Tomahawk lowracer recumbent in Australia - AtomicZombie

“You guys have got to come out to B.C. and
ride with us. It would be an honour!”
~ Justin D., Victoria, British Columbia
NEWS
February 13, 2012
Tomahawk lowracer recumbent in Australia
Hi guys, this is my
AZTV
Tomahawk based lowracer recumbent bike
I just finished and
test rode today.
I have always been
fascinated by
recumbents, and on
finding the Atomic
Zombie website all
those months ago, I
knew I was ‘onto
something’!
I ordered the excellent plans, but made a few changes during the build, with
extra gussets here and there, and some different frame angles. I worked out all
my dimensions and got all the frame angles calculated in CAD, especially since I
used a composite molded seat that I obtained from Ocean Cycles in the UK. This
seat required different mounts on the top side of the frame to allow it to fit. The
seat is really comfortable, and fits my back like a glove. Money well spent.
All parts on the bike are brand new, for peace of mind.
For parts like the derailleur hanger and caliper bracket, I drew the parts up in
CAD, printed them onto sticky paper, then stuck the templates to 5mm thick
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“Hello from Costa Rica. Atomic Zombie is the
best thing on the ‘Net.”
~ Paul G., Costa Rica
February 13, 2012
NEWS
(Continued from page 1)
steel to cut out and
AZTV
carefully grind and file to
shape. The resulting
parts look as good as
CNC machined parts.
As it turned out on the
first trial assembly, I had
a chain rubbing problem
on the underside of the
seat. This needed
another pulley to guide
the chain around the
Rob’s home built Tomahawk lowracer ready for its inaugural ride.
lowest parts of the seat.
The pulleys came from Hostel Shoppe in the USA, who specialize in recumbent parts.
The drive pulleys have teeth inside, and the return pulleys are plain. The pulley ride
on CNC machined shafts that are TIG welded to the frame.
The frame was all MIG welded from 1.6mm mild
steel tube, and was put together by me in the
workshop where I normally build rally cars!
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The front forks started life as 26” CroMo MTB
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forks (to get the caliper mount), but I chopped
Atomic Zombie and bike
them down by 3” and sleeved them internally
building.
before TIG welding them up.
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“Love your recumbent designs. So many to choose
from. Looking forward to seeing what you come up
with this year.”
~ Thomas P., Nebraska
NEWS
February 13, 2012
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The wheels are 26” rear
and 20” front. The rear
AZTV
wheel was bought prebuilt, for $75 delivered
from Wiggle in the UK to
Australia, where here, to
just buy the spokes alone
would have been $72!
For the front wheel, I used
a 20” Alienation BMX rim,
and a Deore disc hub. I
have built a few wheels now in my truing stand.
The alloy handlebars are from the UK, from a company that specializes in
reproduction vintage bicycle parts. They work and fit perfectly. Brakes are Avid
160mm discs. All drive train parts came from a friend who runs the YellowBikeRoad
eBay shop.
The frame was powder coated in Dulux bumpy paint. Close up it looks great!
For the test ride, I chose a closed road, to avoid traffic. Riding a recumbent is
certainly different, but not particularly hard. I found the steering a little twitchy. I
think I will get used to it. I managed a turn in the road on my first run up the road.
I still have some clattering noises from the front and rear derailleur whilst the cables
stretch.
All that will be adjusted out. My legs ached a bit after my test run, but only because
you use your leg muscles differently riding a recumbent. More getting used to!
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“You guys have to get to Burning Man
some day. That would be so cool to hang
with you!”
~ Darren B., Las Vegas
February 13, 2012
NEWS
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I have also mounted some bases for my GoPro Hero2 HD camera
AZTV
on the front boom, and off the rear fork to look down the side of
the bike.
It was a lot of work to build, but to stand back and look at it and say ‘I built that’
feels good. I take pride in anything I build, and if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing
well. It will feel even better to tell others that I built it when they ask where I got
the bike!
Cheers, Rob Greaves. Sydney, Australia.
Andrew’s tandem
Hey Folks. I've ridden the new tandem
enough to commit to the powder
coaters.
I'm convinced the 2WD system is
better for us than a linked timingchain RWD like our previous
tandems.
Bron, the stoker, is much happier
being in control of her cadence and I
don't feel like I'm pulling her legs
around. The jiggling from out-ofsynch pedaling is novel but not a
problem. It will get better as we pedal
smoother.
I have not noticed any pedal-steering tendencies & the bike is quite manageable even in granny-gear (19
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“Aloha! Your plans and sites inspire me.
Where do you get so many amazing
ideas?”
~ Patricia Z., Hawaii
NEWS
February 13, 2012
(Continued from page 4)
AZTV
gear-inches). FWD bikes draw some criticism for their potential to lose control when the front wheel
slips (on gravel for instance). Under our 140kg weight I don't think it will be a problem and seems to
be an advantage when piloting solo.
The limits of steering due to the twist-chain FWD set up are not an issue when riding, even in a Uturn. It is a small pain when we use a tight rail-crossing chicane on our commute. The short sections of
chain-tube are crucial when using a mudguard & or fat tires. The chain will rub OK on a bare tire, but
it snags on the edge of the mudguard. The tubes make this a non-issue although they do lay against the
mudguard when using the inner-most cassette rings. Under this condition some chain-noise is
transmitted to the mudguard.
Despite the stronger frame and more efficient drive-train the bike is not order-of-magnitude faster like
I hoped. It is noticeably easier to push but we don't seem to go much faster yet, maybe we'll get fitter
with the resumption of our regular commuting. The stiffer frame makes the bike noticeably steadier
going fast downhill. I think I did a better job with the steering geometry on this bike; it's lighter to
steer, maybe the offset in the forks contributes here. I didn't calculate rake and trail, there doesn't really
seem to be hard & fast rules as far as I can see.
The SRAM dual drive hubs are great, 27 gears each & all under our right hands. They are great for the
20" wheels, I'd have to use big (expensive) chain-rings if I used a regular front derailleur set-up. The
just-as-expensive Dual Drives look neater and are nicer to use and maintain.
The other big improvement is the BB7 disc brakes, they are amazing
especially compared to the V-brakes we had on the previous tandem. I went
for the 203mm discs in case we decide to tour with this bike.
Hopefully, I'll spend more time enjoying the ride on this bike, rather than
trying to work out how to improve the design. Cheers, Andrew.
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“Love your web sites. The forum is a
wonderful group. You’re doing a good job,
Brad and Kat!”
~ Ian D., Ireland
February 13, 2012
NEWS
Feedback from Florida
"Hi Brad. Thought I'd send a quick note your way to say thank you for developing some of
the best plans I've ever had the good fortune to purchase.
AZTV
Last night I ordered 5 of 'em and was so impressed after going through them today, that I
just ordered 5 more tonight. I'm telling you Brad, it was worth the $50 just to see how
you make those hub-axles. And, wow - the content and clarity of the plans - excellent, my
friend.
I just had a shop built down in Homosassa Springs, Florida and will be equipping it with all
the necessary stuff to do a variety of boat projects as well as bike builds I have in mind, so
I've got my eye on a TIG welder to accommodate 4130 Chromoly as well as some
aluminum work. My biggest problem now though is deciding which of your excellent
designs I'd like to tackle first. Keep up the good work, Brad. Kind Regards, Tom W."
Built by Stathis Mikropoulo, Greece
Greece
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"Cheers from your friends in Alaska. Keep
up the great work.”
~ Brian M., Alaska
NEWS
From mid-Michigan
Gladiator chopper build
AZTV
February 13, 2012
Hi guys, I'm in Perth and have decided
to get back into the shed with a new
project (its been a while, I used to enjoy
rebuilding old volkswagens) and have
started on a Gladiator. I have the
wheels together now, which is very
satisfying I must say - my first effort at
wheel building
More>>
I and a small group of men from our
church are presently involved in a
sizable recumbent building project.
We plan on building four Spirit SWB
recumbents, two Wildcat LWB
recumbents, a tricycle, and one of the
guys is going to build a recumbent with
a wooden frame.
More>>
Wanted: BMX front hubs
First time builder here. I'm building a
two seat, side by side, and am using a
steering set up like the StreetFox. Since
this is a two seater, I'm in need of a two
heavy duty BMX style front hubs. Any
help would be greatly appreciated.
Jason Denniston
More>>
Bamboo Warrior trike
I purchased Brad's Warrior Trike plans
and used it to build this trike out of
bamboo and carbon fiber. It's really a
cross between the Warrior and a
Catrike. Maybe a WarCat;) A single
beam won't work with bamboo due to
it's flexibility so I added 2 more beams
and tied them together like a truss.
More>>
7
Hello from Indiana
Hey everyone. Just thought I'd send in a
post and introduce myself. I'm relatively
new to the bike building/modding scene.
Except for that time when I was like 10
and repainted my bike, but didn't know
that you could tape parts off, so I
disassembled the whole thing :) Anyway.
More>>
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“Atomic Zombie rocks! Thanks for your
great chopper plans.”
~ Andy W., Saskatoon
NEWS
"Hi, my name is Rob, from
Colchester, Essex, England.
AZTV
February 13, 2012
Rob takes his
home built chopper
for a ride despite
I made the bike to learn welding. My
welding is still really bad.
snowy conditions
in England. That’s
a dedicated
chopper rider!
The bike is made from a kids bike
front welded to a BMX back half. I
extended the forks using old gas
pipe. The handlebars were found in
my nan's garage.
England
The whole bike has cost me nothing
at all as it is all made from bits lying around. Kind regards, Rob."
Cruzbike in Kenya
"My MBB FWB Recumbent (Cruzbike copy) from
Nairobi, Kenya. Andrew Koros."
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“Thanks for the awesome plans. Wow! I
didn’t expect so much detail. Stoked to get
building when the weather warms up a bit.
I’ll be checking out the forum regularly.”
~ Terrance O., Toronto
NEWS
“Hello, I am Charles Brennan,
with the bike "Dying Breed",
hailing from Newfoundland!
Newfoundland
AZTV
February 13, 2012
She is my pride and joy. It
took me 10 years to piece it
together from old and new
parts.
Thanks for the inclusion, I
have been following your site
for years.
Best regards, Charlie.”
Chopper in
Turkey
"In this photo is a cycle lover guy from our
group named "Thursday night cyclists" in
İzmir, Turkey.
I hope you like this photo. Best regards,
Cem Yatman."
Join the Atomic Zombie family of bike builders
Send us a picture of your completed handmade bike. Each picture less than 2MB in size,
please. JPG preferred.
>> [email protected] <<
9