B
B. Sanders
Guest
If you want a quick-n-dirty no-weld FWD 'bent project, this could be it:
http://bsanders.net/The_Bull_FWD_recumbent.jpg
But I don't recommend it.
Why? It rides and handles well when coasting; but the pedal-induced steering is *terrible*! That's
why I call it "The Bull" - it keeps twisting, trying to buck me off; but I have a-hold of its
horns! ;-)
The front triangle is the rear triangle from a discarded 27"-wheeled steel road bike. I just sliced
it off and literally bent it back to fit (no mandrels here - put the chainstays on the floor, held
it down with my boot near BB shell and bent it over). The fork was bent open using a hydraulic jack
(carefully and gingerly). The front hub is a freewheel type, 135mm, bolt-on. It has plenty of room
for two sets of dropouts. The front triangle is surprisingly stiff with everything bolted down
tightly. The derailleur is an oddball Schwinn part that actually allows you to pre-set a gear! (It
has notches for that purpose.)
The former seat tube (now the boom tube) is bolted through the fork crown with an eyebolt (45
cents), which holds tension on a 1/4" steel clevis pin (85 cents). I just drilled a 1/4" hole
through the boom tube for the clevis pin, which threads through the eye of the eyebolt, and is held
in place with a cotter pin. With the double-dropout arrangement, the only way to get the wheel out
for tire repairs is to remove the whole triangle, and the clevis pin makes that a snap -
quick-release drivetrain!
Total time spent building: About 7 hours, including trips to the hardware store. I could build
another one in 3 hours or less. Getting the forks and donated rear triangle spread evenly was the
hardest part. Oversized steel unicrown forks don't like to bend very much!
It was a fun project; but now I know why you don't see many FWD bikes like this! Not sure how long
this bike will be intact - I think I'm going to try welding the boomtube to the head tube and do a
"twisty chain" FWD design (chain goes over idlers at head tube, twists with steering).
-Barry
http://bsanders.net/The_Bull_FWD_recumbent.jpg
But I don't recommend it.
Why? It rides and handles well when coasting; but the pedal-induced steering is *terrible*! That's
why I call it "The Bull" - it keeps twisting, trying to buck me off; but I have a-hold of its
horns! ;-)
The front triangle is the rear triangle from a discarded 27"-wheeled steel road bike. I just sliced
it off and literally bent it back to fit (no mandrels here - put the chainstays on the floor, held
it down with my boot near BB shell and bent it over). The fork was bent open using a hydraulic jack
(carefully and gingerly). The front hub is a freewheel type, 135mm, bolt-on. It has plenty of room
for two sets of dropouts. The front triangle is surprisingly stiff with everything bolted down
tightly. The derailleur is an oddball Schwinn part that actually allows you to pre-set a gear! (It
has notches for that purpose.)
The former seat tube (now the boom tube) is bolted through the fork crown with an eyebolt (45
cents), which holds tension on a 1/4" steel clevis pin (85 cents). I just drilled a 1/4" hole
through the boom tube for the clevis pin, which threads through the eye of the eyebolt, and is held
in place with a cotter pin. With the double-dropout arrangement, the only way to get the wheel out
for tire repairs is to remove the whole triangle, and the clevis pin makes that a snap -
quick-release drivetrain!
Total time spent building: About 7 hours, including trips to the hardware store. I could build
another one in 3 hours or less. Getting the forks and donated rear triangle spread evenly was the
hardest part. Oversized steel unicrown forks don't like to bend very much!
It was a fun project; but now I know why you don't see many FWD bikes like this! Not sure how long
this bike will be intact - I think I'm going to try welding the boomtube to the head tube and do a
"twisty chain" FWD design (chain goes over idlers at head tube, twists with steering).
-Barry
