UNLIMITED Triple Threat

[Wildcat]

I originally was going to enter a trike, but saw the risk of crashing and ER visits and scrapped the idea. But now I think I have solved those problems and will now make a front wheel drive fat tire trike. There will be enough weight in the rear to thwart any end over enders and should be wide enough to be stable even with the seat 36 inches high or more.

With the drivetrain up front, the two wheels in the rear just roll (and brake on this trike), like a classic child's tricycle.

I definitely will have a big seat and tall apes. There should be enough room for two people to stand and hitch a ride on the back platform.

I need a crankset up front as direct drive is slow on a 30" tire and needs a unicycle hub. I will use the wheels and gears, along with the disc brakes, from the Orange Crusher. Probably the crankset too. It may supply most of this build.

The springer fork is heavy and will provide a good solid base for the front bottom bracket.

I'll have to make up another wheel for the rear and figure how to make the frame.

I'll try to draw a plan up and post it.

 

[Fv2]

I have a couple old green machines, I've been wanting to chop up for something like this.

 

[Wildcat]

Here's my plan. Coffee got spilled on it, it was perfect!



1. Three 26 x 4.0 wheels, 7 speeds, disc brakes.

2. Four tubes running down from the almost vertical headtube, with the upper two tubes to the outside axles of the rear wheels, and the lower two tubes going to the inside axles of the rear wheels.

3. The space between the front and rear tires at a minimum to keep the total length around 6 feet.

4. The width of the rear at 36".

5. Braces between the tubes for strength and a standing platform between the rear wheels. Like a child's trike only larger.

6. Big seat with a backrest. I'm on the hunt for tall apes.

 

[OddJob]

This is going to be fun! And I can't wait for the ride vid! Will the Mrs be the one getting the 'buck' on the back of the trike?

 

[Wildcat]

This is going to be fun! And I can't wait for the ride vid! Will the Mrs be the one getting the 'buck' on the back of the trike?

I hope to design the rear so the hitchhikers can assist and push with their feet. I'll have to have a handlebar they can use for leverage when I run out of steam.

I've looked around but haven't seen anything like a front wheel drive trike with 2 wheels in the rear, much less using fat tires. There is some crazy stuff out there though. I thought a kitchen chair on my Lazyboy was the most comfortable til I saw this:

 

[kingfish254]

Can't wait to see you work through the technicals on this one. This should be a blast to watch

 

[Wildcat]

Can't wait to see you work through the technicals on this one. This should be a blast to watch

Almost ready to work full time on it after finishing my traditional build. The time is needed to identify problems before I chop something up or get things welded.

I have to go to town for welding, my home welder guy got banned from the neighborhood. Evidently he wasn't completing work on jobs. The advantage is the quality of the welds, mig in a shop instead of rod and an old welding machine.

 

[Wildcat]

I needed a third wheel, so I ordered a hub and rim, and scrounged up some spokes. The rim showed up today and I had it laced up in 15 minutes. It's a red rim but it's only 18 bucks and the hub 12 bucks. Same rim as the other two.
I might go with red rims and paint the other two, or have them all black and paint this one. I haven't even decided on a color for the frame yet.
This is ready for truing at the shop. Time to order a tire and tube.
I think I'll have brakes on the rear wheels only, unless I get one of those levers that has two cables together. But rear brakes only will solve the problem of flipping over headfirst.

 

[kingfish254]

MO FATTA
MO BETTA

 

[Wildcat]

I brought out the donor bike to check some measurements. Mainly where the cranks will have to be in relation to where I will sit. Also to check the total length and see what might work. I think this frame will provide most of what I need and may not need to be cut up completely. I may keep the seat tube for the rear pusher's handlebars.

This shows where the seat may sit and the spot over the front tire where the cranks will go.

 

[OddJob]

I'm envisioning some very western, History Channel enhanced ideas, about what being 'banned from the neighborhood" means in the islands.

Roll the tape...Scene 1 , Take 1 : Welding dude is surrounded by sharpened bamboo stick wielding residents telling him to "Drop the welding iron, turn off your machine, and leave the forge!"

Scene 2, Take 1 : Shot from behind the group of bamboo stick crowd lining the shore as the banned dude poles his way out to sea on a banca boat made for one.

Roll closing credits....

 

[Fv2]

I'm envisioning some very western, History Channel enhanced ideas, about what being 'banned from the neighborhood" means in the islands.

Roll the tape...Scene 1 , Take 1 : Welding dude is surrounded by sharpened bamboo stick wielding residents telling him to "Drop the welding iron, turn off your machine, and leave the forge!"

Scene 2, Take 1 : Shot from behind the group of bamboo stick crowd lining the shore as the banned dude poles his way out to sea on a banca boat made for one.

Roll closing credits....

Don't forget the mermaids. History channel has a mermaid fetish.

 

[Da Gas Man]

Don't forget the mermaids. History channel has a mermaid fetish.

 

[Wildcat]

I spent a little time in the shop even with the heat. I added the rear wheel to the front and will have to resize the springer so it fits evenly. It's not set as good as it could be, the rear hub is wider than the front hub. 135mm vs 195mm.
I took a pic of the brake adapter so I could see how it goes back together. It fit very well though.

I laid out the bike to get a look at the plan. I think a wheelbase with the bike length of just over 6 feet would work better than a short wheelbase. I'm looking at the center of gravity and flip prevention. Also the width between the rear tires. I had given 36" some thought but 30" looks like that should be plenty of width.

The handlebars need to be farther forward. Where the seat will be is right at the ends of the bars.

 

[Wildcat]

I just noticed that I don't need the fork extended that high. I can take about three inches off and lower the center of gravity and my seat height.

 

[kingfish254]

This is gonna be a beast!

 

[twojs.bike]

Yes. This is a beast! Looks awesome already. I can’t quite figure out how this is going to work. Looking forward to seeing you put this all together.

 

[Wildcat]

I worked on the fork to get it where it may need to be. I used some old brackets I made up and they were just the right size. All I need to do is shorten the struts and drill a couple holes in them.

As for widening, I used some of those spacers that go on the rear axles to make room for a cluster. They gave the right spacing and look better than what I had used before. The bolt was just the right length and except for the darker spacers, would have looked almost factory. I've got an inch of clearance to the fork crown now, just what I wanted. The alignment looks good too.

My seat is now only 36" high.

X marks where the bottom bracket might get mounted. That's still in the planning stage. Lowering the front also means I can mount the seat further back, lowering the flip over factor. The center of gravity is also a couple inches lower.

 

[Chad T]

Interesting plan. Should be a cool build. I did a trike with a ‘73 Stingray frame and eBay axle kit. With the nanner seat the center of gravity was towards the rear. It was quite stable.

 

[Wildcat]

The plan is to have a configuration like this, only with the seat higher than the cranks and 2 rear wheels. I might order up another kitchen chair for the seat.