Cargo Bike / Ice Cream Bike

After my 1st successful attempt at building a trike to carry my dog about in, here's my 2nd build of a Ice Cream Bike / Cargo bike which is built slightly different & is for sale if anyone wants 1 ready made & for a very reasonable price.
This is a breakdown of how i built it. Obviously you need to get hold of a bike to start with, this was my mrs but she has a new 1 so this 1 was not needed anymore.
The most important thing to do is to measure twice and cut once. I wanted to keep the angle of the frame the same as it was as a bike so the angle was measured & cut exactly straight as i wanted the front section to sit straight. No disrespect to some others i have seen built but if the angle is not right they just look weird to me (my opinion). I then got a couple of pieces of tube the same diameter as the bike frame, the reason i used 2 pieces was they were sleeved in the middle to a smaller diameter and when i fitted it all together i inserted another length of tube inside to keep it all rigid, i also brought 5 lengths of metal box section from B&Q (quite expensive) i should have shopped around for the best price lol.
I then set about it with my welder, making sure i had it set at the angle i wanted it. Once that was done i cut & welded the front box section & fitted front wheels. I used the top section of the bike forks & welded this to the back of the box section at the bottom, the original bike yolk bearing cups were knocked out and fitted to either end of the tubing then the 2 parts were joined together. Once i was sure everything was straight i inserted a piece of tubing right the way through & welded on a top bar using the top bearing & adjuster from the bike.
Handlebars were then fitted and the complete trike was sanded down primer'ed and given & given a few coats of black gloss spray paint, a rear brake was fitted and as gears were not really needed i removed a few links from the chain so it is now on the 3rd gear cog.
At this point i decided to weld in extra support bars in the bottom of the front frame (i should have done this before i sprayed it) oh well more paint, i finally fitted ply wood to the base, sides & front.
I have ridden it quite a lot and i must say it rides very well & as i got the angle's right it does not even try to tip when turning it is very stable. I was going to use it to sell drinks from as i live at the seaside but have decided against it i just dont have the time at weekends when im off work, so its up for sale if anyone's interested, it could be used for a number of uses, ice cream, drinks, veg, flowers etc. It has cost me around £100 for new parts to build as the complete front is new metal plus my mrs bike but i dont want stupid amounts of money for it, just my money back plus a bit for my time, The cost of these on certain selling sites is a hell of a lot more than i want, im open to sensible offers so if anyone is interested drop me a message.
Bye the way the 3rd from last photo is the 1st trike i built which i use the carry my arthritic dog about in :)

Comments

[zwark]

Hey Mike.. Such a nice project and the result is even better. I would like to build a cargo bike myself but I have a problem figuring out how I can make the steering.

You have a tube that you weld to your bike, then is there another tubes that goes inside that one?? and do you weld it to the cargo frame?? and how do you get the steering wheel attached to it?

Would you be so kind to explain that to me how that works.

Kind Regards

Mark

would you be so nice to explain

[maverick79in]

Hi Mike, I have the same question as Zwark. I would request i you can explain more of these tube connection of the handle with the main frame if possible in more details. thank you once again for this inspiring project.

[zwark]

Sorry I mean Mick..

[analogBob]

Hey Mick, I like your builds. I noticed your 1st trike has suspension on the rear wheel. Do you notice a big difference with / without the suspension?

[mick bull]

Hi, The 1 with the suspension was a bit more comfortable but not a great deal more, when i built it , it was the only bike i had spare so that the frame i used. I have since made many more but all without suspension, thanks for your interest.

[Minister BrendaJ]

Hi, I was looking for one of these, and found them too much as well. I really need one if you still have. Please email thanks [e-mail].

[arusticat]

Never have tried something remotely like this, and appreciating the workmanship, I am still skeptical about the steering. It seems like the bike would be unwieldy in regard to this one aspect - particularly if the front bin has 250 lbs of cargo in it.

I have this pipe dream to sell used books at the beach - beach reading. So I would have a bookshelf on the front of mine and I would move along the boardwalk (sidewalk, street) and sell to people I encounter. And, I guess, when they try to arrest me for doing commerce at the beach without a license - well they'd have to run pretty fast to catch me.

[Ade caulwell]

HI,

HAve you still got this Trike and is it still for sale please?

Thanks

ade

[e-mail]

[yetunguez]

Have you sold it? If not, how much do you want for it, and where would it ship from?