How to make a velomobile from a bicycle. DIY velomobile for your beloved daughter! DIY velomobile made from two bicycles
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Do you know what a velomobile is? You can not only teach your children how to ride a bike, but it is also quite possible for adults to use it as a means of transportation. Did you know that you can assemble a velomobile with your own hands if you have drawings for a model with four wheels and the desire to do it? No? Then this article is just for you.
A velomobile is not just a toy for a child
A little history
The history of the creation of four-wheeled models began shortly after the invention of the first bicycle. Already in the 19th century there were drawings in which inventors tried to make carriages with a drive, like a bicycle, from pedals. Even cars had their own special variations on bicycle technology.
During the Soviet Union, everything unnecessary was removed for mass production. Nowadays, basically this type of transport is nothing more than a children's tricycle. But there are still true connoisseurs of velomobiles, and today we’ll talk about how to make one at home.
Four-wheeled velomobile
Velomobile application
A bicycle structure that has four wheels is called a velomobile. It would seem that its use is more than limited, but in fact such an instance can be found in many areas.
Making a velomobile at home
Nowadays, everything can be bought, and a four-wheel velomobile is no exception. But its cost is more than high, and it does not always reflect your needs or desires. Therefore, you can try to make such an interesting and not so familiar vehicle yourself.
Rusanova Svetlana Anatolevna
This velomobile dad made it for his beloved Zlatushka. You have already often met our daughter in my other publications, where we do various crafts. Nowadays there are a lot of battery-powered cars in stores that need to be charged frequently, and they are of no use, while the velomobile develops perfectly.
This is a worthy analogue to the usual bike, which will allow you to teach your baby to ride. The velomobile is, as the name suggests, a hybrid bike and car. This is a four-wheeled vehicle that is equipped with a comfortable seat and a steering wheel similar to a regular car.
Such a vehicle cannot develop high speed; there is no need to be afraid that the child will fall out.
The design itself a velomobile is like that that it is difficult to turn it over. It stands stable on all four wheels, so you don't have to worry. Now dad happily walks with little daughter and catches admiring glances and shares his experience on how to make one yourself velomobile
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Standard velomobile option
The great advantage of personally working on a velomobile is that there are no difficulties with making changes - the design can be improved at your discretion. In addition, you can add your own ideas, even if they are purely decorative. As for practical innovations, these include the use of a motor. In this case, you can use a motor wheel, which in the design replaces the usual drive wheel.
The most common models are three-wheeled velomobiles with conventional tube wheels. Typically, the drive wheel has a larger diameter. This approach is required in order to provide the vehicle with greater maneuverability and speed. The weight of conventional velomobiles, built according to a standard design, is about 16–18 kilograms. Every design change affects the weight of the vehicle.
There are a lot of videos on the Internet about how to make a velomobile with your own hands. They demonstrate how such a unit reaches speeds of up to 40 kilometers per hour. Due to some additions, it is possible to provide an effective multi-speed gearbox, as well as provide the ability to drive not only on roads, but also on light off-road conditions. When driving at high speed, the brakes begin to play an important role. The most common installation is double disc brakes, due to which, if necessary, you can stop the vehicle quite quickly. It should be noted that the drawings that allow you to assemble a velomobile with your own hands never contain information on changing the standard brake design, since this is unsafe.
Features of projects
With the proper desire and perseverance, creating a three-wheeled or four-wheeled velomobile with your own hands is not so difficult. Self-assembly is practically the only option to get such a vehicle, because there is nothing similar on sale. There are several types of such units: they can be walking, sports, hiking and multifunctional. In addition, if necessary, you can assemble a children's velomobile with your own hands. For children of primary school and preschool age, this technique will be more interesting and safer than a regular two-wheeled bicycle.
There are a number of restrictions that are determined at the design stage. This concerns the mass of the future vehicle. As a rule, reducing weight leads to increasing cost. Oddly enough, it is mass that turns out to be the main characteristic on the basis of which it is decided which velomobile to make with your own hands. Once the initial problems have been resolved, a drawing of the model is drawn up.
Next, the frame is created, the seats are selected and trimmed, and the carriages are fastened. The most important part is organizing the wheel mounts. As a rule, velomobiles use cantilever mounts, since a regular hub will not be reliable enough. After the wheels, shock absorbers are installed. When the main structural aspects are completed, you can begin installing decorative elements that do not have a big impact on the main part of the unit.
DIY velomobile: Photos - diagrams
Video
Necessary materials:
1. Bicycles for disassembly;
2. Square pipes with sections (in cm) 3.8x3.8/1.3x1.3/2.5 x2.5;
3. Steel pipe (2.5 cm);
4. Chipboard;
5. Upholstery materials;
6. Steel sheet;
7. Nuts, bolts and other fasteners;
8. Welding machine, grinder and other tools.
Manufacturing instructions
Step 1. Working with the steering wheel and front wheel
The design of the future vehicle is simple and also economical. The components of a velomobile are a wheel and a rear frame (bridge). The bicycle's pedals and standard chain drive are attached to the wheel. Excess elements are cut off from the frame. A grinder is used in this work. A cut line is marked on the seat tube - in the shape of the letter V. An incision is made with a grinder, and then the tube is bent so that it has a slope in a different direction from the original one.
The fold seam is welded. The pipe is also reinforced with a wedge-shaped steel plate. It is cut according to a template from a steel sheet (thickness about 0.5 cm). The steering column needs to be sawed off from the seat tube.
A piece is cut from a square pipe (a section of 3.8x3.8 cm). It should be 2.5 cm shorter in length than the steering column.
One side of the pipe is cut off. The result was a segment with a recess.
The steering tube needs to be placed in this channel and welded for strength. The gaps are filled with small pieces of steel.
One part of the steering column is also removed. The seatpost is removed from the saddle and its connections to the column are disconnected.
You need to make sure that the tube and seatpost parts are straight, and then connect them. Weld the seam. A short (13 mm) piece of pipe is installed inside the column for sliding.
Step 2. Working with the velomobile frame
The square pipe is cut into pieces (10 cm smaller, 38 cm medium and 69 cm large). The edges of the workpiece are cut at an angle of 120 degrees.
When assembling the frame, it is important to make all corners straight. For this you will need bars. Using a fastening system, the steering column is welded to the frame plug.
Step 3. Working with the front fork
The steering column and front wheel are assembled (temporarily).
At this stage, the drive sprocket is at the front when it should be at the rear. To make the ratchet work, the sprockets are turned over.
The front fork is attached to the original mounting holes in the frame. A 3.8x5 cm blank is cut out of a piece of steel, in which holes are drilled corresponding to the attachment points. The steel plate is attached to the frame using screws.
A 90-centimeter steel pipe (diameter 2.5 cm) is processed. You need to cut a slit at its end and place the pipe on a thin plate. A hole is drilled in the steering wheel barrel. Its diameter is about 1 cm.
A rod is placed in the steering column. The end of the pipe should be aligned with the recess in the barrel. The bottom of the pipe is welded to a steel plate. After this, the tube is removed and the mounting loops are welded. Other parts of the plate need to be disposed of (cut off).
The lower edge of the pipe must be installed, and a hole 0.9 cm in diameter must be drilled in the upper edge. It is necessary for the pipe to connect to the steering rod. A threaded rod is used for fastening.
Step 4. Working with the frame
The rear frame of the velomobile is welded from equal parts of a square pipe (3.8x3.8 cm). Two pieces 76.2 cm long are welded to four pieces 53 cm long. The result is a square with two jumpers. Four pieces (5x10 cm) are cut from a steel plate (its thickness is 0.47 cm). Holes are drilled in all segments, which must match the diameter of the axes. On each plate, using a grinding machine, you need to cut recesses - the diameter of the hole, but wider at the edges.
Using the wheel as a guide, the plates are welded to the pipes. The tricycle is placed on the wheels.
Step 5: Installing the Brakes
The front brake caliper is cut off from the front fork of the bicycle.
Two pieces are cut from the plate (these are mounting plates). Equal holes are drilled in the mounting plates. All elements are secured with a brake bracket. Once the brakes are installed, the plates are welded to the front fork.
Brakes and shifter require control (cable). To make it, you will need a long nut (10-24x1.9 cm), which you need to tighten and drill out on one side. The drill should not go completely into the nut, only 1.27 cm. The nut is cut along the entire surface with a grinder.
Step 6: Shifting gears
For the switch to work correctly, it is installed on the velomobile upside down. The installation point moves forward 5.7 cm and up 0.15 cm (than on the original suspension). The bracket is made of two pieces of steel plate.
To mount the gears, you need to drill holes with a larger and smaller diameter on the axle. Fasteners are inserted into the smaller one - this is necessary so that the gear selector does not slip out of the specified position. A bracket is installed on the axis and connected to the switch.
Step 7: Working with the Bike Seat
The frame is made of sq. pipe, the diameter of which is 2.5 cm. It is necessary to weld three separate sections to make it easier to adjust the position of the seat.
