Cargo
Trike/ Bakfiets
The following information is a sort of journal on the construction of
the cargo
trike. Thus, the most recent developments will be on top
with the earliest developments listed at the bottom. Once the trike is
completed,
there will be a new page in a more direct "how to" form.
GoFeral Home
April 17
The trike is almost finished. I built the box, painted and stained the whole thing, and assembed it. Currently, I'd like to add support chains to the gate, and I need to reattach a lock. I'd also like to plane some of the sides so as to make the whole thing look better.
April 10
On Satuday I managed to get a little more work done on the trike. To start with, I decided to reattach the front end, mainly to get a look at what the thing would look like. Thankfully, I noticed that the pivot shaft was a little off, and that clearance between the back end of the platform was resting on the boom. I was able to saw the welds enough to free the shaft. The welds didn't quite break free, but I realized that I could manipulate the shaft angle and so I reassembled the trike, checked lean angles, and rewelded the shaft a bit. After removing the front of the trike again, I finished the weld. I also straightened the rear triangle that was leaning right a little bit. The problem is that the top pillow block and pillow block mounting plate is interfering with the platform steering. I'll have to grind that all down a bit. Probalby touch up the paint there.
So now, there remain a few things to do.
Wednesday: Pick up ply wood, more primer, and truck bed liner with
Clacky and transport it to Karens. Work on cutting the wood to size and
build the box. Will need to head to Ace so as to pick up nuts and
bolts. Spray truck bed liner on boom assembly areas that need it.
Thursday: Finish box if need be. I'll also need to work on grinding down any sharp edges on the front end, and grind down the pillow bock and mounting plate as needed. Weld box mounting brackets to platform frame and attach box. to frame. If so I'll remove all parts from the platform, strip it and paint it. While I wait for coats to dry, I'll be sanding down the box to prep it for staining. Maybe I'll even be able to stain it. However, Amanda is coming over to overhaul Clacky, so that will cut into my time.
Friday: I'll need to get a new axel for the good BMX wheel that I bent during the trike crash. Its got a lot more spokes than the wheel that replaced it, so I'll see what I can do. I'll also get a new set of pedals after destroying the old ones. If all goes well over the three day period, the box should be stained, the platform should be painted, and it all should be ready or nearly ready for assembly. I'll then have to reattach the platform to the boom, attach the drive system and gears, and maybe it will be able to move to RamRide. If not, which is quite possible owing to the fact that this trike has been delayed about 6 months longer than originally intended, I'll have to deal with things later. This weekend I'm busy with other things.
A look at what I have so far:
April 8
Over the last couple of days, much work has been done on the trike. First, I found that I had run over some thorns with the tires. Bummer. After fixing that, I rode the rusted thing to Karen's house, with a stop over at the Co-op. I picked up Angela and gave her a ride home as she had no bike. I dragged it through the gate, and work started. First, I had to seperate the front end from the boom assembly. I ground off the weld bead holding the thing together, and then started stomping on the boom to get the peices to seperate. After stomping a bit, I grabbed a hammer and started hammering. Finally, the parts came loose. Then I had to saw off the front end pivot shaft assembly (I should come up with an exploded view labeling each part and assembly) Once that was done, I could get to the welds holding the pivot shaft on the assembly. The flat stock was then rewelded to the bike, and then the new pivot shaft was welded to the front end. That done, it was time to start painting. I first removed everything from the rear boom assembly. Then I grabbed the grinder with a wire brush attachment and went to work removing old paint and rust. I put down a few coats of flat black primer and left. The next morning, I realized that I hadn't removed all of the old paint from the rear triangle. There was an ugly wrinkle. I decided to stip that area again, and repaint it. I then realized that I hadn't properly stipped all of the old yellow paint, and so I spent a couple of hours doing the job right this time. I hope at least. Towards the end of the day, I put on the first two coats of gloss enamel. The photo is from the first coat of primer.
March 24
Well, I found that my trike has 2 flat tires (both front) and this is a bit weird. There was a lot of snow on the ground and cold so I didn't get a good look, but there you have it, the trike is grounded until I can figure out why they are flat and go about fixing the problem.
March 12
I did some more brake testing and Not a whole lot has changed. The trike seems to be holding up well, I have thought of one more mod to perform. My idea is to lengthen the pivot shaft. Then I'll run a brace from the front of the deck to the bottom of the pivot shaft. This should eliminate front/back flex. Its not a hugely noticable thing, but I think I can make it just that much stiffer. I was thinking about lightening it a bit, but the fact is, it doesn't feel all that heaving on flat ground. Even when you load it up with people or or anything else, it still feels solid, but not heavy. I wheeled it around Home Depot, but didn't ride it inside. I got lots of comments but wasn't kicked out. My box will be 2 feet tall and will probably be constructed in April. Painting will follow.
March 2
Well, I finally got the last parts for the
shifter in and then I rigged it all up and got the trike shifting. I
changed
the chain from the front ring to the middle ring. See below for gearing
info.
I'm not planning to redo the trike currently, though if there is a
reason to
fix the front end, I'll certainly jump at it. But for now, I have lots
of hours
invested in the trike and money spent, so I'd like to see it finished.
I did some more brake testing and found
that it can skid
about 90 degrees in a turn. You have to really lock the rear wheel and
keep it
locked the whole time. For one thing, the rapid turn feels all funny so
you
kinda quit skidding about 90 degrees. The other thing is that after
that, the
trike tends to be stopped. In a turn if the inside wheel comes up,
slamming on
the brakes really seems to help. However, I'm not sure if thats the
best thing.
More testing is needed.
I rode the bike to the Home Depot, but
chicked out and did
not ride it inside. I did walk it inside. They didn't seem to have any
problems.
I currently have another project that
will tie up Karen's
garage for at least 7 days. Then Spring Break rolls around so I won't
do
anything then. Maybe the following week. I'll have to dress up some
welds, and
I plan to shave all the teeth off the big ring I think. This will turn
it into
a sort of chain guard. I plan to make the box about 2 feet high. Thats
probably
adequate to keep most things in and will keep cost and weight down.
Cost will
probably run me 35-40 bucks. After that, I'll set to work cleaning out
Karen's
garage. Finally, if it all goes well, I'll take it apart, scour the
rust off of
it, dress up any other welds. I think the shifter mount weld is really
bad.
Then if all is ready, I'll paint it. Then I'll try to either have
someone else
store it or just get rid of it and maybe start on a lighter unit.
Febrary
16
Went
for a ride to
classes today. All I can say is this. The bike is great in the snow,
but it
really shows how heavy it is. I'm almost considering rebuilding part of
it to
lighten and increase the stiffness of the bike.
Bike in
the snow.
You really can ride a
bike in snow that deep.
February
15
THE REPAIR
On Tuesday, I ran out of time to fix the trike.
So it had to wait until Wednesday. By then it had snowed, and was
really cold.
But the ice on the roads made a regular bike a challenge to ride, and
thus I
decided to try to fix the trike. First, I had to go to my friend's
house and
get his rig. They say a man with a truck has many friends, but I say a
guy with
a bike and righteous trailer has friends, too. I'm one of those
friends. I loaded
up the wrecked trike onto his trailer, and then started out.
It took me a little bit to get the rig
over to Karen's as
the trike kept slipping. Once I got it to her place, I had to get the
parts
into the garage, which was no easy task either. I ripped off an old
braket used
to hold the floor in place getting it through the narrow gate to her
backyard.
A bonus to be sure, as I was going to do that anyway.
I turned the welder to its highest
setting, and it was
crackling nicely, until the breaker tripped. Darn, that explains why
did such a
poor weld last time. I turned it to setting 3 and continued to weld.
About ever
10 -20 seconds I had to get up in the dark and reset the breaker, but I
managed
to finish it. I might see about upping the breaker limit in the future,
but I'm
not sure right now. I removed the damaged wheel, and then changed over
the tube
and tire. After putting the new wheel on, I ratcheted the wheel on, and
began
to figure out how to return the trailer and the trike. I was too lazy
and cold
to want to take the trailer back, then return for the trike in a
seperate trip.
So I managed to set the trike on the trailer. It kept wanting to slip
off, so I
put a cooler under the front. This was adequate. Once I took the
trailer back
to Raf's I rode home.
I did a couple of skid stops, but the
trike is nearly
impossible to "spin out." Actually, you can't really skid rotate the
whole thing more than a few degrees, and thats if you work at it. For
one
thing, the pivot rather prevents a skidding rear from getting the front
to
rotate. The trike leaves a trail of three lines running down the road,
and if
you skid the rear, you get it to fishtail so there is a squiggly line
between
two straight lines.
Of course, you can steer the trike
pretty well even with the
rear wheel locked up in the snow. I found this out when I locked the
rear up
and then tried to turn into a driveway. It worked pretty nicely, except
I ran
over somone's newspaper, so there is a line running up over the paper.
I'm sure
the people thought somebody did it on purpose if they saw the lines
before more
snow fell.
Photo
1 and 2 shows how the trike was loaded on the
trailer. Sorry about it being blurry. 3 shows a close up of the boom.
Yep, its
a pretty bad weld.
February
13
The Accident
Today I took the trike to campus. I figured it
would be a good use for a fun vehicle. During my lunch break, I decided
to take
the trike to a store. I left campus, and then entered the bike trail,
which was
on a descending right hand turn into a tunnel. It was partially blind.
I
decided to take it quickly, so as to have some fun, er, test the trike
a bit.
However, two things occured that ruined my plan, and my trike.
The first was a woman coming out
of the tunnel. This eliminated half the bike trail, and would require a
sharper
turn than I had anticipated. The second problem was that the bike had
accelerated
rapidly, and was now going much faster than I had originally
anticipated.
To avoid the woman, and her dog, I
had to tighten the turn. The inside (right) wheel came and
the trike was
in danger of tipping. I brought the wheels straight to allow the right
wheel to
come back down. Then I started to turn right again, as I was pointing
directly
at the woman now. For some reason, I forgot about the new coaster
brake, and
don't think I activated it. It probably would have saved my trike, but
after the
wheel came up, I think I panicked.
The right wheel again came up, but
suddenly, I heard a loud
snap and felt the rear triangle start to lean left. I somehow managed
to avoid
the woman while this was happening, but the trike was heading for the
wall of
the tunnel, and I realized my sitatution was getting very bad. I
decided it was
time abandon ship.
And not a moment too soon it was, as the
trike slammed into
the wall with a deafening crash. The mangled rear triangle was now
leaning 80
degrees off vertical. I tugged at it and it came right off. I was happy
to see
that there was no damage to the wall, proably due to the overhanging
wooden
floor of the cargo space. The woman never seemed to realize
just how
close I was to loosing control and running her over. Well, I think I
had lost
most control, but retained just enough of it at a critical moment to
avoid her.
The left wheel was also damaged in the incident.
What did I learn? First, slow down with
this thing in blind
corners. Second, I need to practice with the rear brake a bit to gain
experience. Finally, crashing a trike into concrete wall is friggin'
hysterical. I wish it had been video taped. I also need to carry a
camera with
me from now on, especially when on a bike, so I can take pictures of
the wrecks
as they come to rest. I'll have to add a full complement of photos and
diagrams
to fully explain what happened to curious onlookers.
PHOTO 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Left to
right:
Entrance to bike path, and
pictures 1-3 show lack of view of tunnel until you are already in the
turn (4
&5) Photo 6 shows how the bike is "self towing."
Photo 7 is
a close up of the bent wheel.
February 12
Well, the wheel came on last Thursday, and I put the thorn resistant
tube, the
tire, and installed the 22T cog. Today, I decided to take advantage of
the
really nice weather and put the rear wheel on. I however ran into two
problems:
my chain tool was elsewhere, and so where my allen wrenches. The old
derailer
was in the way, and the chain was much too long. After grabbing my
regular
bike, I made a quick stop at the Harbor Frieght tools and got 25 allen
wrenches
in both metric and SAE for just $2.50. I'm sure I'll end up breaking
the
smaller ones, but then again, maybe I won't. Either way, the one I
needed was
of addequate strength to remove the old derailer, and the shifter. I
continued
on to get the needed chain tool. I might order the shifter as well from
Performance
Bike. However, thats only if they can guarantee it in on Tuesday.
I returned home, and shortened the
chain. However, due to
the limited adjustment range of the drop outs, I found that there
wasn't enough
space for the master link. Its now on the largest front ring, as I do
not have
the shifter, and thus, the bike is locked in low gear.
Gearing info.
NOTE: all numbers are approximate and rounded to the nearest whole
number.Speeds are calculated at 60 revolutions a minute, though I tend
to pedal
closer to 70 rpms.
Currently set up. 44T front ring, 22T
rear ring, Nexus 3
speed internal set in low gear (no shifter right now) Gear inches:
38
Speed: 7mph
Result: Overall, a great gear for right now. If you only had one speed,
then
this would be it I'd say. Its pretty slow, but I think you could still
handle a
load on a level surface, and even some moderate hills. However, since I
have an
internal hub, I'll not be using the 44T when I get the shifter in. If
you want
to use a coaster brake hub, but don't want to spend the money on an
internal
hub, go with a 32T front ring and a 22T rear cog. This is equivalent to
what I
have right now. Of course, you can always get a smaller rear cog to
speed it
up, at the expense of ease of pedaling. Still, once I get the hub
shifting,
I'll probably want to use the 32T ring, as it will give me 28-51 gear
inches,
and a relaxed speed of 5-9mph. Probalby closer to ten mph though for
me, and
thats not too bad I'd say. About the speed of your average college
student I think.
I might also find that a 20T rear sprocket works well, as that would
boost the
top end by at least 1 mph, and might probably won't affect the pulling
power
that much. The 22T front sprocket might be good if you have to go up a
huge
grade, but I think one might find that excessive for normal use, and
painfully
slow.
To finish my test ride, I went through
the drive through of
Wendy's. Mcdee's doesn't serve bikes, at least last time I was there,
and I was
surprised that Wendy's would serve me. I might try Mcdee's again to see
if they
will serve my trike.
WITH 44T FRONT SPROCKET
|
Low
Gear |
Mid
Gear |
High
Gear |
|
38
gear inches 7mph @ 60rpms |
52
gear inches 9mph @ 60rpms |
71
gear inches 13mph @ 60rpms |
WITH
32T FRONT SPROCKET
|
Low
Gear |
Mid
Gear |
High
Gear |
|
28
gear inches 5mph @ 60rpms |
39
gear inches 7mph @ 60rpms |
51
gear inches 9mph @ 60rpms |
WITH
22T FRONT SPROCKET
|
Low
Gear |
Mid
Gear |
High
Gear |
|
19
gear inches 3mph @ 60rpms |
26
gear inches 5mph @ 60rpms |
35
gear inches 6mph @ 60rpms |
February 7
Can I find glitches
or what? I called the guy about the wheel to
see if I came in or not, and guess what! The distributor sent the wrong
wheel.
Sent a coaster brake wheel, not the 3 speed with coaster brake. Seems I
can
root out incompetence wherever I go. The proper wheel (can it be sent?)
won't
likely get here until Thursday. Of course, the shifter probably won't
get here
until Wednesday, so its not that much of a delay. The
principle of the
situation is still annoying though.
February 6
Got the wheel ordered
and its on its way. The wheel cost me $96. I
then picked up a chain ($7) a 26 inch wheel ($19) and a thorn resistant
tube
($6). The shifter seems to be a part that nobody has, otherwise I would
have
gotten one of those locally. Its on order, and to top it off, the bike
shop
assumed I wanted the grip shifter, but I needed the trigger shifter. So
no
matter when it comes in, its a part that I can't use. On the other
hand, the
correct shifter should be ordered on Tuesday, and it might get here on
Wednesday. However, I'm worried that the part may not come in on
Wednesday. The
question is whether or not I can run the bike without the shifter for a
bit.
We'll have to see.
February
2
Just got word that my wheel is on
back order. Not a
whole lot I can do right now. Maybe next week the wheel will get here.
January
31
OK, so my
friend wanted to build a rickshaw and this will mean that
To recap now: The
front brakes are relatively poor, but hopefully with the wonderful rear
brake,
I can much more easily stop without putting massive amounts of work
into the
front brakes. The bike makes clicking sounds when I try to lean it. Not
sure
why, but I suspect the pivot shaft. its too short. My options are
either try
not to think about it, or get a longer shaft. The trike is over built.
The
front frame could probably be rebuilt to shave off over 20-30 lbs. It's
still
not finished, and will only get heavier. The go part of the bike should
be
fixed up nicely with the 3 speed, and the shifter should function
nicely. My
gearing set up will hopefully be such that 2 is general purpose light
to
moderate loads, 1 is hills with light loads, or flat with moderate to
heavy
loads, and 3 is down hill or flat with light loads or empty. Stay
tuned, we'll
see how it goes. The wheel should be hear Friday maybe, and it might be
workable on Saturday. Or Sunday.
January 24
There hasn't been a whole lot done,
but there have
been some new ideas, and new developments. First, I figured on just
adding a
second brake to each front brake. This might add twice the stopping
power. Secondly, the rear wheel was jacked. So its kinda
having some
problems. Thats all for now.
October 9
Lately I have been just testing it a bit. The shaft can flex,
but this is
mainly just an annoyance. I was planning on getting drum brakes, but
that will
cost me about $200, and I just discovered
I
got a flat tire on the
front, and rear, and I'm not sure if they are just bad patching jobs. I
can't
patch a tire to save my life. I got thorn resistant tubes, and
replaced
the right tube. I needed to buy one for the rear, and will
replace the
left tube at a later time.
September 26
I
added a bead to the shaft to prevent it from allowing the box and boom
to
separate. Road it around a good bit. Installed the front
derailler, but
did not install the handle bars. Perhaps that will take place on
Wednesday.
Photos will come later, as I'm having problems logging into bravenet.
September
25
Here
is what I wrote in a live journal entry about the overhaul. Total spent
was
something like $60 bucks, and it took me one Sunday, mainly because
Saturday
was the Tour de Fat.
Backfiets,
Overhaulin' the results
Well, I managed to carry out the planned modifications. To
start with, I
replaced the "boom" with a 2.5 inch pipe. It is massive and quite
heavy. However, in the grand scheme of things, adding 15 lbs to a 80
lbs bike
or somehing like that isn't very noticable. And when you factor in the
fact
that I plan to carry several hundred lbs, it isn't that much.The pivot
consists
of two pillow blocks bolted to a 1/2 inch thick (probably could have
gone with
1/4 inch thick) plate which is then welded to the boom. The box has a
shaft
welded to it that then slides into pivot assembly. Right off the bat,
the boom
dropped away from the box, as I hadn't properly affixed the shaft into
the
bearing asseblies. I plan to figure out a way to really get it to stay.
I might
even add a weld or two. I can always unbolt the bearing asseblies from
the
plate if I ever need to detach the box. It will be much more secure.
How does it ride? There is ZERO play due to the bearing assebly. I had
some
with the one piece bottom backet used before. The box also is connected
with
thicker metal. I can stand on the rear of the box (191 lbs) without the
box
flexing much. Perhaps an inch, but there is some 2 inches of clearance
between
the boom and the box. To find out why I did not try to stand on the
front of
the box, read below.
The major problem with the previous version of the trike was "boom
rotational flex" where the rear triangle could lean left or right. This
was a minor annoyance when going straight and pedalling. However, it
seemed to
be a major problem when turning. For one thing, the rider was slung to
the
outside of the turn, and the rear triangle leaned over too. This made
the bike
want to turn harder, though it wasn't very noticable. The big thing was
that
the handling felt weirder and unpredictable. The other thing was that
it made
the inside wheel lift up much more easily as more weight was to the
outside of
the turn. With the thicker boom in place, the trike is much more
stable. I
haven't done too many hard test turns due to time contraints and it
being dark,
but moderate S turns and even some fairly hard turns were done with
very little
tendencey to have the inside wheel lift up. Due to some worries about
the box
and boom seperating again, I wasn't too hard on the trike, figureing on
waiting
until I can make sure that there will be no chance of it comeing apart.
On a side note, if you put 191 lbs on the front of the box with no
rider, the
rear will lift up. The rear of the bike will swing to the side and will
slam
against the stop. So apparently, some care in loading is needed as if
you try
to put a really heavy object to the front of the cart, you might have
problems.
In this case, I was just sitting on the front at the beginning of the
overhaul
while actually working on a trailer.
So in summary, to anyone who wishes to build a backfietsen.
1) Make the pivot super strong, and make sure that there is no play in
the
pivot, a one piece BB is not recommended; a three peice might work
though.
2) Make the box to pivot connections stiff, so that there is no box
flex, or
very little.
3) Make the boom really stiff to prevent the rear triangle from leaning
over.
Photos and more information will be coming, pending a few days of
testing.
NEXT TASKS
Planned for Monday:
Install a new handle bar set up.
Install front derailler.
Later
Build a wooden box
Purchase a nine speed chain (current one is part 9 speed, and part 7/8
speed,
and thus, it doesn't work on the smaller cogs)
Add thorn Resistant tubes to all tires.
Redo brake cable set up.
Add oversized materials brackets (more info on this idea at a later
date.
Install trailer hitch (hey, you never know when a trailer might be
needed to be
pulled)
Finally, Paint frame, perhaps black
Stain wooden box, something nice looking.
And lastly
Enjoy the constant stream of positive comments that I have been getting
while
riding this thing. People seem to like it more than my tall bike.
September
20
This
is kinda by memory, but here goes. I road the trike down to the metal
supply
section of town. After a few miles, I had gathered materials needed to
make a
trailer. I was heading up to the building location. At some point, the
bottom
bracket making up the pivot went out. I noted a lot more play, and the
flex was
really bad. I grounded the trike pending repairs.
This is what I wrote about the occurence in a live journal post:
Flex was just awful with the Bakfietsen. The whole rear triangle would
roll
several degrees one way or the other. Finally today the bottom bracket
I was
using for the pivot went out. This was just 3 days after I started
using it.
But I did find something more suitable I think. It is called a pillow
block. A
picture of what they are can be found here
http://www.bostongear.com/products/bear
Basically, I wouldn't suggest that you use bottom brackets or steer
tubes for
your pivot. Build it last with trouble free operation and look into
other
solutions for pivots.
This is the plan. The cost will be about 50 bucks, which is more than I
have
spent on the thing so far. I expect it to take me one Saturday.
September
18
The crank nut is stripped, so I
welded it down to keep
it tight. If the pivot needs to be serviced, I will just saw it all off
and put
a new bottom bracket. I think a three peice would be a better
bracket to use. There is still a bit of
movement due to the
bottom bracket though.
After riding it a bit, I have this to say about it.
The pivot is really annoying me, and there is a ton of flext with the
rear. That
is my one complaint about mild steel. The seat and rear triangle thus
can lean
left and right. I would like to be able to cut this out, but right now
I am not
sure how best to do that. Perhaps weld more metal to the boom.
I tightedn the pivot down today, and the tool slipped. I skinned off a
bunch of
skin. That's gonna leave a mark.
In general, the handling is very good. In turns, the entire triangle
leans
over, curtesy of the boom. This is a bit odd to get used to.
The trike
wants to lift the inside wheel in sharp turns. The steering effort
seems to be
minimal, and the bike must be steered at all times. If the rear
triangle leans
over, the bike wants to turn. So you are fighting the steering a bit
most of
the time. However, the trike is so easy
to turn the front
end, this isn't a problem.
Braking is very good, with the dual side pull brakes. However, with the
before
mentioned handle placement, using both brakes at the same time can be a
challenge in turns. The inside brake shouldn't be used, as the inside
wheel
unloads during turns. Thus the outside brake should be used, but it is
hard to
reach. If you use the inside brake, the wheel can skid if it comes off
the
ground. Its not a big deal, but a sudden unexpected stop is like this.
One
brake is grabbed, causing the trike front end to swing towards the
active
brake. This turns the trike, unloading the wheel. It lifts or skids.
The
operator tries to stop the turn and the braked wheel comes back down.
The
sudden contact catches the opeator by surprise again and a turn is
initiated.
And so on until the speed drops. I need to put both brakes closer
together and
make them easier to use.
September
17
I
didn't do much up to this point as I ran out of cash. I got some more,
and
began to make some headway. To start with, I added some more
metal to the
pivot area. This helped cut out a lot of the flex in that area.
I added brakes. They are two side pull brakes off of the rear wheels of
bikes.
I welded some metal, I think it was 3/16 to bolt the brakes on. This
works
pretty well. I think the brakes need a bit of attention, but they are
very
effective for now. I had to buy the cable. It cost me a ton of money,
and I
will need to redo them. I'm going to have to go to some place to find
cheaper
brake cables.
The crooked wheel was sawed off and rewelded. It is straight now.
I added two of the four corners to the box. I was stumped as to what to
use for
the handlebars. I didn't really have a lot of money, and more to the
point, the
metal store was closed. I decided to saw apart the forks I made for a
chopper
and use that. I think it is 1.25 or 1.5 inch conduit. I welded the
brake
handles to that. Later riding would let me know I needed a cross
bar. I
plan on ripping the tube of, getting some .25 or thicker flat steel for
the
sides, and then using a wooden dowel. I can add brake handles to this,
stain it
later, and it will be very nice and pretty.
Finally, I worked on the deraillers. The front can not be installed
right now.
I need a shim. The rear is on, though it took me a couple of times to
adjust
it. Later I got a new derailler cable. I had one laying
around.
Future plans. I hope to get new handle bars as described, deal with the
front
derailer, get a new chain, and then work on building the box. Perhaps
in that
order, perhaps not. After I am satisfied enought so that I can expect
the cart
to last a few months or so without it falling apart, I will pull out
the
grinder and clean up the welds, and joints. The paint will be black,
and the
wood will be stained a nicecolor. Something dark I think.
Karen rides the trike. Note the widely spaced handle bars. This is not
really
comfortable. It will be taken care of at a later date.
The brake handles are just welded on. They are hard to reach. Again,
this wil
be fixed. The handle bars are the most likely thing to get fixed during
the
next round of additions.
If you work at it, you can ride it on 2 wheels, though I hear this
isn't good
for the wheels. Its crazy looking though.
During
sharp turns, the outside bar is hard to reach. Thus, you grab only the
inside
bar. However, the outside brake handle
(the left in this
case) is unreachable. The brake handles will be moved closer to the
center at a
later date, I also plan to make them operable with either the left or
right
hand, or independantly by positioning them close to one another. Using
one
lever to control both brakes is an option, but I think it is important
to be
able to control both brakes independtly.
A bit blurry, but it shows the
brakes and bars. The
duct tape is used to control the brake cables, and does not serve any
structural purpose. In the past I might have ductaped the thing
together, but I
welded everything for this car.
Stay tuned for a performance and handling report.
September
13
Today
not a whole lot was done. I chopped apart a piece of bed frame. I used
part of
this for the rear triangle support brace. The other pieces will be used
to
build the box. However, I will hold off welding those on
until I finsih
the bottom of the trike, as I don't want to have to worry about bending
or
ripping off something if I flip it over. I cut up a base for
the trike. I
also discovered that the plywood I used for the base had enough left
over to
form one side. I also cut off the right wheel, and rewelded it,
however, it was
still crooked. I added the front derailler, rear derailer, chain, and
front
ring set. The chain needs to be shortened a bit. I might have Raf do
that, as I
want it to be perfect.
On Friday or Saturday: I will purchase the rest of the metal needed, a
drill
bit, and possible the rest of the wood I need. I will reweld the wheel
on, put
the tire on, install brakes, add a rear control mount, and build the
box I
think. I will put the brake handles on the front handle bars, but I
will likely
end up with the gear shifters on the rear triangle somewhere. To put
them on
the box would need a huge cable run, and have a lot of loose cable
there.
Here's the plan for the next week
or so. Right now,
I'm pretty much out of money for the week. I needed to buy more mig
wire and
that stuff is expensive ($65 a roll). So far, I have probably used 3/4
a pound
on the project. Basically, every pound is $6.50 or so. I wil start
budgeting
for that now one.
None the less,here goes.
Monday, I will try to collect a 20 inch tube and tire for the bike, and
two
side pull brakes. I will also sort through my own stash for a seat post.
Tuesday, I hope to cut up the bed frame, weld part of it to strengthen
the rear
triangle joint, saw up the plywood for a base, and install things like
pedals ,
chain, and othe bike items. I will also try to turn a little girls bike
into a
fixed gear. Probably organize my toolsl.
On Thursday, I will probably make some extra cash. On Friday, I will
buy some
wood, steel, and perhaps do some welding. On Saturday, I will finish
the cart
if it is not done, and begin riding it. On monday, I might take it to
Rafael's
and work on some of the bearings.
September
10
Today
I made huge headway on the the trike. I discovered that my earlier plan
was
flawed. I thus started over. By and by, I came to change plans again.
The
result is temporarily acceptable, but it has too much flex so I will
have to
adjust a few items. It looks like I will need about $10 more to finish
the
frame. I have enough metal to build the framwork for the box. I also
have a
bottom for it. However, I do not have sides yet. I also have
to break a
drop out and move it, as one of the wheels is slightly off.
Major items that I still need are: Tire and tube for one of the front
wheels;
handle bar; brakes and brake mounts for front wheels; new crank for
something
like a BMX, or I might just use a mountain bike set and use the
smallest ring.
Maybe I will even add a front shifter. Rear shfiter and cable.
Somehwere to
mount said cable and shifter.
Of course, all of this must be set up. I will probably not do
much until
Tuesday. Monday I will pick up a few things from Raf, and tuesday I can
probably pick up the needed metal. Once the bike is ridable, I shall
take it to
Rafeal's and redo the pivot bearings I think. Or maybe not. Either way,
I wil
begin to put it through it's paces soon.
September 7
Today was not a free day so nothing was done
anyway. I did however
find a more suitable frame to use. I wanted to find a bike that would
take a 26
inch MTB tire, as I have one with 9 cogs on it. I found one and took
it. I also
got word that my welder will be here Friday. Until then, I will just
stop work
and wait for it to come. My current welder seems to be failing me. It
was a
cheap one anyway. I don't expect much to happen Thursday. I think I
will move
the newer MTB frame over to the building site, but that's about it.
September 6
Work started. Most of the day was
spent
gathering materials. To start with, I grabbed the road bike I
picked up
yesterday and then headed down the the metal store. There I
learned that
the price of the metal I wanted was 1.50 a foot. I got one 24 foot long
peice,
cut it at 119 inches, and also picked up some 1/4 inch flat plate.
Later I got
my recumbent figuring I could reuse as much metal as possible.
I cut and mitered the axel, and welded it onto a one peice hub, which
has the
pedals cut off. This will be the pivot. I purposely cut the axel peices
a bit
too long. Once I had welded it on, I measured and found that I was 1.5
inches
too long. I cut .75 inches off each side and it is now 36 inches. This
will be
the width of the cart. I cut a few other peices and then left for the
day.
Actual time spent working and not moving stuff around was probably 2
hours.
I've spent 40 something on materials, plus some more on cutting discs,
an
extension cord, a carpenter's angle, and a face mask. Last time I was
using my
grinder I got something in my eye; I'm trying to avoid that this time.
Cutting the tubing at the
supplier.
So far, only the axel has been completed.
September 5
Today I found a source for my 3 peice bottom
bracket I need. I also
found a bike to get a rear triangle from. I wanted a complete mountain
bike,
but instead I will be making due with some old road bike. It has 2
front rings
and I am guessing a 5 speed rear derailuer. I found a rear wheel with 5
speeds
on it. In the future, I think I will replace the front rings with
something
more suitable for a cargo bike. I checked the old recumbent
and found the
longest peice of usable metal to be 36 inches long. I don't think it
will be
terribly helpful, but I will find out soon enough. Tomorrow I will need
to fix
my trailer and then carry the metal from the supplier to the building
site. I
might be able to start work soon.
September 4
A building site has been located.
Logistics will be a challenge. To start with, the drill press is likley
to be
required in the building. This is located near
However, I couldn't have asked for a better place to build it. There is
a
garage to store the work in progress, and also to work out of the
elements.
Right now, I could start work in a few days, but that is iffy, as I
have much
reading to catch up on. I suppose tomorrow I will try to gather the
parts I
need from Rafael first. Then on Tuesday, I can gather the metal
perhaps. I
might start work, but that is still not for sure.
I also have an alternative design for the axel pivot. The original
design
called for many lengths of tubing to be used. Some 60 inches of tubing
to be
exact. The BB shell was to be attached to the boom, and the cank bolt
was to be
attached to the axel. The new design calls for the BB sheel to be
attached to
the axel, 1/4 inch steel plate to be used as reinforcement, and the
crank bolt
to be attached to the boom using more 1/4 inch steel plate.
Not sure how
much steel plate I will need, but It might be a good bit. Its also not
cheap.
On the other hand, it will be a simpler process, and perhaps stronger.
September
3rd
Right
now, I have just begun
preliminary design work. Here are two images of the prototypical design.
OVERVIEW
Towards
the end of the 05 spring semester, I damaged my first bike trailer, a
$25 Radio
Flyer. While it was a nice little unit, it had several problems. The
first was
it was incredibly noisy. Having solid rubber wheels, it really made a
racket.
The second was it had poor traction when lightly loaded or empty.
Taking a
sharp turn, it was not uncommon for the little wagon to skid to the
outside of
the turn. This probably was really hard on the wheels. Another problem
was it
was really small. However, it could fit through doors and stuff, and I
had even
been known to take it into stores, load it up, hook it to my bike, ride
home,
unhook it, and wheel it to my residence. Once I broke a front
wheel, I
gave it to a lady to use in a wedding, though she never talked to me
again, so
I don't now how it worked out.
My second trailer was built from plans I found on the internet. To make
up for
the small size of the Radio Flyer, I built a trailer that had a bed 6
feet
long, and 2 feet wide. With the tounge and wheel wells, it was over 8
feet long
and 3 feet wide. This obviously did not go anywhere indoors. For its
huge size,
I ran into numerous problems. To start with, I had never used a conduit
bender
before, and the wheel wells were too wide. An extra bar fixed this
problem. The
entire thing was to have numerous measuring errors as well. most of
these could
be taken care of. The worst problem was that I didn't take the time to
properly
miter each joint. Thus, the welds have been prone to failure. The site
said a
cart would take about 15 hours for the first one. I however took about
6 hours
on mine, which is less than the site claimed an experienced builder
would take.
The lack of time really shows.
However, it could handle over 165 lbs in motion, and I could stand in
it, so I
know for a fact that the trailer is capable of carrying 165-200 lbs,
and
perhaps more. It has carried 9 foot long bikes and many other things.
But with
it breaking nearly everytime I use it, repairs are getting to be a
major
hassel.
My next design might be a tricycle. My plan is to cargo carrying bike
that is
well built, more practicle and easy to use, and expandble. The Bakfiets
seems
to fit the bill. Or maybe not. They cost thousands of dollars to buy. I
hope to
build one for less. Mine will be build using square tubing, which will
be easy
to weld than the round tubing in my other trailer. This will in turn
lead to
better welds, and a longer life. Repairing welds
really sucks. It
will be much easier to use. For one thing, this will have wheel gaurds,
a
feature my trailer does not. I could add them to the trailer, but it
just isn't
well suited to have this done at the present time. A cargo box will
allow me to
throw in nearly any loose item, and not have to worry about securing
it. I can
see my load at all times, and thus, should something fall out, I can
see it
doing so, and pick it up. Finally, this bike should be able to carry
large
items, and as the frame is suitable to adding many differnt types of
"cargo management systems," I can in turn handle many types of cargo.
The expected negatives I will encounter with this bike are a few. For
one, it
will likely be heavy. It might also be hard to store this at times.
Unlike a
trailer, which I could unhook and leave at many places, this the cargo
management system of this trike is one that can not be detached, and
thus,
empty of full, the weight will be substantial.
