| I started making trikes many years ago. I virtually gave up at one point while making my first trike until I decided that it was better to do it 'wrong' than not at all. So eventually I finished it and while it was shocking it did run and paved the way for a much better machine. All three trikes are in this one section as they won't have any updates and I don't have as much interesting pictures and information as the other worklogs. |
|
Although
I knew this trike was going to be simple and rough when I built it, it
was really rough. Crude couldn't sum it up. It weighed a huge 26kg, had
a massive turning circle, was uncomfortable, almost no brakes
and was pretty fragile in the axles. But after all that it was
still pretty fun to ride and I was hooked. A short time after I trashed
this one I started making a new model.
  |
|
This
trike used nothing of the first model and was a considerable
improvement, it had brakes (strange experience at first), only weighed
17kg, compact and a super tight turning circle. Initially designed for
on road use I found out quickly it was much more fun to ride off-road
and was unusually well suited to it. It worked particually well in
muddy, sandy or water covered areas. This was made even more surprising
considering the fact that this trike was made purely for road use.
This trike served me for a long time and was ridden till destruction, I have fond memories of riding this and while it was still quite rough and crude it was a massive learning curve which lead up to my next trike. |
|
My
third trike was made in a very different fasion than the previous two.
I had a set aim on what I wanted and what it was made to suit. On my
second trike the front boom was replaced just before the rest was
scrapped. This, the steering rods, king-pins and the crossmember for
the front wheels was kept for this new trike. This was to be a
dedicated off road machine and one of the biggets problems previously
was a lack of traction. So I used huge 20 x 2.5" trials tyre and rim
and also made the rear wheel as much under the rear seat as possible.
Unlike my previous attempts I planned very carefully and apart from a
brake upgrade I didn't have to make a single large change anywhere.
The total weight ended up being a very slim 15kg, which is was very happy with considering that the rear wheel combination was over 1.5kg alone. It had 24 gears, ended up with a single rear disk brake. It did and still does work very well.    |
