Hugh
0
I had purchased the Lode Runner plan's some time ago and was waiting for the right time to build yet another Atomic Zombie creation. So this was first posted in General Chat but a decision has finally been made and the Lode Runner is I think the best version of delta for me. As stated in the general section I will be be buying 2 steel framed fat bikes from a local discount store. This will give me the fat wheel/tire parts needed plus a good set of gears, not specifically great quality but good enough to get the job done and a low enough gear range for off road and gravel riding. So it will have 3 26" by 4" tires, each with disc brakes. The fat tires will provide enough suspension, it's never going to be a high speed trike anyway. When the High Roller was built I bought 14 gauge steel and enough for 3 bikes so that's taken care of. Off road riding is a bit harder on equipment so the heavier gauge tubing will be a bonus. A friend sent me a link to one of those gas powered bicycle places and they have right and left hand threaded freewheel adapters, it,s staton inc in the U.S.A. The prices seem reasonable but shipping cost he said were high. There is a choice about the rear wheels, use Brads system of making steel disc's then lacing up to the fat rim's or the method i prefer which is to install a jackshaft somewhere under the seat to transfer power from the right over to the left side which allows the use of the rear wheel and gear's. So it will be a 1 wheel drive from the left rear wheel. Picture the way the Warrior rear wheel frame is built and then imagine that for 2 rear wheels. I have a 500 watt Bafang mid drive motor and it will be installed as well.
Since this will have 26" fat tires the actual diameter will be closer to 29". This will give great ground clearance which is perfect for rough terrain. Now there is one other small detail. I have built and installed 2 different coroplast bodies and 1 open coro rear section on the Warrior trike. Each used a somewhat different construction method. The first version featured an internal metal frame with the coro panels held together with zip ties and hot glue than covered in Dacron aircraft fabric which was glued and then heat shrunk on using an iron. Access was by tilting the the body upwards and it put a lot of stress on the front boom. It worked but the final shape was not pleasing to my eye. The 2nd version featured an internal frame made of pop riveted aluminum angle. The coro was fastened using small bolt's and washers. Access to this one involved a door on the right side and a large top hatch hinged to open sideways. To shorten it up I gave it a stubby front end which was pretty good for mounting flush turn signals and headlight. This version was decent but I had made it to just fit and found my shoulders constrained. An extra say 2 to 3" of width would have been nice. Both of these styles basically worked. They added weight but the streamlining effect even though not professional was noticeable. It really helped going into the wind. Plus in early spring with temp's slightly below freezing the pedaling was enough to keep me warm with light clothing. One important lesson from all this was the Warrior frame does not lend itself very to a body. So this delta is going to get version number 3 body using what I,ve learnt. If it proves possible it will even get a floor albeit with cutouts to allow fred flintstoning to go in reverse. I have at this point 2 and can get my hand's on a 3rd lithium 48V battery so range between my effort and the motor should be far in excess of anything most people would need in a ride.
Since this will have 26" fat tires the actual diameter will be closer to 29". This will give great ground clearance which is perfect for rough terrain. Now there is one other small detail. I have built and installed 2 different coroplast bodies and 1 open coro rear section on the Warrior trike. Each used a somewhat different construction method. The first version featured an internal metal frame with the coro panels held together with zip ties and hot glue than covered in Dacron aircraft fabric which was glued and then heat shrunk on using an iron. Access was by tilting the the body upwards and it put a lot of stress on the front boom. It worked but the final shape was not pleasing to my eye. The 2nd version featured an internal frame made of pop riveted aluminum angle. The coro was fastened using small bolt's and washers. Access to this one involved a door on the right side and a large top hatch hinged to open sideways. To shorten it up I gave it a stubby front end which was pretty good for mounting flush turn signals and headlight. This version was decent but I had made it to just fit and found my shoulders constrained. An extra say 2 to 3" of width would have been nice. Both of these styles basically worked. They added weight but the streamlining effect even though not professional was noticeable. It really helped going into the wind. Plus in early spring with temp's slightly below freezing the pedaling was enough to keep me warm with light clothing. One important lesson from all this was the Warrior frame does not lend itself very to a body. So this delta is going to get version number 3 body using what I,ve learnt. If it proves possible it will even get a floor albeit with cutouts to allow fred flintstoning to go in reverse. I have at this point 2 and can get my hand's on a 3rd lithium 48V battery so range between my effort and the motor should be far in excess of anything most people would need in a ride.