Got's me a Cat-Weazle.

Picked this up today.
Not in bad condition, might be fun. :)
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I was going to say, but I'm new here, and trying to be friendly :censored:
OTOH, maybe Danny is wanting to try some off-roading........
 
I was going to say, but I'm new here, and trying to be friendly :censored:
OTOH, maybe Danny is wanting to try some off-roading........
I suspect they may get changed out for Marathon+ or Big-Apples (my favourites).
But a gift-horse's mouth should not be examined too closely too early maybe?
I might find that I absolutely detest the Cat-Weasel experience and want to just pass it straight on to some Northern chap. ;)
 
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OK, it has been ridden (short ride).
Love the feel of it from a steering viewpoint as it is light and responsive, but I hate the gearing and the gear changer mech (hard to change gear and the 29 - 90 GI gearing hurts my knees).
Dynamo lights don't work, needs fixing.
Changes will be made before we think of getting rid of it.
Inbound is a 36T 150mm crank chainwheel and a bar-end shifter to be fitted real soon.
New tyres (maybe), I have 2 brand-new big apples here in stock, and a couple of part-worn ones that might be OK, but only if I find it is nicer to ride with the better gearing.
 
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OK, I have broken the Cat-Weazel. :)
Well, not "Broken-Broken", just broken into 2 halves and boy was it a struggle!!! :(

The boom would not just "slide" back and forth once the QR clamps were undone like it is supposed to at all.
Instead I got 2 of my long-term mates (Brute Force and Ignorance) to wiggle it back & forth and pull it apart forcibly.

Eventually it gave in and I was able to see the state of the boom insert (shock-horror) :eek:.
Here are some pictures for you.
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As you can see there is some significant scoring, paint damage and "bubbling" on the insert.

I have buffed as much as I can off with a scotchbrite like wheel and some WD40 and i will wipe it down with IPA (no, not the beer). 🍺
I will give it a thorough polish with Mer (car polish) before reassembly. :)

Interestingly(?) as discussed with Paul this morning there were very (very) thin plastic inserts inside the main boom into which the front section is inserted. One is "screwed-up and rumpled" so I had to remove it. I wonder what can be done to insert another wayyyyy down in that tube?
In the picture below you can see the "insert strip" at the entry point for the front boom into the main tube.

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Anyway, that is all I had time/energy/enthusiasm for today. The trike is now "unrideable" and I am waiting for parts to arrive before I attempt to put it all back together.
 
I have a set of round wire brushes, with long shafts, that you can chuck in a drill - They would clean up that bore in a jiffy.
Perhaps you can find something similar - Maybe a pass or 2 with one of those ball hones for engine cylinders.
Instead of plastic inserts, maybe some tape around the boom?
 
I was going to work on the trike today but I was in "kind old boy mode" and did something else.
I was working on my new trike (only just started) when I saw a lad on a bike stop and turn his bike upside down, fiddle with it and then right it and try and ride off. Nope! Off again, rinse-repeat, still Nope!
I wandered over and asked if he needed any help? "Yes Please Mister".
Chain was off the chainrings and jammed between the rings and the bottom-bracket shell/axle.
We carried the bike to my house so I could work on it. He was worried he would miss his Barber's appointment so I told him to leg it and I would fix it while he was there.
I took the chainwheel/crank off and freed the chain. Put the chainwheel back on and then I spotted a problem (well lots of them actually). First one was that he had legged it without his wallet which was in the crossbar saddle-bag thingy.
So I went to all 3 barbers in town to try to save him embarrassment. But we must have crossed paths somewhere.
I caught up with him back at my place and handed him his wallet. He went off on the bike to go pay the barber.

He came back about 15 minutes later to say the bike was "broken". I checked, yes it was. He called his Mum and I offered to look after his bike till they could come and collect it later.

Off he went for a 20 minute walk home.

I looked at his bike (which his Mum had said had just been "Serviced" at Halfrauds).

Here is what I found/corrected:
The chain had jumped off the smallest chainring and was physically jammed between the chainwheel set and the bottom-bracket shell. Bike unrideable.

Triple chainwheel removed and chain freed. Chainwheel put back on.

Things found to be wrong/incorrect.
  • Master link in chain incorrectly installed (upside-down), it is a curved master-link and is meant to follow the chainwheel's and sprocket's orientation.
  • Bottom Bracket bearing was very loose, with 1.5 mm end-float.
  • Ferrules of multiple brake/gear cable sheaths broken/split/rusty, cables not seated properly in the cable guides.
  • Front forks were pointing backwards – 180° out of phase with handlebars.
  • Both gear shifters were found to be hard to operate and some gears are un-reachable.
  • The smallest sprocket on the rear cassette “rotates” without producing drive to rear wheel (this is broken/unfixable).
  • Suspension spring not engaged and rear suspension frame was clanking up and down until the spring began to engage.
Things fixed by Me/recommendations:

  • Master link in chain installed correctly.
  • Bottom bracket bearing adjusted to run freely without excessive end float.
  • All broken cable ferrules cut off and replaced with nylon ferrules.
  • Front forks turned through 180° to face forwards.
  • Gear selection optimised (shifters are not really any good).
  • New cassette free-wheel needed, available for c. £15 on e-bay.
  • Suspension adjusted to be always engaged without “free-play” in the link.
Bike is now rideable at least, but I would recommend it is looked at by a professional bike mechanic to address all the issues found. The parts are relatively inexpensive, but labour costs are high.

So, I didn't do any work on my stuff at all, but I hope I have helped a young lad & his folks. :D
 
Boy & Mother came to get bike. Showed them all that was wrong and is now fixed.
Offered me money, but I declined. :)

The Catweazle is no longer in 2 halves and there is a new wire run inside the tubes for the headlight. It slid back together very easily/slickly too.

A very very frustrating afternoon though. :(
No matter what I did the RH BB cartridge cup would NOT thread back on the BB shell to secure the e-Type changer.
Several instances of Hammer Vs. Paintwork happened and I had to stop trying to get it to take for fear of doing more damage.
In the end I ripped the cartridge out and put a different one in. No problem threading the cups back in and the changer was secure.
Then I discovered 2 fatal flaws in my plan for world domination obtaining decent gearing. :mad:
  1. There is insufficient clearance for the chain to get onto the smallest chainring because it will foul on the changer's mounting plate.
  2. On the other side of the BB shell the LH pedal has insufficient "sweep" and clearance to avoid hitting the steering actuating rod when steering straight ahead.
At this point I decided to throw in the towel for the day. The Catweazel has won this round.

So I need to resolve these two problems.
For item 1 I think a wider BB cartridge might just-about do it.
For item 2, maybe some crank-surgery will be required.

Happy to hear any alternatives people might have (as long as it isn't "sell me your Catweazel on the cheap"). :)
 
Stop Press:
I think I have resolved BOTH problems. :D
Sorting through my "bit's-n'bob's" (They are NOT Bob's, they are mine I tell you!) I found another triple that when put in place clears up both issues.

It isn't so aggressively "low" geared being 42/34/24, but there is sufficient scope I think. :D

Just spotted another problem though..... No cable stop for the front mech and it doesn't come with one mounted on-board.
I may have to get "tricky" with it and get the electric glue-gun involved. :)
 
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I brazed a cable stop onto a scrap of 3mm steel to provide an anchor point for the front changer cable.
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But in looking at it I suspect I may have not made the best placement decision. There is very little room for the wire to go up to the anchor of the operating arm. I have got an outer cable sheath and ferrule installed, we will have to see whether it works or not in due course. :)
I don't want the inner cable scraping through the paint and cutting into the frame.

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Small update:
The weather has been awful down here all week, so very little time has been available for messing about with the trike.
I still have only 2 rings available on the front mech, but it will suffice for now. I may try to mount a false tube for a standard front mech later.
A new front rack was installed, and I am on the lookout for some affordable panniers to go with it.

The "tatty" and much gaffa-taped mudguards have been removed and then replaced with new durable SKS plastic ones meant for kid's bikes.
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Some adaptation of the supplied mounting hardware was required, but it has worked out quite well I think.
Where I had to cut the fixing brackets I ground a curved profile and dipped the end in "plasti-dip" to weatherproof it.
Some threads on the Catweazel's aluminium fender mounting arms were damaged/stripped so "through bolts" and locknuts have been used instead.
The trike now has matching mudguards on all 3 wheels and doesn't look too shabby (IMHO).
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New Mirrycle bar-end mirrors are now in place so at least I can now see what is behind me as I ride (folded away for storage in the above picture).
Maybe I will swap the tyres for Schwalbe ones next. In looking at the wheels themselves I see that the lacing is "3-Cross" and woven, but to my eye many of the spokes look to be "loose" with gaps in places I would not expect to see them with a properly tightened spoke.

Anyway, that's all the weather has allowed this week. :)
 
As many of you know I bought this elderly but well preserved (unlike me) Hase Kettwiesel delta trike earlier this year.
I fixed most of the early teething issues and it now sports Schwalbe Marathon + tyres, proper mirrycle mirrors, a 9-speed indexed changer and the 52T single ring was swapped out for a triple and an e-type front mech.

I can only get the bottom 2 rings accessible on the front mech (no idea why, but all combinations of BB cartridge width and chainring cluster I have tried have ended up the same.

In any event at the moment I am a bit "challenged" in the knee-pain and leg-strength areas so a swap-out to a Bafang is going to take place.

One interesting little foible I have encountered is the interference between the Cassette's lowest gear sprocket and the top idler of the derailleur (see picture below). Even though the B-Stop is screwed all the way in against the tab on the changer mount it has no effect on the rotational position of the derailleur.
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Especially annoying is the fact that back-pedalling to get a good "push-off" position results in a chain-off because the derailleur gets dragged backwards by the meshing of the idler wheel teeth and the sprocket teeth.
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Looking at the derailleur itself the part the B-Stop screw passes through reverses away from the tab on the frame (as it should) but there is no connection of this part to the main body of the derailleur. I infer from this that the derailleur is FUBAR.

A new one is on its way. Couldn't determine what should be on there, my 2002/3 user manual shows a graphic of a SACH's but this is a Shimano cassette cluster so I have bought a Shimano compatible long cage 9-speed derailleur. I hope it resolves the issue.

Adding the Bafang:

This should be fairly standard and easy.... but for the fact that there is nowhere to mount a battery on the frame that also allows the battery to be slid out of it's carrier. So a tray will have to be made to fit onto the rear main axle tubes and the seat (somehow).
Watch this space. :)
 
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Have you checked to see if the derailleur is in line?
More than half the time, I find that used stuff has bent hangers or dropouts - I bought a tool just for this.
Maybe with a delta trike like that, it's less likely to get bent, but good to check anyway.
 
Shimano 9 speed road and mountain sets are cross compatible so you can mix and match derailleurs and cassettes. That cage doesn't look to be in the same alignment as the cassette though it could be the camera angle.
 
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