recumbent trike build
- Thread starter stuee147
- Start date
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fixedfixer
Veteran
OP
OP
stuee147
Senior Member
- Location
- north ayrshire
checked chain today and i can safely say all the links are clean, and all pins are seated correctly and i checked it 4 times that i know of but i think i may have gone round a few more lol
thanks iv never had any real fixed plans for this build its all been done by eye and measurements that iv worked out by trial and error so iv never had a set caster angel what i have done is read a lot and played about with old bikes and scrap metal to get a rough idea of what i need do.
with the wheel set up i started off by welding the dropouts onto the bottom of the head tube so that if you drew a line down threw the head tube it would hit the ground at the same point as the centre of the tier where it also hits the ground.
i then have fitted the headtube tube so that if a line was to run threw it it would hit the ground about 2" infront of the centre point of the tier contact.
if that makes sense im a bit reluctant to start grinding the welds and repositioning the headtubes when i dont have a working angel to set towards if you know what i mean, i could end up grinding the welds and re welding so many times i could end up with a very narrow set of wheels lol id rather try easy minimal destruction to the frame first and if all else fails i will have to resort to that
just a thought could someone one here with a trike with 20" front wheels and a 26" rear have a look if its not to much trouble and tell me the angel of the caster/canter or which ever it is lol
I don't know if you are aware of this site:
Recumbents.com
Their design page covers most aspects of design and building
Recumbents.com
Their design page covers most aspects of design and building
OP
OP
stuee147
Senior Member
- Location
- north ayrshire
that looks like a good site thanks i hadn't seen that one before i will have a good read and see what i can find thanks again
OP
OP
stuee147
Senior Member
- Location
- north ayrshire
right quick update. sorry no pictures today as iv only been doing little bits and bobs.
firstly i seem to have found the problem with the chain catching, as i rode around the garden every time the chain grabbed i was able to stop and look at the chain run and i found that it seemed to be jumping off of the larger cog on the chain guide when i pedalled fast .i found after removing the larger cog on the chain guide that there were 3 teeth that were ever so slightly twisted. (maybe a stick or something hit it in its past life) so i had a look and couldn't find one to match size wise so i picked the closest one i had which is only a few teeth smaller and i whacked that one on took a few spins around the garden and no chain grab at all so far. iv also played about with the steering brake levers and gear lever positions. iv changed the angel slightly of the handlebars and its a lot more comfy now. iv also altered the gears, my original thinking that i would struggle with a gear lever on my left was right (but i had to try it ) so i have rearranged the levers so i now have 2 gears and 1 brake lever on my right and i have just the one brake lever on my left. im going to make this my rear brake as i wont be using it as much. im also going to put a light switch on the left so when i fit the lights i can control them from there. im keeping the left handlebar i wont be using it much but iv found it reasonably comfy but its also gives me a bit more feeling of control in tight turns. im still going to make some form of pod/armrest on the left to rest my arm i just need to sort this wobble out first.
as as for the wobble iv been measuring and thinking and reading ect ect and iv come to a destitution unless i get any other ideas between now and when i get the parts lol. anyway iv been thinking my best line of attack is.
1; get new 20" bmx wheels with 14mm axles then fettle the axles for trike design (im thinking of replacing the axle with a m14 high tensile bolt)
2; cut away existing dropouts and make new ones for 14mm axle
3; grind off and re set head tube angels for caster/camber
4; have a fully working trike
now the only problem i have is i still haven't found a good set of angels to work to. everything iv read has agreed that a line drawn threw the tube should hit the ground at the same point as the centre point of the tiers contact with the ground. i have that its the other part iv read everything from 50 degrees to 70 degrees and everywhere between. iv also read that if you take a line threw the head tube it should contact the ground about 2" infront of the centre line of the wheel.
like iv said before i would rather not have to keep grinding the welds to re position the head tubes. so any advice as to the angel or settings would be gratefully received.
firstly i seem to have found the problem with the chain catching, as i rode around the garden every time the chain grabbed i was able to stop and look at the chain run and i found that it seemed to be jumping off of the larger cog on the chain guide when i pedalled fast .i found after removing the larger cog on the chain guide that there were 3 teeth that were ever so slightly twisted. (maybe a stick or something hit it in its past life) so i had a look and couldn't find one to match size wise so i picked the closest one i had which is only a few teeth smaller and i whacked that one on took a few spins around the garden and no chain grab at all so far. iv also played about with the steering brake levers and gear lever positions. iv changed the angel slightly of the handlebars and its a lot more comfy now. iv also altered the gears, my original thinking that i would struggle with a gear lever on my left was right (but i had to try it ) so i have rearranged the levers so i now have 2 gears and 1 brake lever on my right and i have just the one brake lever on my left. im going to make this my rear brake as i wont be using it as much. im also going to put a light switch on the left so when i fit the lights i can control them from there. im keeping the left handlebar i wont be using it much but iv found it reasonably comfy but its also gives me a bit more feeling of control in tight turns. im still going to make some form of pod/armrest on the left to rest my arm i just need to sort this wobble out first.
as as for the wobble iv been measuring and thinking and reading ect ect and iv come to a destitution unless i get any other ideas between now and when i get the parts lol. anyway iv been thinking my best line of attack is.
1; get new 20" bmx wheels with 14mm axles then fettle the axles for trike design (im thinking of replacing the axle with a m14 high tensile bolt)
2; cut away existing dropouts and make new ones for 14mm axle
3; grind off and re set head tube angels for caster/camber
4; have a fully working trike
now the only problem i have is i still haven't found a good set of angels to work to. everything iv read has agreed that a line drawn threw the tube should hit the ground at the same point as the centre point of the tiers contact with the ground. i have that its the other part iv read everything from 50 degrees to 70 degrees and everywhere between. iv also read that if you take a line threw the head tube it should contact the ground about 2" infront of the centre line of the wheel.
like iv said before i would rather not have to keep grinding the welds to re position the head tubes. so any advice as to the angel or settings would be gratefully received.
fixedfixer
Veteran
Some stuff on AtomicZombie http://forum.atomiczombie.com/showt...ster-Angle-Orientation?highlight=Caster+angle
This might help make sense of what is going on. Not having built a trike I'm out of my depth here. Have you thought about buying some plans from them - could save a lot of messing about?
This might help make sense of what is going on. Not having built a trike I'm out of my depth here. Have you thought about buying some plans from them - could save a lot of messing about?
OP
OP
stuee147
Senior Member
- Location
- north ayrshire
well iv been doing bits and bobs iv played about with the seat iv used webbing strap just because i have some laying about. i have overlapped the strapping this is to help prevent skin nip between two pieces of webbing iv also run it so the overlaps are at the tops of the webbing not the bottom my thinking is when its raining like it was in the photos, rather than any rain landing on the top of the seat or my shoulders will hit the first overlap in the webbing and run through and out under the seat rather than it makeing little rivers that run all the way down to the base. ill let you know if it works lol
as you can see i haven't done the base yet but will soon
the new chain guide
just clears the tie rod may make a slimmer one ill see
the new gear lever position just cable tied to try out but will be bolted and cables run neatly
almost there
iv been trying out where to fit the rack for my panniers i think that looks about right i just need to make some fixings up for it now .
today i have ordered a couple of 20" bmx wheels with 14mm axels so as soon as i have them i can start sorting the head tubes out and get working
a few more pics
as you can see i haven't done the base yet but will soon
almost there
iv been trying out where to fit the rack for my panniers i think that looks about right i just need to make some fixings up for it now .
today i have ordered a couple of 20" bmx wheels with 14mm axels so as soon as i have them i can start sorting the head tubes out and get working
a few more pics
fixedfixer
Veteran
Might be worth fitting the new wheels and then taking for a test run to see if the wobble has gone prior to doing surgery on the head tubes. You never know....
OP
OP
stuee147
Senior Member
- Location
- north ayrshire
yea i was thinking that i still have to cut off the old dropouts and make up new ones for the new 14mm axel. but i dont mind that to much as i want to alter the angels of the brake arms so they run more inline with the ground.
iv also been reading about how folk are welding there headtubes are welded inside a pice of box section then that is welded to the box of the wheel arms that way you dont need to muck about trying to make a round tube go into a square tube with fiddly cut outs while trying to get the angels right. so if i do go down the rout of redoing the headtubes i think i will give that a try.
im also planing on taking a trip to halfords or a local cycle shop and i was going to check the angel of the headtubes on a 20" bikes and finding an average and setting to that. im sure it would work i think lol in theory the caster/camber should be about the same regardless of where in relation to the wheel the headtube is. i hope lol
oh i forgot to say i go on the atomic zombie site a lot its quite good and iv got a lot of ideas from there but i have noticed that in the treads any set angels or sizes of the builds seem to be hidden or deleted so unless you buy the plans you cant get the details
i have been thinking of buying some plans but iv never found one i like enough to buy lol
fixedfixer
Veteran
Found some stuff on this site http://www.hellbentcycles.com/work_shop.htm
look for the pdf called trike primer. It gives measurements for caster / toe in etc. Maybe that will help.
I also read that using round tube is easier to make these different angles with the help of tube mitre programmes. you feed in the angle and it makes a paper template which you wrap around your tube and make the cut to the line.
look for the pdf called trike primer. It gives measurements for caster / toe in etc. Maybe that will help.
I also read that using round tube is easier to make these different angles with the help of tube mitre programmes. you feed in the angle and it makes a paper template which you wrap around your tube and make the cut to the line.
OP
OP
stuee147
Senior Member
- Location
- north ayrshire
nice link that is my bed time reading sorted lol
yea i have a couple of the tube mitre programs i have used on projects in the past but the front arms are 40mm box section and its that that needs the fish mouth in iv looked everywhere i know of but a box to tube mitre program seems illusive but i bet thats more because of all the dater about the material you would need before it could work the mitre out.
BlackPanther
Hyper-Fast Recumbent Riding Member.
- Location
- Doncaster.
With your many skills, can we expect to see a fairing on this beast? Wish I could weld. And also that I had a welding machine thingy.
fixedfixer
Veteran
check out that link - there is an all weather trike that would be just the thing to have for Doncaster in the winter
