Yet another corovelo

[jjackstone]

After putzing around with the idea for a couple years I finally got busy and put a coroplast shell on my Catrike Expedtion. Borrowed many other folks' ideas except for the method of separating the front and rear end. Most influenced by the Trike Trek 11 kids though.
The body is done but I still need to build a canopy and probably some fenders to keep the inside a bit drier during rain.

Will upload pix later.
JJ

[mcrews]

that's a serious trike!!!
I have lived in south Carmichael for 20 yrs. Love hoping on the bike trail at the end of arden way!
I have a crosstrainer.

[jjackstone]

All right, I'll try the picture thing now.



Above is the PVC framework placed around the trike.



This one shows the frame attached to the trike. The gray PVC is 1" schedule 80. The white frame is 1/2" schedule 40. The ID of the 1" is only about a tenth of an inch larger that the OD of the 1/2. Makes a good slip fit.


Here is a side shot of the completed body. Below shows the front end removed from the trike. The bottom two pieces of 1" PVC are pinned in with trailer hitches. The top pieces are tight enough and under enough tension that I didn't need to pin them.



And the final photo is a front view of the more or less completed assembly.



I've been riding it for a couple weeks now. Got out of shape over the winter, but am still riding at about the same speeds as I was last summer. Cruise between 18 and 20 mph, thrash at around 28 to 30 mph. I sxpect that as I return to good shape I should be able to cruise at around 22 to 24 mph by say May of this year.

Thanks for reading.
JJ

[mcrews]

that's an amaxing use of coroplast and pvc!!!
Very nice job?

that'a a decent clip.
I can do 24-25 on a slope down, probably do 16mph on a flat.

[jjackstone]

Thanks mcrews,
Like I said. Got the idea from the many people that have posted before. My only real contribution is in the manner the front and rear separate from the mounts. While I've removed the front several times, as of now I still haven't needed to take the back end off. I fully expect a flat tomorrow now that I've said that.
I'm actually in West Sac. I get over to the bike trail fairly regularly. Might catch you there sometime.
JJ

[NachtRitter]

Pretty impressive...! do you have an estimate on the weight the frame & skin adds?

[jjackstone]

The additional weight is probably 25 to 30 pounds. There are about 9 sticks of 1/2 inch pvc at 1.6 pounds/stick. 7 to 8 feet of 1 inch and a foot of 1 1/2 inch. I screwed a lot of the fittings in instead of glueing them so I could take the frame apart in reusuable pieces if I ever wanted. Total empty weight is probably 70+ pounds. After thinking about it, I probably could have used 2mm coroplast instead of 4mm to save a bit of weight but I figured the 4mm would last longer.
JJ

[NachtRitter]

Thanks JJ...

I do like the design... I was looking to do something similar to my Terratrike Zoomer but I was originally thinking of keeping the front wheels outside the skin... and that didn't look possible because the turned wheels nearly touch the trike frame, not leaving much room for a skin... I hadn't thought of putting the skin completely outside the front wheels. Much better for being seen by others as well!

I'd be interested in seeing how you attach the frame to the trike ... I can sort of make out the front attach point, but can't quite make out the rear attach point(s)... if you have time for additional pics, I certainly would appreciate you posting some more!

Last question for now... how is the sight line over the 'hood'... do you find yourself mis-judging the distance to curbs, other obstacles?

Thank you!
NR

[NachtRitter]

Looks like you have another velo skin hiding in the garage... ?

[jjackstone]

This should help with the rear attachment.



I attached 1 inch pipe to the back of the seat braces and to the side of the rack. You can see the 1/2" pipe going into the 1" pipe on the right hand side. That 1/2" pipe goes the entire inside length of the 1" pipe and butts up against the T attached to the rear fo the seat(I think it helps with stability). The two lower pieces of the 1/2" pvc slide into the lower frame mounts near the middle of the trike. They can be seen in the split side view photo.

The other shell you see is hopefully going to be a streamliner for Battle Mountain later this year.
JJ