carkat

hi there, i'm sorry i didn't answer this - just saw it now... probably too late, but anyway: the plastic bearing isn't a stock part. the first one was made using a 3d-printer but the forces on it were just too much, the second iteration then was milled from a massive piece of -if i remember correctly - nylon. some bearings that don't have to support wheels or other things with many rpm's sometimes use it. it worked well and didn't need any maintenance or protection against water.

hi, i did mine with a mig/mag machine, currently i'm using tig. BUT of course you can use a stick-welder! just get some practice with it beforehand (and maybe, if you're a beginner, one lesson with someone who is experienced using it. that saves you a lot of frustration). best! carkat

hi, thank you very much! regarding the bearings: they are more stable than a head set, don't need an extra inforcement (see step 13, edit no. 2), don't need maintenance and have less height which allows for more ground clearance. but probably the head set is the easier way since one has already the spare one from the bike frame that got cut.recently i stumbled upon a pic on the internet that also seems to be a good solution, probably done with standard bearings, but can also be done with headsets -> see attached pic.best,carkat

hi! welding isn't difficult, but it needs some practicing. it's easier to learn if you can find someone who knows how to weld and is willing to show you how when you try it for the first time. also, in my opinion, don't start with tig or stick-welding. although for the latter one you can find pretty cheap machines to buy, it's the most difficult method for welding. i'd say mig/mag welding is the method to start with.the "easier to maneuver" is just because of the smaller size - i'm speaking of central-european streets in cities here, which tend to be quite small sometimes. the three-wheeler is definitely more stable (except for turns; there it tends to tilt if you're not slow enough). if you're used to riding it, the two-wheeler is easy to handle, even with fidgety kids in the b…

hi! welding isn't difficult, but it needs some practicing. it's easier to learn if you can find someone who knows how to weld and is willing to show you how when you try it for the first time. also, in my opinion, don't start with tig or stick-welding. although for the latter one you can find pretty cheap machines to buy, it's the most difficult method for welding. i'd say mig/mag welding is the method to start with.the "easier to maneuver" is just because of the smaller size - i'm speaking of central-european streets in cities here, which tend to be quite small sometimes. the three-wheeler is definitely more stable (except for turns; there it tends to tilt if you're not slow enough). if you're used to riding it, the two-wheeler is easy to handle, even with fidgety kids in the box (i know what i'm speaking of, trust me ;) ). but i would ride it for a few days before you load the kids up, just to make sure.in general i would say that if you think of using a cargo bike for transporting your kids and stuff - go for it! i'm bringing my kids to kindergarten and school for 10 years now with the cargo bikes and neither of us would want to miss this morning routine. also i am living car-free for the same period, there's no need for one if you can haul stuff by cargobike.

Hi, thanks for the hint. Might look like a file, but it's just a piece of mild steel...

that looks awesome! about the pivots: these are not bearings, that's just some kind of plastic i prepared on a lathe. i don't remember where i got the idea from, but if i recall correctly this is some plastic that can be used for purposes like this. maybe if you know somebody who knows about the different kinds of plastic they might help? or maybe somebody of the community here has more knowledge and is willing to share it?anyway - thanks a lot for sharing your build!

rotation was easy. of course it's probably not comparable to a ball bearing but there's so much force on these rod ends while steering that you don't recognize any resistance.

hi,sorry for the late reply. you mean the brackets to reinforce the pivot? yes, they are mounted in the order you described. this would be pics 3 + 4 in step 13, right?

thank you! there's a bearing cup at the bottom of the extended head tube, yes. probably it's a good idea to check if it fits in the new tube first before cutting/welding...

hi, that's 34mm outer diameter and 2mm wall thickness!

hi, hard to say from a distance. do you have a pic of your bike? there could be a few reasons for this... e.g. if the 90 degree-angle of the pivot is not really accurate the bike leans in turns (this is used with christiania bikes so that it feels more natural to ride the bike in turns). also if you turn too far the weight gets probably shifted to one side while the effective wheelbase gets smaller (think of the points where the wheels touch the ground: with a 90 degree turn they are all in line while the weight is on one side - this can't work :-) ). if you're riding too fast the weight wants to keep on track in turns while you try to move it somewhere else, this can pull your bike over, too, as i experienced in person a few times ;-)

:-) thanks!

yeah, i guess "beast" is the best description for it. a beast in the making, and to ride :-)thanks!c

..aaand another one did it :-) joel from sweden sent a link to a documentation of his bike: http://recycle-design.blogspot.se/2016/05/slutpro...check it out!