Joe Mitrovic - Brantford Ontario-  CANADA

I am a four year Recumbent builder/ rider. I would like to share some of my projects with you.

                                                      BIG RED

Modified Groundhugger Long Wheel Base Above Seat Steering. Heavy bike but for my first effort I
wanted strength. Drive shaft universal used on steering bar . 21 speed MTB transmission. Seat was
made from an old aluminum  sign. I taped 4 inches of furniture foam to it and covered the whole thing with a pair of woman's spandex pants. Main boom used to hold up my neighbours patio roof.

                                                           LIL YELLER

Short Wheel Base  made from donor bmx and 24 inch rear end from a girls MTB. 18 speeds and good
handling. I think the boom is a bit high for me, but my son liked it.
 

                                                Jean Claude " TANDAM " Sociable Tandem

Sold

Based loosely on the Gem sociable made in Europe. ( bet this one is cheaper though  )
Each rider has their own shifters and 12 speed drive train. Joystick Steering can be set up for either
rider by moving linkage tube. Front cranks are adjustable for different leg lengths. Centre brake grip controls both back brakes.

                                                          SOCIABLE REAR

I salvaged a wrecked shopping cart for the luggage rack. Main frame is 1 3/4 muffler pipe welded to a 2 1/8 steel fence pipe. Even with the heavy tubing trike only weighs 70-80 lb. Load capacity ( riders and supplies + cargo ) 500 lb.. This one is a lot of fun to ride.

                 Drive detail

Note the dual jack shafts.                                                    Base frame before seats and steering
 

                                                                                    LOW RACER

Made from an old scooter I found in the ditch. I welded on a modified rear end from a donor ten speed.
Bottom bracket and boom tube came from same donor bike. Another aluminum sign/foam/spandex seat.
I had to put a short chain tube  under the seat to stop friction with the seat. Ride is  comfortable but steering is a  little sensitive at high speed. Mike Channon took this one into his collection.

Idler detail

I used a combination of Roller blade and Skateboard wheels. I eventually replaced the skateboard wheels with better roller blade wheels..

                                      BIG BLED  ( Black/Red ? ) ( photo by Steve Robson )

                                                              Full suspension  LWB USS

Traded Lil Yeller for an old fully suspended MTB frame.  My neighbour contributed another 2 " tube for the main boom.  Steering is kind of interesting on this one. I didn't like the way the handle bars hit my legs when I turned, so I made linkage steering from two steering tubes. When you turn, one handle goes straight forward and the other straight back, similar to a bulldozer.

             Steering detail

                                                   Test Ride Day  ( Photo by Steve Robson )                                                                           This bent is now part of Jay Dixon's collection
 
 

Tadpole trike 2001
Aidan  locked onto this one

Rear end from donor MTB . Main boom 2 inch  tubing.

Frame assembly
Seat assembly Parts from a donor baby carriage.
Front axle made from 2 inch muffler tubes  pre bent . I like this so I can setup the caster angles easier.
I added cross bracing later.

Hardest part for me was getting the steering angles correct. I did not use a jig.
I will NOT make that mistake again. It makes the job a lot harder without it.

Finally !!

After some steering tweaks to correct a toe in problem, I discovered that ... This trike is FAST.
Canvas seat from an old stretcher. Just throw the seat cushions on and GO !!
 
 

Mini Tadpole 2001
I built this for my daughter.

20 inch rear end 16 inch front.                                                     Completed trike 12 speed .

Frame and steering  before paint.                           This trike has also joined the Dixon bent pack

                                                              Cute isn't it? :-)

 
 

2002 Winter trike project
Original inspiration was from a concept drawing by Eric Whiting.
 

Base frame . Dual cromoly tubes for strength.
Front axle tube is thick wall steel pipe

                                                                      Steering is " bulldozer" type

I tried Linkage steering on both sides. The hand grips move forward and backward similar to Big Bled My wife likes it, but Mike Learn liked it more!

Next  2002 project - Pedicab

Rides nice. Feels weird. Rear lever steer. Should haul 500 lb. ok.
I made an office setup for the HPVA Scorekeeper.

Donated to Freeway the Clown of Brant Clown Alley to support his charity work

Next 2002 Project Recumbent ICE RACER
or
"Big Red gets frosty "

2003 Projects ( click on pic for details)

Heavy Hauler Delta

Mini Sociable

Primo Tadpole

Pedal Powered Snowplow

The Velo

Recumbent links

Human Powered Transportation Association
  Steve Robson's Recumbent pages
 Hamilton - Brantford Rail Trail
 S. C. Johnson Trail
 Cambridge - Paris Rail Trail
 Recumbent Cycling Ontario
2002 HPVA Speed Championships Photo Galleries
Comments welcome
Email - melonjoe@rogers.com