# ?what is the approximate cost of building a trike?



## paul fellows (18 Aug 2015)

Successful self builders, what is the approximate cost of building a trike?


Answer.... it is 1000 times the cost of a bit of string. …..how long of a bit of string?


Braking that down a bit


1) about how many hours did it take YOU, from start to first successful test run.

Or to put it an other way.

If a loved one asked you to build them one, and you had no other commitments. How long would it take YOU?


2) what was the cost of shop bought bits?


3) given that some of you are geniuses are true artistes when it comes to, up-cycling, re-purpossing, recovering and reusing. And it would not surprise me to discover that some amongst you can even make your own parts from scratch. What would be a reasonable cost of those bits.

( a scrap bike costs about 20 quid.)


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## steveindenmark (18 Aug 2015)

I think you will find that there are no answers to these questions.


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## paul fellows (18 Aug 2015)

if YOU built a trike it would take YOU X amount of time and cost Y in materials.
pacific and different answers for each project!


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## cookie32 (18 Aug 2015)

Message Indeboat Paul he finished a homebuilt trike to a nice standard early this year. An Atomic Zombie Warrior if I recall correctly. I know each build is different but he should be able to let you know what ballpark you're in so to speak.

Will


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## steveindenmark (18 Aug 2015)

I dont see how that would help you though. My specs may be hugely higher or lower than yours. I have a workshop with every tool you could ever need when dealing with metal.

It took me 4 years to restore a 1956, 65 cc motorbike from scrap to showroom condition, no expense spared. But if you had the same project you may do it different. How I did it doesnt help you.

But if building a trike is the same as restoring a motorbike. You will not save any money than if you bought a manufactured trike. Ok, maybe you will, but it wont be an ICE trike. But you will learn a lot from what you are doing and get a great deal of satisfaction. If the end result is that you just want a trike, I would suggest buying one and not building one.


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## stuee147 (18 Aug 2015)

there are a lot of variables here as your aware but its a very good question.
so far i have built 2 trikes and im on my 3rd although technically iv built 3 and on my 4th but i dont count the 1st one as it was a very quick and rough build to see if i could sort of thing and on the build all i was working from was a couple of photos on the internet and i knew nothing about trike's in fact i had literately only heard of them a weak earlier lol. it took me about 8hrs of build time over 2 days and at a total cost of about £15 it ran ok but i got a shake at about 10mph that only got worse as i got faster so it lasted about a week before i took it apart and started on my first proper trike 





as you can see it was a very rough build but it gave me a great starting point 

then came what is affectionately known as MK1 




as you can see i learnt a lot from my test build. also i had some info about how to build trike from this site and searching the web some of the info i got i still use today as reference. the best info iv found so far that i use more than any other is "The Recumbent Trike Design Primer Written By Rickey M. Horwitz" its a free pdf download from hell bent cycles and it has some very useful info for building and even buying a recumbent and finding what options are best for you. 
MK1 took about 2 weeks to build that included 3 days for paint drying ect i was spending about 4 to 6 hrs a day apart from the paint drying days. and if i remember rightly it cost around £200 for parts that included all the metal welding rods new front wheels tyres and a couple of second hand bikes for headsets and rear wheel and brakes and gearing ect and of course the paint and so cheap panniers.


then there was MK2 





MK2 again took about 2 weeks or so to build in fact im sure it took a little less build time as i had started to get my eye in and i had plans to follow rather than guess work. this build has been the most expensive so far but it also is the best so far i came in at around £600 but everything was new i even brought 2 brand new MTBs just to cut up for parts they were cheap budget end around £120 each and as you can see from the pics iv gone with the more expensive 14mm axled front wheels.
i also have the motorcycle panniers that i love as i can lock stuff up in them and dont have to worry to much about them i also included a 6 volt electrical system with key ignition that controlled the front and rear lights and also has 6 volt motorcycle indicators and i went with motorcycle mirrors to they were a bit more money but they dont vibrate or shake like cycle mirrors do at times also they looked better 

im now on MK3 im taking this one slower just a few hours a week so far and the cost is still climbing im expecting it to be a bit more than MK2 as im getting the best i can afford also im building MK3 as a E-trike and its getting some smart extras.

iv tried to give you and idea of cost including everything like welding rods grinding and cutting disks ect 
also having said all that a home built trike is never really finished on MK2 iv spent another £300 ish at least changing and updating things and adding an e kit. 
i worked it out once and i reckon it would be possible to build a basic trike for around £100 possabley less depending on deals and what you can find to recycle. the cost comes down to two factors what you want included and what you can recycle. as for time it depends alot on how quick or slow you work, i know i can work quite quick and tend to plan what im going to do so i reckon if i had all the parts i could build a trike in under a week but thats just me lol

hope this has given you a rough idea 

stuee


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## stuee147 (18 Aug 2015)

steveindenmark said:


> But you will learn a lot from what you are doing and get a great deal of satisfaction. If the end result is that you just want a trike, I would suggest buying one and not building one.



i have to agree to some extent but i would add if you do build it yourself its not just the pride and satisfaction that you will get its the confidence to you will know every nut and bolt every weld and every bearing, you will have the confidence that you can fix it no matter what.

i have rebuilt a few vehicles now a couple of which were classics and cost a fortune, everyone was just great and very rewarding but i have to say building from scratch is so much better i would recommend it to anyone


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## steveindenmark (18 Aug 2015)

I know exactly what you mean Stuee


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## paul fellows (18 Aug 2015)

I suppose I should have explain why I want this information.

There is a shop here on Teesside, as well as selling new bikes, the owner refurbishes bikes for sale. The shop is an Aladdin’s cave of all things cycle.

I am thinking about approaching him to see if he would build a trike for me. If he average build time is 200 hours of solid work, there is on point because even if I offered to pay minimum wage the finished product would still be beyond my lack of budget.


So please how many hours did it take you?


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## paul fellows (18 Aug 2015)

just read Twinkle's locust build. 
http://forum.atomiczombie.com/showthread.php/9319-2015-project-Locust-Tadpole-build?highlight=locust
the word inspirational  appears in it quite a lot and with good reason.


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## voyager (19 Aug 2015)

Thanks Paul , 

I am honored 

There is also the transportable and 20/20 e-trikes threads on this forum 
Price wise seriously as a hobbyist It is not actually financially viable to produce trikes of any reasonably spec and finish for any less than the cheapest trikes on the market ( KMX ) Currently I have a couple of trikes I might sell but the price tags are around £600 for the silver one ( MKll ) and £1000 for the street e-fox (the electric trike ) when you add together the parts and labour and the EXTRA time and attention to detail that is missing from a production trike, the true costs would be far in excess of what you could buy a trike for BUT what is the fun in buying it when you can build it and have the satisfaction of saying "No I built it myself !!!"





About 36 hours went into this to get it to the unpainted stage and about £300 in new/ second hand bits and that included a DNP 11-32 freewheel and 3 new streetpac tyres and a new rear disc braked wheel with new front calipers .
Since the photo the DKS steering has been replaced with Under Seat Steering as this adds to the overall stability and handling at speed of the trike .

No They are not easy to build or everyone would have built their own trikes but the sense of achievement is enormous .





The 20/20 e-trikes .
These were designed in May 2014 , The first one was ready for the Zombie Fest in ( red one ) July 14 and the second one was built and both used on holiday in September 2014 and have been in use every weekend since March . The blue one ( originally matt black ) underwent a respray during the winter and had a q100 ( 328 rpm ) rear hub upgrade to bring the specifications into line with the red one . The original design spec was to build a couple of full size electric trikes that could be small enough to fit inside an estate car or go on the roof and be able to have a good range with excellent handling . These trike achieved all the points on the design list and more . weighing in at 75 lb with batteries , I would estimate that well over £1000 have been invested in these e- trikes and many more hours spent in building the near perfect e-trikes 
http://www.atomiczombie.com/newsletters/2015/JAN 10/AtomicZombie Newsletter - January 10 2015.aspx

regards emma


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## paul fellows (19 Aug 2015)

Emma you seem to be a lot more efficiant of a builder than many, and you do a nicer finish than some.
i thank you for bearing with me on this, i did not know so asked the stupid question. i now know it takes to long to build a trike for me to be able to pay someone else for there time, and for it to still be cheep.

so it look like it back to plan A
http://kennethsnelson.net/tensegrity/


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## voyager (20 Aug 2015)

I know of a powder coated streetfox in Essex that is for sale ITRO of what you call cheap that was built by a professional welder that was build to last !

pm me for details 

regards emma


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## classic33 (23 Aug 2015)

paul fellows said:


> Emma you seem to be a lot more efficiant of a builder than many, and you do a nicer finish than some.
> i thank you for bearing with me on this, i did not know so asked the stupid question. i now know it takes to long to build a trike for me to be able to pay someone else for there time, and for it to still be cheep.
> 
> so it look like it back to plan A
> http://kennethsnelson.net/tensegrity/


You never ask, you'll never find out. Nowt stupid about asking.


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