The new trike - finshed at last.

Took some time off from the 650 to finish the trike. It's a little higher than the unsuspended trike, the frame tubing is a little larger at 32mm and I've also shortened the boom a little. and decreased the camber. Too much camber tends to scrub out tyres pretty quickly I found. Seat squab angle is increased a little but seat back remains at around 40-45 degrees; although that changes a little depending on suspension. Much the same specs as the previous: Ackerman and centrepoint steering, hydraulic brakes, Deore components, shaped ally seat with lumbar support and so on, I've built in a rack at the rear which also has a mount for the coolant hose. Seven idlers turned up from Delrin support the chain, all have sealed bearing so they spin quite freely. Swinging arm is mounted on Delrin bushes as are the stub axles. Calipers are mounted on ally brackets and the adjustable shock mounts are also fabricated from 3mm ally. To compensate for the extra height I increased the track at the front and moved the seat back a little to decrease wheel slip. All up it's turned out pretty good I think, I haven't weighed it yet but I expect a couple of extra kgs to account for the suspension, rack, larger frame tube and wider track.

Briefly:

frame 32mm tube,

20"wheels at front,

700c wheel at back,

Deore components,

hydraulic brakes,

shifters reversed,

lever steering,

42 degree seat back,

custom length boom,

Ackerman,

centrepoint,

adjustable rear suspension,

cable guides,

shaped ally seat with lumbar support,

Delrin chain idlers with sealed bearings (7),

I'll add wheelbase and track later.

Being a serial builder of stuff, I have drawn up plans for number eight, they sit on my bench as I write. While this one turned out great, I'm after something lighter, narrower, lower, racier. I can't improve on the shaped aluminium seat as it is super comfortable, as for the rest; well, there is always hope of coming up with perfect. As I said a serial offender, stay tuned.