Parts Descriptions

This page is all bits that can be described in a few words. As parts grow I split them off into their own pages.

Sliding Seats

One tube-based idea that struck me was the usefulness of being able to mount the middle section of the tandem on the solo frame so that I can carry it round easily. Would make rolling up to the airport a little more comfortable if I could have a rideable trike and not have to disassemble the beastie at the airport every time. Either by a short bit of clamp tube mounted in the rear rack (as a cup-holder, perhaps), or simply by arranging the mudguard mounting tube between the top cross tubes so they make a wee bin for the thing. More thought is needed.

I'm also thinking about cargo carrying. Either by adding a cargo- only section to the middle, or by building a trailer for the beast. The middle section could become a flatbed with reasonable carrying capacity, and all I'd need would be more chain and idlers. Or the removable seat could be replaced by a suitable platform. But right now I need a trailer for carrying bits round on, so I'll build that out of mild steel tube and tow it with my trike (slowly).

Rust?

Having played with a number of recumbents recently, and spent time dismantling old bikes when I was younger I'm slightly paranoid about open tubes rusting out. I regularly pour rusty water out of my bikes, and that worries me. Especially in the seat where there's a definite depression that will hold water and might rust through. So I want to seal as many tubes as I can, and fit drain holes to the rest. 5mm bidon mounts look good, with the side effect that I can use them to hold toys onto the trike if the placement is well thought out.

Putting fish oil into the tubes seems like a cunning plan, as it soaks up any water that does get in. I want to seal the seat tubes as well as the chainstays and cross member. The main tube is going to be open, so I might settle for sloshing a litre of fish oil in there then draining it into a handy container so I don't lose it when I break the trike down. Like the seat tubes or chainstays.

Actually, using the frame tubes as containers might be a cunning plan. Perhaps more suitable for carrying oil than meths or kero (which power my stove). But the latter would lead to the cool experience of rolling up to a service station and saying "fill her up" to a bemused attendant. However, the need to have a tap mounted on the frame, or else to turn the trike over to pour oil out might make that a bit tricky.

Pedals and bottom brackets

The basic bottom bracket on the front is easy - attach a BB shell to the end of a bit of tube. But in the middle of the trike? Hmm. Having ridden the TriSled I know how annoying it is when your feet are up too high, and having abraded my heels on Ian's Greenspeed low racer I realise that's no better. Perhaps Peter Eland's idea of a square post with the BB able to move on that might work. Or the Greenspeed idea of sliding it along a sloping tube. At this stage I think I'll go with the Greenspeed/Trice sloping tube idea

The other "innovation" that might work well is a result of me having only one set of chainrings for the two positions. When the trike is solo I want to move the chainrings forward. So I intend making the bottom brackets removable, using the ubiquitous 5mm seat post clamps. This way I can hopefully just undo four or six bolts each end and swap the whole bottom bracket assembly (including mountain drive) to the current drive end.