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Step 17Edit: final considerations
the measurements in this pic are the actual ones of my bike. if i would build one like this again i would change some things:
1) don't make the handle bar straight. it should be bent like in the drawing. this will save some space and allows to sit more straight.
2) use 20'' wheels for the front. this lowers the center of gravity and improves the handling on sloping grounds. the problem that arises is that you can't use the simple pivot i used - there's not enough room left between the ground and the box. a solution would be to
3) use conical roller bearings (these are parts used in cars) instead of the pivot .
4) don't build that double-break-thing for the front wheels yourself. you can purchase a better thing known as "double barrel brake lever" quite cheap which allows for independent adjustment of the two brakes.
5) adopt the size of the box to your needs. for me it's fine - i need to transport two kids and stuff at the same time (some times there are 4 kids and their things in the box...). if you don't need that much space make it smaller! because even the slightest wind is a burden if you have to pedal against it... one way to go would be to build a box from cardboard and to refine it until you think it's good. then build it from wood.
6) a camber of wheels improves the handling even more.
7) before building the frame watch some of these videos, this will help a lot: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Bicycle+Frame+Building&aq=f
if you ever build a bike like this or get infected by the cargo-bike-virus and build some other construction please let us all know. post a pic or a link in the comments-section!
1) don't make the handle bar straight. it should be bent like in the drawing. this will save some space and allows to sit more straight.
2) use 20'' wheels for the front. this lowers the center of gravity and improves the handling on sloping grounds. the problem that arises is that you can't use the simple pivot i used - there's not enough room left between the ground and the box. a solution would be to
3) use conical roller bearings (these are parts used in cars) instead of the pivot .
4) don't build that double-break-thing for the front wheels yourself. you can purchase a better thing known as "double barrel brake lever" quite cheap which allows for independent adjustment of the two brakes.
5) adopt the size of the box to your needs. for me it's fine - i need to transport two kids and stuff at the same time (some times there are 4 kids and their things in the box...). if you don't need that much space make it smaller! because even the slightest wind is a burden if you have to pedal against it... one way to go would be to build a box from cardboard and to refine it until you think it's good. then build it from wood.
6) a camber of wheels improves the handling even more.
7) before building the frame watch some of these videos, this will help a lot: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Bicycle+Frame+Building&aq=f
if you ever build a bike like this or get infected by the cargo-bike-virus and build some other construction please let us all know. post a pic or a link in the comments-section!
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Best regards.
Sergio