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November 11,
2004 |
| My last update was early July 2004. My work (as
well as my riding) was interrupted a number of times with family matters and
no less than two major hurricanes passing much too close. Also, there were
a number of Internet and computer issues, so I may have inadvertently lost
some of your E-mail. My failure to answer was not intentional, but if I did
I apologize. But, I am now back on track and am basically finished with my
Transportable Carbon Low Racer. I have approximately 100 debugging miles on
it and am quite pleased. The front wheel drive is a new experience, and my
initial impressions is that it is quicker on acceleration, but at
this point not as fast on the all out sprint. Time may change that,
however. Construction wise, the bike is as stiff as the VK 2, but only in
the front end. I have been successful in duplicating the VK 2 boom
stiffness. The back, while stiffer than my Baron Clone, is not as stiff as
the VK 2. The main reason for this is that (I think) is the seat used on my
new bike was very light weight and not capable of transmitting the torsion
forces. I do not think, however, that this is that important since this is
a front wheel drive and therefore there will be no loss in putting power to
that rear drive wheel. A little softness back there may yield a softer
ride. At this point I have not identified a carrying case, as that will be
the next update as well as a road report. Here are my pictures to document
the finishing process. |
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Off subject here is the main damage to my home. I
was lucky being across the street from the ocean, and less than 20 miles
from where the eye came ashore…..twice. My prayers are with those to the
north of me who did not fare as well. |
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Shown previously was a front fork (130 mm) that I
had made by a professional frame builder. He did a beautiful job! The
dimensions were right on target, the price was right and I am very
pleased. I will initially use this fork. My only complaint is that it is
heavy, being 770 grams. The forks used on my Baron Clone that I converted
from 650 to a 406 were in the range of 360 to 400 grams. So I decided to
build a new one! The crown from the fork shown in the following two PICS
will be used for the conversion.
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As shown in these PICS, the heavy steel steerer tube
was cut off, as well as the legs leaving the crown. A new one inch diameter
by .036 inch wall titanium tube was pressed on to the crown. The tines will
be built up for 130 mm wide spacing. |
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The dropouts and crown were connected with a thin
strip of carbon on each side, and the then balsa was used to fill in the
middle. The same thickness carbon was bonded to the balsa forming a
sandwich of carbon and balsa. |
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The legs were covered with approximately 3 layers of
.009 inch carbon and wrapped with shrink tape. Heat applied, then after
curing a light coating of filler material, the assembly was then sanded.
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A final layer of carbon was added. This is a carbon
sleeve and is a 45 degree cross pattern and dresses out to over .015
inches. The same method to remove excess resin as before was used. The
fork was given 3 light coats of a clear coat and lightly wet sanded.
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Now for some of the details! First the nose
/bottom bracket assembly. This is shown in the first photo. I originally
said that I would bond the nose in place, but I changed my mind. I cut
the nose section off and bonded inner pieces so that the assembly would
fit into the boom tube. This means that I must make a clamp assembly for
the boom tube. Also I need to make a derailleur post. This will be shown
later.
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The next two photos show the connection pins that
hold the front half of the frame to the rear stays. They were made from
aluminum heavy wall tube. The resultant thickness is approximately .100
inches and to fasten I used 1 inch (24 TPI) headset nuts. The one side is
permanently bonded to the threads with its washer. On the other is a
washer, nut and then a locking nut. The pins are inserted from the left
side of the frame and tightened from the right. This worked well! |
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The next
three photos are modifications I made to the rear frame. I detected some
unwanted rotation at the rear so I added more support. The rear dropouts
were given extra layers of carbon. Also, I added a bridge across the two
stays to tie them to each other. These two fixes added the desired
stiffness that I wanted. |
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The first two photos show the connecting pins
inserted from the left side. The next two show the tightening method.
First tension is applied to the connecting nut. Then the locking nut is
tensioned with the connecting nut. |
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This photo shows the clamp that was fabricated to
hold the nose piece/bottom bracket assembly. Hate to tell how much time was
spent how much time was expended on this piece. |
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Now for the idler assembly! I originally wanted to
use a jack-shaft method so that normal size chain rings could be used. That
is why you see two rings here. The smaller was supposed to be to the crank
assembly and the larger driving the wheel cogs. This proved to be
unworkable as there was too much chain interfering with each other. I
cleaned this up by going to a 65 tooth large front ring with a 53 small.
Getting back to the idler! I machined a shaft from aluminum and used
special bearings that had a small OD to ID ratio. These were installed in
the frame. There will be a better PIC of this assembly later. |
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Shown are more PICS of the idler assembly. Again
keep in mind that the larger ring was done away with and it in now just an
idler. |
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These PICS
show the underside of the bike showing the pin connections.
Also, the front seat connection is shown more clearly here.
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These PICS show the support for the rear brake. A
“shoe” type impression was made from the same tube that is used in the
rear frame which connects the two rear stays. This support will be bonded
to the tube.
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This photo shows the near up-to-date version of the
front end drive system. A 34 tooth ring serves as the idler. The large
drive ring is 65 teeth and the smaller is 53. The secondary (white nylon)
will be replaced later.
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These three PICS show the rear brake separator.
This was purchased from Hotel Shoppe. A good product but they should have
included a rear cable. The front cable is the standard brake cable from the
brake actuator (not supplied), but cut off and the end inserted into the
separator and secured with set screws. The rear cable (to the rear brake)
was made by me from a discarded mountain bike brake cable. It had to be cut
down to fit into the separator body. I could have used a road bike
derailleur cable which would have fit without modification, but this is not
the same diameter as a brake cable and I basically did not trust it as the
rear is the main brake system.
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The next three photos show the handlebar and
cockpit arrangement, and the last two shows the adjustable stem. Later
you will see how these can collapse to make a smaller packing envelop.
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The first three PICS show the side view and quarter
of the completed bike. Some discussion is necessary here on wheels. As you
can see I decided on a set of Velocity Uriel wheels for this project. I
found them to be of very high quality, light and extremely cost effective.
Not only that, but you have a great choice of same front and rear. The
complete set cost approximately $330. In contrast, see the PIC of the HED
rear wheel that I have been using. This wheel, rear only was almost $500.
Velocity is trying very hard to be the choice of wheels for the recumbent
user. Time will tell how they hold up.
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The next three show the opposite side of the bike
with emphasis on the drive system. |
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The next three shows how I treated the seat
support. I have added the FastBack System Seat Bag. Specifically it is the
slim type. A great product! It adds just enough volume to carry all that
you need. Also, it covers the added neck support that I needed after I put
2 inch foam padding on the seat (very comfortable to my boney ass). This is
the most comfortable seat/neck arrangement that I have made so far. I have
always said that I don’t mind my lower back portion seriously reclined
(23-25 degrees) but my dorsal area (up to the neck) must be more up and
forward than the seats are being made at. Neither my forward view, nor my
breathing is impaired in any way with this arrangement. Although I have
only about 100 miles on the bike so far, I barely notice any discomfort in
the upper region of my body. I don’t know if it is only me, but when my
upper section is laid back, my breathing is seriously affected. |
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The last three PICS show more of the handlebar
arrangement. |
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Up to now I have not shown the post that was
constructed for the front derailleur. The first three PICS show how it
was made. I took the cut off piece of one of the carbon forks that was
converted from a 650 to a 407, reversed it and bonded it to the
nosepiece. Very aerodynamic and good looking! The last photo shows it
installed on the bike. |
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The remaining photos show how the bike is broken
down for shipment. This PIC shows that the first step is to remove the
seat. |
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The connecting pins are removed and the front half
is separated from the rear half. |
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The tiller is collapsed at the stem, and the
handlebar is removed from the tiller by two screws. The collapsed system
is secured to the forward frame. |
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These last four photos show the collapsed bike.
As was said in the beginning, the rear wheel will be carried separately.
While I do not show it, the pedals will be removed. A rough measurement
indicates that the entire bike (less rear wheel) can fit into a 52 X 26 X
10 inch envelop. I now must investigate what cases are available and will
report in the next update.
The weight of the bike came in at approximately 23
pounds without pedals. This is with a Dura Ace crank and top end SRAM
components. Keep in mind that the heavy fork is in that calculation.
Changing out to the lighter fork that I fabricated will lower the overall
weight somewhat. While this cannot be considered a super light bike, it
must be remembered that this is a take-apart bike and as such was never
intended to be. More to report in the next update. |
