24/16" Tadpole

     This is the trike just prior to being sent off for powder coating.

     After powder coating and assembly.  It'll get front and rear fenders as well, but not until after the ice races so the tire spikes don't tear 'em off :)  I would have liked the 16" rims to be black too, but next time, I'll send them off for powder coating before lacing them up.

Frame

     I made up the frame in 3D Studio Max quite a while ago, and had most of the frame built and the wheels installed back in July of 05, but just sort of got busy with other things and never got much else done on it until recently.

     This frame is triangulated at the rear because I thought I'd try using some .049" steel, which is a little thinner and a little weaker.  I figured that to take the torque, it would need the triangulation so I used .049" x 1/2" box for the bracing.  I don't think I saved much weight because the whole frame is already pretty light(at least by the material I use :)) and small weight savings on the frame can quickly be soaked up by components that are a little heavier.  The trike as it sits in the picture weighs in at 44 lbs.  Aside from that, it is a little narrower but basically the same frame design and rides very nicely.

     I used a single guide pulley made out of a BMX freewheel instead of using the 2 roller blade wheels pictured and planned for.  Works nice, but for the cost and extra work making the adapter, etc, I'll be using roller blade wheels next time unless I feel energetic and decide to make delrin ones with precision bearings.  Instead of the single seat post I designed for it, I used dual support rods for the seat instead of the single seat post like most of my other trikes.  I thought I'd test the design requirements on this trike before using it on other trikes and the high racer I have in progress.

Misc Hardware

     The brakes on the front end are inexpensive mechanical disc with a single dual-pull lever to operate both.  The calipers also have the feature of being able to adjust both pads which is a nice addition on a set of $40 calipers and discs.  It's a very nice dual brake lever that completely eliminates brake steer by automatically equalizing the pull going to each brake.  It also has the nice feature of being able to still squeeze one brake if the second cable snaps for some reason.  I'll be adding a center pull brake for the rear wheel because I'm planning to do some ice racing with the trike and it needs dual brakes according to the rules.  The dual pull brake lever makes the discs feel very soft, and I'll see how well the lever works for stopping power when I test the brakes hard at the rink.  Below is the trike with the 200+ #6 screws in all three tires for ice racing.  I'll see if I need more screws in them after testing on the rink tomorrow.

     The front and rear derailleurs are salvaged units and of higher quality and still working great and in great shape.  I bought some inexpensive Diacompe bar end shifters which handle the 48/38/28 152mm chainring set on the front, and the 11-30 8 speed cassette on the rear.  The front hubs are lightly machined Shimano M475s with some 12mm precision bearings pressed in and 3X laced into 16" Alex X101 rims.  The rear hub is an FH-2200 laced into a 24" Alex DM24 rim with 3X on the cassette side and radial lacing on the off-side.

     Trike is converted back to street tires.  The dual pull caliper was removed and replaced with individual levers for each front wheel.  Finally room for the Freddy Fenders with the ice tires removed.

      Above is the wheel detail showing fender disc brakes and controls.  The handlebars are stainless steel, so I left the grips off for a change.  The short brake cables make for very smooth braking and the Delrin steering bushings are very smooth and should last a very long time.  The trike is very smooth running and the cockpit is nice and wide.  A nice running little trike - very happy with it.  Unfortunately it is just a couple inches too short for me but would be fine for anyone from about 5'6" to 6' and up to about 230 lbs.

Comparison of the trike with an '06 Catrike Speed (middle) and an '05 Speed (with fenders).

Specs:

More bike details when more bikes are built :)

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