Tilting Trikes Part 5 - Making a Wooden Tilting Velomobile Trike

[@CraigLandsberg-lk1ep]

I love how you have glued a curve into the wood, as a sheet metal worker i make everything in steel/aluminium but I am loving see you make this in wood and glue!

[@MetalMachineShop]

Laminating thin strips to create a curve is a good trick!

[@theoneandonlyjohn9445]

Hi I am a student of product design in the Czech Republic. I find your mentality and process of working very inspirational. Thank you for sharing it.

[@MetalMachineShop]

Thanks for your kind comment!

[@CraigLandsberg-lk1ep]

I really like it that you are using a sit down position cause that is how my design is going to be 😅

[@koustubhheblikar4693]

Alex !! This is fantastic ! We have also begun with the fabrication. Maybe 2 more weeks and we might be done.

[@MetalMachineShop]

Hello! Thanks. Good to hear you are making progress. I hope you will send me some photos when it’s finished!

[@koustubhheblikar4693]

@@MetalMachineShop Sure Alex ! I'm thankful to have you as my guide throughout this journey !

[@bobbutler5382]

Would it be possible to show the dementions of the various pieces of wood? For example, feet and inches

[@tatev2048]

Hello, I watched your video-Great product. I love it. I am a big bicycle fan. I will be following your progress.

[@abhainnbeag]

Just watched all of your videos , and i am very impressed , The level of detail is excellent especially around steering geometry , looking forward to the follow up videos, especially the fairings

[@davidwielemaker]

Great work, can't wait to see you ride it!

[@MetalMachineShop]

Thank you, hopefully it will be rideable before too long!

[@sergioelordui5832]

A very good job, congratulations!! Last year yet I made a wooden trike frame. I like to work with wood in personal mobility.

[@TheKnacklersWorkshop]

Hello, Happy New Year to you... As a lifelong cyclist this is a very interesting project... I will watch with interest as it progresses... Take care Paul,,

[@hakanhaver7779]

Hi from SWE, i built a non tilting trike first and i think the short wheelbase was, well a bit short. Made the bike "wiggle" and direct steering was to "nervous". I skipped it. And then i tried a 26" long recumbent that was low and i made it just as a test. Its better with two wheels in the front as you do it. Im thinking of building a electric non pedal version like yours in the future, Shocks in rear an front. Nice to see yore work and keep it up. :-)

[@MetalMachineShop]

Hi, thanks for the comment. It’s always good to hear of other people’s experiences. Good luck with your next project!

[@chrislowyck]

I’m from belgium, i love you work

[@Hotzenplotz1]

The frame seems to be very stiff and heavy to me. Especially the centre section below the seat won't take much load as the outer ply will take transverse forces and horizontal as well. But as I understood this is just a mock-up to check the geometry and will be replaced by carbon fibre. Have you thought about flax fibers instead? Should be more eco friendly and at least keeping the weight on the same level. Especially where the strength of the fibres is not outbid on a small vehicle like this. Thickness of the laminate is mainly to provide strength against collisions. Great work and attention to detail. I've been looking for a quality built. I'd like mine to be as high as a cars windscreen to make eye contact.

[@MetalMachineShop]

Hi, yes my wooden frame is heavy and I didn’t make any attempt to optimise it for this prototype. The area under the seat is the weakest and most highly stressed point. The finished frame is quite flexible. I have looked at flax, yes, but I am not sure whether there is an equally recyclable resin to go with it; Easycomposites have a recent video on this subject. Flax composite is a lot heavier and less strong than carbon fibre but I think it could be an option.

[@CraigLandsberg-lk1ep]

Can you explain what flax fibres are please?😅

[@Hotzenplotz1]

@@CraigLandsberg-lk1ep Easy composites has also made some videos here on YT about flax.

[@VadimR4]

Love your project. Thank you for sharing your work.

[@MetalMachineShop]

Thank you so much!

[@maxbar4166]

Can't wait to see this thing roll!

[@frednetherlands887]

Fantastic. Thank you!

[@ahmagdy81]

nice design, painting sealed for wood, wood & alloy so nice ...

[@MetalMachineShop]

I need to decide whether to paint the wood or just varnish it with a clear coat.

[@ahmagdy81]

@@MetalMachineShop varnish make wood more valuable & luxury ... if you used fiberglass or carbon so you can paint it ...

[@MetalMachineShop]

@@ahmagdy81 yes, I’m thinking varnish or oil finish. Don’t want to pretend it’s not wood by covering it with paint!

[@ahmagdy81]

@@MetalMachineShop i like shou sugi ban ... many ways is good too ... red, orange, yellow ... almost colours look like natural is good ... ... old is gold ...

[@CraigLandsberg-lk1ep]

I would not even be bothered removing strength material to save weight 😅 i am a sheetmetal worker and it rarely saves enough weight to offset the reduction in strength, but I am loving this build and hope it progresses well

[@kelargo]

Making the frame out of wood has the benefit of having something that works and can be molded to fabricate a composite frame.

[@jimboloco539]

You deserve more views, looking forward to the next part!

[@bartolomevidalhaces6939]

Me fascina esta serie de videos. Con tu permiso ya he cogido varias ideas para la construcción de mi velo. Ansioso de ver el resto. Muy buen trabajo

[@MetalMachineShop]

Thank you, I’m glad you find the videos interesting. Good luck with your project.

[@cliveclapham6451]

That's looking good👍👍👍

[@myperspective5091]

🚴👍🙂👍🚴 Can’t wait to see it finished.

[@MetalMachineShop]

I'm making good progress now, so hope to have a finished machine in a couple of months, with a bit of luck!

[@ericseidel4940]

haaa finaly, the following of this project. I can't wait to make mine since I watched your engineering development video. Mr Lathe and Mr TIG welder are waiting! [;oP A small trick for pivot in wood : instead of articulating metal axles(bolts) into wood holes, I would recommand do glue small brass or copper tubes in the wood holes to make a good mating surface for the pivot. The best would be to glue a ball bearing if you have enough room to keep a sufficient section of wood around.

[@MetalMachineShop]

Hi, it would be good to see your project when it comes together. Thanks for the tip; in fact I am using oilite bushes for the bearings, glued in with epoxy. I will probably use sealed ball races for the final version, but then again they are heavier and more expensive, so maybe not!

[@daszieher]

​@@MetalMachineShop very often ball races are overkill for swivelling components. I have seen bolts with PA6 bushings used quite successfully. much better bearing material than brass or copper (self-lubricating) keeps costs in check at the same time.

[@CraigLandsberg-lk1ep]

​@@daszieherPA6 bushings? Can you explain? Cheers 😅

[@030corpetlouvet]

Very nice👍

[@danielmaquinando8140]

Increíble, una obra de arte , espero ver pronto la proxima parte

[@MetalMachineShop]

Thanks! Next part coming soon!

[@AmitsLife]

Thank you

[@dave_ecclectic]

I know your wood frame is just a prototype but after seeing you build it, I am considering using wood as the end product. What do you think of wood as a frame? Too heavy? What is considered a good weight for a frame. Doesn't have to be ultimate lightness just an average ball park good.

[@MetalMachineShop]

I would say wood is a viable frame material and there are many examples of wooden bikes. Mine weighs about 10kg but I made no attempt to finesse the design. A normal diamond frame would probably weigh about 1.5 to 2kg in steel or aluminium. I don’t see any reason why a wooden frame needs to be much heavier, but I would want to beef up the more highly stressed areas. Choice of wood and grain direction would be key. If you really want to keep the weight down, then details stress calculations would be necessary. Maybe consider reinforcing some areas with another material. There was a fairly recent GCN video about a wooden bike maker which is worth a look.

[@Taoweiji]

Looking forward to the real deal! What are you planning to make the final bike out of?

[@MetalMachineShop]

I'm thinking of going for carbon fibre, but I need to cost it up first! Failing that, steel tubing. A carbon frame should be easier to integrate with the body mouldings.

[@dimitril.m.1598]

Hello, i'm french but i think your are the best for make a velomobile trike. Have you a web site ? Can i have instruction and pattern for cut the wood ?

[@MetalMachineShop]

Bonjour Dimitri, I may make the designs available in the future, but only if I can prove the design is successful and safe. I don't want to run into any liability issues with a potentially unsafe design!

[@mk3brakes569]

Cool, congra, im Ricky fron Bolivar/Argentina..

[@MetalMachineShop]

Thank you!

[@CraigLandsberg-lk1ep]

How strong is the glue? And is it totally waterproof?

[@MetalMachineShop]

it’s not as strong as I would like but this was only intended to be a prototype so I wasn’t to bothered about longevity.

[@pedalajones]

Good job. What final weight do you expect for the frame alone?

[@MetalMachineShop]

Hi, the weight now is a hefty 10.1kg including the tilting arms. The total weight will probably be a little over 20kg. But this is just a prototype, design to test the working principles rather than for performance!

[@CraigLandsberg-lk1ep]

​@@MetalMachineShopI think your weights are fine😅

[@keithforbes8482]

I am following your journey with very keen interest... If you ever have a need for affordable production CNC machining, or higher level ebike (and to a lesser extent EV) tech, pls feel free to reach out!! Based on your video library, I guess you already have the CNC machining bit covered though.

[@MetalMachineShop]

Thanks - I only have manual machine tools at the moment, CNC would be brilliant!

[@keithforbes8482]

@@MetalMachineShop Again feel free to connect if/ when you feel anything I mentioned previously might be of assistance (even if this happens well into the future).

[@MetalMachineShop]

@@keithforbes8482 Thank you, I will.

[@cengooley6737]

harika woow buyuk ustasin

[@kingASMalban]

Your design and construction is really great, everything is well filmed, but what could be holding your video back is the narration. Instead of describing what we're seeing, it would be really interesting to hear why you're doing it that way or if you considered an alternative. Given how original your work is, and although it might seem obvious to you, I'm sure there would be a lot you have to share. Can't wait to see the next installment!

[@MetalMachineShop]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@rcpmac]

This is an excellent comment. Surely we are only seeing the top of the iceberg.

[@MetalMachineShop]

Thanks, I will try and add more explanation in my next videos. It’s a good point.

[@antoniskaloterakis7996]

@@MetalMachineShop I think your videos are very well explained and care about the essense of things , if you had showing all the plywood construction it would be boring to me and out of subject , this is not a woodworking video instead of that what you are doing in all these series is more valuable cause instead of explaining what you did and how you explain how you have been thinking and why .

[@antoniskaloterakis7996]

Hello Happy new year I ve been watching you closely and can't wait to see it finished , looks good on plywood . I am designing and will built a tilting tricycle too but it will be like a normal bike as for the riders possition and i would like to ask you for some advice , at my design at 30degrees lean i have 15mm scrub on each tyre, is that ok or too much ? Is there a benefit on having the two arms so much apart or you have it like this in order to fit in in the body ? Would having them totally outside of the body be ok ? I am struggling to find wheels for the front , generally i want small wheels 16-18 inches probably 18 and the best solution i ve fount so far is a wheel that is used to strida folding bicycle cause it haves disc brake and mounts from the one side by default .what do you think ? Do you have any suggestions for wheels .

[@MetalMachineShop]

Hello, happy new year to you too! I will try and help with your questions. I don’t think I would worry about 15mm scrub at 30 degrees. I doubt it will have much effect and 30 degr is quite a severe lean angle for a bike/trike anyway. On my design, the wheels will be outside the body. They are right at the front where the body is narrowest (It tapers to a nose cone) so it’s not really practicable to have the wheels inside the body with this layout. One the final version, the outriggers will be streamlined. The vertical spacing of the upper and lower arms is a function of where they are positioned relative to the. The upper arms are on the body’s centreline, where the body is circular in cross section. The lower arms are positioned below the body such that there is clearance between the body and the arms at full lean. Whether it. Is practicable to have both arms outside the body depends on the design of the body and aerodynamic considerations. Regarding wheels, I have chosen 20 inch wheels (406 size) front and rear. These are a common size for velomobile and trikes (e.g. Ice Trikes) so relatively easy to get hold of in stub axle (single sided) configuration. I ordered mine from ginkgoveloteile.com (video to follow). 16 or 18 inch wheels may need to be custom-built, but it depends on what you can find. Also check on availability of tyres in these sizes. I hope this helps!

[@antoniskaloterakis7996]

@@MetalMachineShop hello Thanks for the quick reply , thats what i about the 15mm scrub too . I understand why the arms have that distance ok , but if there where no more considerations is it better the two arms have bigger or smaller distance ? I got into that website with wheels they look good but realy expensive and I think I will go with the 18 inch i found the price is better and they seam strong , but do you think 12 mm axle is enough for the use I want ? An other question , what about weight distribution ? I seen someone saying that the most of the weight should be at the front in order to equally divide the weight at the 3 wheels , do you agree with that? in a recumbent bike where the center of mass is low I think its ok but in a bike like mine where the rider is almost standind i believe it is dangerous to tip over in an unwanted endo. ?? I hope i dont get you tired with all those questions Thanks

[@MetalMachineShop]

To answer your questions, I think the tilting arm separation is mainly driven by practical/layout considerations. Changing the separation may affect the tilting geometry if the arms are of unequal length. Greater separation may have structural benefits (think ‘I’ beam). 12mm axles should be fine, especially if they are solid. Ice Trikes and many others use 12mm axles and you can get hollow 12mm axles for Ice Trikes too, so I think you will be fine. Regarding weight distribution, a normal bike has a 40/60 front to rear weight dist which should be a good aiming point. I don’t see any reason for moving the weight forward to load all three wheels equally. Standard velomobiles do have fairly highly loaded front wheels, partly because the wheels are brought well back to fit in the aerodynamic body and to shorten the wheelbase to improve the turning circle. There is a well known video of this happening on KZbin! (A tilting design should reduce this tendency). I would just add that my thoughts are purely theoretical as my practical experience is pending completion of my prototype, so I might be talking rubbish (I don’t think so though!)

[@CraigLandsberg-lk1ep]

​@@MetalMachineShopI am going for common 20inch wheels as well 😅

[@MetalMachineShop]

@@CraigLandsberg-lk1ep good choice.

[@bobbutler5382]

Is it possible to show the demenations of the various pieces of wood

[@MetalMachineShop]

I just made up the dimensions as I went for the wood. the critical dimensions are the wheelbase and the geometry of the steering and tilting mechanism but this is a trade secret!

[@necdetsaltek6790]

Thank You

[@MetalMachineShop]

You're welcome