I just bought this home-made recumbent on Gumtree for $50. Score!
Bigger picture and other pics of the bike available here
It's very sturdy, well put together, comfortable to ride, except it's far too short for my long legs. So I need to extend the pedal assembly... whaddya call it, (chainset?) a good 30cm or so.
You can see from the close-up photo that the chainset has a tube which slides over an aluminum tube welded to the frame, and it bolts together with two bolts. It's sturdy enough.
But if I extend it 30cm with scavenged cut-up frame-tubes from other bikes, I think it might flex and bend too much. There would be quite a bit of leverage on the end of a long pole.
What say ye? Is there a better way?
Apart from getting someone to weld a longer stronger bit... I'm too scottish for that at the moment.
Bigger picture here
Oh, and hello! I'm James, from New Zealand. I have just arrived in Australia from New Zealand, and I must say I am impressed by the courtesy most Aussie drivers show to cyclists. On suburban roads they pass you quite wide, whereas in NZ they seem to think nothing of whizzing past seemingly just inches away.
I've been here in Fremantle for 3 weeks, and somehow I seem to own three bikes already. Hmm... this a bad habit I think.
Extending a home-made recumbent... suggestions?
- James the Giant
- Posts: 13
- Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2012 3:42 pm
- Location: Perth (Fremantle)
Extending a home-made recumbent... suggestions?
Postby James the Giant » Tue Jun 26, 2012 5:04 pm
-
- Posts: 1152
- Joined: Thu Oct 23, 2008 5:02 am
- Location: Spearwood, WA
Re: Extending a home-made recumbent... suggestions?
Postby just4tehhalibut » Tue Jun 26, 2012 8:13 pm
It does look like you haven't got enough of that welded on aluminium boom to play with, just sliding a longer crank tube (what else are we going to call it?) over the alum boom is going to give you flex and possibly failure where those holes have been drilled in the alum boom. I was thinking of a smaller tube inside the alum boom as a stiffener, using a CrMo tube for the crank tube, kicking around a few ideas but in the long run whatever solution will probably involve some welding. Do you know anyone who can weld? After all, even if you find a suitable donir frame for a new crank tube you'll still have to mess around for the front deraileur mount and as you can see the previous owner had to weld something on too.
- Poiter
- Posts: 246
- Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2008 7:18 pm
- Location: Canberra
Re: Extending a home-made recumbent... suggestions?
Postby Poiter » Thu Jun 28, 2012 9:47 am
Can you do something where the rear swing arm attaches to the blue frame.
Is it welded there or bolted up as it looks in the photos.
Keeping that boom short would be a good idea given the size of the material used.
Is it welded there or bolted up as it looks in the photos.
Keeping that boom short would be a good idea given the size of the material used.
- James the Giant
- Posts: 13
- Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2012 3:42 pm
- Location: Perth (Fremantle)
Re: Extending a home-made recumbent... suggestions?
Postby James the Giant » Thu Jun 28, 2012 10:26 am
The rear is bolted... hmm.. might be possible to do something there.
Eventually I might have to concede the need to spend some money, cut off the existing small tube at the front, and get someone to weld on a big, thick tube which will take the strain.
Eventually I might have to concede the need to spend some money, cut off the existing small tube at the front, and get someone to weld on a big, thick tube which will take the strain.
-
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2012 4:49 pm
Re: Extending a home-made recumbent... suggestions?
Postby Vimes » Thu Jun 28, 2012 10:20 pm
BLASPHEMYI've been here in Fremantle for 3 weeks, and somehow I seem to own three bikes already. Hmm... this a bad habit I think.
Remember N+1
(N being the currant number of bikes owned)
-
- Posts: 1391
- Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 7:12 pm
- Location: Albany. 400km South of Perth
Re: Extending a home-made recumbent... suggestions?
Postby John Lewis » Fri Jun 29, 2012 2:16 pm
Hi James,
As an interim measure you could probably take two strips of plywood and some bolts.
remove the front bit and use bolts to camp ply each side to the front section and main boom to extend it.
I know there were some bolt together recumbent ideas on line so perhaps have a bit of a look round for ideas.
Looking at your picture I'm sure the plywood idea would work and would look quite respectable when painted.
John
As an interim measure you could probably take two strips of plywood and some bolts.
remove the front bit and use bolts to camp ply each side to the front section and main boom to extend it.
I know there were some bolt together recumbent ideas on line so perhaps have a bit of a look round for ideas.
Looking at your picture I'm sure the plywood idea would work and would look quite respectable when painted.
John
- James the Giant
- Posts: 13
- Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2012 3:42 pm
- Location: Perth (Fremantle)
Re: Extending a home-made recumbent... suggestions?
Postby James the Giant » Wed Jul 04, 2012 2:21 pm
That is an excellent idea, and I have some good thick plywood on hand. Combine that with bolts and maybe some epoxy, and I think I have a winner.John Lewis wrote:Hi James,
As an interim measure you could probably take two strips of plywood and some bolts.
remove the front bit and use bolts to camp ply each side to the front section and main boom to extend it.
I know there were some bolt together recumbent ideas on line so perhaps have a bit of a look round for ideas.
Looking at your picture I'm sure the plywood idea would work and would look quite respectable when painted.
John
Interestingly, there are lots of designs and ideas for wood recumbents, I think I may build one, looks so simple.
http://www.manytracks.com/Recumbent/RecumbentShare.htm
Jump to
- General Australian Cycling Topics
- Info / announcements
- Buying a bike / parts
- General Cycling Discussion
- The Bike Shed
- Cycling Health
- Cycling Safety and Advocacy
- Women's Cycling
- Bike & Gear Reviews
- Cycling Trade
- Stolen Bikes
- Bicycle FAQs
- The Market Place
- Member to Member Bike and Gear Sales
- Want to Buy, Group Buy, Swap
- My Bikes or Gear Elsewhere
- Serious Biking
- Audax / Randonneuring
- Retro biking
- Commuting
- MTB
- Recumbents
- Fixed Gear/ Single Speed
- Track
- Electric Bicycles
- Cyclocross and Gravel Grinding
- Dragsters / Lowriders / Cruisers
- Children's Bikes
- Cargo Bikes and Utility Cycling
- Road Racing
- Road Biking
- Training
- Time Trial
- Triathlon
- International and National Tours and Events
- Cycle Touring
- Touring Australia
- Touring Overseas
- Touring Bikes and Equipment
- Australia
- Western Australia
- New South Wales
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Victoria
- ACT
- Tasmania
- Northern Territory
- Country & Regional
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users
- All times are UTC+10:00
- Top
- Delete cookies
About the Australian Cycling Forums
The Australian Cycling Forums is a welcoming community where you can ask questions and talk about the type of bikes and cycling topics you like.
Bicycles Network Australia
Forum Information
Connect with BNA
Brought to you by Bicycles Network Australia | © 1999 - 2024 | Powered by phpBB ®
This website uses affiliate links to retail platforms including ebay, amazon, proviz and ribble.
This website uses affiliate links to retail platforms including ebay, amazon, proviz and ribble.