a bike I've been working on forever

admin

This is a trike for my 11-year old - probably started when she was 8 or 9. It's been an on-again, off-again, mainly off-again, project.Seat and handlebar paint is drying, more photos once I have them installed. Attached Images
Reply:One more pic.- John(that semi-disaster of an aluminum plate that will clamp the steering was made just because I wanted to have at least some aluminum to tig) Attached Images
Reply:cool. interesting design. cant wait to see it all togather so it all makes scence. is it pedle powerd ??? summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:great looking project I think she will love it when your done better hurry up a few more years and she will saying dad can I have the car keys please jokes a side should look great when your done she is a lucky girl Creative metal Creative metal Facebook
Reply:nice looking bike there mate , good comment there wello , i was asking for the ute keys when i was 7 or so because we had 50 000 acres to play on
Reply:i was looking it over and decided i was looking at it backwerds, 2 wheels in the front in in the back is the right way right. now i get it, well if its 2 to the front i get it. and i agree slap the bars on that befor all she wants to play with is BOY'S !!!!they grow up ssoooo fast. summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:Originally Posted by runchmanThis is a trike for my 11-year old - probably started when she was 8 or 9. It's been an on-again, off-again, mainly off-again, project
Reply:Designed it myself, yeah it is 2 wheels in front and pedals just like a 'normal' bike.For some interesting plans check out atomiczombie.com. Look at the tallbikes if you want to see some real whackiness.asking for carkeys, man oh man I just can't imagine, even though I know it'll be here before I know it. Scary.- John
Reply:Very cool! Get 'er done or he'll be out of high school and will want a motor powered trike!  John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Hydraulic disk brakes?
Reply:Not hydraulic, just cable actuated ones. I don't know anything about the hydraulic ones - I've heard of them, but never seen them.Tomorrow night I should be putting the handlebars and seat on, will post another couple of pics.- John
Reply:Originally Posted by runchmanNot hydraulic, just cable actuated ones. I don't know anything about the hydraulic ones - I've heard of them, but never seen them.Tomorrow night I should be putting the handlebars and seat on, will post another couple of pics.- John
Reply:looks great!Well...after I posted someone already asked for the brake stuff...Keep up the good workMy Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:I made the discs, machined on the faceplate of my lathe out of some stainless steel plate. Would never do that again, that stainless is a major pain. Doesn't help that I'm not much of a machinist !I'll be curious to see how it holds up under real-world conditions. Our riding consists of 5 miles on the bike path (at our back yard) to dairy queen and back, so it isn't going to see much hard use. Now I'm starting on a 2-wheeled recumbent for myself:http://www.atomiczombie.com/product-meridian.htmShould be much simpler than the trike, not all this custom machining to do.- John
Reply:Nice job John.I like the fact that I can tell you actually put some thought into the design.I can see that camber, caster, ackerman, king pin inclination, and scrub radius were all taken into account in the spindle design. Nice. - Paulhttp://all-a-cart.comWelding Cart Kits and accessories
Reply:Originally Posted by runchmanI made the discs, machined on the faceplate of my lathe out of some stainless steel plate. Would never do that again, that stainless is a major pain. Doesn't help that I'm not much of a machinist !I'll be curious to see how it holds up under real-world conditions. Our riding consists of 5 miles on the bike path (at our back yard) to dairy queen and back, so it isn't going to see much hard use. Now I'm starting on a 2-wheeled recumbent for myself:http://www.atomiczombie.com/product-meridian.htmShould be much simpler than the trike, not all this custom machining to do.- John
Reply:John,Don't know if you have ridden LWB bents... I forgot to add to my last post that a LWB bent is great at speed on paved roads, but the front wheel tends to slide out, if it encounters loose gravel, due to the unequal weight distribution.  No so with SWB bents. BTW... would you mind sending me a couple of those stainless brake disks to try?  Dave
Reply:haven't ridden a LWB yet. I figure worst case I toss a sign on it and sell it, then make a SWB, if I don't like the ride. 99% of my riding is in a straight line on the bike path, I figure it might be nice for that. No stainless left over to send I rode the trike tonight (yeah it's a bit small for me!) and the left brake is way, way grabby. A consequence of the very uneven thickness of the brake disk, I realize. Guess I'll tell the kiddo to just use the right one.- John
Reply:Ok here is a finished pic. The seat frame is made out of tig-welded 1/2" conduit, the handlebars from 1/2" conduit. I had to cut off the ends of the handlebars and turn them down in the lathe so the brake levers would fit...then weld them back to the conduit I'd cut them off of.My 11-year old is out of town till monday (grandparents), so she won't try it until Tuesday.- JohnOh yeah, if you have a sharp eye you might notice there is no front deraileur. The gearing is so low with the 16" wheels, that I'm not going to bother.And yes, still needs handlebar tape. Attached Images
Reply:Originally Posted by runchmanhaven't ridden a LWB yet. I figure worst case I toss a sign on it and sell it, then make a SWB, if I don't like the ride. 99% of my riding is in a straight line on the bike path, I figure it might be nice for that. No stainless left over to send I rode the trike tonight (yeah it's a bit small for me!) and the left brake is way, way grabby. A consequence of the very uneven thickness of the brake disk, I realize. Guess I'll tell the kiddo to just use the right one.- John
Reply:Ok, you asked for it!Here's a few brake details, as well as a shot of the 'real' trikes the wife and I ride.- JohnYou can see where I had to carve out the plastic spokes a bit for the brake to clear. Also notice those nifty little hex-head screws that hold the stainless disc to the aluminum hub. Call me a geek but I think that looks neat. Got to use my rotary table on the mill to drill those little holes. Attached Images
Reply:Originally Posted by runchmanOk, you asked for it!Here's a few brake details, as well as a shot of the 'real' trikes the wife and I ride.- JohnYou can see where I had to carve out the plastic spokes a bit for the brake to clear. Also notice those nifty little hex-head screws that hold the stainless disc to the aluminum hub. Call me a geek but I think that looks neat. Got to use my rotary table on the mill to drill those little holes.
Reply:ok now that is just too cool.has she seen it being made or will it be a total suprise ??how did you alter the tire to take the larger axel?? and where did you get the brakes from??now i just have to build one.i made a pull behind trailor for my lil one to ride in. i wonder if i used my bike as a doner for parts if i could work in the suspention? it dose have dule disk brakes so i could use them. Attached Images summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:No surprise for her, she test rode it a couple weeks ago. The brakes (minus the disc) I bought from Bike Nashbar. As for the axles, here is what I did:1. Bore out the old wheels so they just have a hole where the hub used to be2. machine an aluminum cylinder to be a press-fit in that hole3. machine a recess in each side of the cylinder to receive a sealed bearing with 3/16" inside dia4. use long 3/16" bolt & nut, through those bearings, as an axleThat hub also has the tapped holes around the bearing area on the inside for the disc to mount to.The adult trikes, no I didn't make those, sorry to say. If you want to see a *really* prolific builder check out www.fleettrikes.com and click on 'chart' on the left hand side. - John
Reply:Oh yeah, forgot to say your trailer looks nice !We have one of those burley thingies - I'm always thinking now that I have the welding skills which things I would have made up in the past instead of buying. That is definitely one of them.My girls are 6 and 11, this is the second season that I am 'trailer free' now that my little one is a 2-wheel bat out of hell. - JohnSeems to be pretty nice man!hope the braking thing works good if now, she´ll have a crazy rideHELL YEAH !My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:well i guess i will have to work out another option as i dont have a mill or metal lathe and i dont think my wood lath is going to cut it. well i might on aluminum but making a cutter assenbly would probly require a mill.you did an exceptional job on the trik for her i am shore she will gat many years of fun out of it, now you have to start one for the other daughter....mean time i will have to find an easyer way in order to create one for me.what did you do for chains?? just get several and hook them togather?? summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:For a chain I bought a tandem chain, but it is still a little too short. I have a chain-breaker tool that pushes out the pin from the link, so I'm going to splice in a few more links.As far as making one w/o a lathe, I wouldn't let that stop you. I've seen folks make them using 2 forks from kids bikes for the front wheels - welding the steering linkage to the leg of each fork, somehow. This was an interesting project from a metalworking perspective, but if the goal is to make a working trike for the kid I'd go with the easier approach of re-using as much as possible from donor bikes. I'll see if I can find a link to the kind of arrangement I'm talking about.- John
Reply:I am a Geek.The first thing I thought of when I saw the close up of those brakes...COOL!!!  he used a Hard Drive plater for the rotors.  hmm, I wonder how durable that would be?MikeComputer nerd with a background in woodworkingMy Site  No Metal working stuff there yet.
Reply:humm.......i got a few extra hard drives in the shop....i could do a lil distructive testing LOL summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:Nice job !  interesting project-Graham-Mechanical EngineerAutosport Mechanic/Fabricator