I live with a disability and I'm a woman of slender means. After much thought I can see that a recumbent trike would be a useful transport option for me, BUT there is simply no way in my wildest dreams I could afford to purchase a commercially made trike. Building things doesn't scare me at all and I have a quantity of salvaged bicycle parts - so I thought I would build my own trike to suit my particular circumstances.
During Summer my traditional upright adult tricycle works very well for local riding about town, shopping trips and the like, but once it starts to rain it's a miserable place to be. I am a religious woman and I dress modestly, - which translates as wearing ankle length skirts and garments with long sleeves in particular and I don't believe in the wasteful use of a motorcar for personal transport either. Now if I could build myself a recumbent trike and fit it with a bodyshell to give me a measure of weather protection I would be very happy indeed.
At present I am considering a Delta trike with fwd and front wheel steering to keep the drive layout simple as well as keeping all the chains and sprockets & etc at the front where they won't be in the way of my clothing or trip me up either while I'm getting myself in or out of the vehicle. I own several Raleigh 20 frames and I was thinking of using these as the basis of my experiment. 20 inch wheels seem like a good idea to me, the tyres are easy to obtain and they don't cost a great deal either.
In terms of a bodyshell I would like to use doped fabric over a lightweight frame just like they used to do with vintage aircraft. I don't really want to use anything hi-tech and made from mysterious chemicals,- and besides it would be rather nice to sew my own bodyshell. Apart from keeping the weather off the other advantage is that a bodyshell would help greatly with keeping my modesty intact while pedalling. Up until now this has been a major reason why I wouldn't consider owning a recumbent.
I think a really good place for me to start with bodyshell design would be to investigate the fuselage plans for vintage sailplanes. This a detail from the Weihe sailplane drawings........
Coming from a model airplane hobbyist background, I've pondered similar structures. 1/2" spruce stringers over thin ply bulkheads, maybe covered with a dacron shell, and a cheese gratered polystyrene nose...
I say go for it. Just remember that a faired cycle will be a compromise between weight, size, and accessibility.
StephenH
03-22-08, 10:36 PM
On occasion you might have a minor spill on a bicycle that you just get up and hop back on and no great harm done. Consider in your construction that it would be helpful if you didn't have anything like wood that was not easily repairable after minor damage.
Certain aspects of tent technology might be helpful in the construction.
radioflier
03-23-08, 06:10 AM
I too have a model airplane background and here's a cost effective idea you may ponder. If you go for the "doped (painted) fabric over stringers" idea there are a couple of materials you can use for the covering. A common modern material is called ceconite is currently used on full-sized aircraft and is a heat-shrink polyester fabric that you glue to the framework and then shink it with a ordinay clothes iron, then you apply the dope. I've read of some modelers using polyester dress lining material as a substitute (very much cheaper) and it comes in different weights and colors. Dope it on, heat shrink it, and finish with clear dope. Would look very nice!
BlazingPedals
03-23-08, 10:14 AM
Coroplast! That's corrugated plastic. It's tough, relatively stiff, and easy to work with. Cuts with scissors or a box cutter. I'm sure it goes by a different name in NZ, usually a variation of coro, flute, plast, plasti, ??? A 4x8 sheet of 4mm thick weighs 4 pounds. Build aluminum or PVC framing and zip-tie the coroplast to it.
Two things going against Coroplast: 1. sometimes hard to find and 2. it shrinks and expands quite a bit with heat/cold.
More fragile than coroplast, but you can get pink styrofoam in foldable sheets and glue/tape it onto PVC or aluminum framing.
lowracer1
03-23-08, 11:02 AM
The trike on the left is cloroplast with aluminium tubing structure while mine on the right is made with cpvc tubing (plastic) and covered with pink siding underlayment. very inexpensive.
Thanks for all your ideas and input everyone :) I would really like to go with the 'model aircraft' approach though; - I know some amazing things have been done with foam and Coroplast, but I do want to stay with 'green' type materials like wood and fabric for my own velocar.
When I was small my Dad built an eighth scale WW1 Focker monoplane on the kitchen table and I can remember very well watching him work to create this amazing aeroplane largely from wood and to a very high standard too. Unfortunately this model no longer exists, - I really don't know what happened to it which is a real shame because I'd love to have it to remember my Dad by :(
countersTrike
03-23-08, 06:44 PM
Certain aspects of tent technology might be helpful in the construction.
ala - Velokit! I finally pieced up the sides of mine. Probably work fine on a delta or tadpole. The whole time I was assembling the kit, it was like putting together a puzzle.
I generally ride an upgraded trike with full closure made with aircraft parts, but that Velokit was a used purchase on a whim, but it seems to be a very useful fairly inexpensive rolling tent to me!
Seems pretty easy to plan out too. Seen are both sides; ready to bolt on.
countersTrike
Sianelle
03-23-08, 07:28 PM
Ah! - now that is something I like :D A Velokit-like bodyshell would be excellent due to its light weight and I'd get the weather protection I need. Thanks countersTrike :D
I remember a friend telling me about these over a year ago now and I'd completely forgotten about them. It wouldn't be difficult at all to make a large paper pattern and lay it all up. Changes and modifications wouldn't be hard to do either. Patchwork velocar anyone? ;)
gnome
03-24-08, 12:59 PM
Coroplast is very easy to find here. It is what all the ruddy real estate signs are made from.:D
BlazingPedals
03-24-08, 01:14 PM
Coroplast is very easy to find here. It is what all the ruddy real estate signs are made from.:D
Yes, but sign shops are usually reluctant to sell you any (you might make a sign with it,) they rarely have anything except white 4mm, they will rarely have anything in stock that's bigger than 1/4 sheet, and the price on that 1/4 sheet will be 4x the wholesale of an entire 4x8' sheet.
Unless you are planning on collecting real estate signs in the middle of the night...
Another lightweight material I've seen used, also from model airplane circles: Monocote.
Sianelle
03-24-08, 07:30 PM
Coroplast is very easy to find here. It is what all the ruddy real estate signs are made from.:D
Unfortunately real estate signs tend to be too small to be of any use :(
Election billboards are a much better source of large sheets of Coroplast, - or so I've been told :o
Tom Stormcrowe
03-24-08, 07:47 PM
Sianelle, if you want to make a light, strong fairing body, you could use Polyester resin or Wells system epoxy and silk for the fiber matting.
StephenH
03-24-08, 08:30 PM
I'm pretty sure they had the coroplast-type stuff at Lowes (large lumber/hardware chain here in the US)- I think it was in the sign department, and I didn't notice the prices. Sign-sized pieces, too, not plywood sized.
Sianelle
03-25-08, 02:44 PM
I found this interesting design for a trike on the Atomic Zombie website......
It struck me as being a relatively easy way to build a recumbent trike so I could have a tryout as to how well the breed might serve me. The original builder used 27inch wheeled 10 speed frames as a basis for his build, - I would be making use of 20inch wheeled frames which are very easy to find at the local council recycling depot.
Btw, good suggestion Tom :) I want to stick to (pun not intended) using fabric for the outer covering because I particulary like the look of early aircraft/airships and fabric is easy to come by and repair.
Sianelle
03-25-08, 07:51 PM
A spot of luck, - I found the drawings for the Colditz Glider and its fuselage construction is spot-on for what I want......
I'm not saying I intend to follow the plan precisely to make my bodyshell, - more use it as a guideline to craft my own bodyshell.
Leisesturm
03-31-08, 03:32 PM
There is a German bike designer Wolfgan Bion that covered a delta trike with lawn bagging and plasticized tablecloth. It isn't so much the materials used as the design of the supporting structure why I recommend you look at his site. For a project that you (presumably) want to finish in your relative youth the glider fuselage is possibly a bit ambitious if not outright overkill.
H
Sianelle
03-31-08, 05:27 PM
Excellent! :D I found Wolfgan Bion website and I must thankyou for kindly pointing me in that direction Leisesturm. His methods certainly are interesting and I must say that the idea of using a tablecloth as a body skin is something that I find strangely appealing :)
http://www.ginko.de/user/wbion/index_e.htm
BCRider
04-15-08, 05:48 PM
Hi, another model airplane nut here as is obvious from my avatar.
For lightness and strength I'd suggest using carbon fiber tubing however you've already asked about wood and have a preference for it. Nothing wrong with that since as a woodworker as well I understand the joy of working with such material.
However, there's no doubt that all wood is not created equal even if it happens to have the same name. Aircraft grade spruce has very little in common with common house construction spruce. The thing that differentiates the two is the lack of knots in the aircraft grade and the far higher rings per inch count of the aircraft grade. This ring count issue indicates old slow growth wood that will be a lot more bendable before it fails and is stiffer as well. Finding such wood isn't easy if you're on a budget as the aircraft spec stuff is pricey and would most like need to be shipped to you.
Some other hardware store options are hemlock and fir if you can find nice straight grained clear stock. I've had some very good luck finding really nice hemlock as 1/2 inch thick drawer sides stock in the lumberyards. You're looking for material that has around 16 or more ring lines to the inch. If you saw this down into 1/4 or 5/16 strips it'll make for some nice stringer stock. For frames 1/8 mahogany door skin plywood is one option. Or you could mold your frames from steam bent laminations of the same hemlock.
A fairing that has enough stringers to achieve a rounded or oval section is going to produce the least drag. Additionally the top view should try to look as much like an airfoil as is practical.
Of course all this requires some significant amounts of tools to do the work. You've got a shop available I trust? Night school evening shop courses are often a great way to gain access to tools that would otherwise be out of the question. And once the heavy duty milling work is done the rest is doable with hand tools.
Sianelle
04-15-08, 06:36 PM
Thanks for the input BCRider :) Wood is a material I very much want to use, because as you say there is a certain delight in working with wood. At this stage I'm not entirely sure what grades and kinds of wood are available here in New Zealand and I guess I'll need to make some enquires fairly soon to see what I can get locally. Thanks for the advice about grain density and what to look for with regard to quality, - that is very useful information to have.
We've been having heavy rain for the past couple of days, so it looks like the long Summer is over and the wet season is here at last. This is my time for workshop projects since I can't do anything in my garden when it's pouring with rain.
gcottay
04-15-08, 08:58 PM
Best wishes on your trike and shell build.
A friend here in the US midwest holds dress, transportation and preservation values very similar to yours. She has decided that wearing slacks under her dress for winter riding suits her very well.
BCRider
04-15-08, 09:49 PM
Not sure if it's in plentiful supply from the Phillipines to the North or not but bamboo can also make for a highly resilient stringer. If you use that then you want to split it and keep the outer layer as intact as practical and possible. And it steam or heat bends very nicely.
Otherwise by all means find a local wood that is cheap but offers a good blend of stiffness but is resilient to bending rather than being brittle.
Good luck with the project however it runs.
countersTrike
04-15-08, 10:24 PM
We've been having heavy rain for the past couple of days, so it looks like the long Summer is over and the wet season is here at last. This is my time for workshop projects since I can't do anything in my garden when it's pouring with rain.
Velokit done- not too good in rain but holds up surprisingly well in wind today.
countersTrike
Sianelle
04-15-08, 11:39 PM
That's interesting about your Velokit and rain countersTrike. I had heard about folk considering them for use in the wet, but it looks like they're not such a good option afterall. Does it leak alarmingly, - what exactly was the problem?
Thanks for telling me about your friend gcottay; - there's quite a few of us women around who live by such values. :) In cold weather I'll wear slacks or leggings under my long skirts too which is sensible really and quite practical. The guiding principle is wearing a skirt which covers to the ankle as one's outer garment.
Yes I've been told about bamboo by a few other enthusiasts BCRider and I have been wondering about it. Bamboo is not at all hard to come by here in NZ which is a definite plus.
countersTrike
04-16-08, 07:34 PM
I had heard about folk considering them for use in the wet, but it looks like they're not such a good option afterall. Does it leak alarmingly, - what exactly was the problem?
By the time it is opened, sit down, pull it closed and get pegs tight, Bungie cords to hold it tight, velcro closed, and side windows zipped shut; depending on how much rain is falling- you could be soaked.
The bottom is open, and without a back fender- water would spray on the inside of the roof. It was terrific for me, but that was in the sun!
It is well designed canvas with tent-like rods which slide into pre-sewn sleeves- and are also supports. Those are the basics; so if you close it, dry off, and don't move I bet it would be a great spot to stay dry :D ; but if you move- bet's off!