Long time since the last post.....apologies for not answering your replies sooner.
I got sidetracked into putting power on to my shed.
For the last 20 years I had an extension lead from the house running to it with a tangle of leads and power boards inside.
I will post the long story in the "what jobs are we getting done due to the lock down" thread.
Anyway back to the bike.
I was a bit discouraged after trying to ride it, I felt so unstable I had my feet hovering just above the ground, I didnt even get them on the pedals as I rolled down the small hill.
After reading the info on the recumbents site I mentioned in post 25 I decided to increase the trail to see if it made any difference.
This was easily done, I experimented by taking the spring out and replacing it with a plywood strut, this changed the front fork rake from 73 to 70 degrees.
The difference was remarkable, balanced it relatively easily straight off, would not do no hands but one hand is OK.
For a permanent fix to the new rake I used a rubber door stopper, not the same cushioning as the spring but about the right length to get the required rake angle.
The other options were to find a front fork with less offset or cut the frame and insert a "dart" of steel which would also increase the trail as well as the wheelbase a bit.
I can always try these options in the future.
So I have now painted the frame and have to install cables for the brakes and gears to finish it.
The donor bike had cable stops fixed to the frame but looking at the AZ instructions I got from Brad it seems that the cables are run in the tubes all the way from the levers to the brakes or derailleurs.
Im curious as to why traditional bikes just run the tubing in the curved sections and have plain cable in straight sections between the cable stops, it would seem simpler to run them in tube all the way.
I have to get one cable stop for the front derailleur, the donor derailleur is operated by the cable being pulled up against the spring so needs a stop for the cable tube to fit into.
I will probably get a clamp on cable stop unless anyone has another suggestion. I cant find any weld on types on the internet, though there are some rivet on types advertised.
I guess I will have to build something else to use the spring I bought!
Stewart
Attached photos:
ply struts,
rubber stopper fitted,
Cad drawing of how I could install a dart in the frame and still use the spring.
Overall view