Warrior - AtomicZombie - DIY Plans for Recumbent Bikes, Trikes and

“Thanks for the birthday wish.”
~ George H., Texas
October 30, 2013
NEWS
Building a practical velomobile
This project is on hold until we find a practical place to build it!
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Building the
Atomic
Zombie
Warrior
Racing Trike
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blog!
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By David Monk, Elwood, Utah, USA
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T
he ancient Chinese
philosopher Lauzi (c604
B.C. - c531 B.C.) wrote,
“A journey of a
thousand miles begins
with a single step.” My journey begins in about 1971 when I was a fourth grade boy without a bike. All of
my friends had bikes and some even had custom bikes, but my family did not have the means to buy me a
bike.
So, one spring afternoon, I walked the five or so miles across town to the city dump and began to look
for pieces to build my own bike. I found a frame that looked pretty straight, handle bars, wheels and tires.
With a little help from a friend, I carried all these pieces home and began assembling my “new” bike. A
few hours and a can of spray paint later I had an awesome bike. It was sized for someone closer to six feet
tall, but it was mine and it was fast. I rode that bike for many years putting on hundreds of miles per year.
Although, I couldn’t sit on the seat for three years until I was tall enough to sit with my feet resting on the
horizontal pedals, I still rode everywhere.
Bicycle Autopsy
Continued on page 2)
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“Hello from Italy. Very happy I found your site.”
~ Enzo P., Italy
NEWS
October 30, 2013
(Continued from page 1)
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Since that time, I have owned many bikes of all types and love riding. As an adult, I have always been
drawn to unconventional modes of transportation whether it is a strange car, aircraft or bike. In
particular, I have always wanted a recumbent bike but could not justify the cost when I really didn’t have
the need. As the years clicked by I began to think I could have a recumbent at a fraction of the cost of
purchasing a factory build model if I used some of the skills obtained as a boy and built my own.
I looked at different designs and scoured the Internet for ideas but never really found anything that
struck a chord. That is, until I happened upon the Atomic Zombie web site. “Wow,” I thought. There
were plans for some of the coolest
looking rides and the best part was I
could build my own. I immediately
chose six plans and made the purchase.
The one plan that was most appealing
was the Warrior Racing Trike.
The winters in Northern Utah keep
me inside most of the time, so I put on
a coat and gloves and spent many cold
evenings in the garage building my
trike. I began by picking up some
square tubing and started haunting the
Figure 1: Rolling Frame
local second hand stores for the needed
parts. As I was trolling the Deseret
Industries store in Logan, Utah, I found a brand new, never used rear wheel already setup for disc brakes.
I found an older mountain bike with pretty decent components that I could use for the drive train. I knew
I needed head tubes that were similar for the front steering on the trike, and it turned out that there were
two identical “Hello Kitty” bikes, which I snagged. My cash outlay was under $30 and I left the store that
day with enough parts to get me 80% of the Warrior. Once back home, I started cutting up the bikes and
fabricating the frame.
The plans are excellent and quite easy to follow, but it took some time to get comfortable working with
the steel and welding. It has been quite a few years since I did any serious welding and I had to re-learn a
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“Just checking in to say hi and thanks for the welcome.”
~ Steve N., New Hampshire
NEWS
October 30, 2013
(Continued from page 2)
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lot. I own an arc welder, but I also own a wire feed welder so I tried welding the thin-wall tubing with
each and quickly learned that I either lacked the skill or needed help setting up the welders. I turned to
the Internet and researched all I could find on both arc welding and wire feed. I concluded that with a
little work (shielding gas, weld wire and settings), the MIG welder would be best suited to my skill and the
project. A visit to the welding supply store for the most suitable diameter feed wire (0.023”) and an
Argon/CO2 tank, and the results were nothing short of miraculous. I was able to lay down fine looking
beads without burn-through and they were very strong.
As the building of the frame progressed, there were minor cosmetic improvements made that would
enhance the final look of the trike. First, to get a streamlined look, the steering head tubes were welded
completely to the wings, and then the outside welds were blended to make a smooth transition from the
wing tube and around the head tubes.
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Bicycle Autopsy
Figure 2 (left): Steering tube and Figure 3: Nose detail
Next, as the plans suggested, I spent time to make the nice rounded nose, again, for the streamlined
look. A leftover piece of head tube was used, which fit nicely inside the 1.5” square tubing, and tacked in.
Then, the sides were shaped to the radius of the head tube and all the seams welded and cleaned up.
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“Got my bottom brackets—thanks!”
~ Vern N., Louisiana
NEWS
October 30, 2013
(Continued from page 3)
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By far, the most challenging aspect of building the Warrior trike was finding front wheels. Hours
were spent searching the Internet trying to find a 20” rim with a 20 mm through-axle hub. I could not
find what I was looking for, so I decided to learn how to lace my own wheels. I found nice hubs with the
20 mm axle through-hole and bought nice rims and spokes and built the front wheels myself. They
turned out perfect, and I have one more skill in my pocket.
The next challenge was to find just the right handlebars. I tried four or five different handlebar
configurations, but I didn’t like any of them. The bars from the mountain bike were too straight, and the
bars from the “Hello Kitty” bikes didn’t have a wide enough straight center section so they interfered with
the frame. I even tried modifying a set of handlebars by heating and bending to the shape I needed, but
that didn’t work out very well. I finished building the steering and temporarily used the straight
mountain bike bars, but I knew I would have to come back to the handlebars before I would be satisfied
with the result. So, I left it and moved on with building the rest of the trike.
My local electronics chain store has lots of polyethylene packing material that is useful for padding on
the seat, and if you ask, they are happy to give it away and save the hassle of disposal. I found some pieces
about 1.25” thick that were perfect for seat padding. To get a finished look, the foam padding was
rounded on the edges and a half yard of vinyl boat seat material was used to fully cover the padding,
wrapped around the wood structure and stapled down the centerline
of the back of the seat. This line of staples is hidden by the frame
tubing.
When I was putting the finishing touches on the frame, my wife
could see that I would soon complete the project, and she wisely
insisted that I have a flag so that I could be seen by cars on the road.
To satisfy this request, I picked up some threaded connector nuts
and welded them to the upper seat back support, then drilled them
to accept the ¼” flag stick. Cable guides and mounting provisions
for a rack or pannier mounts were some final details added to the
frame.
Bicycle Autopsy
Figure 4: Guides for flag sticks
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One of the best stores for any bike builder is “Recycled Cycles”
with several locations around the US. I was on business in Seattle,
(Continued on page 5)
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“I guess your bike building season is coming to a close.
I’m settling in for a long winter, too. Stay warm.”
~ Oliver P., New York
NEWS
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blog!
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October 30, 2013
(Continued from page 4)
WA and one afternoon found and visited the store there. It was like hitting the jackpot in Las Vegas! I
found three identical disc brake calipers in excellent shape for all three wheels, SPD compatible clip-less
pedals and a bunch of other odds and ends that were so cheap I could not believe it. Everything was
coming together nicely; the end was in sight. However, still no suitable handlebars.
The style of handlebar I wanted was from the old style cruiser bikes just like I had on the “junk yard”
bike I built as a kid…wait, I realized, that bike was still sitting behind the shed at my father’s house in
Idaho! A quick call and it was all arranged, the bike would arrive with a relative in a few days. Most of the
bike was unusable,
but the handlebars and
headset were
perfect. The headset
went into the parts
bucket for the next build
and the handlebars
went on the trike. My
bike building had
come full circle. All that
was left was the
paint and cabling.
The paint for my
trike had to be selected
carefully to match
the other details. The
desired was a bright
green for the frame and
satin black for the
steering components, so
the search began
for the best paint for the
Figure 5: Powder coated parts
job. I could only
find the right frame
color online and it
was an automotive
grade. By the time I priced out the chemicals for preparing the surfaces, the primer, the paint and how
much time it was going to take, I started looking hard at powder coating. The local powder coating
company was very excited for the opportunity to help me out. They gave me a detailed tour of their
facilities and explained all the prep steps that would be completed, the types of coating used and longterm advantages. I was sold, but at what cost?
We discussed the details and what color each part would be, picked out colors and finishes and timing
for the job. Then they hit me with the total price…it was LESS than the cost for paint! I left a pile of parts
with them and a few days later picked up the most beautiful bunch of parts I could imagine.
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For assembly, I used all new cables, new grips on the handlebars and high pressure tires all around.
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“Thanks for your help, Kat. I’m better at building bikes
than figuring out how to use email!”
~ Barry H., California
NEWS
Read our
blog!
October 30, 2013
Head tubes and
bottom brackets
Thanks to many requests, we are manufacturing head
tubes and bottom brackets for your bike and trike projects.
TUTORIALS
This means you won't have to dig around for a matching set of bottom brackets when you are building a trike
or quad and need more than one identical head tube or
bottom bracket.
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AtomicZombie head tubes and bottom brackets are
"welder friendly", meaning they have a slightly thicker
wall so that distortions will be kept to a minimum as you
weld your frame tubing to the parts.
Head tubes
AtomicZombie head tubes are 3.5 inches in length so
that they can be used on square tube frames without
needing to be trimmed down. Head tubes will fit standard head tube cups and have a small end taper so that
installation of the cups will be easy.
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With a slightly larger wall thickness than a standard
head tube, our parts will hold their shape after being
welded to your frame tubing, making it easy to re-install
the cups when your project is completed.
Bicycle Autopsy
Bottom brackets
Our bottom bracket shells are also weld ready and
will fit standard 3-piece bottom bracket hardware. There
are also no side holes that need to be filled, so you can complete your bike or trike with minimal cleanup
work.
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“It’s great to be a member of the AZ family. Thanks for the
Facebook add.”
~ Lou D., UK
October 30, 2013
NEWS
Huh!?
I didn’t know
that!
(Continued from page 6)
AtomicZombie
sells bike parts?
Cool!
These parts sell quickly, so if
you need to get a few for your project, please visit our store and order
your parts as soon as possible.
TUTORIALS
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We are manufacturing bicycle
parts based on demand, and will try
to ensure that we have many items
in stock so that you can get your
bikes and trikes on the road sooner
than later; however, we cannot
guarantee that every part will always be in stock. You can still place
an order for backordered parts.
Sorry, but we cannot do custom orders at this time.
Wheel Lacing
Once again, thanks to our community for letting us know how we can help keep your hobby in high
gear!
Parts orders shipping date
Bicycle Autopsy
Please note that the next round of parts orders will be shipped November 9,2013. Why?
(see video below). We expect that backordered parts will be in before this date. However, if
for some reason there is a delay, those customers who have backordered parts will receive
an email confirming when their order will be shipped.
Be sure to place your parts order no later than 6 pm Eastern Time on Friday,
November 8, 2013 if you want your order to ship on November 9.
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When your order is ready to be shipped, you will receive an email from United States Postal
Service (USPS) with the date of shipment and tracking information (USA only).
AZTV webisode
There and back again…an
AtomicZombie’s tale
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“Lots of great help on the forum. Making new friends and
enjoying the experience.”
~ Paul H., UK.
NEWS
October 30, 2013
(Continued from page 5)
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Everything went together
splendidly and, finally, the big
day came. It was ready to ride.
It was a beautiful spring day
and the temperatures were in
the 70s. Off I rode and
immediately got into a race
with some neighborhood kids
on their bikes (I smoked them
easily).
Around the block, I was
stopped by some folks walking
along who commented on how
cool the trike was and wanted
to know if it was easy to ride. I
Figure 6: Blue ribbon Warrior Tadpole Trike
let them sit on it and pedal
around a bit, then the big
question came, “Could you
build two for my husband and me? I suppose about $2,500 each would be reasonable?” Even with the
custom built wheels and all the details including powder coating (and the welding supplies), I had spent
about ¼ of that amount. This machine was a head turner everywhere I went.
The Box Elder County Fair happens the third week of August and I decided that I would enter my
Warrior Trike in the Adult Crafts section. I won a Blue Ribbon (the judges score card rated it excellent in
every category), but more than that were all the positive comments from people who saw the trike on
display.
Building the Atomic Zombie Warrior Trike was an amazing experience and the loads of positive
feedback have exceeded my expectations in every way. If I can give any advice for anyone thinking of
building any AZ design, it is this: What are you waiting for? Start building now. I can hardly wait to see
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“I love being a bike building zombie! Many thanks for all the
cool stuff you have online.”
~ Bruce Y., Australia
NEWS
October 30, 2013
(Continued from page 8)
what comes out of
my workshop this
winter.
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David’s Warrior
Tadpole Trike
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Congrats, David, on your excellent build and winning
a blue ribbon. Hopefully, your story will inspire
others to take up this rewarding hobby. Thanks for
sharing your story and pictures.
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Contribute to the AZ newsletter. We
welcome your stories and pictures.
Contact koolkat(at)atomiczombie.com .
“Having a great time building my first recumbent
and learning a lot thanks to the forum.”
~ Bruno B., Italy
NEWS
October 30, 2013
Freewheel and disc brake adapters for trike & quad projects
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Freewheel Adapter
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Disc Brake Adapter
Our Delta Trike Axle Freewheel Adapter (left) fits any Shimano style thread-on
freewheel and a standard six bolt bicycle disc brake rotor. Drilled for a 3/4 inch axle and includes
a 1/4 inch mounting bolt. Disc brake mounting holes are tapped for standard M5 bolts. This part
will fit the following plans directly: StreetFighter Racing Quad, KyotoCruiser Tandem
Trike, LodeRunner Cargo Trike, and Aurora Delta Racing Trike.
This fits onto any 3/4 inch axle and allows the installation of a standard Shimano style threadon freewheel and bicycle disc brake rotor. With this part, you can add a pedal transmission to any
trike or quadcycle using only standard bicycle components. The included locking bolt secures the
part to the axle and allows for easy removal at a later time. The six disc rotor mounting holes are
also tapped so you can mount your bicycle disc brake rotor using the standard M5 bolts that were
supplied with it. The FDAX34 Delta Trike Axle FreeWheel Adapter is a high quality machined
part made of aluminum and anodized black.
(Continued on page 11)
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“I don’t think you charge enough for your plans given the amount of
detail contained in them. The 6 for $36 special is great.”
~ Scott M., Australia
NEWS
October 30, 2013
(Continued from page 10)
This part can fit the following plans with modifications: TimberWolf Suspension Trike,
DeltaWolf Racing Trike, DeltaRunner Delta Trike, Gladiator Chopper Trike.
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Note: Before purchasing this part for use on these plans, read through them first so you can
understand what will need to be changed in order to make them fit properly. It helps to own one
or more of the above plans in order to see how the part should fit before you attempt any
modifications. If you are unsure about modifying our plans to use this part, or would like to know
if our parts will fit your own custom design, then visit our forum and we will answer your
questions.
And, the Delta Trike Axle Disc Brake Adapter (right) fits any industry standard 6 bolt
bicycle disc brake rotor. Drilled for a 3/4 inch axle and includes a 1/4 inch mounting bolt. Disc
brake mounting holes are tapped for standard M5 bolts.
Our Delta Trike Axle Disc Brake Adapter fits onto any 3/4 inch axle and allows for the
installation of a standard ISO standard 6 bolt bicycle disc brake rotor. With this part, you can add
reliable disc brake stopping power to any trike or quadcycle using only standard bicycle
components. The included locking bolt secures the part to the axle and allows for easy removal at
a later time. The 6 disc rotor mounting holes are also tapped so you can mount your bicycle disc
brake rotor using the standard M5 bolts that are supplied with it. The DBAX34 Delta Trike Disc
Brake Adapter is a high quality machined part made of aluminum and anodized black.
This part will fit the following plans directly: StreetFighter Recumbent Racing
QuadCycle, LodeRunner Single Rider Cargo Trike, and Aurora Delta Racing Trike.
Bicycle Autopsy
Basic Welding
This part can fit the following plans with modifications: TimberWolf Suspension Delta
Trike, DeltaWolf Recumbent Racing Trike, DeltaRunner Recumbent Delta Trike,
Gladiator Phat Ass Chopper Trike. Note: Before purchasing this part for use on these
plans, read through them first so you can understand what will need to be changed in order to
make them fit properly. It helps to own one or more of the above plans in order to see how the
part should fit before you attempt any modifications. If you are unsure about modifying our plans
to use this part, or would like to know if our parts will fit your own custom design, then visit our
forum and we will answer your questions.
See the Plans section on our web site for more information on these and other projects.
We want to see pictures of your workshop!
Whether it’s indoors or outdoors, big or small — show us where you build your bike projects.
Visit the AZ forum and join us.
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“Hello Brad and Kat. I sure enjoy building bikes. Thanks
for the inspiration.”
~ George P., Scotland
NEWS
October 30, 2013
Hub flange discs for your bike projects
Our laser cut Hub Flange Discs will make it
easier for you to build your own delta trike
wheels and save you time on your project.
This Hub Flange Disc is made with 24 spoke
holes so that you can build wheels directly
onto any 3/4" axle using rims with 48 spokes.
TUTORIALS
The Hub Flange Discs are made of steel and
are approximately 1/8 inch thick as required
by the plans. Spoke holes are 7/64" in
diameter so that standard bicycles spokes can
be used.
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All hub flange discs are sold as a set of
four identical discs.
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Bicycle Autopsy
AtomicZombie Hub Flange Discs come in
several varieties with various spoke hole
counts and axle hole diameters. Each of our
DIY plans offer a recommended axle size and spoke count, but you can certainly change this to
suit your design needs or parts availability. For instance, the Aurora Trike can be built using
rims with 36 spokes rather than 48 spokes, or the DeltaWolf can be made using a 3/4 inch axle
rather than a 5/8 inch axle. Please make sure that you order the correct Hub Flange Disc size
for your project.
To keep costs to a minimum, our Hub Flange Discs are laser cut from flat sheet metal. Each
disc will have a small imperfection on the outer edge and inner edge where the laser started
cutting out the disc. There is also a mill scale on the surface of the metal that will need to be
removed using sandpaper or a sanding disc. Neither of these imperfections will compromise
the strength of the disc, and once they are built onto your hubs and painted, the imperfections
will be unnoticeable.
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(Continued on page 13)
AZTV webisode
There and back again…an
AtomicZombie’s tale
12
“So many great designs to choose from!”
~ Bobby K., Australia
NEWS
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blog!
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Bicycle Autopsy
October 30, 2013
(Continued from page 12)
The surfaces of the Hub Flange Discs are coated with a mill scale at the factory to help protect
the metal from oxidation. This coating easily be removed using a sanding disc to prepare the
part for painting. The laser cut edges are also somewhat sharp, so they need to be smoothed off
using the sanding disc by running it lightly around the edge once.
Once the mill scale has been removed from the Hub Flange Discs, the spoke holes will need
to be beveled slightly to remove the sharp edges around the holes. This is done so that the
spoke exiting the flange is not cut by the sharp edges of the hole. To bevel the spoke holes, use a
3/16 inch drill bit and push lightly into the hole until a small bevel is made. The beveled spoke
holes are shown here after running pressing lightly with the 3/16 inch drill bit to remove the
sharp edges. The Hub Flange Disc is now ready to be welded to your delta trike axle.
Remember, our Hub Flange Discs are sold as a set of four matching discs, and there are
several versions available, so please choose the correct number of spoke holes and axle
diameter for your project. These discs are manufactured to keep costs to a minimum, so you
will need to bevel the spoke holes and prep the surface for painting, an operation that will only
take a few minutes per disc. All of our DIY Delta Trike Plans make use of these Hub Flange
Discs, which allow you to lace a rim directly to the rear axle. By integrating the flanges directly
onto the axles, you’ll save some money instead of needing to have complex and expensive
machined hub parts made. Our trike plans also include instructions on how to make these parts
from scratch, as well as a drawing that can be sent to a machine shop in case you want to make
your own hub flanges.
Our goal is to offer parts that save you both time and money when building your own DIY
bike or trike project. For more details and to order, visit the AtomicZombie store.
We want to see pictures of your workshop!
Basic Welding
Whether it’s indoors or outdoors, big or small — show us where you build your bike projects.
Go to the AZ forum and join us.
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“So, I bought my first welder. Thanks to the friends I’ve been
making on the forum, I’ll be building my first recumbent soon.”
~ Walter J., Oregon
NEWS
October 30, 2013
From the Builders Gallery
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Bicycle Autopsy
Free Tutorial PDFs We are converting many of our free online tutorials into PDF format so that you can print them. Since converting is a time‐consuming process, it will take Basic Welding
at least a few weeks to get most of them online. Some are already converted and available for download. 14
“AtomicZombie is the best community on the Web.”
~ Steven H., Montana
NEWS
October 30, 2013
From the Builders Gallery
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Submit pictures of your own
homebuilt bike projects to
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the Builders Gallery.
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