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"Woody"

"TreeBike"

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A few years ago I decided that I absolutely had to have a recumbent bicycle but being a humble homesteader-type it was obvious that if I was going to ride a recumbent I'd have to build it myself. Since I am a wood worker with limited welding skills, it seemed logical to build my bike out of wood. What followed was the construction of two wood-framed recumbents; first 'Woody' and a bit later, 'TreeBike' and below you'll find links to the documentation of these two projects.

Since building and riding these two bikes for quite a while we ended up owning a couple of commercially built recumbents; a Lighting P-38 and Wizwheelz TerraTrike. They have been interesting diversions from the homebuilt recumbents but not as interesting to ride and modify. I still may put together a Wood-Framed Recumbent Tandem Trike one of these days.

What is Recumbent Share?

Recumbent Share is a spot where recumbent bike home-builders are sharing their bikes with you!

Check it out
 

For now though, this part of our site is being devoted primarily to all those home builders who have sent in photos and stories of their recumbent creations. I hope you enjoy seeing and reading about these fine and very personal creations. If you have built a recumbent bike, trike or quadike(sp) and would like to share it with the world check out the guidelines on the Recumbent Share page. 

 

	Woody: This was my first adventure in wood bike building. This bike was  great! Fun to ride, and a real eye catcher. In over 2000 miles Woody never let me down. Because of its 'robustness' (weight) this bike was fast downhill, a bit slow on the climbs. This bike has been decommissioned (a decision I sometimes regret) to make space in the bike garage. I'm sure some of its parts will be reborn in an updated design. I've left the construction sequence for Woody on the site because the information is still as valid as when it was built back in 1997.	Measured drawing of Woody
	TreeBike: This bike was built for my wife Sue and is quite a bit lighter and more responsive than Woody. At first this bike was not too cool. Looked great, rode crummy. It pretty much sat around and collected dust for a year. Much to my surprise, it  just needed to be adjusted a bit. I fixed front wheel alignment by filing a deeper recess in one dropout and shimmed up the rear triangle mounting to compensate for slight twist in the frame beam. This was originally to be Sue's bike but in the Spring of 2001 she got a Wizwheelz TerraTrike (check my TerraTrike Modifications page ). She has been riding the trike so I modified Treebike so I could ride it. Longest ride so far is 52 miles and although it handles badly on gravel (too much weight on rear wheel) it climbs and sprints like a champ.

Also in the collection... Lightning P-38 Short-wheelbase recumbent. I bought this production bike used. This makes four recumbents in the barn now. I think I'm hooked. The P-38 has a reputation for being a good climber and as fast as most recumbents. These ol' legs don't mind pedaling a 28 lb. bike for a change. The Shimano Ultegra / XT components are smooth as silk. I may use the geometry from this bike as the basis of a future short wheelbase wood bike project, though a lower profile would be nice. 

Background:
In the summer of 1996 I bought a used Maxam DL Reveille recumbent bike. The idea was to see if I really did want to either spend big bucks for a quality manufactured bike (not likely) or at least use the Maxam to see what features I would want to incorporate into a homebuilt recumbent.

The Maxam is not a bad bike. It is a little heavy at 44 lbs (including fenders and luggage rack). The components are not too bad; Shimano Alivio crank, derailleurs and RapidFire shifters. It took me a while to get used to the thing but by the end of the Summer I could ride farther and more importantly, more comfortably on it than on my Peugeot upright bike.

The Project:
The plan was to build two recumbent bikes before the Spring thaw; one each for Sue and I. The following factors were to determine the direction of the design and construction. If you think I've forgotten something important or have something in the wrong priority, let me know, OK?

• Comfortable to ride

• Proper gearing to allow reasonable pedal effort in our rolling area

• Re-use as much of the old upright bikes as possible (frame & components)

• Durable enough to be trusted on extended tours

Outside Influences:
Our alternative energy system is not really set up to support arc welding though I do use a small 'aviator' oxy-acetylene outfit for torch welding and brazing. I am experimenting with aluminum brazing/soldering and may be able to use some aluminum in the construction process.

We are wood-workers and have the tools and experience to make things from wood. Charles Brown, a Michigan Human Powered Vehicle Association (MHPVA) member and homebuilder has built several nice bikes using white pine for the frame. These bikes look cool (to me), are reasonably light and, with Charles riding them, do quite well in MHPVA events.

An Invitation:
Please feel free to let me know what you think of the projects and in particular, I'd like to know if you have any ideas which will help in the design and building processes. Write to me at steve@manytracks.com. I'm open to criticism, comments and suggestions. Thanks!