Trike
Carrier 
A
friend of mine bought a trike that a fellow triker built, and he now needed some
method of carrying the trike around. I took some measurements from the back
of his car and we decided on what the important features would be. - It
needs to be low to the ground so it would be easy to get the trike onto
- It
needed to fit a 1 1/4" hitch mount
- It needed to be high enough so
the exhaust gas wouldn't overheat and blow the rear tire
- It would be nice
if his wife's bike rack was incorporated into the trike rack as well
I
also wanted it to tilt, to have a separate spring loaded catch and security pin,
and to be able to load the trike from the curb side. With these requirements
in mind, I started chopping up steel.
| The first
piece, is a section of 1 1/4" x 1/8" steel tube about 36" long.
I drove a piece of 1" x 1/8" square tube, that was about 18"
long, down the right hand end. This is the end that goes in the receiver
and I wanted to reinforce the tube to be able to hold a mountain bike out at the
other end. I drove a 1 1/2" x 1/8" piece of square tube over the
other end and welded it. This is the end that the MTB rack will be bolted
to using a 3/4" bolt. | |
| The next
piece is T-shaped and actually holds all the bits and pieces that the trike will
sit on and be secured to, and it pivots up and down from roughly the middle. It's
also made out of square 1 1/4" x 1/8" steel tube with various brackets
and tabs welded to it for springs, etc. There is a handle sticking up off
the right end of it and this handle is used to help tilt the carrier section up
and down for loading and unloading the trike. | |
| The T-section
bolts onto the main boom using a grade 5 bolt, 3/8" dia, and has a small
groove machined near the end of it (red arrow). The T-section pivots on
the bolt, and the notch is where a padlock grips the bolt. |  |
| The lock is
from a standard 3/8" hitch pin. It slides over and locks into the notch
in the grade 5 bolt and allows the T-section of the rack to be positively secured
to the main boom. Otherwise, all anyone would have to do is undo the 3/8"
bolt, and walk away with the T-section and the trike. |  |
| This is the
lower spring that pulls the front of the T-section down to make it easier to load
the trike from the right side. The spring helps keep the rack down so it
doesn't have to be held with one hand while the trike is loaded with the other. |  |
| This shows
the spring loaded latch that holds the T-section horizontal, in the travel position.
The two red arrows point to an inverted T that acts as a tilt-stop. This
stops the T-section from tilting too far and driving the chainring of the trike
into the ground. The latch is made out of 1/8" mild steel, cut to the
desired shape and pivots on a 1/4" grade 5 bolt. |  |
| This shows
the T-section tilted back to the horizontal, with the latch holding it there.
The hole at the bottom of the latch is where the brake cable attaches that
is used to operate the latch remotely. |  |
| This shows
the arm coming up and out from the side of the T-section. The round pipe
with the brake lever on it is the "handle bar" that is used to help
tilt the trike up and down with one hand. By squeezing the brake lever,
you can unlatch the T-section, and tilt the T-section down, under control, without
having to move anywhere or change hands. |  |
| This shows
the latch pulled using the brake lever, so the T-section can tilt for trike loading
and unloading. |  |
| This shows
the head of the quick release pin inserted through two pieces of angle iron (welded
to the main boom) and through the T-section. This pin, along with the latch,
hold the boom locked horizontal. There will be a small steel cable securing
the quick release to the piece of angle iron so it can't be lost. The procedure
is to first pull the quick release and let it drop on the cable. The spring
loaded latch is still securely holding the T-section horizontal. Then, grab
the handle, squeeze the brake lever and lower the T-section under control. Load/unload
the trike and reverse the procedure. |  |
| This shows
the wheel stirrups inserted into the T-section. The rear wheel stirrup is
sort of hard to spot, but it's there :) The stirrups are what the trike
wheels sit in and actually hold the trike. The stirrups are made from 1"
x .064" square steel, with the loops being made from 1/4" steel rod.
The steel loops are wide enough for a 2" tire, and are about 10"
long so the wheels sit good and deep in them for security. The square tube
is welded into a T shape and they slide in and out for different tracks, while
the rear one slides fore and aft for different wheelbases. It can accommodate
a track of about 26" up to about 40", and wheelbases from about 29"
to about 45". The stirrups are secured by 1/4" SS pinch bolts. |  |
| This is the
second last piece to go on. It's a piece of 2" ABS pipe about 3 feet
long, that has been sliced in half, and bolted onto tabs on the T-section with
1/4" SS bolts. While loading and unloading the trike, the rear wheel
rides in the 1/2 pipe so you don't have to lift it for it to clear the various
parts of the rack and main boom. If the rear wheel is in the track while
loading the trike, the front wheels (if straight) will automatically roll into
their stirrups on their own. The rack has been tilted up in this picture
too. | |
| This shows
the T-section stowed horizontal, with the mountain bike holder bolted on the end
on the main boom. The whole rack is designed so that the trike can be loaded
and unloaded whether a mountain bike is on the rack or not, and vice versa. The
mountain bike rack is far enough back, that a mountain bike would hang behind
the trike when loaded, and they wouldn't touch each other. The screw knob
on the rack secures the mountain bike while 2 bungee cords on each wheel secure
the trike. A U-type lock fits over the boom of the trike, and locks around
the main tube of the T-section for security when the trike is loaded. |
|
| Lastly, this
shows the T-section tilted down while the mountain bike rack is still bolted on.
The MTB rack is also far enough out that the trike's seat clears it while
loading and unloading. | |
| | | After
powder coating and assembly, the trike carrier was taken over and installed on
the car in a 1 1/4" hitch. | |
| The trike
carrier is tilted down to allow the trike to be loaded easier. His driveway
is sloped so the rack is actually higher off the ground than normal. The
front part of the rack is almost touching the ground when on level footing. The
MTB rack can be seen at the back, and the trike or the MTB can be loaded independently
of each other, whether the trike or bike is there or not. | |
| To load the
trike, the wheels are straightened, and then you just pull the trike up the carrier
by putting the rear wheel in the ABS trough. The trike lines itself up,
and the front wheels go right in their stirrups. The rear wheel drops in
its stirrup and you push the trike down to lock the carrier in the horizontal
position. | |
| Here, the
trike is loaded and ready to be strapped to the rack using simple bungee cords.
A cable lock can loop over the the trike's main backbone, just behind the
cross member, loop under the rack, and the trike is securely locked on the rack.
That's about it :) | |
DIY Mirror I
have always had mirrors on my bents. I hate having something come up beside
me and startle me, only for me to spaz-out and jerk the handle bars and go into
a car, or go off the road onto the shoulder and wipe out. The multiple other
functions of a mirror go without saying. For me, being a bit of a speed-weenie,
while I like the mirrors, I hate that they might add one bazillionth of a watt
of aero drag, so I'm always on the lookout for better options. I've tried
the smaller ones that go on the glasses or on the helmets, but I generally smash
them off in fairly short order due to me not paying attention the fact
that they are generally more fragile than their handlebar brethren, so they don't
seem to be the best choice for me. | Back
in mid 2007, I thought I was very clever and took one of my old round mirrors
that had been broken, and I glued a piece of male Velcro to the back. I
then had my dear mother in law to sew a 2" x 2" pieces of female Velcro
to the back of my bike glove. I then stuck the mirror to the back of my
glove. Sweeet! So, "Why do that" you might ask. Well,
on all my two wheeled bents, my hands are in a position where my knuckles are
basically pointing up and the back of my hand is nearly vertical. My hands
are also just below eye level, but higher than my shoulders. By putting
the mirror on my hand, I just look at my hand and I can see over my shoulder.
I only need to twist my hand slightly depending on the bar position and
design. | | Just
recently, I saw a couple other riders who had done the same thing, but with a
twist/improvement. Instead of flat on the glove, the mirror was sitting
on a small wedge shaped piece of foam and you could adjust the angle from one
bent to the next so no hand twisting was required. Very clever, thought
I. Not to be outdone, I took two small rectangular mirrors from a mechanic's
inspection mirror and used them instead of he big round ones. I made two
little foam blocks with a 30º angle on them, glued male Velcro on one side
and the mirror on the other. I also had my dear mother in law sew another
piece of female Velcro on my other glove, and now I can have two mirrors (which
is a requirement at some races) for all my bents, without having to actually put
mirrors on them. To the right is a lousy picture of one of the little rectangular
mirrors on the foam wedge. The picture below is of both gloves and two sets
of mirrors; the old round ones and the new ULTRA light, aero and sexy small ones. 
| | | | |
Top
DIY Helmet Visor - 17 June
2009 Ok, this isn't actually a
"DIY helmet visor" but rather the process of putting a snazzy Louis
Garneau visor on an equally snazzy Giro Advantage aero helmet. Warren, over
at recumbents.com,
always on the lookout for new and cool stuff, came across the site
of a Norseman who had done the same mod, and explained it step by step. Like
a good lad, I did exactly what was explained on the site, even though the new
visors are slightly different. The new visors have a couple more slots in
them either because a) the clerk at the local bike shop was a dolt and didn't
get the right visor, or 2) the new visors are different than the one the Norseman
modded. Now if it's #A, that means I'm even more awesome than the other
guys that did it because I did it with a DIFFERENT visor (oh yeah!! :)) but if
it's #2, maybe the new visors have a couple extra vents to prevent fogging. In
the middle picture, the slot at the rear is part of the system that allows you
to raise the visor when it's on the LG helmets, but the slot at the front seems
to be for extra venting. I am secretly hoping for A, but know in my heart
of hearts it's likely 2. At any rate, it was a fairly painless procedure
involving a butter knife and a pair of scissors and the whole thing took approximately
10 minutes. As there was a little bit of glue residue between the shell
and the padding, I don't think I even need any extra glue to hold it in, but I'll
keep an eye on it and add some later if need be. The cool thing? Big
dawgs from the TDF (that's the l33T3 acronym for the Tour de France, for any of
the n00bl3ts out there . . .) have done the EXACT SAME mod to their TT helmets!
Too cool, eh!?!?? Now, I have the SAME THING, but I don't have a high priced
equipment manager to make helmet mods for me, and they likely didn't use a butter
knife and their wife's craft scissors . . . In case the Norseman's site
ever disappears, I have a local copy of the process saved here. But
anyway! Here's a picture of the Norseman's helmet on the left. A side
view of mine is in the middle, and a front view of mine is on the right. You
will also note that my visor is smoked while the other one is merely "clear".
I could have got the rose tinted one but I didn't want to TOTALLY
blow people away with its awesomeness on the first attempt. Maybe later
. . . So,
ok, the Norseman's helmet is "shinier". Well, SOME of us don't
sit at home all day polishing our helmets with our nice new visors on them and
taking pictures of them! SOME of us actually go out and RACE with them and
get them dirty and scratchy and stuff! I want a shiny helmet
. . . :( |
