My Old Recumbent photos

They aren't big, but they are the best I have available at this time.  These are some of my first recumbents.

 Bentech SWB - muffler pipe and the forks from a Huffy Mtn bike

 Me on the Bentech SWB - the Bentech LWB was supposed to be my main bike, but this one became the one that I'd grab and ride much more often.

 Bentech LWB - 4130 chromoly main tube

 Bentech LWB - muffler pipe

Tour Easy clone - made from a Japanese 10-speed bicycle

Redondo LWB Lowracer - showing the intermediate jackshaft that makes this bike fly so fast!

Further Along, but ...

There it is with a mesh seat cover, rear derailleur, and crank & pedals on the front.  Almost looking like a real recumbent.  

The new owner has a 28-inch inseam ... which places the seat up very close to the steering stem.  AND, he wants the seat almost vertical.  It is tilted back just barely enough for the chain line to clear the bottom of the seat fabric.  HOWEVER, I can just barely squeeze in between the seat and the steering stem.  And getting back out (getting the bike to drop down off me) is very difficult ... it would almost be easier to flop over sideways onto the ground and crawl out (OUCH!).  

SO, I have to do something about making a tilting steering mechanism.

Here is the rear derailleur attached to the dropout.

There are two other smaller holes that I had to tap threads into for use of the seat stays and a possible future rear rack or Golden Eagle gasoline engine.

Here's looking at the threaded holes from the inside of the frame.

Rear Derailleur Tap

The Big Box stores around here don't have taps.  

You need a tap to cut the threads in the 8.5mm hole that the rear derailleur threads into.  It is a 10mm tap ... however, not just any 10mm tap will do.  The upper tap in the foto is 10mm x 1.5mm (I didn't know what the thread count on it was since it isn't marked, so I tried it on a piece of scrap metal ... too course for the derailleur threads).  At this point I searched the internet and on Sheldon Brown's site it specified that the tap had to be 10mm x 1.0mm.  I went to the nearest BIG city (I live in a tiny town with cows) ... where I found an industrial hardware store ... that just happened to have the bottom tap in stock (this saved me about $6 difference from the cost of buying it and having it shipped from Amazon.com).

The new tap worked absolutely fine.  I tapped the hole in the dropout and attached the derailleur.

More About Steering

The seat tube clamp is not attached in any way to the tubing.  I did cut 4 slots in the tubing so it could be clamped down tight on the stem that you see below.  You have to tighten the bolt really tight to keep the tube from wiggling back-and-forth on the stem.

Once upon a time ... there was an angled section attached to the side of the stem ... which went forth and clamped to the handlebar.  I cut that off with a hacksaw and ground it smooth.  I inserted this like normal into the headset, tightened it really tight (doesn't matter which direction this faces ... only you will know what's under the tubing), then slide the tubing down over the stem top to the headset nuts, and clamp it (making sure the handlebar is perpendicular to the wheel).

Old Bike in the Jungle

This is an old bicycle frame that I found in the overgrown jungle out behind an abandoned house here in town. Considering what has happened to the front fork ... I'm not sure that the bike is even restorable.

I'm still hacking away (every so often) on the recumbent SWB that I'm building for some guy ...

I offered to give him back his parts bicycle and forget the whole thing ... but he refused.

So whining and screaming, I periodically drag myself up to the shop and work on it some more.

Today I scrounged up some posts and welded them on to use a V-brake on the front wheel. I had mounted a caliper brake ... but didn't feel comfortable about it's stopping power ... particularly if he decides to mount a motor on this bike (he really wants a motor like mine on his recumbent too). I already had mounted a V-brake setup on the rear wheel. Dang! I think the cable with a few parts I need to use on the V-brake -- just fell down behind my work bench ... I'll have to dig it out tomorrow.

After reading the sparse instructions about steering in the BenTech construction plans ... I dug thru my scrap pile and found a tube to use as an extender between the headset and the handlebars. I slapped a set of bars into place and it almost looks like you can steer it.

Then I started working on the seat stays that run from the back of the seat to the rear dropout. The only problem is that the seat doesn't have a cover. I think I'll take the cover off my good web seat and put it on this bike. Then I'll have to talk someone with a heavy-duty upholstery sewing machine into sewing up another cover for my seat (once I buy some more of that Phifertex fabric).

I'll take fotos of all of this and post them tomorrow.

Procrastination -- and Frame Problems

There was a problem with the frame ...
When you clamped the bare frame in the jig and looked at it straight on from the front to the rear, it looked like the front end and bottom bracket were twisted to one side.
The rear forks were SOLIDLY welded into place, so what could I do about it? I thought about it, and thought about it. Kind of a slow thinker. And PROCRASTINATED, because I was so upset with the frame. Finally I cut a piece of stock main tubing about 2" long. Clamped it sideways in the vise and started cutting strips out of the length ... creating quite a gap ... until it would squeeze tightly together and just barely slide into a piece of main tubing stock.
Then I took my hacksaw and cut perpendicular across the main tube of the frame about 3" up from the rear forks. Using a round file, I filed in little half-round chunks out of the edge of the main tube. Slid the insert into the main tube and tack welded it into place. Then I slid the insert into the rear section ... put it in the jig ... and made sure the entire frame flowed straightly from front to back ... before finishing welding it all back together.

Now it is straight.
I feel so much better about it !! Now I can finish it!
with No major structural flaw.
Just small things and the steering before I get
it powder coated.

Seat Support Update

Notice that this time around, we have clearance for the chain.

Here's the sideview a.k.a profile

Building Seat Support -- Twice

I made this seat support piece and mounted it on the frame.
Then I stood out to the side and looked at it ...
Then I went inside and brought out a long length of chain ...
Put the chain around the large gear on the back and stretched it up over the top chain roller ... there's a problem ... it's pushing upward against the seat support unit.

I also saw that I couldn't mount the brakes on the top of the frame ...
same problem -- chain conflict.
Which means I'll have to adjust the rear dropouts forward ...
I haven't welded them on yet.

Here are the two seat support units side-by-side.
The one on the right will provide enough chain clearance.
If you are wondering what all the little tack-welds are for ...
I found that if I use a single layer of EMT tubing,
it bends when you sit in the seat and move side-to-side.
So, I split the tube down the center ... took one half and using a hammer to tap on it on a round section of tubing. This flairs the outside piece so that it will fit snugly against the other half. Then I tack-weld them together and they make a much more rigid seat support tube.

Here all by itself is the seat support unit that I am going to use.
Good thing I didn't start drilling holes in the main tube yet ...
I'll use this as the jig to drill the holes for the bolt that will lock the unit firmly in place at the proper distance for the new owner.

Rear Forks

Clamped to weld on rear forks ...

With the front forks, the rear forks, and a couple of wheels mounted, it is starting to look somewhat like a recumbent bicycle ...

Now it just needs dropouts, derailleurs, crank & pedals, A SEAT, handlebars, and a chain.

Start of Rear Forks

Here the main tube is clamped in the jig.
The black forks on the left will be used for rear forks.
Notice that I cut the head tube off about 3/8's inches below the bottom bearing support. This is so that I can use it for a steering unit in another project. And leaves enough room to weld the tab on it below the bearing to connect to the front forks.

I still have to mark and drill the holes near the rear of the main tube (on your right in this foto) ... and build the block to hold the axle-end of the forks in position when I clamp the main tube on the other side of the jig to weld the forks to it at the proper angle (those two empty "u" blocks over there will hold the main tube with the bottom bracket hanging downward over the right end).

All but the rear forks

Here's the view from head on ...
You can see the front forks (purple), Bottom Bracket for the front crank (silver), the front derailleur post (blue), and the chain rollers (red).

Here's a 3/4 view ...
What's missing are the rear forks at the other end of the main tube.
The plans recommend chromolly tubing bent 90°.
I have EMT tubing, but that didn't seem very strong.
I'm still working on them ...

Here's a right side view ...
the rear forks attach to that left end of the main tube.

Bentech Step 2-1/8

Main tube with head tube clamped in the jig.
The drill thing is what I used to drill the hole for the head tube.
White u-strip will be welded on for the idler wheels
to get the chain up and out of the way of the front fork.

Here the u-strip has been welded on ...
and you see the two chain idler wheels.
The idler wheels were skate wheels that I turn on my drill press.
the blue thing is just a temporary spacer ...
because I didn't have another 2" x 5/16' bolt.

Here's the current status of the main tube ...
the portion to the left of the head tube will be shortened a bit
when it is tweaked and bored for the bottom bracket.

Bentech Step 2

The main tube has been shortened, I marked the centerline of the sides of the tube, marked the head tube points, center-punched them, used a 1/8" drill bit and drilled pilot holes, then used a bi-metallic holesaw with a 1/4" center bit to drill from each side ...
to drill out the hole for the head tube.

Here I've tack-welded the head tube into postion. You may be wondering how the decision was made as to how much of the head tube would protrude above or below the main tube ... I took off the front end clamps, loosened the 2 clamps to my right, rotated the front end of the main tube 90° up, tightened down the 2 clamps to the right, inserted the head tube so it rested squarely on the surface of the jig ...
I tacked on one side, then directly 180°opposite on the other side. Then the two opposite ones for front & back.
The white u-bar will be the bracket for the chain guide idler wheels.

Here's a view of my welding ... dressed up by the hand grinder.
The head tube is now firmly in place.

Bentech starting

I've built one of these before.  This was made with a muffler pipe and a Huffy Mtn bike (the Huffy front forks became the rear forks on the Bentech SWB).  I had USS (under seat steering) on it.  It ended up being a favorite bike due the ease of transporting it and because of sitting high enough that I was quite visible in traffic.  That's very important when you are riding through a BIG city.
Anyway, back to construction ...

Here's the maintube (muffler pipe again) clamped in the jig.
This tube is a little long ... I could only buy a 10 ft. length,
so I had it split into two 5 ft sections ... a muffler shop did the bend for $2

This is just the start ... shortening & drilling comes next ...

Jig - Update

The blocks are mounted on the jig.
The tubing lays in the center of the blocks
and is clamped by screwing down the top half.

I've lifted the tops off ...
and you can the bottom half's are screwed to the jig surface.
Nest Step: get 1-3/4" muffler tubing

Bentech SWB Jig

2 x 4's aren't necessarily 8 ft. long anymore ... so the foundation of the jig ended up being about 46" long. That was on the left side ... where the overlap won't matter all that much. The holes drilled in the plywood are used to insert clamps to hold the main tube firmly in place for little operations such as drilling or welding. There's one 2 x 4 block on top ... I need 8 of them. More about this later ...