DIY trike build from scratch

Okay so first of all.

Hello and welcome to my Trike build call me Fossil. Straight to the point. I have decided to build a recumbent trike as I am disabled and not allowed to ride a normal bike. Any comments and advice is welcome. I am at risk of falling hence three wheels. I spent many hours looking at different mountain bike frames looking for a suitable one to achieve what I want. Here is the one I picked and I will explain why later on as I post on this build.

 

Technical Specs I want to achieve

Frame & Geometry

Total Length 6' 7" (2.01 m)
Total Width 33" (838 mm)
Total Height 26" (660 mm)
Bracket Height 16" (406 mm)
seat Angle 37°
Seat Height 10" (254 mm)
Seat Width 14" (355 mm)
wheel Base 43" (1092 mm)
Wheel Track 29" (737 mm)
Turning Circle 18' (5.49 m) or less
Turning Radius 9' (2.74 m) or less
Ground Clearance 4 1/4" (108 mm)maybe more
Front Wheels (20")
Rear Wheel (26")
Weight * 35 LBS (15.9 kg)
Rider Weight Limit 275 lbs (125 kg)
Components*
Brakes Disc Brakes
brake Levers Pull Levers
Front derailleur Microshift
Rear Derailleur 6 Speed
shifters Shimano

Features & Accessories

Space Neck Rest
Flag Mount & Flag
Rear View Mirror
Combination Platform/clipless Pedals
Computer Sensor Mount
Brake Lever Velcro Strap for Parking
No Brake Steer
Self Centering
Ackerman Steering Compensation
Structural Front Boom
Quick-Release Indexing Boom Clamp
Aluminium Rod Ends
Low Friction PTFE chain Tube
* weight includes pedals, mirror, flag, computer mount and neck rest if standard on the model.

 

bought two already

I bought the first bike off eBay for 20 pounds and then won the second for 40 pounds and here it is.

 

this should be very interesting.....I'm going to follow this thread.

 

I can't wait to see how it turns out. I am not that mechanically gifted to do something like that!

 

Hi and thanks any advice you may have would be great so please feel free to comment I have managed to get on with this and will do as much updates I can till you get to where I am at now

I stripped every part washed and cleaned and treated the parts and selected what I am going to use for this build.

I know you do not really use the rear brake but I wanted a disc brake anyway. I lay the frames out to see if I would get the look I was going for by using the same pivot points and turning the fame upside down at the joint.

I then proceeded to to do the first cut on the frame to see if I would get a nice looking arm for the two front wheels and this is where it ended up.

 

The stripped and washed parts I selected and made sure they work 100%

As you will see I want to use as much of the bikes as I can as I do not want anything looking like it was just stuck together and using the original parts means they were shaped and I do not have the tools for bending ect. If i did I would be able to produce so really stunning stuff I am sure. I am using the handle bars for the steering and an going with direct steer instead of having separate bars to steering mounted under the seat like the new trikes. I did this to save weight.

 

I managed after 2 weeks of shopping for wheels find some 20 inch disc brake wheels and I live in the UK. E-Bay has 12 million products for sale but as far as trikes go I find 22 items in total and that is not even spares for trikes.

So I am problem solving all the time with this build.

I put it together with some insulation tape and a box to see size wise where I am. I will do mock ups over and over in this build as you will see I do not have a garage to build it in but the wife allowed me to assemble it in the lounge as long as I do not leave a mark ect on her carpet.

 

I decided to start dealing with the seat for the trike and after many you tube clips I decided to use 3.6mm ply wood formed and glued together. First I soaked the wood for hours in warm water the using a complex self thought of way to get the wood into more or less the shape so I could put it into a jig and form the rest of the way. I used string and my gym weights like I said problem solving at its best. When I turned the pegs they pulled the board and placing the weights in places meant I could get the wood to bend more where I wanted.

 

This is the result of a few hours some wood and wood glue

JUST TO RECAP

weights so far Front left wheel 2.1 kg
Front right wheel 2.1 kg
Rear wheel with cluster ect 2.8 kg

Total is 7kg so I set a goal of 3kg for the seat and the seat frame

I EXCEEDED THIS TARGET FOR THE SEAT so had to modify it so save weight but on the plus side now it does not look like a big potato chip.

SORRY FOR ALL THE POSTS BUT i AM TRYING TO GET YOU UP TO SPEED ON THIS BUILD.

 

Don't be sorry. I am really enjoying watching this go together. I can't believe you started with two bikes and are ending up with a trike! WOW!!!

 

It was not easy to find the bike with the correct frame to build it the way I want never mind find two of them exactly the same.

 

And you up to date with the build

 

today I managed to get in a hour or so and this is as far as I am currently. It is still messy and a work in progress and I will make sure to spend time cleaning grinding and sanding before any time gets spent on paint. I am thinking of black mostly as it already is and red and silver stickers. Fossil as a main name and the smaller stickers saying Tri. 1 much like the logos on a normal bike.

 

With the seat it looks okay so far. Any Commments?