Home Built Bikes
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Flying Cross RS
Frame First attempt at rear suspension. It was built for a guy that weighs about 230lbs and I was originally intending on using a 26" rear, but switched to a 24" to make it easier to pedal. This was the original 3D rendering of what I wanted the trike to look like:
The trike is longer than it needs to be because I switched to a 24" rear after the sides of the swing arm were welded. The upside is that the swing arm can be swung under neath for transport so it can be far shorter if need be. The swing arm is pretty "gothic" because I didn't taper the front in to meet the frame, as in the standard rear ends on DF bikes. I used 1" x 1/16" box steel for the chain stays, with 3/4" box for triangulating. Again, heavier rider so I'd rather over build than under build. It's also the reason I used 1/2" precision bearings for the pivot point. I stood the steering/brake arms up at about 60 degrees to make it easier for the owner to get in and out of the seat due to the fact that it is pretty low to the deck. As a result, I had to change the way I hooked the handle bars in. I planned on using different shifters which would have allowed the bars to be shorter, but contrary to the picture, they are not as tall as they probably look and they are actually quite comfortable. The kingpins are inverted and use a grade 5, ½" bolt with sintered bushings instead of bicycle head sets. I put grease nipples on the back side of the king pin housings so the entire steering tube on both sides can be filled with grease to hopefully make the steering nice and smooth (it's already pretty nice considering the bushings) and prolong the bushing life. The main spine is made out of 1½" x 1/16" mild steel square tubing and the cross member is made out of 1¼" x 1/16" mild steel square tubing. (pardon the blurry pictures)
The rear shock is 6" long with a 550lb spring on it. Pretty much a perfect match for this trike both in capacity and colour scheme. The rear fender is a plastic 24" with 4 steel support wires. It is designed for a front wheel, but I just reversed it and used thetop fender mount as a reflector mount. Seat The seat is the standard 14" wide by 33" long seat I used on the first flying cross. It's simple, stiff and relatively light for being made out of 7/8" stainless tubing. The seat is adjustable for recline and has 6" of fore/aft movement for X-seam adjustment. The seat cover is green gravel truck mesh. Wheels The rear wheel is a 24" aluminum wheel with a 6 speed freewheel. The front wheels are heavy duty 20" BMX wheels with 48 spokes and 14mm axles. Misc Hardware The paint job is semi-gloss black powder coat. The chain tube is ½" plastic irrigation pipe and has an extra piece under the swing arm to aid in chain management, a small piece under the seat (just in case it might rub the cords on a big bump) and a small piece over the right side crossmember to stop the return side of the chain from wearing on it. No speedo mount on this one as the owner is likely not worried about such things (but a mount can be added later - like I did on the Mk III) and there are lots of tabs for mounting fenders, racks, etc. Specs:
Modifications:
Next time . . .
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