what does the street fighter or warrior cost to make in time/labor and $$$?

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what does the street fighter or warrior cost to make in time/labor and $$$?
do not assume any scrap bike parts you got were free. for consistency: Value a scrap bike at $30 each because that's about how much I can get them for locally and the time it takes to find those scrap bikes is not free.
assume I can get the 1.5 sq tube for $1/foot, can do all my own welding, etc.
only want approximate guestimates.
 
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Twinkle

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We are amateurs on this site , so time , advice , and materials are usually not a lot.

Final costings - Depends on the specification of the build , and whether it's painted , stove enamelled or powder coated .

To build new from new parts less time could cost 800gbp , disc brake hubs are one of the most expensive items .

TBH , pricing has too many variables , - how long is a piece of string , and what quality is the build.
 
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we are not making string, it's a bike with specific instructions. For example it will take at least 6 hrs and perhaps as long as 18 hrs to build the bike depending on if you make mistakes, the string/tubing needed is 16 feet long and costs $16. one can of spray primer and paint will cost about $8. not at all hard to calculate for those that have done the builds.
 

Twinkle

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warrior
metal . 50 gbp
wheels. . 200. 20mm hubs (front )
rear. 65. with 9s cassette
brakes 60 ( 3 wheels )
chain 50. (9 speed x 3)
chainset . 40
bb 20
derailleur 35 ( 9s ) + 3 f
bar ends. 65
spd pedals. 25
tyres/tubes 40 ( cheap ones )
40 hours labour plus wheel building for front wheels
idler pulley. 10
plus everything I have forgotten
like
nuts , bolts , wheel spindle bolts
seat frame , foam , cables, paint

and that is off the top of my head.
 
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I can assure you that there are a LOT of variables:-
Just some:-
Paint - are you buying three rattle cans of do you already have a tin of chassis black you intend to brush on. What about primer / lacquer?
Are you using disc brakes? Do your donors have a matching pair or are you going to have to buy a matched pair? Did your donors come with worn out pads? Are you intending to upgrade to hydraulic?
Rim brakes - do you want new blocks or are you using the old ones that possibly don't match?
Is there a metal supplier near you or are you having to pay postage?
Are the headstock bearings your donors have knackered?
Are you using the cheap and nasty shifters your donors came with or do you intend to fork out for something better?
Are you using the derailleur your donor came with. It'll likely be cheap and nasty so you may want a better one.
Are you paying local shop prices for your cables or have you bought in bulk because you know you'll use them?
Do you have a matched pair of wheels? Do you care?
Can you find a nut for that bolt or will you have to buy one specially?
Are you following the plan exactly for the seat? Are you using some quality expensive foam or using a camping mat? Do you have an old leather jacket that's going to serve as the seat cover or do you have to buy some material? Are you splashing the cash on a fancy ready-made seat?
Do you have that tool you need to remove the freewheel?
Do you have the tool you need to remove a cartridge bottom bracket?
Are you making your own hubs or buying some?
Are you going the fasten those 4 mismatched old chains you have together for the job (you'll use 3 to 4 chains for a tadpole trike) or buy 4 new ones? Will you buy quality chain or cheap crap?
Do you have a nice set of perfectly shaped handlebars on a donor for under seat steering or will you weld something together or buy some.
There are cheap rod ends and good ones - which are you going for?

There are a lot more ways to spend or save. I'd suggest that if you have a decent workshop and are thrifty and ingenious you could make one for Sub £100. It'll repurpose most of the donor parts, only buying new where you have to and you'll need to scrounge that bit of wood for the seat and sacrifice that camping mat in the attic for it's foam. The fasteners you'll need you'll already have because you're that DIY type of person etc etc. Equally you could spend £700-£800 on one with new quality shifters and chains etc and an impressive ready made seat.

As examples if you look on this thread the red trike was about £300 and the black one about £350 to build. That doesn't include consumables such as cutting discs and flap wheels, nor welding wire and CO2.
 
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thanks for responses. these are more expensive than I thought. In the USA one can buy a used one for $600 to $1200 range. If I had a bunch of dead bikes lying around I woudl jump right in, but when I bought the plans there was no mention of needing a bunch of junk bikes and while not impossible to find, they do take some work.
 
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I guesstimated about $800 to build my Warrior but $400 of that was for the front wheels I had the local bike shop assemble for me. At that time - about 7 or 8 years ago there were no local used trikes available. In fact I've only ever seen one used trike locally up to this date. You can buy one at one of the LBS but the cheapest is $3200 and most expensive is $12,000.
 

SirJoey

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My cozy little nook in the corner!
The most I personally have ever spent building one of Brad's rides was around $800. That was the Kyoto Cruiser,
so a much larger ride, with many more components, & LOADED with extras. Part of that seemingly expensive project
was due to the fact that I bought TWO brand new bikes just to hack, so that I'd have not only nice, new components,
but also so everything on both sides would be an exact match. Those 2 bikes accounted for a little over $200 of the total cost.
Still, a comparable factory ride (like a tandem Rhoades Car) at that time, would've been around $3500!!! :eek:

Incidentally, it was also the most time consuming, devouring 11 months of my life!

***
 
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I bought the Kyoto plans, but my initial reaction is: Why the heck should I waste my time spoking wheels and finding junk bikes & ordering custom parts. why not just use the junk triangular rear wheel frame itself and save your self a lot of work? Yes some sort of locking pin mechanism would be needed to hold the metal rod in place, but that's a heck of a lot easier than gettting custom parts made!!

IMHO, these plans should not be marketed as easy to do anyone can do it. Especially when you have to farm out custom parts on a lathe.
 

SirJoey

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I made every single part on mine myself (I have all the pics), except for the freewheel adapters, which as I recall,
I ordered online,
& they weren't that expensive, so in reality, there were zero custom made parts on the entire build.
Additionally, there are ways to make your own from a hacked rear wheel hub, so it's definitely possible.

I didn't build the seats, as I already had a couple of factory ones from a close-out
deal on returns & blems I got from ActionBent before they went under.

***
 
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There's ways to hack around every issue with just basic tools. There are usually several ways to skin any cat. The plans show what Brad considers to be the best way for an average builder. There will be cheaper ways and there will be better but more expensive ways. This forum will assist anyone wanting or needing to deviate from the plans.
 

Twinkle

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I bought the Kyoto plans, but my initial reaction is: Why the heck should I waste my time spoking wheels and finding junk bikes & ordering custom parts. why not just use the junk triangular rear wheel frame itself and save your self a lot of work? Yes some sort of locking pin mechanism would be needed to hold the metal rod in place, but that's a heck of a lot easier than gettting custom parts made!!

IMHO, these plans should not be marketed as easy to do anyone can do it. Especially when you have to farm out custom parts on a lathe.
Your reaction " why the heck ..... " Did you want something for nothing without any work ?
Probably explained your reaction to my first post ( that you obviously did ! )
There are hundreds of parts to make /source and yes that does take time .

To quote Brad " We use real build photos and detailed diagrams instead of complex drawings, so anyone with a desire to build can succeed. Our bike and trike plans are not engineering blueprints, and do not call for hard-to-find parts or expensive tools. "

There is nothing I have found to be "custom " We have built our own freewheel adapters and disc brake adapters using parts of a rear hub wheel and collars . If you expected the build to be that easy there would be thousands of trikes on the market .

These plans have been produced assuming someone has the WILL and TIME to make something of their own .It would not be practrical to make a living manufacturing these to sell .

I like several others on this site have built several trikes and some of mine have been fitted with e-assist . There are no bragging rights turning up on a shop purchased trike . Whilst trawling the net I have found a few sellers that offer a " feewheel adapter " that would work with modification on the rear of a delta . I believe that adapter seller was in arizona
 
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using bargain basement bicycle parts (couldn't find bookmark) you can build in the USA almost any recumbent on the AZ site for less than $100. BUT you need to do the cutting and welding.
For headtube shells I purchased several feet from a frame supply in the Oregon area.
 
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There is at least one way around the need to relace wheels to get discs:-
Buy a pair 14mm axled rear wheels ensuring they have a left hand thread for a spin-on disc brake adapter. Make sure you get the same thread both sides as some have a smaller diameter thread on the left designed for a LHD sprocket not a disc.
Hub type you're looking for - two equal threads:-

Hub type you don't want - note the left thread is a smaller diameter - designed for a LHD sprocket not a disc.

Adapter to spin on for the disc:-

Using this set-up on the right hand of a tadpole is fine as the action of braking will self tighten the adapter's threads but using it on the left is the issue as braking will loosen the adapter. On a previous build I've expoxy glued the adapter to the threads and then drilled through three of the holes and through the hub flange to act as a backstop to the glue like this:-


You want hubs with a large flange to avoid drilling the spoke mounts out. It's not ideal and you are placing a lot of faith and potentially skin in the glue. Having said that the Lotus Elise has a glued chassis and modern glues are very good. It never once came undone and held up to some braking hard enough to pull stoppies. The adapter was on and off a few times to see where it stopped when tight so I didn't have to drill through the adapter itself so all 6 bolts would still hold the rotor too and when it went on for the last time with the glue things were thoroughly degreased.

If you're lucky you may find appropriate rear wheels on ebay for $30 upwards each and the adapters are $3 or so each. The adapters come in 44mm and 48mm PCD for the 6 disc bolts. Both sizes are readily found on bikes so be careful in matching adapters to discs.

As I said, there are always options.
 
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pop shot thanks that looks like a much smarter solution! I've used aluminum epoxies before they are very strong!


Did you want something for nothing without any work ?
LOL, NO! I want a design that assumes my time is valuable. I'm not going to drill 36 holes in a custom made sproket hub when I can just draw it and get it laser cut for around $10 each. Similarly I'm not going to spend days respoking and balacing wheels when People like popshot give easier solutions.
Work smarter not harder is my motto.

And I do honestly believe that if you are hacking up old bikes anyways, you might as well make life easier and use a design that allows one to swap out wheels easily without having to respoke them.
 
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you need to do the cutting and welding.
No problem I have tig welding gear and dry cut saws and can get whole sale 24' long pieces of steel or aluminum. Might even try bending the aluminum instead of cutting and welding to maintain strength.

I'd like to use aluminum, as it would reduce frame weight from 1.25 lbs/ft to about 0.8lbs/ft (33% lighter) but I have to see if the steel to aluminum tig brazing rods I bought will work to join dissimilar metals and/or study the plans and see if I can use all aluminum or mechanical joints where needed.
 
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The bolts were there only as a backstop to glue failure to prevent drastic things happening. If they ever came into play they'd probably start to rip the hub flange to shreds with the forces they'd be holding back. In reality it's the glue that has to do the job. Even if they do fail there's always the other wheels to do the braking so whilst a failure may well cause you to ruin a pair of pants it needn't be worse than that.

Brad is unequivocal about his designs not being suitable for aluminium or even aluminum for those in the USA. I agree with him. I suspect that the main boom or the rear forks to boom joint on the warrior will not take the stresses in aluminium. These tadpole trikes take enough force to flex slightly as they utilise metal as a beam where it's the weakest. A traditional diamond framed bike has all the forces running straight down any tubing where it's strongest and do not flex the tubes so can be safely made in aluminium. Using it as a beam with forces varying enough to cause flex is likely (probably even guaranteed) to cause failure in aluminium and that failure will be swift and catastrophic. With TIG gear you could use much thinner steel tubing than those of us using arc or MIG so could save weight that way. 0.9mm tubing has been used on tadpoles successfully though that may require some design changes to cope. At least one member on here has used it. My preference is also for rectangular over square as even in cornering most forces are acting in the vertical or close to it. Using rectangular can also save weight.
 
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