# wheels



## young Ed (17 Feb 2014)

so still PLANNING to build a recumbent! 
and was wonderin how do i do wheels as on a normal upright the wheel has support both sides but a recumbent trike the 2 front wheels only have support on one side
is there a special axle or something? or is it just leave it as it is and change the bearings more regularly?
Cheers Ed


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## L14M (17 Feb 2014)

Are you going to be building the frame from scratch? I've had experience with working on motorised trikes, a Boom trike family with a 1600cc vw engine.


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## young Ed (17 Feb 2014)

L14M said:


> Are you going to be building the frame from scratch? I've had experience with working on motorised trikes, a Boom trike family with a 1600cc vw engine.


yeah building frame from scratch
arc welding
Cheers Ed


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## fossyant (17 Feb 2014)

Good Luck !


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## young Ed (17 Feb 2014)

fossyant said:


> Good Luck !


thanks, but not really helping with the question in question!
Cheers Ed


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## fossyant (17 Feb 2014)

They do use special hubs that are secured one side !


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## young Ed (17 Feb 2014)

fossyant said:


> They do use special hubs that are secured one side !


i think many people home brewing a recumbent trike nick normal bike wheels i think that is what is done here but can't be sure maybe @XRHYSX could help?
Cheers Ed


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## L14M (17 Feb 2014)

agree with the good luck statement, on a 2 at the front set up you will find it hard to get rid of slop in the steering system imo.


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## young Ed (17 Feb 2014)

building along these lines









Cheers Ed


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## starhawk (19 Feb 2014)

There are bicycles around which have singlesided forks so the wheels can't be all that uncommon, besides you can buy the wheels as spares from the recumbent manufacturers


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## young Ed (19 Feb 2014)

starhawk said:


> There are bicycles around which have singlesided forks so the wheels can't be all that uncommon, besides you can buy the wheels as spares from the recumbent manufacturers


but would wold cost me minimum about £200+  never thought it was going to be cheap though

i need to get my self a spoke key the cheapest hub and the cheapest rim i can find and i bunch of spokes and nipples and practice building wheels then! 

either that or i could modify the design of the trike frame to support it on either side
Cheers Ed


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## young Ed (19 Feb 2014)

maybe like this




and then just carry that bit on right round the wheel and have a piece of heavy plate as a bracket to support the wheel on the outer side?
Cheers Ed


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## L14M (19 Feb 2014)

Yes basically, That'll be quite mess though now!


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## young Ed (19 Feb 2014)

L14M said:


> Yes basically, That'll be quite mess though now!


confusing wording (at least for me )
so i could do what i suggested with carrying the bit round and making a bracket but it would be messy?
Cheers Ed


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## young Ed (19 Feb 2014)

i would also mount the front brakes on those bits coming round and maybe even mud guards
Cheers Ed


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## L14M (19 Feb 2014)

young Ed said:


> confusing wording (at least for me )
> so i could do what i suggested with carrying the bit round and making a bracket but it would be messy?
> Cheers Ed


Yes that would work but it would be a messy job welding the extender on, then the bend etc. Unless you have facilities to curve metals etc?


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## Amanda P (19 Feb 2014)

Try wheelchair hubs - they're essentially bike hubs but intended for single-sided mounting. However, a quick search doesn't seem to show up any bargain wheels or hubs....

When I've looked into this, I've set up an Ebay search and had it running for some months before something has turned up - usually from someone else who'd started a DIY recumbent trike but given up.

You could use regular wheels, supported on both sides; I've built trailers this way. Round tubing is cheap and doesn't have to be too thick-walled to be pretty strong - and you can bend it with plumber's pipe benders to produce nice curves (you may have to heat it up significantly first, as it's rather stiffer than the copper pipe plumber's benders are designed for). Then all you need do is cut out and weld/braze on some dropouts from suitable sheet mild steel.


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## young Ed (19 Feb 2014)

L14M said:


> Yes that would work but it would be a messy job welding the extender on, then the bend etc. Unless you have facilities to curve metals etc?


angle grinder 45 degree cut twist and weld back on give me a square right angle
Cheers Ed


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## young Ed (19 Feb 2014)

young Ed said:


> angle grinder 45 degree cut twist and weld back on give me a square right angle
> Cheers Ed


like in above photo
Cheers Ed


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## young Ed (19 Feb 2014)

could i buy a wheel chair with pneumatic tyres to nick the wheels?
Cheers Ed


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## XRHYSX (20 Feb 2014)

young Ed said:


> i think many people home brewing a recumbent trike nick normal bike wheels i think that is what is done here but can't be sure maybe @XRHYSX could help?
> Cheers Ed


Hi, I have used 20" BMX wheels with a 14mm axle.


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## young Ed (20 Feb 2014)

XRHYSX said:


> Hi, I have used 20" BMX wheels with a 14mm axle.


thanks, but how did you secure them? 
Cheers Ed


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## young Ed (20 Feb 2014)

had another look at the pics on your wonderful thread i and i see how you have done it by bolting the solid axle into blocks on your stub axle to give good support for the axle
this provides enough support i assume?
Cheers Ed


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## young Ed (20 Feb 2014)

XRHYSX said:


> Hi, I have used 20" BMX wheels with a 14mm axle.


so you used a pair of 20" front BMX wheels on the front of your trike what was on the back?
Cheers Ed


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## young Ed (20 Feb 2014)

are 700c wheels okay to have on both front and rear of the recumbent trike?
Cheers Ed


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## XRHYSX (21 Feb 2014)

young Ed said:


> so you used a pair of 20" front BMX wheels on the front of your trike what was on the back?
> Cheers Ed


Just a standard 26" MTB wheel. The rear of the trike is all from a rear suspension MTB, its possible to fit 700c wheels on yours as long as you have the clearance


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## young Ed (21 Feb 2014)

XRHYSX said:


> Just a standard 26" MTB wheel. The rear of the trike is all from a rear suspension MTB, its possible to fit 700c wheels on yours as long as you have the clearance


maybe 26" front wheels and a 700c for the rear? did you build to atomic zombie plans? is it worth buying them or should i just design it my self?
i want the bigger wheels as being seen by drivers is harder on a recumbent even with a flag, banner or led light strip!
Cheers Ed


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## XRHYSX (21 Feb 2014)

Don't know about 26" on the front,
if you have never built anything like this before then I would buy the plans like I did


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## young Ed (21 Feb 2014)

XRHYSX said:


> Don't know about 26" on the front,
> if you have never built anything like this before then I would buy the plans like I did


yep was going to buy the plans anyway, only a tenner so can't go far wrong!
am probably going to go with the warrior trike, basically the non suspension version of yours
Cheers Ed


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## classic33 (22 Feb 2014)

If you're building the one shown, I be inclined to stick with he recomends. He's come up with a few different designs/builds & knows what he's talking about.
If you're looking for hubs, have you considered trying any mobility shops that may be nearby. Old wheels where there has been damage to the wheel rim or multiple spoke damage. Often just thrown away.


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## classic33 (22 Feb 2014)

XRHYSX said:


> Don't know about 26" on the front,
> if you have never built anything like this before then I would buy the plans like I did


Check your local library, they may have the book in stock is another option.


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## young Ed (22 Feb 2014)

classic33 said:


> Check your local library, they may have the book in stock is another option.


none of my local libaries would have anything like atomic zombie plans!  oh well they are only a tenner! 
Cheers Ed


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## classic33 (22 Feb 2014)

young Ed said:


> none of my local libaries would have anything like atomic zombie plans!  oh well they are only a tenner!
> Cheers Ed


You won't know until you try.


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## stuee147 (28 Feb 2014)

im just doing the same thing im building a recumbent trike and iv looked for wheels for the front i found on ebay they do cycle trailers i picked one that can take upto 150kg and has 2 x 20" quick release wheels.it was about £60 and im also salverging several other parts from the trailer for my trike. the wheels have a extended axle on one side that slides into a polly bush inserted into some 25mm tubing and im welding a section of tube to the bottom of my headset so i can slide the wheels in and they just click in they seem to be working well and im looking at makeing some brakes for them to just not got that far yet lol
i did look at wheelchair wheels but they cost more than the trailer and i get more parts from the trailer.


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## young Ed (28 Feb 2014)

stuee147 said:


> im just doing the same thing im building a recumbent trike and iv looked for wheels for the front i found on ebay they do cycle trailers i picked one that can take upto 150kg and has 2 x 20" quick release wheels.it was about £60 and im also salverging several other parts from the trailer for my trike. the wheels have a extended axle on one side that slides into a polly bush inserted into some 25mm tubing and im welding a section of tube to the bottom of my headset so i can slide the wheels in and they just click in they seem to be working well and im looking at makeing some brakes for them to just not got that far yet lol
> i did look at wheelchair wheels but they cost more than the trailer and i get more parts from the trailer.


what other bits you nicking off the trailer?
you must keep me updated by PM or something on your project
Cheers Ed


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## stuee147 (28 Feb 2014)

the trailer is made od 2mm thick 20mm steal tubing so some of that is being used for my track rod and some is earmarked for the seat the base of the trailer is also lined with a sheet of mild steal about 600mm x 800mm and looks to be about 0.8mm thick this is going to be used to make a small secure box behind the seat to take tools so i have them and they can be locked away. 
the other advantage i can see with the wheels is i can remove them at the push of a button and then both front wheels can be locked to the rear wheel and frame. iv read a lot about wheels getting stolen from trike as its so hard to lock all 3 without having a 40ft long chain lol

so far i have built one trike very roughly (its strong and works just looks tatty) this was just to see how i felt riding it and also gave me a chance to test out a few ideas to see if they would work. i have now figured out the dimensions i need to make and iv drawn up some plans with sizes angels ect. and i have all the bike parts the only thing left to get is some steal box section which i should have in the next few weeks then iv worked out i should have it built and on the road in 2 days depending on the weather as i have to do it outside  

yea ill let you know how its going when i get the box section i hope your build is going well to  

stuee


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## stuee147 (28 Feb 2014)

oh yea and i forgot the trailer came with a heavy waterproof canvas cover which i may use as a seat using the tubing to i have several ideas for the seat iv not decided on one yet ill prob see what looks and feels the best on the finished bike lol
i was also thinking of maybe making a small box that will sit under my left arm partly as a arm rest but also as a small storage area for things like mobile phone and sun glasses or more like gloves and woolly hat and i am thinking of using 3mm x 20mm strips of mild steal to make the frame and the canvas to cover it to keep the weight down. iv just looked on ebay quick and i couldn't see the trailer i got (it was before Christmas i got it lol ) but they have hundreds on there just check it will take a persons weight i would say anything around 70kg or above would be enough for most people.


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## young Ed (1 Mar 2014)

@stuee147 
have you got any build photos of your first trike? could i have a look at them please? or even just a shot or 2 of the completed trike?
what wheels did you use for the first trike? please do take lots and lots of photos of the new build! what welder have you got arc, mig, tig or oxy-acetylene? i will do mine out of 2.5mm or 3mm square steel tubing as i am limited to an arc/stick welder for the moment 
Cheers Ed


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## stuee147 (1 Mar 2014)

i didnt take any pics of my build of my tester trike i have a couple of finished pics hopefully i will be abel to add them here 











like i said before this was a quick whack parts together it took me about 6hrs to build this i used 2 old mountain bikes the trailer that iv mentioned before and a length of 1.6mm thick 60mm diameter mild steal wood burning stove flue and a couple of skateboard wheels and its welded together with a ark welder and 2.5mm welding rods. just after these pics were taken i added a rear deraililar and that helped alot with getting going and holding the slack out of the bottom of the chain.
this was just an experiment to see if i liked a recumbent trike, and also to give myself some ideas of how i wanted the final bike to be. and it has given me some great ideas so now im just waiting on the metal so i can build what will be my perfect recumbent trike 
im going to be using 2.5mm x 40mm x 40mm box section for the main frame with a few strengthening pieces of 2mm x 20mm x 20mm box section. and i will probably be using the ark welder unless i find a couple hundred pounds somewhere and get myself a mig welder  

i do prefer a mig to an ark i find i can get a strong secure weld with either type but if i want a weld to look neat then i go for mig i can get a neat weld almost every time where as i tend to stop and start a lot more with an ark so i can never get a decent seam.

i will be taking pics of my build when the metal arrives and i will try and sort out pics of how iv done bits so far 

stuee


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## young Ed (1 Mar 2014)

stuee147 said:


> i didnt take any pics of my build of my tester trike i have a couple of finished pics hopefully i will be abel to add them here
> 
> 
> 
> ...


i can see what you mean it was just a quick test! still better than what i have (nothing!) 
i'm guessing you like your current trike then?
how did you work out ackermans law and toe in/out angles and camber angles etc etc for the steering?
Cheers Ed


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## stuee147 (1 Mar 2014)

the design i have now is slightly different to that one the front wheels are going to be set out similar to atomic zombies warrior trike. and to be honest on that quick make the only tools i used was a ark welder an hammer an angel grinder a wire brush and a can of red oxide primer and a couple of spanners and pliers that was it i never used a ruler or tape measure or any angel finding stuff lol but i knew from experience (i used to make gokarts) the akermans law i normily weld a small bit of tube or plate at about 7 to 10 degrees angel from the line of the front wheel the camber angel i find quite easy again its normily around 10 degrees ish i tend to set the head tubes up and weld the axel support for the front wheel on while holding the front wheel in place.
and for the toe in / out i normily use some old wire or rope and secure the front and back of the wheel to the main frame making sure the its the same distance from the frame to the wheel on both front wheels and on 20inch wheels like i have here i set the front of the wheels about 1 or 2 mm closer to the frame than the back of the wheels giving me a slight toe in. 
on the one i am building now im doing it the right way as im hoping it will be one that will last me a while lol and im going to make a jig to help with setting the angels ect


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