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February 13, 2012

Hi guys, this is my Tomahawk based low-racer 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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“You guys have got to come out to B.C. and ride with us. It would be an honour!”

~ Justin D., Victoria, British Columbia

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Tomahawk lowracer recumbent in Australia

“Hello from Costa Rica. Atomic Zombie is the best thing on the ‘Net.”

~ Paul G., Costa Rica

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steel to cut out and 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 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!

The front forks started life as 26” CroMo MTB forks (to get the caliper mount), but I chopped them down by 3” and sleeved them internally before TIG welding them up.

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February 13, 2012

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Rob’s home built Tomahawk lowracer ready for its inaugural ride.

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February 13, 2012

“Love your recumbent designs. So many to choose from. Looking forward to seeing what you come up

with this year.”

~ Thomas P., Nebraska

NEWS

The wheels are 26” rear and 20” front. The rear wheel was bought pre-built, 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

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I have also mounted some bases for my GoPro Hero2 HD camera 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.

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February 13, 2012 NEWS

AZTV

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 timing-

chain 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-of-

synch 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 (Continued on page 5)

Andrew’s tandem

“Aloha! Your plans and sites inspire me. Where do you get so many amazing

ideas?”

~ Patricia Z., Hawaii

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February 13, 2012

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 U-

turn. 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

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February 13, 2012 NEWS

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Greece Built by Stathis Mikropoulo, Greece

"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. 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."

Feedback from Florida

"Cheers from your friends in Alaska. Keep up the great work.”

~ Brian M., Alaska

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February 13, 2012 NEWS

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.

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Bamboo Warrior trike

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.

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Hello from Indiana

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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

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Wanted: BMX front hubs

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.

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From mid-Michigan

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

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Gladiator chopper build

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Affordable rates, high visibility.

Contact KoolKat for more information.

“Atomic Zombie rocks! Thanks for your great chopper plans.”

~ Andy W., Saskatoon

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"Hi, my name is Rob, from

Colchester, Essex, England.

I made the bike to learn welding. My

welding is still really bad.

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.

The whole bike has cost me nothing at all as it is all made from bits lying around. Kind regards, Rob."

February 13, 2012 NEWS

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Rob takes his home built chopper for a ride despite snowy conditions in England. That’s a dedicated chopper rider!

England

Cruzbike in Kenya "My MBB FWB Recumbent (Cruzbike copy) from Nairobi, Kenya. Andrew Koros."

“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

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“Hello, I am Charles Brennan, with the bike "Dying Breed", hailing from Newfoundland!

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.”

February 13, 2012 NEWS

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"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."

Chopper in

Turkey

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.

>> gallery@atomiczombie.com <<

Newfoundland