Flying Cross RS 2

Frame

     Frame is pretty much identical to the previous black flying cross with rear suspension.  The pivot point uses a ¾" bearing with a ½" reducing bushing instead of the straight ½" bearing.  As the rider for this one is around the 250lb mark, I wanted a good sturdy swing arm pivot.  The water bottle mount has a welded tab on the side of the swing arm instead of being zip tied on like the black one and I put a tab directly under the pivot point with a derailleur pulley on it to manage the return side of the chain.  Much more free movement, less noise and "cleaner".  I put a 750lb shock on this one to stiffen up the suspension instead of the 550lb shock on the black one.

     This was the original 3D rendering of what I wanted the trike to look like:

     I used a 26" rear wheel on this one because the rider enjoys speed a little more than the owner of the black one.  I switched the bushing/bolt style king pin so it is "nut up" on this trike instead of "nut down" like on the black one.  This raised the trike a bit but I countered that a little by welding the cross members to the backbone at a 15 degree compund angle so they angle up and forward.  With the smaller size king pin and axle assembly, I also had to modify the steering/brake arms.  The box tube comes straight off the axle housings for 3", and then angles up and back at 45 degress.  The 15 degrees of caster means the net steering arm angle is 30 degrees which is enough to clear the front of the seat and keep the cock pit long enough to not feel "jammed".

     The back bone is 1½" x 1/16" wall tubing and the cross members are 1¼".  The swing arm is a little beefy as the chain stays are 1" box while the triangulating members are ¾".  Again though, I had the rider size in mind and wanted it to be as bullet proof as possible.  I added grease nipples to the king pin housings so the sintered bushings can stay packed with grease.  On this one, I also ran open cable along the right chain stay to try to reduce cable/housing friction and make it shift nicer.  It seems to be working.  The trike is very smooth and has a nice, supple ride due to the suspension.

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 white, gravel truck mesh.

Wheels

     The rear wheel is a 26" aluminum wheel with a 7 speed mega range cassette.  The front wheels are heavy duty 20" BMX wheels with 48 spokes and 14mm axles.

Misc Hardware

     The paint job is white and red gloss powder coat in accordance with the owner's desire to have a "Canada theme" :).  The chain tube is ½" plastic irrigation pipe and has a small piece under the seat (just in case it might rub the cords on a big bump) and a small piece under the right side crossmember to stop the return side of the chain from wearing on it.  Speedo pick-up is mounted on the right front steering/brake arm with the computer mounted in the center of the steering link so it's out of the way yet easy to see.  It has a 6' safety flag and a 26" plastic fender with steel attaching rods.  On a previous 26" plastic fender like this, due to vibration, the fender snapped at the bottom front, where it was mounted in front of the wheel to the frame.  This time, I used 3 rivets to hopefully spread the load and prolong or eliminate the failure.  Only time will tell.

Specs:

Modifications:

• possible addition of a rear view mirror, and bull horns for "cruise mode", but none yet . . .

Next time . . .

• use a rubber bumper instead of a shock for a more "passive" suspension
• use ¾" tubing for steering/brake arms and change some of the dimensions a little
• run more open cable for rear and front derailleurs