Thanks to jonrev I now have this fine bodywork to make into something to pedal. What I won't be doing is trying to get in and out of that opening at my age. A circus contortionist might be able to do it and not look ridiculous but I've no intention of calling for help as I get halfway in or out and realise I'm too fat, old and decrepit to complete the manoeuvre. This means a tilting bodyshell hinged at the front. This in turn means fixing the rear panel to the chassis as it won't clear the seat otherwise. One other alternative is to tilt at the rear point but that then requires a means of ensuring it doesn't get blown open as I hit 40mph (my bike hits 36mph on my commute down a big hill). I'm expecting to use polycarbonate in the windscreen but thick PVC for the side. By doing that and judicious use of velcro I can fasten the side screens down enough to provide rudimentary rainproofing but roll them up in summer for the wind in the place where my hair would be if I had any.
My wild guestimates from measuring pictures on screen against known things such as tyres were spookily accurate
in that a regular pedal system will not fit by quite some means and the oval crudely drawn here is a good approximation of the required space for one.
I therefore either need to place a blister on the bodywork, cut a hole in it, or move to a non-regular pedalling system such as linear. I am utterly useless with fibreglass and I can't think of any way to modify the body without ruining it aesthetically so modifying the pedals it is. After extensive trawling of various already invented options, this one seems most likely to be used.
Edit - video works fine on youtube if you click it.
More measuring shows if this system is used but slightly rotated about an hour clockwise in the picture it will stay within the body and leave my foot here at furthest extension and 5" of clearance under my foot. The big advantages over truly linear are no extra chains, no catching up with the system on each stroke before adding anything to the power and a std bottom bracket can be retained for adding electricity to the effort. It won't be as efficient as a regular pedalling setup or we'd be using them everywhere already but it's about the best that will fit the space IMO.
When I originally saw the yellow Church Pod body on ebay some time ago I was thinking of a trike (tadpole) but I'm now convinced a 4 wheeler is the way to go. One rear wheel must be completely behind the body and if suspended be sufficiently far behind to allow clearance for that movement. A 4 wheeler can have the rear wheels further forward, either side of the body thus keeping length down. Also with the position of the rider / driver, their weight is a way behind the front wheels so one rear would not provide enough stability IMO so a full set of wheels it is. I have in mind a Chinese ATV axle at 22mm.
At that size I'm hoping / expecting it to be butch enough especially when suspended. Also at that size I can slot on some bosses to mount the relevant threads for three freewheels. There'll be one for the drive and one at each end (RH thread and LH thread) to provide drive to the freewheeling hubs that will attach to the ends. The end threads on the axle are M16 and by the miracle of modern thread altering technology I have some M16 to M12 studding adapters. This will allow the slotting on of freewheeling front hubs using the disc brake mounts to drive them like a Rhoades car. This will give me a freewheel diff setup. The outer wheel will simply freewheel ahead of the driven inside wheel.
The disc brake mount on the axle will then be useless as the wheels will simply freewheel so the discs on the wheels will provide both drive and braking.
At the front I'm thinking of using more Chinese ATV parts, namely the front wishbones of a kids Quad. The front track is going to be 1050mm (rear about 930mm) or so to fit the body so there's plenty of room for them though they will add weight. As well as comfort, independent front suspension will go some way towards solving the usual problem of keeping 4 wheels in contact with the tarmac.
It looks an easy enough job to slice the upright about enough to mount a 20" bike wheel.
Any and all thoughts welcome.
My wild guestimates from measuring pictures on screen against known things such as tyres were spookily accurate
in that a regular pedal system will not fit by quite some means and the oval crudely drawn here is a good approximation of the required space for one.
I therefore either need to place a blister on the bodywork, cut a hole in it, or move to a non-regular pedalling system such as linear. I am utterly useless with fibreglass and I can't think of any way to modify the body without ruining it aesthetically so modifying the pedals it is. After extensive trawling of various already invented options, this one seems most likely to be used.
Edit - video works fine on youtube if you click it.
More measuring shows if this system is used but slightly rotated about an hour clockwise in the picture it will stay within the body and leave my foot here at furthest extension and 5" of clearance under my foot. The big advantages over truly linear are no extra chains, no catching up with the system on each stroke before adding anything to the power and a std bottom bracket can be retained for adding electricity to the effort. It won't be as efficient as a regular pedalling setup or we'd be using them everywhere already but it's about the best that will fit the space IMO.
When I originally saw the yellow Church Pod body on ebay some time ago I was thinking of a trike (tadpole) but I'm now convinced a 4 wheeler is the way to go. One rear wheel must be completely behind the body and if suspended be sufficiently far behind to allow clearance for that movement. A 4 wheeler can have the rear wheels further forward, either side of the body thus keeping length down. Also with the position of the rider / driver, their weight is a way behind the front wheels so one rear would not provide enough stability IMO so a full set of wheels it is. I have in mind a Chinese ATV axle at 22mm.
At that size I'm hoping / expecting it to be butch enough especially when suspended. Also at that size I can slot on some bosses to mount the relevant threads for three freewheels. There'll be one for the drive and one at each end (RH thread and LH thread) to provide drive to the freewheeling hubs that will attach to the ends. The end threads on the axle are M16 and by the miracle of modern thread altering technology I have some M16 to M12 studding adapters. This will allow the slotting on of freewheeling front hubs using the disc brake mounts to drive them like a Rhoades car. This will give me a freewheel diff setup. The outer wheel will simply freewheel ahead of the driven inside wheel.
The disc brake mount on the axle will then be useless as the wheels will simply freewheel so the discs on the wheels will provide both drive and braking.
At the front I'm thinking of using more Chinese ATV parts, namely the front wishbones of a kids Quad. The front track is going to be 1050mm (rear about 930mm) or so to fit the body so there's plenty of room for them though they will add weight. As well as comfort, independent front suspension will go some way towards solving the usual problem of keeping 4 wheels in contact with the tarmac.
It looks an easy enough job to slice the upright about enough to mount a 20" bike wheel.
Any and all thoughts welcome.
