Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Trike Done! Part 2

I mounted a water bottle cage on top of the main tube using t-nuts intended for wood working. I cut off the tangs, then set them into a hole drilled in the frame and welded around the edge. I actually found metric t-nuts at Ace Hardware where I seemed to go twice a week to pickup nuts and bolts.
Here's the boom clamp I made. I but a section of the 2" tube, then slit it and spread it out slightly. I cut a threaded nipple used for tensioning fence gates in half and welded the pieces onto one side for nuts. Then I welded on two bushings to hold the bolts. It turned out pretty nice.
Here's the rear deraileur - it came from the bike I snagged at Community Cycling Center.
Finally, we could start painting, and wouldn't you know we got a 70 degree day for it.
I was able to paint the entire bike all in one day since I could use the back yard and driveway.
Reassembly went pretty quick. This time, I replaced the temporary nuts with nylon self-locking nuts wherever I could, especially in the steering linkage. To adjust the steering, I first loaded the trike with 150 pounds of sandbags to simulate a rider.
Then I centered the middle link and adjusted in one wheel to match it.
Then I used a yard stick cut into two pieces to make a slide ruler. Two rings of inner tube hold the pieces together. I brought the other wheel in line adding .1" of toe-in. It tracks very nicely, so I'm happy with that.
I made a mount for the speedo sensor out of a prop rod from an old wire rack. I drilled a hole in the brake mount for a place to attach it. I wanted to put the wireless sensor on the rear wheel to minimize error, but the wireless wouldn't reach that far. It works here without any problems.
These are the steering bumpers - just a piece of old tire wrapped around the handle bar. The tire protects the seat frame.
I made a seat cover out of Pfifer Tex, an outdoor furniture material I bought at Fabric Depot. I hemmed all the edges 1" and popped in brass grommets then laced the seats on with 1/8" cord. I put on 2 and a half chains from Bad Monkey, and adjusted everything. Here are a few pictures of a really happy kid riding his new trike. We both rode in the Human Power Challenge this weekend. It's a great group, with a large contingent of homebuilders, and some of the fastest and most capable riders around here. He took home a medal, and I got some positive comments on both of the bikes. Good times.
Jack

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