I have alot of pent up pedal trike anger that I'm about to release. How would YOU pimp one out?

Hey guys - I'm the proud new dad of something I've been wanting for YEARS - a pedal trike. The very first time I ever saw one in the campground, I had all kinds of naughty thoughts of how I wanted to violate one of my own, and I'll finally get that chance this year!

Here's the blank canvas...



So, while I have some SERIOUS ideas of my own about how I want my hardcore trike to look ...... I'm also curious about how you guys would pimp one out for yourself to use around campgrounds and whatnot.

Discuss,
John

I, too, have wanted one for a very long time and all of my friends think I've lost it. I wanted to put some of the Schwinn slicks on the back, the ones with the white letters, a treaded white letter tire for the front, maybe a slight chopper front end and a Krate bike or Stingray shifter in the middle. Kick ASS!! What are your plans?

Right now I'm a little torn...

I'm not sure if I want to use my set of 15x8 vette rallys and do them up red with fat whitewalls like my woody - or if I want the rears to be 15x8 Cragar drag stars with drag slicks.

Either way - the seat needs to be relocated. I want it to be comfortable to ride, with ergonomics almost like a recumbant - and I want to poach the gearing out of something like a mountain bike.

I also won a harley tank, so I want that on there and will probably cut in some cup holders.

I've had so many friggin ideas over the years - it's like with B-bodies dude. I could probably build 10 of them all differently.

Bewber wrote:

Right now I'm a little torn...

I'm not sure if I want to use my set of 15x8 vette rallys and do them up red with fat whitewalls like my woody - or if I want the rears to be 15x8 Cragar drag stars with drag slicks.

Either way - the seat needs to be relocated. I want it to be comfortable to ride, with ergonomics almost like a recumbant - and I want to poach the gearing out of something like a mountain bike.

I also won a harley tank, so I want that on there and will probably cut in some cup holders.

I've had so many friggin ideas over the years - it's like with B-bodies dude. I could probably build 10 of them all differently.

WOW! Not at all what I expected. The vette wheels would be cool but how hard would it be to pedal? That would add a lot of weight to it by the time tires were installed. Very cool though!!!

If I poach the gearing and derailers out of a multi-speed or mountain bike, you should be able to gear it way down till it's just as easy to ride as any other bike you've ever ridden in your life, if not easier, despite the added weight and increased rolling resistance.

What all were you thinkin that I'd be thinkin?

Pics of the Cragars?

They're a polished aluminum 5 spoke deal.

Here's one bare:


Here's a set with tires I found on the googlenet:

Yeah. Those.

Victory.

The reality of trying to move the weight of the tires will either exhaust you or give you leg muscles like tree trunks

I'm seeing the container at the back as an obvious plea for a flamed pained job.

And what would be in that container? Needs a beer tap on the back.

I can see a five speed with a "T" handle on the center bar. Find an old Stingray bike and strip the parts if you are thinking a derailer and banana seat time.

Until I fail with a capital F - multiple times - in the worst possible ways ever, I will forever maintain that the mechanical advantages of adequate gearing options will be more than enough to overcome the weight and resistance of the car wheels and tires. That been said, I do recognize that it would make more sense to use aluminum wheels over steel wheels - but only as long as it doesn't cost the project any "cool" points.

Yes, gearing would help , hence the re-railer option comment and a large front gear.

Don't forget the official ape hanger handle bars.

(Remember that if you can't find any apes to hang, then hanging defenseless kittens is always a good substitute)

Haha - I'm really not sold on the ape hangers as being a must. I think the handle bars will be designed and built LAST, and be positioned however will be the most ergonomic. If apr hangers are comfortable, then maybe - but it's not a given.

I still cast two thumbs up for the Cragars.

Flame the Harley tank and add a cup holder, and maybe some sort of speedometer? It'd be pretty cool IMO.

How about woodgrain, wide whites, red rims, and a surfboard?

toomanytoyz wrote:

How about woodgrain, wide whites, red rims, and a surfboard?

How about YES.

you need to,. ...........................................
lemme rephrase that,.. if i were to be attempting something so stup,.....
lemme rephrase that,.. if i were building an old man 3 wheeled conveyance,.i,d definitly have to rake the front forks and add 2feet to them,.
please also consider the simple physics as has been mentioned of turning large automotive wheels,.yes you may be able to gear it down far enough that you can move it, but speed to number of pedal rotations could get tiresome right quick,.and having got up to speed,. now think of the newtons side of things,. those large wheels will build up enough kinetic energy to overpower the braking and traction of the much smaller front wheel,.
deraileur setup does not have a back pedal brake common to single speed axles,..
i say shove an lt1 under the seat with a centrifugal clutch and a wagon diff and some really big meats,.(16X33 firestones,) and a single 15" disc brake on the diff yoke,.don't forget the clothes peg attached to the front forks with 2 playing cards to rub against the spokes for that cool sound,..

Nick

Oh I love the trike...I've wanted one for a long time as well.

The problem I see with the gearing thing is that there's always a trade-off. In this instance your top speed will be about 5mph with your legs going like a madman.

I'm not as up on mountain bikes these days so maybe that theory won't hold water.

However..why don't you get REALLY creative and install a chainsaw engine on it? It's been done on regular bikes, should be even easier here.

Power driven ones,but you get the picture

LMAO - I think it's pretty safe to assume I'm not going to put an LT1 with a centrifugal clutch under my butt, but I totally dig the idea - and the LAST thing I'm gonna hook up is a screaming assed chain saw.

I'm not out to win any speed or long distance races with it. It's just gonna be a campground cruiser - built for the sake of building it. I'm also going to try to enjoy the shade tree engineering challenges of making it have the form I want with minimal sacrifice to overall function. At the end of the day, it will probably be ridden more by teenagers and kids than actual adults.

I AM glad that somebody brought up braking though. In typical gearhead fashion, I have all kinds of ideas about how to make it go, and haven't had very many about making it stop.

My initial thought on the brakes was to rig up an old skool go-kart style deal where metal plates rub on the tire when you activate a lever, and I was gonna make that lever be one that you pulled on by hand - made out of an old 4-speed shifter that I have, but since I'm sure that a bunch of noodle armed kids will be involved, I'm sure now that I'll have to involve something hydraulic for such a braking lever to work.

Oh, and the tires would obviously be filled to a STUPID high pressure, to minimize the rolling resistance. There are a LOT of things I can do to make it not as hard to ride as you guys think.

"and the LAST thing I'm gonna hook up is a screaming assed chain saw"


Dude, you take the blade off! Ooooonly kidding, but I "hear" what you mean about the whiny high pitch chain saw motor.

Brakes, go to hand grip hydraulic slave cylinder (like a motorcycle) with a set of powder coated Wildwoods on the back!


.... and don't forget the parking brake option (freaking boat anchor) it so it doesn't roll away at the campground and into the lake!

(ps to Lornejay: Great photos!.. laughed my ass of at some of them, but others I had to admire the creativity. Loved the one with the camper on the back... )

phantom 309 wrote:

,.yes you may be able to gear it down far enough that you can move it, but speed to number of pedal rotations could get tiresome right quick,.

TylerW wrote:

The problem I see with the gearing thing is that there's always a trade-off. In this instance your top speed will be about 5mph with your legs going like a madman.
.

you sure you don't know forrest??

bewbzowt wrote:

My initial thought on the brakes was to rig up an old skool go-kart style deal where metal plates rub on the tire when you activate a lever, and I was gonna make that lever be one that you pulled on by hand - made out of an old 4-speed shifter that I have, but since I'm sure that a bunch of noodle armed kids will be involved, I'm sure now that I'll have to involve something hydraulic for such a braking lever to work.

a lever plate setup with serrated teeth,. kid steps on the plates, it works a lever on a shaft from one side to the other,.with flat plates with teeth that bite into the tires,.the weight of the kid stepping down coupled with a decent ratio on the lever,. and it'd probably lock up the tires quick,.

Nick

So I finally picked up the trike today, along with the other auction lot stuff I won that was supposed to be a harley gas tank and exhaust parts.....

Well, that tank turned out to be a brand new Heritage Softail seat, and the exhaust is a Vance and Hines exhaust with fish tail tips. I lernt wut they were from stopping at the local Harley dealer - and I also learned that the seat that looks brand new books out at $228. (WOOT!!!)

My total cost of that lot = $16

So now I don't know if I should build a HD themed trike around using that seat, or if I should sell it all and finger out a totally different direction.

Oh the drama. I should pitch the networks for a TV show about me building this thang.

Sell the seat, get the epically large wide tires, be happy.

I already have 275-60-15's that are too weather cracked for the road, but would be spot on for something as stupid as this.

I wouldn't call that stupid at all. I'd call it awesome.

Get to it.

Yea this bike will live outside, and there are plenty of beat up old motorcycle seats to be had on the cheap that would work just as well, so there's no common sense in wrecking a new part that's worth a bunch, and I can make some bucks on.

Having pedaled one of those trikes literally into the ground working at the wonderful shipbuilding and drydock company please listen.My tool box stayed loaded with tools,grease and woolwaste,weight is your enemy!Even with gearing someone will have to push you just to get moving and even though you wont be needing goggles for all that speed heavy duty brakes are a must.Instead of the car tires and rims how about some harley rims and tires.They are light compared to your car tires and rims and they will roll much easier and you wont have to worry about a wide load sign across the tool box.
One last word of warning these trikes will tip over fast when unloaded or going down a hill at a decent clip and I still have the scar to prove it.Forget the kids and turn that box into a beer cooler and then you have something to drink when you get there!
Enjoy but ride slow at first and always use your parking brake.
Jim aka Flasheroo

Thank you for your input.

I also think that part of the reason these are hard to ride is because the ergonomics are pure garbage. Along with wanting to change the gearing, I'm definitely going to be removing the tool box and relocating the seat down and back - to be well behind the pedals and not learly as high.

This will make it both easier to pedal and more stable.

I hear ya dude, but I'm not a motorcycle guy, so I don't have motorcycle parts on hand. Part of keeping a project low buck is trying to use as much of your inventory as possible.

I'm not one who's afraid to screw up and then have to say, "Yes, I know you knew wtf you were talking about. Yes, I listened and then I did it my own way anyway. and Yes, you were right and I was wrong."

Bewber wrote:

I already have 275-60-15's that are too weather cracked for the road, but would be spot on for something as stupid as this.

kiwi black shoe polish, rub it into the tire cracks will hide them and make the tire look good too,.

Bewbs wrote:

and Yes, you were right and I was wrong.

It's lonely here at the top jhonny,..it,s my cross to bear,..

Nick

I miss your old avatar.

(sweet on the score, too!)












(find me any steps? )

....would of course have an electric hub stuck in that front wheel! There are dozens of suppliers of electric hub kits that are so easy to install, usually with three or four small 12V batteries mounted at the back.
I fitted my other ride - a Trek recumbent - with this set-up and it has extended my ability to ride a bike for years. It can be pedal-assist, or just let it pull you at 18 to 22 miles an hour for 10-14 miles before a recharge.
If you'd go crazy and add heavy wheels, this would solve the necessary power issue.

Great find - I love the trike.

That lecrtic hub deal sounds wicked cool, but this one has GOT to stay a pedals only. At the park where it's gonna live, we already have TWO electric golf carts, so another electric anything isn't really in the works.

We have two because my mother-in-law had to buy herself a plain one for the kids to use after she became worried about somehow messing up my Father-in-laws cart that I made a few changes to.

It started off as a plain ole green one, then I scratched it and offered to fix the scratch and re-paint it green. He said he wasn't crazy about the green color and asked me if I could make it red and make it cool, so I tried. Here's how it turned out. (He's not really a NASCAR guy, but has collected alot of Bud stuff over the years - so everybody is cool with it staying #




Anyway, hopefully I'll be as happy with how this bike turns out. I'm using the bike as more of an engineering and fabrication challenge than a purely design one though.

Funny... I was just thinking about that cart yesterday. I love that effin thing!

Dale Jr. for the loss.

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