Jon's Warrior Build

Joined
Jul 7, 2020
Messages
107
Location
Ontario, Canada
So this morning I 3D printed a bracket to hold the front derailleur cable in place - it seems to work pretty well. Its printed in ABS. The front derailleur is mounted and hooked up to the shifter, and I can click it between the three gears with no trouble.




Here's a close-up of the bracket, held in place with a couple M6 stainless steel machine screws and nylock nuts.



And here's how things stand as of now:



If all goes well, I should be able to take the first pedaled drive this weekend - all that is remaining for a rolling chassis is to mount the two idler pulleys, and mount and hook up the rear derailleur.
 
Joined
Jul 7, 2020
Messages
107
Location
Ontario, Canada
Sure, here are the two STL files:

FIle 1
File 2

If you want access to the source file in OnShape (in case you need to make changes), send me a PM with your email address, and I'll turn on sharing for you.

The down tube on my trike this is attached to is 1.125" (1 and 1/8" diameter).

If you just need a custom version with slightly different dimensions, and don't know how to do CAD, let me know, and I'll punch out a different version of the STL files for you (OnShape makes it really easy to change hole sizes and dimensions and such). This model took me about twenty minutes to make from scratch - I've been doing CAD for over 20 years.
 
Joined
Feb 5, 2008
Messages
563
Location
Fernley, NV
Website
miscdotgeek.com
I will check the size of the downtube on my trike and see if it needs modification. Thanks a lot, this is going to be really helpful! The front shifting on my trike is the last little bit I need to wrap up. But, gearing is low enough I haven't really needed it. That's the joy of using a jackshaft :)
 
Joined
Jul 7, 2020
Messages
107
Location
Ontario, Canada
Make sure you check the diameter of the cable sheath, or whatever the bracket is holding. On my trike, I used a part from the brakes off an old mountain bike to handle the sharp corner - the hole in the bracket is for a 5.5mm tube, with a ~7.5mm tube stop.



The CAD dimensions are 5.7mm for the smaller hole, and 8mm for the larger hole. Since my printer adds about 0.1mm of material to a wall, the final small hole comes out very close to 5.5mm in diameter.
 
Joined
Jul 7, 2020
Messages
107
Location
Ontario, Canada
So I got the drivetrain working tonight, and went for a little spin in the road in front of my house.



It was definitely neat driving, although I need a cushion for the backrest. The hydraulic disc brakes are fantastic so far. Still have to dial in the derailleurs and stuff like that, but its working!

Here's an indoor pic with better lighting:



I'm very happy with how it has turned out so far.

Here's a short and crappy video (it was dark out):


I'll try and make a better video tomorrow when it is light out.
 
Joined
Jul 7, 2020
Messages
107
Location
Ontario, Canada
I tried the seat at the angle from the plan, and didn't like that at all. Eventually I'll take those two straps off and drill a bunch more holes in them, so the seat will be adjustable.

The plan is to paint it bright yellow, with flat black accents and trim.
 
Joined
Jul 7, 2020
Messages
107
Location
Ontario, Canada
Here's a new video, taken in daylight this time, with a quick walk-around first and then a short spin around.


The sharp bit of braking I did at the end of the video actually bent the caliper mounts a bit - I'm going to have to grind those off and use a thicker steel.

The idler pulleys are also not working at all, so I'll be replacing those.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2012
Messages
2,384
Location
Wakefield, UK
It could be merely the camera angles or maybe the effect of a bit of steering input but it looks like you have some positive camber there.



 
Joined
Jul 7, 2020
Messages
107
Location
Ontario, Canada
Yes, I definitely have positive camber. When I first put the front booms on, they were swept up quite a bit. Not clear why, because I built the whole thing using a big jig that held everything in alignment.



With that setup, the front booms ended up swept up too much, and the tie rod couldn't be connected:



So I ened up cutting the welds on the front booms, and bending them down flatter, which fixed the tie rod issue but had the unfortunate side effect of giving the wheels a bunch of positive camber.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2012
Messages
2,384
Location
Wakefield, UK
You could cut almost all the way through the wheel mount tab welds then adjust them with a hammer before re-welding. If you cut them on the inside leaving just enough on the outside to bend the cut will open slightly as you adjust them making it easier to weld them back up. You may need the wheels on and off a few times before you're happy.

I wish I had a £ for every time I've had to cut and adjust a weld!
 
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
1,352
Location
Netherlands
That you flip forward is normal.

I had the same problem with my wheels in the front, only it was just a tiny bit and I could solfe it wit putting welds on the mounts, so the bolds would straighten out.

But as I see it, it rides good.
Now you can test everything and adjust it.
 
Joined
Jul 7, 2020
Messages
107
Location
Ontario, Canada
You could cut almost all the way through the wheel mount tab welds then adjust them with a hammer before re-welding. If you cut them on the inside leaving just enough on the outside to bend the cut will open slightly as you adjust them making it easier to weld them back up. You may need the wheels on and off a few times before you're happy.

I wish I had a £ for every time I've had to cut and adjust a weld!
If I did that, it would fix the camber, but cause another issue - the zero-point steering would no longer be there - the kingpins would be pointing to beside the bottom of the tire.
 
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