Indian Tadpole

[fasteddy]

Silverbear.
The hubs that came out were 2-9/16" to the outside of the spoke holes. The hubs going in are 2-11/16 to the outside of the spoke holes.

The guy that messed the wheels up eyes danced around like a tuna being chased by a shark when I asked him what length the spokes were. He probably had no idea and just picked out a number that sounded familiar.

I'll take a spoke out of the wheels that I still have in the trailer and tell you what the length is.

Here is the original wheel and they were laced up in the same pattern.

Steve

 

[silverbear]

So the tri-car hubs are an eighth of an inch bigger in diameter than the donor hubs. Need to know the length of the spokes he used, not what was on the wheels you bought.

If you don't have a use for the Shimano coaster brake hub I could use it to replace the one on my American Flyer which is a clone of the Shimano I half expect to fail at any time. Chinese.

I'm guessing the donor spokes are 10 5/8. I wonder if they could be used with one more cross in the lacing which would take up some of the length.
SB

 

[fasteddy]

They said that they could use the spokes that came with the wheel but at the moment I don't believe much they tell me. The spokes that they used were the same length when I laid the old spokes against the new ones but the new ones were in the wheel. They measured them in the bike shop and said they could use them so I'm working on that.

I used the front wheels so there are no brake hubs floating free.

Steve.

 

[silverbear]

They said that they could use the spokes that came with the wheel but at the moment I don't believe much they tell me. The spokes that they used were the same length when I laid the old spokes against the new ones but the new ones were in the wheel. They measured them in the bike shop and said they could use them so I'm working on that.

I used the front wheels so there are no brake hubs floating free.

Steve.

So the spokes that were on the wheel were of the same length and they chose to replace them with thinner ones of their own? Somethin ain't right.
SB

 

[fasteddy]

Silverbear,
Your the only one that knows me personally on the forum and I think that you would agree that for the most part I'm a pretty mellow old guy. I just have a problem with stupid. Not that I can't sit around a camp fire and tell you about the stupid thing I did and show you the scars but I went into it knowing that there was a good chance that I wasn't coming out of it as well as I went in.
I just couldn't resist the challenge. Sort of like building a tri car.

This guy says he is a bike mechanic and he saw the wheels as a challenge. His exact words. I figured I'm aced on the deal. There is no excuse for putting out shoddy work that will endanger someones life as well as the people around them. I never allowed myself to do work like that no matter what it cost me to turn out the very best and believe me I dug deep and surprised myself with what I could do when it was needed.

If anyone reading this has the chance to work with a rim drilled for 12 gauge spokes and has a 14 gauge nipple put it in the rim and see if you would be happy with it. The spoke pulled the nipple to one side and left the majority of one side of the nipple with out any support which would have pulled through the rim in short order I'm sure.

If he was my employee he would be gone. What could someone like this cost you as a business owner? We are in an area where the lots are selling for a $1,000,000+ and they have to tear down the house on the lot so they can put up their $1,000,000 + house. This is not Walmart living.

The bike shops bikes start at $750 and average $3 to $6,000 and they have this guy working on their bikes?

A true WTF are you thinking moment in my, admittedly, not so humble opinion.

Steve.

 

[RicksRides]

Steve, sorry bout the hassle with your wheels. the problem with stupid is 1)there is no cure 2) they tend to breed like rabbits. Thats why I believe stupid should hurt ( the dumber the action the more painful the reaction

 

[fasteddy]

Thanks Rick. I agree with you. As much as I hate to see someone hurting that would be a perfect solution to the problem. Smarten up and you don't hurt anymore and no one else will because of your stupidity.

I've always believed that God loves stupid people because he made so many of them.

Steve.

 

[fasteddy]

I welded supports onto the spindle holders today using 1/4" steel. Been looking at them and I could see that there was a chance that they could pull away from the end of the axle with out something to support them.

Rounded the corners of the spring perches and the ends of the tabs where the king pins go. As soon as we get another dry day I'll sand blast and prime it.
Next few days it will be getting the the gas and oil tank finished and the fender supports built.

Back in a couple of days.

Steve.

 

[silverbear]

Steve,
The spindle holder supports are a good idea. Better safe than sorry.

What is the status of things regarding the proper lacing of the wheels? Is the bike shop going to make things right?
SB

 

[fasteddy]

Silverbear,
I have yours cut out and ready to go. Just need to be shape up and welded in. Just a safety measure.

They said they were going to make it right. When I get them back I'll see if they used the original spokes or bought new ones. I'll let you know as soon as I hear from them.
They don't have much time to do it before I yank them out of there and take them to a motorcycle shop which is what I should have done in the first place.

Steve.

 

[Mr.B.]

Thanks Rick. I agree with you. As much as I hate to see someone hurting that would be a perfect solution to the problem. Smarten up and you don't hurt anymore and no one else will because of your stupidity.

I've always believed that God loves stupid people because he made so many of them.

Steve.

Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that. -George Carlin

 

["the prussian" Shop Dogs]

Steve its a real bummer to hear about your wheel troubles! The prob is nowdays the guys who work in bike shops are glorififed assemblers and not true mech ! I would have had those built and back to you with the right offset inside three days...

Were only a few days from the rally ,i was trying to reread the thread ,sounds like the timeing wont work for you guys to be there? Bummer number two...

 

[fasteddy]

Mr B,
That is a perfect quote.

I worked for a chap who's favorite saying was that they are not the sharpest cotton ball in the bag.

Another one was that they had taken stupid in a completely new direction.

Steve.

 

[fasteddy]

Thank P.S.D.

We were looking forward to seeing every one at the meet but as usual things don't always work out. There is next year however and I won't be racing to finish a build {I hope }

We will stop in to see you though either going east or coming back. I have often wondered if you and Mr.B and Silverbear and I lived with in close visiting distance what we would be putting on the road. We would need a warehouse to keep them in.

I am finding that the pride of a job well done is seldom found in today's work places. If you do take pride in your work then suddenly your doing someone job as well as your own because you do it properly but never with the pay and recognition.

Steve.

 

[fasteddy]

Got a little bit more done. Welded up the fender supports. For the rear supports I just took a couple of carriage bolts that I found in the mixed bolts drawer and drilled a hole through the square shoulder and put the 3/16" rod through the hole and welded it in place.

The front fender support is just a rod coming up from the outside of the hub to the fender. To form the eyes on the end of the support so it fits on the axle I took the end of the bolt that was cut off the bolt used for the axle and drilled a hole in it so the rod fit in.
Heated the rod and put the end in the hole and bent the rod around the bolt clamping it tight with a vise grip. Bent the rest of it where they met, up to use as the support.
Used a bolt cutter to cut the tab that went in the hole to secure the rod and finished rounding it, then welded it closed

The inside support is a flat bar coming up from the top of the king pin to the fender.
The rods are threaded on top and bolted through a couple of ears sticking out from the fender. I'll make those parts tonight. Much like the tops of a normal fender brace with most the legs cut off and the tops bent out.

I decided to weld some brake cable guides on the tricar part of the build. I had the basket and fender brace left over from the trike so I cut it up and used the tubing for the guides.

Steve.

 

[silverbear]

Very nice, Steve. As my brother says to me, "You know, you're a lot smarter than you look!" Ha, so the same goes for you, too. Clever stuff and good thinking on the guides for the cables. There are so many things to think about and so many things to do.

In a little over a month you'll be heading out from B.C. for motor bicycle camp here in Minnesota. Too cold for swimming yet anyway. Ice just went out on the lake on the 17th of May and at the surface it is now hovering around 50 degrees. By the time you get here it will be just pleasantly cold.

Think you'll have the tri-car painted up and running by then? It's going to stop traffic, Steve.
SB

 

[fasteddy]

Silverbear,
I learned long ago that the smart guys always got all the work.

I'll bet that the lake is chilly. Isn't overly warm in August as far as I'm concerned.

Bent the aluminum for the fender mounts tonight and I'll finish them tomorrow and mount them on the fenders.
Had to straighten out the front fenders where they pinched them in to fit in the forks. Not 100% but real close.

Next week I'll track down a 7/16 fine thread die and get the steering done and Monday I'm going up to get the wheels and if they aren't done there has to be a motorcycle shop that isn't afraid of them.

Things are moving ahead.

Steve.

 

[curtisfox]

AWESOME! You are doing a fabuless job on that build. To bad i didn't know i could have fit one in the box i sent you. Might be cheeper to by a small set rather then drive all over the place looking for one. ........Curt

 

[fasteddy]

Hi Curt,
Good timing because that is what my brother and I were talking about yesterday. We need a good set of taps and dies, not that we use them that often but when you need one there is no substitute for them.

Our local store that is our version of Harbour Freight has a decent set for $75. At that price there is a chance the teeth be left behind on what your trying to thread like the last set we had.

Steve.

 

[curtisfox]

I have a set from Sears that i have had for about 45 years or so,and if it wern't for my sons breaking a couple they would all be the oridgional set.

For what its worth i have a couple that are twisted in the shape of a drill bit. They seem to cut and turn easyer,less binding.............Curt