Hi everyone! I'm excited to get involved with what seems like a great community that you have here! I'm a software engineer from the west of Ireland, and this is my first time attempting something like this, so I want to keep a bit of a build log here so I can see how far I get. Hopefully posting here will keep me motivated to work on this project, as it feels like a massive undertaking. If I can get something rolling around, I will be extremely happy.
About a year ago I bought plans for the StreetFox and the Warrior. I purchased my first welder (cheap DC arc welder) to start the project. I tried welding some steel plates together and had very unsatisfactory results, which put me off trying for a while. Then one thing led to another, I got a new job, the world locked down, and the project was never started. Fast forward to a few weeks ago Ireland went into lockdown again and I was looking for a new project. I figured I'll make it happen! I am fortunate to live in a house with a back garden where I can have a bit of space to work. Unfortunately, I do have quite limited space and no indoor room for working or storage. My steel is starting to get very rusty from sitting out in the weather on the west coast of Ireland (for those of you unfamiliar, lots of rain).
I spent a lot of time looking for 20" wheels with disc brake hubs before I got started, as I figured these would be the hardest components to find. Eventually I came to the conclusion that many have come to before me, that I'd have to build them myself. So I decided I would try it but I couldn't source hubs for a reasonable price from an EU supplier (anyone in the UK have any tips for finding these?) I ended up ordering a pair of 20mm Novatec hubs from AliExpress. There seems to be varying schools of thought on hub sizes but I'd rather overbuild for my first project. I also managed to get my hands on two scrap mountain bikes with rear suspension locally. The local scrapyard is closed due to the lockdown.
Last weekend I had a spare day and I spent it taking the bikes to bits. I cut out the headtube of one of them and the rear pivot (not sure what the correct term for this piece is!) I thought that the headtubes were the same on both bikes but in fact they are different, one is threadless, 1 1/8" and the other is threaded 1" steer tube. They are both 120mm long, I might cut one in half. But I'm not sure what to do about the steerer tube. I will have to get another one that is the same as one of the ones that I have, I don't really have the space for another scrap bike though! I'd rather not have different ones on either side.
Today I got going on the chassis proper. I took a deep breath and went at a few bits of tubing with the welder. To my surprise, I was able to get them to stick together. After fiddling around with scraps for a while I was able to weld two 1-meter lengths of square steel box section (40mm, 1.6mm) end to end to make the main boom. I feel like this will be ok as the only thing forward of the weld will be the bottom bracket. I attached the pivot point and the seat tube and everything seems pretty much straight! I am very surprised. I could have put the seat tube further back but I doubted myself lining everything up so I pushed it forward a few more centimeters than what was needed. I might add a small basket or something there later to use up the space.
When I started out I wanted to build a StreetFox with the front end of a Warrior, but I've changed my mind now due to the timing of making that happen. My hubs won't be here for another few weeks and I reckon I'll have to give myself a weekend to build the wheels once they arrive. I can only really work on the trike at the weekends as I work during the week, and then only if the weather isn't terrible, so this will probably add two weeks to the project. I was able to get my hands on a pair of 14mm 48 spoke BMX wheels so I think I'm going to press on with the standard StreetFox build. It's not what I want, but I don't want my steel to rust away while I wait for the wheels, so I'm keen to keep the momentum going and go with calliper brakes for the moment. One is a rear wheel so this will look a bit funny but if it keeps me going I'm not too worried. When the new hubs arrive I can build up the wheels at my leisure and eventually swap them on if I'm inclined to.
So in closing, that where I am. Next weekend I will try to build the steering boom tubes. I need to think about what to do with the headtubes - I think I will have to get a second matching one as I'll need the steerer tube too. Maybe I could get away with this using the threadless one, but the bottom is very slightly wider than the top and I'm not sure the bearings would sit right. I could cut the threadless one into two 60 mm tubes. But I'll need to do some calculations to see if that will let me get the required angles on the end of the steering boom. I like the way that the warrior actually angles the steering booms instead of the headtubes to give the required angles, I think that it looks really clean. I don't think it's feasible with the long straight boom on the StreetFox though. I'll have to do some sketches to see what will work. Plenty of food for thought for the coming week!
Anyway it seems that you like pictures here, so here is an image of what I have done so far: (Please don't look too closely at the welds, I think they're strong but I haven't yet learned how to make them pretty)
If anyone has any tips or advice for a total beginner I'm all ears! I will post an update when I make a plan around the steering.
Thanks for reading my rambles!
C+ (Seep).
About a year ago I bought plans for the StreetFox and the Warrior. I purchased my first welder (cheap DC arc welder) to start the project. I tried welding some steel plates together and had very unsatisfactory results, which put me off trying for a while. Then one thing led to another, I got a new job, the world locked down, and the project was never started. Fast forward to a few weeks ago Ireland went into lockdown again and I was looking for a new project. I figured I'll make it happen! I am fortunate to live in a house with a back garden where I can have a bit of space to work. Unfortunately, I do have quite limited space and no indoor room for working or storage. My steel is starting to get very rusty from sitting out in the weather on the west coast of Ireland (for those of you unfamiliar, lots of rain).
I spent a lot of time looking for 20" wheels with disc brake hubs before I got started, as I figured these would be the hardest components to find. Eventually I came to the conclusion that many have come to before me, that I'd have to build them myself. So I decided I would try it but I couldn't source hubs for a reasonable price from an EU supplier (anyone in the UK have any tips for finding these?) I ended up ordering a pair of 20mm Novatec hubs from AliExpress. There seems to be varying schools of thought on hub sizes but I'd rather overbuild for my first project. I also managed to get my hands on two scrap mountain bikes with rear suspension locally. The local scrapyard is closed due to the lockdown.
Last weekend I had a spare day and I spent it taking the bikes to bits. I cut out the headtube of one of them and the rear pivot (not sure what the correct term for this piece is!) I thought that the headtubes were the same on both bikes but in fact they are different, one is threadless, 1 1/8" and the other is threaded 1" steer tube. They are both 120mm long, I might cut one in half. But I'm not sure what to do about the steerer tube. I will have to get another one that is the same as one of the ones that I have, I don't really have the space for another scrap bike though! I'd rather not have different ones on either side.
Today I got going on the chassis proper. I took a deep breath and went at a few bits of tubing with the welder. To my surprise, I was able to get them to stick together. After fiddling around with scraps for a while I was able to weld two 1-meter lengths of square steel box section (40mm, 1.6mm) end to end to make the main boom. I feel like this will be ok as the only thing forward of the weld will be the bottom bracket. I attached the pivot point and the seat tube and everything seems pretty much straight! I am very surprised. I could have put the seat tube further back but I doubted myself lining everything up so I pushed it forward a few more centimeters than what was needed. I might add a small basket or something there later to use up the space.
When I started out I wanted to build a StreetFox with the front end of a Warrior, but I've changed my mind now due to the timing of making that happen. My hubs won't be here for another few weeks and I reckon I'll have to give myself a weekend to build the wheels once they arrive. I can only really work on the trike at the weekends as I work during the week, and then only if the weather isn't terrible, so this will probably add two weeks to the project. I was able to get my hands on a pair of 14mm 48 spoke BMX wheels so I think I'm going to press on with the standard StreetFox build. It's not what I want, but I don't want my steel to rust away while I wait for the wheels, so I'm keen to keep the momentum going and go with calliper brakes for the moment. One is a rear wheel so this will look a bit funny but if it keeps me going I'm not too worried. When the new hubs arrive I can build up the wheels at my leisure and eventually swap them on if I'm inclined to.
So in closing, that where I am. Next weekend I will try to build the steering boom tubes. I need to think about what to do with the headtubes - I think I will have to get a second matching one as I'll need the steerer tube too. Maybe I could get away with this using the threadless one, but the bottom is very slightly wider than the top and I'm not sure the bearings would sit right. I could cut the threadless one into two 60 mm tubes. But I'll need to do some calculations to see if that will let me get the required angles on the end of the steering boom. I like the way that the warrior actually angles the steering booms instead of the headtubes to give the required angles, I think that it looks really clean. I don't think it's feasible with the long straight boom on the StreetFox though. I'll have to do some sketches to see what will work. Plenty of food for thought for the coming week!
Anyway it seems that you like pictures here, so here is an image of what I have done so far: (Please don't look too closely at the welds, I think they're strong but I haven't yet learned how to make them pretty)
If anyone has any tips or advice for a total beginner I'm all ears! I will post an update when I make a plan around the steering.
Thanks for reading my rambles!
C+ (Seep).