Atomic Zombie LodeRunner User manual

Build the LodeRunner Delta Trike
Another Atomic Zombie™Extreme Machines Adventure
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LodeRunner Delta Trike
Table of Contents
ABOUT THE LODERUNNER DELTA TRIKE.........................................................................................3
BUILDING THE REAR FRAME BOX.......................................................................................................4
BUILDING REAR AND MAIN BOOMTUBE..........................................................................................10
BUILDING TRUSS TUBES........................................................................................................................11
FRONT FRAME TUBE AND FORKS ......................................................................................................16
CREATING THE HEAD TUBE.................................................................................................................19
BEARING SUPPORT TUBES....................................................................................................................38
INSTALLING PILLOW BLOCK BEARINGS AND AXLE...................................................................44
BUILDING THE WHEELS........................................................................................................................65
HUB FLANGES ............................................................................................................................................66
OUTER FLANGE ..........................................................................................................................................80
PAINTING HUB AXLES................................................................................................................................82
TRUING AND SPOKING................................................................................................................................83
BUILDING REAR AXLES.........................................................................................................................85
FREE HUB AND DISC BRAKE ................................................................................................................89
INSTALLING THE REAR DERAILLEUR............................................................................................101
BUILDING THE ADJUSTABLE BOTTOM BRACKET......................................................................105
INSTALLING CRANK SET AND CHAIN.............................................................................................114
BUILDING SEAT MOUNTS....................................................................................................................117
STEERING .................................................................................................................................................120
INSTALLING LIGHTS.............................................................................................................................137
PRIMING AND PAINTING .....................................................................................................................138
INSTALLING BRAKE CABLES.............................................................................................................140
BUILDING A CARGO BOX.....................................................................................................................143
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LodeRunner Delta Trike LodeRunner Characteristics
About the LodeRunner Delta Trike
The LodeRunner is comfortable and rugged all purpose vehicle designed
to combat the ever increasing price of gasoline, while at the same time giving its
pilot a great low impact workout. Because the seat is at a height similar to that
of an automobile, the LodeRunner is easy to get into and puts you at eye level to
many motorized vehicles on streets and roads. The LodeRunner weighs under
80 pounds fully built, which is less than a single truck wheel, yet it can easily
carry a load of 500 pounds. Stopping power is smooth and complete due to dual
rear disc brakes, and the handling characteristics are predictable and smooth.
The LodeRunner is also easy and inexpensive to make, since it requires
only a few small machined parts, using common hardware and cycle
components. You will require only a basic welder, an angle grinder, hand drill,
and the usual hand tools in order to create you own LodeRunner trike. Thanks to
the simple single boom flat frame, you can easily modify the width or length of
the LodeRunner to modify it to your own needs. The LodeRunner could easily
become a fully faired velocar or a pedicab, or a multirider vehicle, or just about
any other human or electric assisted vehicle you can imagine.
Are you ready to kick the petrol addiction and put your legs to work?
Great – let’s get started!
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LodeRunner Delta Trike Rear Frame Box
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Building the Rear Frame Box
Figure 1 – Tubing sections for the rear frame box
Most of the LodeRunner frame is made from 2 inch diameter mild steel
square tubing with a 1/16 inch wall thickness. This tubing can be ordered from
most steel suppliers and is very easy to cut and weld. Steel suppliers like to rate
tubing wall thickness using a gage number, so 1/16 wall tubing will be called 16
gage tubing, and although there is a slight difference between the two, your best
bet is to tell them you want a length of 1.5 inch square tubing with a wall
thickness as close to .0625 inch (1/16) as you can get. Round tubing should be
avoided for this project, as it would be impossible to align the rear axles
properly and would be extremely difficult to weld correctly.
The rear of the LodeRunner includes a 24 inch square “flatbed” frame
that makes it easy to drop on a cargo box or a simple board in order to carry
your cargo. This square frame carries the majority of the cargo weight, and
places the rear axles, disc brakes and transmission under the top of the cargo
area so there is no interference with the cargo carried over the frame. So, you
can easily adapt any type of load carrying bed or box and simply bolt it to the
frame, without having to worry if the disc brakes or chain will get in the way.
Cut four 24 inch long sections of the 2 inch square tubing as shown in
Figure 1. Each end is then cut inward at 45 degrees so that all four pieces will
form a frame similar to how a picture frame is made. If you do not have a 45
degree square (recommended), then you can get the 45 degree angle by folding
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LodeRunner Delta Trike Rear Frame Box
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a piece of paper in half. You can cut the tubing with a chop saw, zip disc, or
hacksaw. I always use a zip disc to cut all of my tubing, even the most complex
angles.
Figure 2 – Making a 24 inch square frame
The best way to ensure that the rear of your frame is square is to lay all
four tubes on a flat surface, then use your 90 degree square as shown in Figure
2. A single tack weld is only needed at each corner until you can check each
corner, ensuring that it forms a 90 degree angle. Add another tack weld in the
center of each joint, and then check all 4 angles again. If your frame is not
square, it will be easy to force it into shape while there are only a few tack
welds holding it together.
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LodeRunner Delta Trike Rear Frame Box
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Figure 3 – Check all four corners for 90 degrees
Keep adding tack welds to the top of the joint as you check each corner
for 90 degrees. With four tack welds holding each joint, your square frame
should be rigid enough to handle. Tilt the frame upward so you can look at the
edge of the tube in front of you, comparing it with the one on the opposite side.
The tubes should be parallel with each other as long as the surface you were
welding on was indeed flat. If your frame seems “warped”, then you can
probably bang it back into shape by hitting it with a rubber mallet or block of
wood.
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LodeRunner Delta Trike Rear Frame Box
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Figure 4 – Welding the joint corners
The joint corners are welded next (Figure 4) after ensuring that all four
corners are at 90 degrees and that the frame is not warped. The frame will now
be held solid by the corner welds, and because the welds are at the corners of
the frame, no heat distortion will be introduced, which is why they are done
next. The order of operations is very important when welding a joint because
cooling weld metal tends to contract, which can cause alignment problems. If
you weld the most critical side of a joint last, distortion is kept to a minimum.
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LodeRunner Delta Trike Rear Frame Box
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Figure 5 – Complete all of the top welds
Once all four corners are welded, complete all eight top side welds as
shown in Figure 5. Work around the frame, welding the next joint to the right or
left of the previous one and then flip the frame over and complete the other side
in the same order. When you are finished welding and the tubing has cooled,
check the 90 degree corners to ensure they are still within a few degrees.
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LodeRunner Delta Trike Rear Frame Box
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Figure 6 – Inside corners are always done last
Since the inside corner of a joint will always be the most problematic
when introducing heat distortion, it is always done last (Figure 6). Use the
smallest possible bead of weld you can, keeping contraction to a minimum. The
inside corner does nothing except keep out moisture, so it does not need to be a
large weld – just enough to seal the joint.
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LodeRunner Delta Trike Rear & Main Boom Tube
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Building Rear and Main BoomTube
Figure 7 – Setting up the rear and main boom tube
Figure 7 shows the completely welded rear frame box along with a new
tube called the main boom. The main boom will carry the seat, bottom bracket
and join the front of the frame to the rear of the frame. The bottom bracket can
be adjusted along the main boom to accommodate riders of varying leg lengths,
which allows the LodeRunner to be setup efficiently to practically any size
rider. The main boom is a length of 2 inch square tubing cut to a length of 58
inches. If you are over 6 feet tall, then cut a 60 inch length of tubing for the
main boom, just to make sure your feet clear the front tire when making sharp
turns.
Tack weld the main boom directly in the center of the rear frame box as
shown in Figure 7. I have the boom and rear frame tubing supported by a few
equal sized buckets, as it is easier to work at this height than directly on the
ground. Remember to ensure that the surface you are working on is flat and
level, or your frame will not be straight. Also, the 90 degree square should be
used to ensure that the angle formed between the main boom and rear frame
tubing is 90 degrees. Place a good solid tack weld in the center of the joint.
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LodeRunner Delta Trike Truss Tubes
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Building Truss Tubes
Figure 8 – Truss tubes to support the main boom
Before you complete any welding on the main boom joint, a pair of truss
tubes will be installed to aid in the welding and alignment process. The main
boom is very long, so any slight side-to-side distortion from welding heat will
be very noticeable, making your front wheel look misaligned with the two rear
wheels. To keep the main boom at 90 degrees to the rear square, a pair of truss
tubes will form triangular gussets between the boom and the rear frame tubing.
Once installed, the truss tubes will make the frame a lot stronger and keep it
perfectly aligned as you complete all of the welding.
The truss tubes are 7 or 8 inches long, and cut at 45 degrees on both ends,
just like the frame box tubing. You can use any tubing (round or square) that
between ¾ and 1 inch in diameter for these tubes. The truss tubes shown in
Figure 8 are ¾ inch square tubes cut to a length of 7 inches.
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LodeRunner Delta Trike Truss Tubes
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Figure 9 – Installing the truss tubes
The truss tubes create a triangle between the main boom and the rear
frame box as shown in Figure 9, giving the frame incredible strength. The goal
is to get the truss tubes tack welded in place while the main boom is set at the
perfect 90 degree angle. Once the truss tubes are solidly tack welded in place,
welding heat will not affect the alignment of the main boom as you complete
the joints. Figure 9 shows the top of the frame.
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LodeRunner Delta Trike Truss Tubes
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Figure 10 – Ready to weld the main boom
The underside of the frame is shown in Figure 10. Notice that the tack
welded truss tubes are flush with the bottom of the frame tubing. At this point,
the main boom is forming a perfect 90 degree angle with the rear frame box, so
the main boom joints can all be welded without risk of heat distortion.
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LodeRunner Delta Trike Truss Tubes
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Figure 11 – Welding the tops of the joints
It is always good practice to weld in the order that fights distortion, so the
top sides of the main boom and truss tubes are welded first as shown in Figure
11. An experienced welder knows instinctively which side to weld first and may
even use distortion as an advantage to fix a misaligned frame. “Using the force”
is not just a rule for Jedi knights!
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LodeRunner Delta Trike Truss Tubes
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Figure 12 – Main boom and truss tubes welded
The side joints are welded last, as these are the most critical welds when
it comes to alignment. Due to the extreme strength added by the truss tubes,
your main boom will stay at 90 degrees even though the weld metal will
contract as it cools. Without the truss tubes in place, your main boom could be
an inch or more out of alignment at the front of the frame. If you cannot weld
the inside corners of the truss tube joints, then just leave them, as they do not
add any strength to the frame.
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LodeRunner Delta Trike Front Tube & Forks
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Front Frame Tube and Forks
Figure 13 – Cutting the front frame tube
The front frame tube is a 15 inch long piece of the same 2 inch square
tubing as the rest of the frame. Fifteen inches is more length than you will
actually need, but we will be working from the ground up, deriving angles and
lengths based on the parts you have chosen for this project. By working this
way, you are guaranteed to get all the angles and lengths correct, even though
your “donor” parts may differ from mine. Figure 13 also shows a 2 inch
diameter piece of round mountain bike frame tubing for comparison. If you can
find 14 or 15 inches of suitable round tubing, it could also be used, but be
advised that cutting and welding round tubing is a lot more difficult.
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LodeRunner Delta Trike Front Tube & Forks
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Figure 14 – Choosing 20 inch front forks
The LodeRunner has a 20 inch front wheel, so you will need a decent pair
of 20 inch front forks and a matching head tube with all of the hardware as
shown in Figure 14. I hacked the head tube from an old kid’s bike and found a
nice beefy looking pair of BMX forks with heavy dropouts, but feel free to
install whatever forks suit your taste, including suspension, if you like. The key
here is to make sure that the head tube is the correct length for the fork stem, so
getting both from the same donor bicycle is the easiest way to go. Even though
most of the weight is near the rear of the trike, you should try to find the
heaviest set of forks you can, especially of you plan to install a front hub motor
later on.
Very light duty forks should be avoided for this project, and you can tell
these by squeezing the ends of the fork legs together with one hand. If you can
flex them a lot, then they are probably too light to be of any use. The forks
shown in Figure 14 barely move when I try to crush the legs together with both
hands. The dropouts are also very solid, making them perfect for a large hub
motor.
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LodeRunner Delta Trike Front Tube & Forks
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Figure 15 – Checking the fork hardware
The head tube and forks do not need to be from the same source, but they
do need to work together, so head tube length is important. If the head tube is
too long for the fork stem, all of the hardware will not fit properly, but you can
trim down the head tube. If the fork stem is too long, then you may need to find
a longer head tube. Figure 15 shows all of the required fork hardware after
cleaning and inspecting the bearings. Remember, bearings go into the cups
“balls first”. Correctly assembled, the forks should easily spin around in the
head tube with all the hardware installed.
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LodeRunner Delta Trike Front Tube & Forks
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Figure 16 – Grinding out the dropouts
When I purchased the wheels for this project, I decided to use the same
strong BMX wheels all the way around, so the front fork dropouts needed to be
made larger in order to take the thick 14mm axles. The 48 spoke, 14mm axle
BMX wheels are almost indestructible, yet only way a fraction more than the
standard 36 or 32 spoke 20 inch wheels, so I decided that a load carrying trike
should have good wheels all around. To accommodate the larger front wheel
axle, the two dropouts were ground wider as shown in Figure 16. This also
makes it easy to drop in a front hub motor, which requires a larger dropout slot
than a regular bicycle.
Creating the Head Tube
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LodeRunner Delta Trike Bearing Support Tubes
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Figure 17 – Cleaning up the head tube
With a little grinder magic, the head tube can be brought back to factory
new condition as shown in the left of Figure 17. I start with a rough grinding
disc, and then clean up the excess frame tubing using a sanding disc (flap disc)
to finish the work. Having the head tube clean is important as it will need to fit
through a hole in the front frame tube as will soon be shown.
Figure 18 – Getting the ground clearance set up
The LodeRunner has a ground clearance of 15 inches as measured from
the underside of the frame to the ground. This height was chosen to keep a safe
stance in traffic and to allow the top of the cargo frame to clear all of the brake
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