Reverse Trike from 20” bike?

wheelbender6

wheelbender6

Well-Known Member
I was looking at low end reverse trikes as a chassis for my velomobile. I will likely use an electric hub motor in the rear for assistance. This Terratrike Rover costs about $700 plus shipping. It is single speed and only internal shifter hubs are an option on it. The price jumps to $1200 (gag) with an internal 8 speed Nexus hub. The backbone of this Terratrike is a straight beam. How simple. Got me thinking DIY.
roverPanel2Lg.jpg

I ran across a site where this guy combines wooden beams with salvaged bicycle parts to build two wheeled recumbents. Bearing retainers like the headset and bottom bracket are tightly secured by precisely drilling into the wood backbone and squeezing them in. I can drill holes, so that looked like a good plan for my recumbent trike. Maybe I can build an inexpensive rev trike that doesn't look hideous.
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4bike.jpg

Adding actual reverse trike hubs, axles and spindles would be too expensive for me. Even converting bicycle wheels to rev trike front wheels can add up. I considered using big heavy door hinges for front steering but it would be stiff and prone to rattles and squeaks. I ran across this site that provides parts for building a qudracycle with PVC pipe. The americanspeedster steering components look like they could be adopted to my rev trike project and they require only bicycle hubs and axles. The disadvantage is that this steering hardware accepts only 16 inch wheels, limiting my tire choices. Anybody got any steering ideas that do not require welding or machine work?
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I am still deciding if I want to use a wooden back bone, PVC backbone or combine the two in my trike. I also haven't decided if I want a short wheelbase, like a typical velomobile or long wheelbase for something similar to a Morgan trike.
 
I like that big pencil :D

Did you check out the 1947 French plans for a wooden velomobile/velocar I'd posted a little while ago? Even if you can't read French the diagrams are fairly clear and might just help with giving you some ideas on how to build your own reverse trike.

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Yes. I remember responding to that post.
http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=52760
That would make a great chassis and I could use the more desireable 20" wheels. I would just rig it for under-seat steering to prevent interference with the body shell.
I am still a little confused on how to make the axle in figure 5. The wheel end of the axle must be threaded for bearing retainers while the steering link end needs to be flattened for the connection.
If the local hardware store stocks 10mm threaded rod, that thread pitch will likely not match my bearing retainer threads so I will need to re-tap them.
 
Yes that part in Fig 5 is the one more tricky part in the whole design. By the way don't use hardware store threaded rod for an axle it's too 'soft' and will bend.

The steering arm needs to be made as a separate piece from something like a nice piece of thick wall steel tubing. By doing this a standard bicycle axle can be used if the end of the steering arm is tapped with a thread to accept the axle. In fact the whole stub axle and pivot assembly could be fabricated using pieces of steel tube and good sized bolt. A certain amount of cutting drilling, filing and tapping of threads would be needed, but nothing beyond the basic use of handtools and a decent vice.
This is where a childhood spent playing with Meccano starts to pay off ;)
 
I can't remember where I saw these plans first so if the person who originally posted them is on the forum I apologize for not giving you credit.

The cars that are on here are tadpole trike set ups. The different steering is what attracted me and "wheelbender6" wanting to make one without welding made me think of this site. The steering using angle iron and springs is called "sliding pillar steering" for the simple reason that the spindle slides on the long kingpin or pillar. BMX wheels with 20mm axles will fit the 3/4" axles if you use a beer can to shim it to fit. Usually one wrap around the axle is enough?

This style of steering was often used on cycle cars from the teens and twenties in Britain and Europe. Spindles can be purchased from go kart suppliers with 3/4" x 3/4" sizing. That is the spindle and the part that slides on the king pin are both 3/4" in diameter. Anything smaller is likely to bend. Siverbears Hiawatha and the Indian tri car I'm building have the same set up but shorter.

The springs we used can be purchased from internet sellers and can also be purchased from Lowe's and Home Depot.They are springs for porch swings. When you get them they will have two U shaped pieces that go inside the spring and hook over the end of the spring top and bottom so you are able to hook the swing up to it.

Hope this helps.

Steve.

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...6fxM_ptDrPvkHEQ&bvm=bv.59026428,d.cGU&cad=rja
 
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Hope you are feeling better, SilverBear.
FastEddy - I used springs like the ones in your image shack link to repair a suspension fork. It was an older Marzocchi air fork and I couldn't get the air chamber sealed up. I added those springs to the outside of the fork so it looks like an early Triumph springer fork.
Here is another simple reverse trike steering idea from atomiczombie.com. Its long wheelbase and I should be able to build this with a 4x4 redwood post for the backbone and front crossmember. I would definitely add front brakes.
http://www.atomiczombie.com/TriCruiser Winter Ready Tadpole Trike.aspx
TriCruiser%20Winter%20Ready%20Tadpole%20Trike%203.jpg
 
Wheelbender,

That would work for sure. I had a friend who made a go kart out of 2x4's and used barn hinges like you mentioned for the steering. They worked out pretty well and he used bolts for axles.

This was in 1959, we were both 15 and he lived about 7 miles from us. One Saturday I heard a lawn mower coming down our street and looked out our front window just in time to see him drive into the driveway with the go kart and when I went out the back door he was peeking around the corner of the house. Just as I was about to ask what was happening I heard the cop car going by and looked back to see the two cops in it looking up every driveway as they drove by.

He drove it home as well. The motor came off his Dad's Toro reel type lawnmower. This wasn't the last time he and I did the driveway dive either and not always our own.

Steve.
 
fasteddy said:
I can't remember where I saw these plans first so if the person who originally posted them is on the forum I apologize for not giving you credit.

The cars that are on here are tadpole trike set ups. The different steering is what attracted me and "wheelbender6" wanting to make one without welding made me think of this site. The steering using angle iron and springs is called "sliding pillar steering" for the simple reason that the spindle slides on the long kingpin or pillar. BMX wheels with 20mm axles will fit the 3/4" axles if you use a beer can to shim it to fit. Usually one wrap around the axle is enough?

This style of steering was often used on cycle cars from the teens and twenties in Britain and Europe. Spindles can be purchased from go kart suppliers with 3/4" x 3/4" sizing. That is the spindle and the part that slides on the king pin are both 3/4" in diameter. Anything smaller is likely to bend. Siverbears Hiawatha and the Indian tri car I'm building have the same set up but shorter.

The springs we used can be purchased from internet sellers and can also be purchased from Lowe's and Home Depot.They are springs for porch swings. When you get them they will have two U shaped pieces that go inside the spring and hook over the end of the spring top and bottom so you are able to hook the swing up to it.

Hope this helps.

Steve.

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...6fxM_ptDrPvkHEQ&bvm=bv.59026428,d.cGU&cad=rja
Click to expand...

That was me! No great surprise there :D

Chassis1.jpg


It's a good design and I almost mentioned it, only I thought wheelbender was looking for something more like a recumbent trike.
 
Hi I.W.

I was pretty sure it was you but I looked all over the posts to see if it was and couldn't find it again. I learned to bookmark things when I see them.

I thought the front axle might work for a no weld trike if it was scaled to fit. Now that I look at it, it would be a great build for a skiff backed cycle car. May be with a Predator 212 cc. I can picture it slicing through the back woods roads of Northern Minnesota. :)

Steve.
 
"It's a good design and I almost mentioned it, only I thought wheelbender was looking for something more like a recumbent trike."
Well, this is a LongWBase recumbent. Have you got a link to your post on this one?
Chassis1.jpg
 
I thought about building my own tadpole recumbent trike, but lack the welding skill.
Instead of trying to buy a cheap new one, I am trying to buy a cheaper used one!
I think I may be able to buy one for less than I could build one for if I keep looking and take my time.
Patience is a virtue.
 
placid - i have been looking for a used reverse trike in the Houston area. Most used trikes sell north of $1000 bucks. The new Terratrike sells for $700 plus shipping for a single speed.
-I can't weld either so I began to explore the Deacon option; building what I want from commonly available parts and stock.
-After visiting woodenbikes.com, I decided I could build a reverse trike using a couple of donor 20 inch bicycles and redwood posts without welding. I think I can build it for $250.
-Appearance of my trike is not very important, because I plan to cover it with velomobile shell.
-If I see a used reverse trike at a good price, I will probably go that route.
 
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