Tuesday, October 12, 2010

DeltaWolf recumbent trike build by Bob - AtomicZombie builders gallery


"Hi. I had a lot of fun building my Deltawolf.  The first time I took it out two people asked where I had bought it which made me feel really good.  I am going to start soon to build a Warrior tadpole for my wife.  ~ Bob "



Human powered trikes come in two varieties - two wheels at the back (delta), and two wheels up front (tadpole). The general opinion is that tadpole trikes are made for speed and comfort while delta trikes are great for load carrying, pulling trailers, and sending granny off to the shopping mall. But, not anymore! The radical DeltaWolf breaks all the rules that have held delta trikes back for so many years. This trike is ultra low, very laid back, designed for comfort and speed, and has full-sized 26 inch rear wheels thanks to unique, yet easy-to-make rear hub axles.

The DeltaWolf is also designed to be easy to build using only a welder and an angle grinder, and requiring only a single part to be machined (plans also show alternative to this machined part). The rest of the trike is made using a few feet of square tubing and standard bicycle parts that can be purchased new or salvaged from scrap bicycles. Even the unique rear wheel hubs are made using nothing more than a hand drill, and a few washer shaped steel discs.

There are no hard-to-find parts used in this project, and the only part that needs to be machined is a small threaded part that will allow a standard freehub to connect to one of the rear axles. The total cost of building the DeltaWolf including the machined part is about $200, and could actually be much less depending on the size of your junk pile. The frame is made from mild steel square tubing, and can be put together in a few evenings, not bad for a trike that looks as good as it rides. Check out the video to see how well the DeltaWolf behaves as it handles tight corners and straight-aways.