Discussion
Inspired by the work of my mate Chris......
http://www.youtube.com/user/ChrisLuxembourg
...the guy is a genius, with great taste in music and a weird cat. I forgot to take my laptop to work one day; so armed with pen and paper came up with this. FFTS1 (Full Suspension Tilt Frame) I'm a fan of recumbents and as Petrol is going to be silly soon I thought a comfortable version would be great for the fifteen mile commute.
After a little refinement and using a photo' of my bike this...
...the wisbones up front would work and if rose jointed the caster angle could be adjustable.
Refined the design some more....
...and even more....
....and on Shrove Tuesday ordered some bits and bobs....
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
Dual cable brake lever with parking brake pin designed for trikes and recumbents and saves me messing about with BMX Giro cables.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
Front brakes.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
Front wheels.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
Front forks.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
Spine and boom material.
Due to the time limit I'm shelving the front suspension for now. All I have to do is Duct-tape the lot together by Easter to win another bet.
http://www.youtube.com/user/ChrisLuxembourg
...the guy is a genius, with great taste in music and a weird cat. I forgot to take my laptop to work one day; so armed with pen and paper came up with this. FFTS1 (Full Suspension Tilt Frame) I'm a fan of recumbents and as Petrol is going to be silly soon I thought a comfortable version would be great for the fifteen mile commute.
After a little refinement and using a photo' of my bike this...
...the wisbones up front would work and if rose jointed the caster angle could be adjustable.
Refined the design some more....
...and even more....
....and on Shrove Tuesday ordered some bits and bobs....
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
Dual cable brake lever with parking brake pin designed for trikes and recumbents and saves me messing about with BMX Giro cables.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
Front brakes.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
Front wheels.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
Front forks.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
Spine and boom material.
Due to the time limit I'm shelving the front suspension for now. All I have to do is Duct-tape the lot together by Easter to win another bet.
Good luck, understand this is a technical experiment for a bob or two bet, however on the brake lever side the odyssey M2 brake lever takes a two cable input and looks a damn sight nicer than the trike monstrosity. You'll also need proper mag brake pads for your front wheels.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 18th March 21:43
Ahhh, I forgot to mention the wager. I'm in a build off with 'er in panties. As well as a burlesque model she's also an artist who has to complete four works in the same period of time. If I win I get a burlesque photoshoot for one of my projects and if she wins I have to ride the bike naked. So today I have bought some chains and a new splitter because they always break when you need them don't they? 
You know how Formula One designers make a mold of the driver and sculpt the rest of the car around it. Well here's my MS Paint version of the same process.
[url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/uODqhfdn[/url
I think I have overestimated how long the boom needs to be (yes I was bored at work but I can't complain as I had the time to mess about with the chair and internet).
[url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/uODqhfdn[/urlI think I have overestimated how long the boom needs to be (yes I was bored at work but I can't complain as I had the time to mess about with the chair and internet).
Got some work done today....
Super high tech caster angle block.
The joys of welding metal to metal rather than rust. Even with a M.I.G that's shot to bits and needs a new fuse every six minutes the quality of weld is actually "semi-okay" by my standards.
The result isn't bad either.
I was a bit worried that it looks a bit wonky (no jig + basic hand tools = lack of confidence) but....
From tip to tip....
...and from hole to hole....
...are both 88cm.
Super high tech caster angle block.
The joys of welding metal to metal rather than rust. Even with a M.I.G that's shot to bits and needs a new fuse every six minutes the quality of weld is actually "semi-okay" by my standards.
The result isn't bad either.
I was a bit worried that it looks a bit wonky (no jig + basic hand tools = lack of confidence) but....
From tip to tip....
...and from hole to hole....
...are both 88cm.
The main spine and upright was my mission today. With a little help from the guys at Wisbech Engineering who very kindly let me jump the eighteen month waiting list to make a me suspension pivot.
Once welded in place and trial fitted I set about an upright made from the box section I had left over from the boom yesterday.
Slightly off centre because I couldn't get it perfectly flat with a habd grinder.
My niece and nephew helped me make this template.....
.. for the shock mounts.
Once it had cooled down I tested the frames strengh (jumped on it) and reminded myself how my M.I.G welder and its dip transfer method is rubbish for penetration.
I'll re-do every weld with a traditional MMA when I get chance. Backto work tomorrow.
Once welded in place and trial fitted I set about an upright made from the box section I had left over from the boom yesterday.
Slightly off centre because I couldn't get it perfectly flat with a habd grinder.
My niece and nephew helped me make this template.....
.. for the shock mounts.
Once it had cooled down I tested the frames strengh (jumped on it) and reminded myself how my M.I.G welder and its dip transfer method is rubbish for penetration.
I'll re-do every weld with a traditional MMA when I get chance. Backto work tomorrow.
One of these?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12-28mm-TITANIUM-STEP-DRILL-...
Not the one I have but close enough.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12-28mm-TITANIUM-STEP-DRILL-...
Not the one I have but close enough.
I wasn't convinced on the 'soapbox' style steering arrangement when I saw the drawings but it seems to work fine and gives you an option to 'shuffle' reverse which is great!
Like your idea of utilising front forks for the front wheels too - nothing beats an elegant short cut!
Like your idea of utilising front forks for the front wheels too - nothing beats an elegant short cut!
Edited by Roman on Thursday 24th March 10:20
I'm off work due to a chest infection so it was either work on the bike or watch Loose Women...
...high tech' perpendicular clamp.
Proper welding.
Looks straight-ish from here but alas due to the heat of the weld the spine has bent and the rear wheel alighment is a bit off.
Remember the office chair?
Just weld these brackets to the frame and cover the seat with something waterproof.
...high tech' perpendicular clamp.
Proper welding.
Looks straight-ish from here but alas due to the heat of the weld the spine has bent and the rear wheel alighment is a bit off.
Remember the office chair?
Just weld these brackets to the frame and cover the seat with something waterproof.
OneDs said:
Sorry I think I've missed something, how does it tilt with a rigid box section as the front axle?
Because of the rake angle as steering is applied it translates the force through to the main spine of the frame.Chris explains it better than me.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDT76I3ePbc
Liquid Knight said:
Because of the rake angle as steering is applied it translates the force through to the main spine of the frame.
Chris explains it better than me.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDT76I3ePbc
Wow, good luck, that kind of makes sense, although i don't know a lot about this sort of stuff, i still can't figure out how you'll join the spine & the axle to allow the horizontal and vertical movement around a single pivot? But then I'm sure there must be an obvious answer because car wheels steer and move in a vertical arc on their suspension don't they or have I got the completely wrong end of the stick? Oh and the turning circle looks f'ing huge!Chris explains it better than me.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDT76I3ePbc
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 25th March 22:22
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