New Trike Part 6: Back to the drawing board

Some new plywood parts on order.  The slots in the parts will carry a Tee-Nut mounted on 2 layers of 4mm ply. 

This is the right sort of plywood for the trikes, hoop pine which can be steam bent.  It is stamped as complying to Australian standards.

Not the right stuff!  This ply is has hardwood veneers and broke rather than bent

Hi 


I have been forced to order new parts for this trike build. As discussed here, the trike is on the road.  Unfortunately it is on the road with a borrowed seat!   The ply I'd used for the trike didn't bend much, and split or damaged the internal frame when I tried to put it together.


So I have gone back to the drawing board (ok, computer desk) and fixed up some of the issues I discovered when putting the trike together.   Some of the new parts are shown in the  top sketch.  I will be replacing the nuts brazed into tubes with T-nuts mounted on small timber pads. This will mean less work, and fewer tools and parts will be required for assembly.


Will post more as parts arrive.


Regards

Steve Nurse

Not the right stuff!  This ply doesn't bend at all well, but it seems ok for the flat bits of the trike.

Bendigo Part 2

Cycleport Bike Share and charging system.  It was launched in Bendigo last weekend.

A Rearviz rep checks out their opposition, my helmet mirror

Coros is a bluetooth enabled helmet that works with a smartphone so you take phonecalls and control your MP3 music files while riding.

This is the sort of e-bike that e-stralian can lease to you through your company.  Here is an article about them, I spoke to Thijs from E-stralian for a while.

Brompton Australia Stand.  You can hire a Brompton in Bendigo

My stand on Friday

Friendly mob from Bike Bendigo.

Starting to Set up on Saturday morning

Nooooooo!  Some hoons set on my bike and broke the steerer when it was parked in a yard at my accommodation, so I couldn't show it on the Saturday.

kkdu plum make a neat, folding bike trailer which converts into a 3 wheel cart .

 Hi, I got back from the cycling innovation show in Bendigo today, here are the photos and some links.  Unfortunately my trike steerer was broken when it was mishandled by some hoons at my accommodation, so I couldn't participate today.  Thanks to Chris Rowlands from Bendigo Council for coordinating the event.

Update, December 12, 2016

Now repaired thank goodness!

Bendigo Part 1

Old Church Hall, Site of the film night

Vintage Bike Racks.......

and Yarn-bombing at the hall entrance.

Hi

On Thursday I rode into uni at Caulfield to get some work done and after that got the train up to Bendigo for a bike-show weekend.  The first event of the weekend was a film night and I rode up the hill from my accommodation, and arrived late and also without camera.  Films were ok, Building was excellent, beer was excellent!  Anyway, the photo I wanted today is here on Bike Bendigo's facebook page and I returned the next day to take photos.  Nice atmosphere around the building which had yarn bombing and veges growing.

 Will report more later.

Regards

Steve Nurse

New Trike Part 5 - a shakeout ride

At Docklands with Graham S's low racer

Graham and Dale

My Wife Christine at Home

Hi, Tonight I am catching up on my blog posts, here are a few photos from last Sunday when I took my mark 7 trike out for a shakeout ride of about 20k.  Its still not fixed completely, the brakes are rubbing and there is a "waggle" in the wooden plug at the front which holds the steering and bottom bracket.  I will work on these and reort back,

Regards

Steve Nurse

ATRF 2016

Following on from a tradition started last year , I rode to the conference venue.

Autonomous Vehicle Go Home!  This driverless vehicle was on display, but it.......

didn't have any windows.  I would be reluctant to get in it and close the door.

Free!  Bling!  All these badges were free, gratis and for nothing from the Vicroads stand. I gathered up a few and my wife Christine passed them on to my nephew Fraser.

Title page from one of the presentations on active transport, I had a poster presentation.

Hi, This week I've been at a conference, the Australasian Transport Research Forum.  As far as academic junkets go (free overseas travel, all expenses paid in swishy hotels, that sort of thing) , its fairly pathetic being only 9 or 10k away in my home town of Melbourne.  But they feed you quite well and yesterday there were even free ice-creams.  Back to the conference today, another day at the salt mines.

Regards

Steve Nurse

26 November.  Unfortunately, I left the SD cart at home on the last day of the conference so couldn't take more photos.  That's all from the conference!

New Trike Part 4 - On the Road

Trike Without Seat and with temporary Handlebars

Front Plug

Finished trike with temporary seat

Side Panel assembly

Oversize holes in fork (circled red) are paths for brake and gear cables. 

New left lug for mudguard and front fairing

L to R, My Nephew Fraser, Brother Richard and Me.

Richard's partner Sarah.

Hi

The trike I'm working on is on the road now, and I spent about half an hour riding around on it this afternoon and took a short video.    Saturday morning was spent attaching the wheels and steerer and connecting the cables.  Then I left to visit my brother and his girlfriend, and my mum, dad and nephew.  I went for a few surfs with my nephew Fraser.  Sunday (today) I came back and finished it off - well almost!

The steerer isn't finished yet, and the seat isn't either.  The lasercut timber looks quite good and I think it will look even better when all the parts are finished on the trike.  For now I haven't bothered trying to keep the cable runs tidy. Will post more later.

Regards

Steve Nurse

New Trike Part 3

Back Axle Insert

Front Insert

Drilling the frame - a few bolts hold the inserts in.

Frame Finished

Hi

The bike frame I've been working on for a week or 2 is finished but I still need to make the seat and add the front fork, steerer, wheels and handlebars.  Today I glued on the plates for the steerer bearings, fitted the bottom bracket shells and fitted the bolts for holding the inserts to the frame.  Looking forward to the nex bit, on the road soon I hope.

The seat will be quite a bit of work but I can cheat a bit by using a seat made for another machine.

All for now, Bye!

And the flower of the month is......

Nasturtium!

Hi

I've spent about 56 years living in Melbourne and until a few years ago was blissfully unaware that certain flowers came out at certain times of year.  This post is hopefully the first in a series that will attempt to fix that, I will photograph some flowers in bloom and attempt not only to name them but to spell their names correctly.

This series (sort of) started a year or so ago, here.  Guess I have next month's post sorted!

Regards

Steve Nurse

Here is another photo from a little further down the bike track.

New Trike Part 2

Joseph from Joseph's workshop with mk6, I was picking up the parts for mk7 from Joseph's Workshop.

And these are the bits

Part-Assembled at the front.

Setting up for cutting aluminium on 45 degree angle.

Part-Assembled at the back.

With some B-Spon riders.....

at Port Melbourne

Painting the bottom brackets

Clamping the front plywood assembly.

Setting up to braze the front bottom bracket.  The laser-cut parts underneath are for propping up the part to be brazed on and are 7mm wide.

Hi, here are some photos of the progress made making the new trike.  I picked up some laser-cut ply parts on Monday, and have been working on them on and off ever since, gluing parts, brazing and painting parts and sawing the aluminium for the frame.

There are a few mistakes in the file I sent to Joseph to have cut, the steerer holes were missing and I only got 2 of one part, where 4 were needed.  So I'm working around those things and have made the missing parts manually.  Will keep going, both with the building and the blog.

Regards

Steve Nurse