recumbent trike build

[ufkacbln]

I always had a fascination for bikes and engineering, just no skill or ability in the latter

I used to look at "Cycling Today" and the original few Neatwork recumbents with interest

Then in the late 80's I broke my hip /pelvis / several robs and a collarbone when a wayward tree stepped out in front of me on a mountain bike trail

That gave me the excuse to try and buy, but the only one I could afford was a second hand Linear

Then in 1994 I went to Cornwall and bought a Peter Ross Trike... this is me at Culdrose in 1995!

I then donated this a few years ago to the Cycle Magic charity and replaced it with a Catrike

This was followed with the purchase of a second hand Challenge Hurricane, the first that was brought into the UK, and still bearing the original elastomer suspension design.

I now own the Hurricane, a Street Machine, a Catrike Expedition and a pair of Gekkos, one with electric assist

Over these years I think that I have foowed most developments, improvements, design changes, and seen the recumbent market change completely

That is where my knowledge comes from.

 

[stuee147]

similar to me iv always liked making and engineering things normally out of nothing lol i think i get it from growing up on and around farms. you dont just go and buy a part if something brakes you have to make it by hand at least in the good old day you did lol. i can remember learning to weld when i was about 6 or 7 i used to help weld the new hardened points onto cutting heads and ploughs edges they were the days rigging it up so you could do running repairs in the middle of a filed lol

id never even heard of a recumbent until a few mouths ago. iv always loved cycling but after my accident just over 2 years ago now iv not been able to ride without a lot of pain for the following week but with the recumbent iv not got any weight or pressure on my arm and shoulder so hopefully that will help me back into bikes and give me some freedom iv lost

 

[fixedfixer]

"I now own the Hurricane, a Street Machine, a Catrike Expedition and a pair of Gekkos, one with electric assist" Cunobelin - very nice fleet you have.
Which one gets most use then?

 

[ufkacbln]

"I now own the Hurricane, a Street Machine, a Catrike Expedition and a pair of Gekkos, one with electric assist" Cunobelin - very nice fleet you have.
Which one gets most use then?

Gekko as it folds and goes into my locker at work, and the Catrike second as it so fast, for the days when I feel like a fast ride

The two wheeled ones are used less rarely, the Hurricane is good for realy fast days out and train hourneys where the CAtrike i not possible.

The Street Machine is a tourer and work horse for heavy loads

All the bikes get used at least a couple of times a month and more so in the summer.

The second Gekko is my wife's as she is disabled and needs the power assist. Thisis used at weekends and in the evenings. When out on this I tend to use my Christiania trike as it takes her mobility scooter for when we get to our dstination

 

[fixedfixer]

Is that a camera mounted on the front of the non 'e' Gekko?

 

[stuee147]

well wheels came today a day late and when i opened the parcel i found they sent me the wrong ones
they sent me 10mm axels instead of 14mm ones.
i emailed them stating that i payed extra for delivery thurs and i didnt get it till today and that they sent me the wrong ones just waiting for there reply it better be a good one im not happy now going to hide in the corner and sulk

 

[Scoosh]

Sulk ???

Nae chance ...

Ge' intae them !

 

[Scoosh]

That's a boggin' shame - I was looking forward to a CC Ecosse bent ride with you ...

Soon, though, by the sound of it .

 

[fixedfixer]

Total bazza's. I hate it when that happens.Grrrrrr

 

[stuee147]

i was looking forward to getting out there either i have had an email back. they have offered to send me a freepost label to send the wheels back then once they have them they will send me the correct wheels out so that will probably be another week before the wheels arrive

but i have been busy doing the little bits so at least when it is on the road i wont have to worry about them lol. iv also been considering making the brake arm come right round the wheel so i could use the 10mm axles . maybe i should try and be a bit more patient lol

oh and iv gone and got myself 6 plans from attomic zombie they were doing an offer lol so i now have details on the camber caster. and i have about a 68 degree angel on my head tubes all the plans are asking for around a 75 degree so i might change that while im waiting lol

 

[ufkacbln]

Is that a camera mounted on the front of the non 'e' Gekko?

Yep- I was playing with the GoPro for effect, but all you get is two feet rotating through the image - not a good look!

 

[fixedfixer]

Have the new wheels turned up stuee147? And, are you now itching to build each of the bikes in your new plans.....

 

[stuee147]

Have the new wheels turned up stuee147? And, are you now itching to build each of the bikes in your new plans.....

the fun carried on with the wheels the seller wanted me to send him the wheels and when he got them he would send out the right ones but the free post bit he would send me to send the wheels would be standard 5 day delivery and then the correct wheels would be sent out standard 5 day delivery. so with waiting for the return label to be sent out i could of been waiting for another 2 weeks. needless to say i wasnt to happy about that so i had a chat with the bloke and we came to a deal. i have kept the wheels with 10mm axles iv had my 48hr postage refunded and iv had a refund for the difference in price of the wheels i have and i checked the blokes listings so i know i got the right price and then he also refunded me a bit extra for the hassle iv had i was quite happy with that so iv been modifying my designs to give support both sides of the wheel rather than just the one side. and iv redone the camber/caster angels and iv made a new track rod (slimmer profile to give extra clearance on the chain. and then about 3oclock today i opened the side gate and went for a ride round the block a few times
and apart from needing to fit the front brakes and tightening the rear i had great fun, right up until the point of coming down the big hill and realising i didnt have enough power in the rear brake to slow down for the drive way so i had to abort my turn and fly off down the path untill i had slowed enough to turn round lol
heres some pics

iv still got to grind the welds to tidy them up then paint the bare metal but im up and running iv only done about a mile so far to test ride it but that will soon change lol

 

[stuee147]

i was out for a good ride yesterday did a few miles with some hills and had no real problems. i noticed that when going down hill fast if i tried to pedal i would get that effect back where the slack side of the chain seems to lag, im sure its due to the angel i have the cable guide its causing to much friction and the chain cant keep up at speed, so today i have taken the cogs out of the guide so im not using a guide on the bottom so far (now the gears are working and adjusted) the chain is sitting well not dragging on the floor so im going to try it out on a ride today.
iv also managed to sort out a seat back adjuster using a quick realise bolt and a plastic chopping bored ill take some pics of it today and post them. iv also changed my handlebars i spent several hours trying different shapes and positions and iv gone for a lower handlebar angled out towards the rear. and iv also changed my front brake leaver for one that i have adapted to take two cables one for each front wheel and the brakes are a lot sharper and better. i think the pulley system i was using before wasn't giving me very good braking again i will get some pics of the new system today and how iv adapted the brake leaver and post them. iv also now fitted lights and tested them last night not bad at all

here is a couple of pics from my ride yesterday

oh yea and i put my panniers on to lol

 

[stuee147]

well iv been out a couple of times today testing and setting things up. the only problem i have is the rear chain guide for the top half of the chain has bent slightly and now the chain is clicking slightly on lower gears. it bent as i was doing a standing start from half way up a very steep slope so i was really putting some pressure threw the pedals. im thinking of making up a bit of C section out of some 6mm plate i have. and bolting the chain guide into the and welding it to the frame that will support the bolt on both sides and should be a lot stronger i will use pieces of 10mm pipe as spacer sleeves so the wheel wont move about in the c section.
apart from that iv not had any real problems im not sure how far iv been about 10 to 15 miles i think but im not to sure. and i was picking places to go that gave me some good tests like some big hills twists and turns and even across a field, think im defenetly going to make one with rear suspension next lol
as promised here are some pics of bit iv done
1st front brake lever

as you can see i have run two cables (one from each front wheel) and into a spreader bar i made from ally and threaded so the cable adjusters screw into the spreader.

the inner cable runs threw the adjusters and then threw a piece of steel rod that runs threw the point where the cable nipple would of sat, the nipple on the end of the cable is what stops the cable pulling threw the steal pin. iv found this system a lot quicker (once id mad the bits) to set up and its a hell of a lot easier to set up to im still using 2 cables as i was before but this time if one cable brakes i will still have one working front brake. where as before i would of been left with just the rear brake. so i feel its a safer method and in my honest opinion i think they are more powerful. with the old method you could feel the stretch and spring in the system as you applied the brakes but now you can feel the brakes instantly. and they are a lot better at stopping me lol.
2nd the seat support

iv used (starting from the back of the seat) parts of a seat to seat post bracket welded to the seat frame. then two pieces of a old plastic chopping bored at the moment iv only made one cut out for the quick realise bolt but im going to put 4 or 5 cut outs on so i will have several angels to chose from. the black and yellow thing just bellow the bolt is a holder for my lock so iv always got it to hand as you can see from next pic

as you can see its a good fit even when i have the extra notches for adjustment it still wont foul the lock

then there is the front light iv used a bracket that used to hold a saddle stem in place and part of and old plastic fixture

iv not really tested it properly at night its held nice and strong with no bouncing and going round the garden at night it worked quite well but then it is a good torch iv used with a nice clean beam thats great for distance and then a wide radiant light to give a good close wide lit area. i just need to test it at night on the road lol

then iv also had chance to tidy up and repaint the front end after having to change it all for the new wheels

im quite happy with the way the new handlebars feel so i think i might keep them as they are now iv tried 4 different shapes and styles and this seems to be the best so far. i just need to get some grips for them now.
as you can see the new track rod iv made is a lot slimmer than the old one and a lot neater and its given me a lot more clearance on the chain.
and the bottom of the chain is running lovely now iv taken it out of the chain guide iv not noticed and lag on the bottom of the chain all day so hopefully trhat sorted and can be crossed off my list.