My recumbent project

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Ok as promised here are some pictures of my recumbent project in progress.I don't know squat about bicycles, I didn't even know how to take one apart until I started on this project. I found a guy up the road that has a sort of a bicycle junk yard, so I went up there and bought three  junkers for about 20 bucks. I have learned that I should have been looking for aluminum rims and bolt on cranks. I don't think the old steel rims that I have are worth rebuilding and the bolt on cranks give some versatility in crank lengths and chain rings.  I used 14 ga. 1.5 inch tubing and made it a little bit longer than the Atomic Zombie plans call for.  Now for the pictures.  Auugh!  I am not very good at welding but I thought I was getting better at tig untill I started editing these pictures< I can see I have much room for improvement.  Oh well.  these all need to be cleaned up and I have some grinding to do prior to painting, it's pretty much just loosely assembled to test fit and run cables. The first on is the handlebar extension weld which I thought was a pretty good weld but now I see some contamination on the left side there.
Reply:Hey, that's pretty cool.  I always thought those bikes looked funny though.  Post pics through your progress, we'd love to see!
Reply:Yeah they look funny but after you start building one they kinda grow on ya.
Reply:Looking good!  Mine is still in the un-painted stage; of course some other projects have taken hold of me. Story of my life, partially finished projects - John
Reply:Well here it is with some junk rims on it.  I have some nicer aluminum rims that I am reworking a little bit.  This is after I took it out of the garage and crashed it within ten feet, forgot to tighten the front steering stem, oops.Then decided the angle on the steering head was off so I cut is off and re welded it, much better behaved after that.  I am still wobbly, but this is gonna be fun when I get the hang of it.
Reply:Ps.  Orange is my favorite color,  Guess why.
Reply:Verry cool!Nice workDavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Too cool.. But thats got "I'm gonna get hurt" written all over it..Not for Me but have fun and wear your helmet!!( Crash..  )Good luck.....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Nice Job.  You'll get used to it.  I can imagine steering would take some getting used to.  How far are you from Indianapolis.  I used to race (track bikes) on at the Major Taylor Velodrome.  I imagine it would be fun to ride that on the 'drome.  I made a couple of short wheelbase recumbents a couple of years ago.  They were really squirrelly.
Reply:Looks nice. I started off pretty wobbly on mine too, but it gets better. Mine is still un-painted - John
Reply:Looking good! Looks like you got AZ's plans?
Reply:Thanks everyone. I live about 50 minutes from Indy towards Cincinnati.  Greensburg area.I have been by the velodrome many times and you are not getting me on that thing Glad to hear it gets better because I have to look drunk right now.Yep I got the Atomic Zombie Meridian plans.  Although the back is a few degrees more upright(I didn't want to lay down that much) and the main boom is 2 inches longer (I am 6 foot 3)than the plans call for.   Turns out I didn't need the extra length and am thinking about cutting it off. I am already having fun with it even though it's not shifting right and I am wobbly. When I finally get it complete and the paint touched up I will post a pic of that.
Reply:Originally Posted by BerniepWell here it is with some junk rims on it.  I have some nicer aluminum rims that I am reworking a little bit.  This is after I took it out of the garage and crashed it within ten feet, forgot to tighten the front steering stem, oops.Then decided the angle on the steering head was off so I cut is off and re welded it, much better behaved after that.
Reply:Uh.. well.  I don't know the terminology but I brought the wheel back towards the frame, so I think that would be decreasing it.  I had it close to the recommended 65 degrees and I probably moved it 4 degrees. Before it had considerable wheel flop.  When you get it off center very far it wanted to flop to the side. Plus it was very slow to react, I guess because of the low center of gravity, It is slow to steer back under itself so I was wobbling around quite a bit.  Way slower than the bicycles, dirt bikes and motorcycles I am used to.No front brake for now but I need one. The back one alone is just sort of a suggestion to slow down at this point. Disc brakes on new rims are what I want eventually.I want to post on the Atomic Zombie forum but I am still jumping through anti spam hoops right now.
Reply:Originally Posted by BerniepUh.. well.  I don't know the terminology but I brought the wheel back towards the frame, so I think that would be decreasing it.  I had it close to the recommended 65 degrees and I probably moved it 4 degrees. Before it had considerable wheel flop.  When you get it off center very far it wanted to flop to the side. Plus it was very slow to react, I guess because of the low center of gravity, It is slow to steer back under itself so I was wobbling around quite a bit.  Way slower than the bicycles, dirt bikes and motorcycles I am used to.No front brake for now but I need one. The back one alone is just sort of a suggestion to slow down at this point. Disc brakes on new rims are what I want eventually.I want to post on the Atomic Zombie forum but I am still jumping through anti spam hoops right now.
Reply:I may do that but I also think that disc brakes look good too.
Reply:Originally Posted by BerniepI may do that but I also think that disc brakes look good too.
Reply:Ok I snapped a couple of pictures yesterday.   I guess it's about as done as it's going to get until the snow flys. I had to splice the leads of two Schwinn speedometers to get enough lenth. It works well. I tried a wireless one but it wouldn't work more that 2 feet from the sending unit.   I want a 7 speed freewheel instead of the 6 speed one I have now, and I will add a front brake and cable guides to get rid of the zip ties The back wheel is the same color as the front but the sun reflected off the rear in the picture.  I think I will take the seat to an upholstery shop to get better foam(Mine is not dense enough) and covering.Now that I am more used to it I can tell that I got the  steering a little off to one side but it's not bad enough to worry about right now.Anyway here are a couple of pictures.
Reply:http://www.atomiczombie.com/index.htmcheck these out if you are looking for some fun bike projects. btw that bike looks great.
Reply:Nice project; thanks for the photos.I like the location of the headlight over the front tube.  Does it throw enough light to illuminate the road when you're cruisin'?  Just a word of warning, based on my experience (which, usually, saves my but_)... keep an eye on the area where the rear triangle meets the frame, under the seat.  This is a location where the stresses of riding will, likely, show up by cracking the weld, and/or metal.  I once had a crank tube rip off of the frame, as I pushed off, not realizing it had been weakened over time.  Could have been serious, if it had failed at speed (had it up to 50 mph).
Reply:The headlight is there for others to see me.  We have narrow roads around here and I wanted a little something up front for those just before sunup rides. I also have a flashing taillight.  The headlight really wouldn't cut it for regular night riding, it might get you home in a pinch.I made sure the welds in that area are strong, it looked to me like most of the stress on the frame would be focused on that point.I get some flexing in the crank tube when I really push on it and have been watching it. Wow 50mph?  I can't crank faster than about 25 but I want to get the 7speed freewheel with the 11 tooth top gear that should help.  What gears are you running?
Reply:Why not change the front chainring.  A a tooth or two to the chainring will give you 6 larger gears instead of the one you will get by adding the 11 tooth cog.
Reply:Originally Posted by BerniepThe headlight is there for others to see me.  We have narrow roads around here and I wanted a little something up front for those just before sunup rides. I also have a flashing taillight.  The headlight really wouldn't cut it for regular night riding, it might get you home in a pinch.I made sure the welds in that area are strong, it looked to me like most of the stress on the frame would be focused on that point.I get some flexing in the crank tube when I really push on it and have been watching it. Wow 50mph?  I can't crank faster than about 25 but I want to get the 7speed freewheel with the 11 tooth top gear that should help.  What gears are you running?
Reply:Tapwelder  I am running a 52 or 54 on the front which is the largest that I have found  locally and  I really haven't seen a larger one online.  I see people talking about 62 tooth but I think they make/have them made. Weldordie  I don't really ride in the dark just a little before sun up sometimes but that is a great idea I hit the pedals wrong a lot.