the Land Rover no1 special tool and bash the round to square.
Then I welded the tube in place.
Now normally bike and trike frames would be brazed, mig or tig welded. I only had an arc welder with 3.2mm rods more suited to 6mm plate, still, what could go wrong?
The frame had a very slight twist after welding so a big lever and a strong bench vice sorted that out.
The rest of the trike was reassembled with new cables but the same old chain. The chain had a couple of twisted links which were removed. The deraileur was missing a wheel but my spares box yielded one that was a close enough fit. I could only find one bolt in my scraps bin that fitted but it was, and still is, 60mm long. I will cut off the excess one day.
It the sat for a year or so while I pondered how to set up the brake calipers.
I then had to offer of a ride out with Arch and so I set about preparing the Ratrike for the road. I figured the brakes and got them working. The back one had a stripped thread in the clamp so the cable inner was slipping. An easy fix with an electrical connector block to anchor the cable.
I needed lights and a flag and mudguards.
Another visit to the scrap yard produced a cheap 'Argos' type telescopic clothes rack.
That gave me a telescopic flagpole, a place to mount lights and a coat hook!
For the mudguards I found some off cuts of hardboard which I glue laminated together using the front wheels as a mould.
I added a backing board to give a mounting point and then cut up the scraps of the KMX backbone to make the supports.
That meant the kingpin bolts on the steering was too short. I replaced them with some M10 studding and nylock nuts top and bottom.
I then met up with Arch to do a run but still needed a flag. I had an ancient cycling tabard which I took with me and, after fixing Arch's hand cranked Singer sewing machine, I converted the tabard into a flag.
We then did a ride across the Solar System with the obligatory cake stop.
So now I have a working trike I started to build a trailer, there is a thread on that one so I won't go into it here.
Today I decided to get a few more bits done.
First a front light mount. I needed to replicate a handlebar mount just above the BB and with a bit of digging about the scraps bin I found a metal leg bracket from a cupboard which I cut up and bolted to the BB stem.
I also fitted a bike computer and a bell. The bell was easy, I put it on the left grip so it can be flicked by thumb or finger while riding. The computer was a bit more fiddly.
I decided to mount it on the left side mirror stalk. That meant building up the thickness with bit of inner tube until it became bar thickness.
The wire is run inside the grips and then follows the rear brake cable to the back wheel. The cable needed to be extended as it could not be mounted on the front forks as instructed.
Fitting the magnet took a bit of thought, there being no wire spokes to clamp it to. I drilled a small hole in the web of the plastic wheel spoke and fitted the magnet there.
That left a bit of a problem. The instructions require the sensor to be about 3mm from the magnet!
I extended the magnet by bolting a long bolt to the spoke web and then screwing the magnet to the end of it with a lock nut.
The sensor was then fitted to a spare headlight mount clip which was then screwed to the rear fork.
I then fitted a luggage rack to the back. I had the choice of a 20" rack or a 26" rack. The 20" rack wouldn't clear the brake caliper so I bent the stays on the 26" rack to fit.
Next on the list is the rear mudguard. I had borrowed one from my Marin but there is now another bit of hardboard being laminated together in the workshop. At least I will have matching ones front and rear.
And then a tow hitch.
But mostly, cool. 
