A bike that was being built for the 2002 Brantfort IHPV races but was near fully finished.
Frame:
A mix of old recycled parted to create the frame structure.
Fork/Headset:
A modified 20" tire fork to allow a rear drive wheel to fit.
Drivetrain/Cog/Chainring/Chain:
A modified 5 speed freewheel to act as a mid drive to bump up the gear ratio of the 20" FWD wheel.
Derailleurs/Shifters:
A simple thumb shifter to allow of the bottom drive train section of the bike.
Saddle/Seatpost:
A simple plywood seat base mounted on to the bike frame.
Brakes:
A set of old side pull brakes where planned to be used but never put on.
Front Wheel/Hub/Tire:
20" by 1.75" wheel (405mm)
Rear Wheel/Hub/Tire:
24" by 1 3/8 wheel
Accessories:
Bottom belly pan and cloroplast upper body cover.
More Info:
This was one of my involved recumbent bike design projects. It's use was very limited for the amount of work put into it. The need for cad drawings and fitting time was far greater then any other recumbent I had worked on.
Some of the materials used where not really up to the task as the budget for building this bike was tight. In the end, the base bike design was not really suited to general sreet/ commuting use due to extreme crank arm/ front tire over lap. This bike was scrapped in the end.
It did show the value of detailed planning working in getting a working bike like this from concept to running bike.The biggest problem with a design like this that with the upper body fairing in place it next to impossible to self start the bike from a standing still start.It is not that practical a design when compared to other designs I have done. This type of bike it suited to speed record type racing only.
Added by stevbike. Last updated over 12 years ago.
As of over 12 years ago, stevbike has indicated that they no longer own this bike.
2 Comments
Photos
MonsieurGloomy says:
Did you set any records on this beauty? Recumbents are the fastest thing you can move by legs, and you did ALOT of engineering on this!
Posted over 12 years ago
stevbike says:
Sadly the bike never got finish welds so it never really got ridden too far. The bike had about 109 inches of gears with the mid-drive in place. I figured a top speed of about 60 kph top end on level ground which would a person record for me. Too much time in design and build time compared to the use of the finished semi-finished machine though.You a good idea of just how much work has gone into bikes lke the Varna HPV the broke the 75 mph speed limit.
Posted over 12 years ago