Improvised rear triangle jig

To bend the rear seat stays it helps to have a jig. I think I've put one together that'll work fine without having to weld it. It makes use of a big heavy brake drum that's been rusting in my yard for a few years. I expect to try it out tomorrow so I'll let you know how it goes. Here are pics of the jig. You have to heat the seat stays and bend them over that little pipe.

From Recumbent Bike Project

From Recumbent Bike Project

Third donor bike gives me a front wheel

I bought a cheap kids 20" bmx-style bike today for $11.99 at Goodwill, mainly to get the front wheel, which will be the front wheel for my recumbent.

From Recumbent Bike Project

Not great quality, but probably good enough. It has aluminum rims at least. The wheel needs some attention to get the tension evened out, and it'll need a narrower tire. I also salvaged some reflectors and a stem and other little stuff from the bike.

So here's the wheelset for the recumbent as it stands now, although according to Andrew Carson, the guy who made instructions for the recumbents, 26" wheels work better than 27" in rear. This one's a 700c wheel.

From Recumbent Bike Project

Holding pattern

I've done about as much as I can do before getting into the metal shop for welding. I even got a scrap hub from a neighbor's junky bike so I can make a jig for bending the rear triangle down.

I think while I'm waiting to weld, I'll take one of the Nishiki's wheels and use it to learn how to build a wheel. Take it completely apart and re-assemble, just for fun. I can also get rid of all the rust and shine it up while I'm at it.

Getting ready to weld first joints

I made some good progress tonight. I cut the seat tube of the Raleigh piece and made a fish-mouth joint to be welded to the top tube. This is a major pain using only a hacksaw and files, but I think it turned out pretty well.

From Recumbent Bike Project

I ended up having to cut off about 2mm from the downtube to make this fishmouth joint fit up tight with the top tube. Must have cut too much off of seat tube. Whoops!

In this series of pics you can see the pieces for the first two assemblies. Gold pieces are from the Raleigh bike, black piece is from the Nishiki, and the shiny silver piece is the famous sleeve I made last night from the Murray junker in my neighbor's trash pile.

From Recumbent Bike Project

From Recumbent Bike Project

From Recumbent Bike Project

From Recumbent Bike Project

From Recumbent Bike Project

From Recumbent Bike Project

Everything fits great, I think the bike is coming along well. Tomorrow I'll take off the paint, then I have to find a time to get into the metal shop to do the welding. I'm stoked!