Steve's Recumbents -Joey Wallace's Homebuilt Recumbent

	"BullDog" - February 2009 (#9)
	"Kroozer" - November 2008
	"Alien?" - July 2008
	"Nexus 6" - May 2008
	"Deltoyd" - March 2008
	"Lil' Hornet" - January 2008
	"Chopzilla" - December 2007
	"The Twister" - November 2007
	"AlleyKat" - September 2007

February 2009 - Here is Joey Wallace's Ninth and latest recumbent. This is one cool and powerful recumbent trike. Yes, I said powerful since it is electrically 'assisted' - or is it human-power-assisted? In his noted below Joey gives us the low-down on his latest creation.

"Number 9, number 9, number 9." - The Beatles

Yes, this is actually my 9th home-built ride, not counting my little cargo trailer, & the CycleBully electric trailer (which is now history, cuz I cannibalized it to build THIS)! Like most of my projects, this one is based on yet another of Brad Graham's designs.

I call her the BullDog, & she's my first electric trike. She's sportin' a front hub motor, powered by four 50ah batteries in the box behind the seat. Even totally unassisted by me, she's got a 45-mile range at a continuous speed of 15 mph. Top speed is 30 mph on level ground. Tons-O-Fun!

Another first this time around, was designing & creating my own decals, using Photoshop, water-slide decal paper, & my inkjet printer. This gives me unlimited design possibilities, & is a heck of a lot cheaper than having them done at the print shop! Thanx to my friend, Larry Orr, for hooking me up with a source for the decal paper!

The canopy top is from my Rhoades Car. It was a ridiculously expensive option, but I no longer ride the RC, so I adapted it to fit the trike. Made of aluminum & canvas, it weighs next-to-nothing, & now I can actually get some use out it!

The seat is from my Nexus bent, & was built by Mike Meagher. It's a great seat, & real comfy, but it was all wrong for that type of bent, however, it is perfect for a trike!

Originally, I planned to use a Mack truck bulldog hood ornament, but not surprisingly, even used ones were outrageously overpriced, even on e-Bay, as they're very collectible, so that idea quickly went out the window, in favor of the Matchbox bulldog I already had. I glued him down with silicone glue, but he'll probably "run away", the first time I leave him unattended in a parking lot somewhere. :O

I consider the Deltoyd to be my "sports car", the Kroozer to be my "family car", & this one to be my "pickup truck"! Can't wait for warm weather, so I can actually make my first 35-mile-round-trip grocery run with it! Stay tuned...

Joey added that he has just a little less than $2000 invested in the hub motor, batteries and controls installed on this trike. However, with a 45 mile range and reasonable speed a recumbent like this could be a gas-guzzler replacement. A solar panel or two to charge it up at home might be nice; maybe add some weather protection/streamlining and you'd be good to go as long as the snow doesn't get too deep.

November 2008 - Here is Joey's thinly veiled attempt to find a new riding partner. Seriously though, this could be a very practical alternative to the gas guzzler! As usual, Joey has done a fine job of engineering and construction. Too bad he lives a couple thousand miles away; I'd like to give this one a test ride.

"In the words of the Grateful Dead, "What a long, strange trip it's been"!

After 11 months, I've FINALLY wrapped up the Kroozer, a sociable tandem delta trike. Another Brad Graham basic design, but customized to death by me, she's my 8th build, thus the 8-ball on the mirror, & the valve caps.

Dual 21-speed drivetrains & disc brakes should make for some good "Kroozing", if I ever find anyone to "Krooze" with! In addition to the adjustable bottom brackets, each seat has an adjustment range of 4 inches, along with adjustable reclining angles, to comfortably fit a wide range of rider sizes.

Anticipating the possibility of some SERIOUS "Kroozing", I went with a full compliment of lights this time; the usual twin tail lights, plus a "cyclops" tail light at the top, for a total of 3 on the rear, as well as twin headlights this time, and of course, front & rear reflectors!

Naturally, she's sportin' all of the usual junk I love to pile on; horn, flag, etc, but this time I've also added twin adjustable water-bottle cages, a speedo/computer, & a trailer hitch to pull the matching trailer I built for her. Still in the works, is an electric trailer which will push the Kroozer around with electric assist.

At each corner of the trike is a 3/8 eye bolt, for convenient locking points without risk of paint damage. To prevent potential thieves from simply unbolting them, the back-side nuts are welded on, but nothing is actually welded to the trike itself, so if I ever wish to remove them, I can simply grind off the weld, & they'll come off without so much as even scarring the paint. I've also installed one on the front of each trailer, to fascilitate locking the trailer & trike TOGETHER, as well.

The rear view mirror (salvaged from my truck, which I totalled last year) was painted to match, & makes a nice place to hang my fuzzy dice & 8-ball!

To round out the package, she's ridin' on 48-spoke alloy rims, & 110 psi Primo Comet tires!

Now, who wants to "Krooze" with me? :)"

July 2008 - Joey has at last outdone himself - or is that undone himself? Here is a nice looking front-wheel drive recumbent - but I'll let Joey tell you about it:

"Here's my latest, a SWB, FWD bent bike, & a humbling experience, this was. At least I'm a big enough man to show my 'less than spectacular' projects, too.

I already knew it would have way too much trail, & a heavy front end, but SHEESH, I had no idea! Once you add the weight of your feet & legs to it, the front end becomes a lead sled, steering like a car that's just lost it's power steering belt! Trail is horrific, so in conjunction with the heavy front end, handling is difficult at best, particularly at low speed. Turning around in the width of the road is out of the question, without putting your feet down.

I was gonna call this one the 'Alien', but now I'm thinking more along the lines of 'Monstrosity', 'Nightmare', 'Disaster', or maybe 'Waste of Time'. Haven't painted or quite finished it yet, but now that I've ridden it, I prolly won't even bother, LOL!

It's an 18-speed, & feels like a fairly fast little bike, but it's so squirrely, I don't have the cahonies to 'open 'er up'! Oh well, at least it has nice lines & a low C.O.G. Maybe I'll just sell plans, with a 'Fast, but Sucky Handling, Hard-To-Ride & Possibly Dangerous' disclaimer! :)

"It's gonna require some major modifications, though ... It's another "intermediate" project anyway, one I've been working on while tinkering on my "real" project, the tandem trike, which has become a very long, slow project, so I'll put the Alien on the back burner till I eventually finish the trike, then maybe I can come back to it with a fresh start & a new outlook."

Sue suggested that he enter this cool looking recumbent in an Art show as a kinetic sculpture rather than risk his neck riding it; to which Joey responded:

"Tell Sue thanx for the kind words. I hadn't considered putting it in an art show, but right now, that's all it would be good for anyway!"

May 2008 - Whoa, Joey! Yep, Joey Wallace has created yet another great looking recumbent! Take a close look at the workmanship on: Nexus 6

My 6th baby is born! Thus the name, Nexus 6. (Also, my affinity for sci-fi!) With no real plans to follow, but inspired mainly by the Bachetta Giro 20, I call this one a semi-original design. Like my first, The AlleyKat, this one's just another SWB bent, but at least this one sports a couple of little accessories, a much nicer seat, & has a lower C.O.G.

Speaking of seats, thanx to "Wood Butcher" (Mike Meagher), for doing a fine job on the seat, & for machining those sporty lookin' seat-stay clamps near the dropouts. Great work, Mike, you've added a touch of class to my latest ride!

Handling on the Nexus is a little quirky, especially if you haven't ridden a SWB in awhile. A bit too much trail, methinks, but could be improved with a curved fork, instead of the straight one.

The Blackburn Mountain Rack was just more junk, scavenged from an old donor. Luckily, it was in great shape, with only a few minor chips, which I was able to touch-up with a black Sharpie! The "flying wing" bars are from a Schwinn OCC, grips are old-school, fingered grips from an antique upwrong, gooseneck is kids BMX style. Both wheels are 36-spoke & at least similar in style, but are steel monstrosities. Crankset's a boat-anchor!

The golden eagle mounted atop the "seat-post bottle cage holder", appears to be a whimsical touch, but is actually intended to be a serious tribute to the late bicycle guru, SHELDON BROWN. Those of you who've seen the pic of him wearing his helmet, will understand. R.I.P., Sheldon!

Despite it's obvious shortcomings & limitations, I still think the Nexus 6 is gonna be a lot of fun!

Nexus 6 specs:
15 Speed
20 / 24 Configuration
Wheelbase: 42"
Seat Height: 23"
Bottom Bracket Height: 29"

Joey's been kicking back a bit lately - this is only his fifth (5th) homemade recumbent in the last seven months. Let's see, that is about 0.74129 recumbents per month. Of special interest is his rear axle/drive train/brake solution shown in the lower right photo below.
Here is what he had to say about Deltoyd:

Finally finished my first LWB delta trike, 'The Deltoyd'. Sportin' Mega-Range derailleurs & gears, she's a 21 speed. Dual disc brakes, luggage rack with twin rack trunks, custom built 24 inch rear wheels, & all of the usual accoutrements that I love to pile on, round out the package.

I didn't like the seat I built, so I robbed the factory seat from my ActionBent tadpole, cuz it's really comfy. (Of course, I'll have to replace it later.) A challenging project, to be sure, but definitely worth the effort!

My hat's off once again, to Brad Graham, the Atomic Zombie himself, for designing such a SHA-WEET ride!

The Deltoyd specs:
Length: 7 feet, 7 inches
Width: 32 inches
Work: 132 hours

By the way, in response to my question "Where does he park all these things?" ...

In response to your previous post of "Where does he park all of these things?", Right now, the StingRaycer is parked in my larger bathroom, AlleyKat, Chopzilla & a StingRay are parked in the dining room, another StingRay & my tadpole are parked in my bedroom, 2 partially disassembled bikes are residing in my office, & my den has 3 separate little piles of various bike parts in it!

Out in my barn is the Rhoades Car, Trixter, Lil' Hornet, Deltoyd, Boneshaker, Unicycle, 3 upwrongs & a bunch of various parts! Meanwhile, the storage shed houses the Mongoose & a whole slew of donors in various conditions & stages of disassembly, not to mention all of the other donors still sitting out in the weather around the barn, & all of the bike-oriented junk in the shop!!! This place is a TRAIN WRECK!!!!!!!!!!!

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Joey's been at it again - actually this one just kind of slipped in ahead of his 'real' current project, a 21-speed Delta Trike. Here are Joey's comments an specifications for Lil' Hornet.

I've finished my 4th project... I liked my little single speed, SWB delta trike, the 'Trixter', so much, that I decided to build another one! It's nearly identical to the 'Trixter', except this one is 2 inches wider, 1 inch lower, & sports an 18 speed drivetrain, believe it or not! At 2 inches from the pavement, it's a real 'pavement scraper', so it's definitely for road use only! Since it's small & fast, I call this one the 'Lil' Hornet', & gave it a black & yellow Hornet color scheme.

The Lil' Hornet is a 'full dressed' delta, sporting a horn, flag, headlight, seat handle, front-end kickstand, reflectors, custom valve caps, twin tail lights, twin mirrors, & custom hornet stickers, with plans for a water bottle cage & cargo bag coming later! 3 new tires, 2 new 48-spoke, 14mm-axle BMX wheels, & 3 new lights account for the lion's share of the final cost.

Having already built this style of bent previously (the Trixter), I was able to produce this one in record time. Taking measurements & angles from the original, & (kinda, sorta, almost) knowing what I was doing, really sped things along this time! Like the 'Trixter', this one's based on the 'SpinCycle', from Brad Graham & Kathy McGowan's book, 'Bicycle Builder's Bonanza'.

Thanx to BikeFranklin (Dave Stout) for his concept of using the small rear triangle from a 20 inch suspension bike as the front end, and a very special thanx for his exceptionally kind donation of the parts that made it possible! What a bro!

Lil' Hornet specs:
Length: 4 feet, 10 inches
Width: 36 inches
Height: 28 inches
Weight: 45 pounds
Work: 50 hours

December 2007, Joey's third : Chopzilla!
This what he had to say about this laid-back recumbent:

"The amount of work that went into this one, was unbelievable. Probably something on the order of 400-500 hours, over a period of several months. (I didn't actually produce this one as quickly as it seems, as I was already working on it before I finished the last project.) She's not an original design, but built from plans purchased from Atomic Zombie.

The frame is made of EMT electrical conduit. The rear fender is made from the side of an old microwave. The seat is made of plywood, camping mat for padding, & a bit of black vinyl. The monster rear wheel was originally a 10 inch wide SS Cragar mag wheel. The mirror is a motorcycle mirror, so Chopzilla is actually part bicycle, part motorcycle, part car, part home-construction materials, & a few other odds & ends!

The farthest I've ridden it was 6 miles. It rides pretty good, except for the super hard seat, which became extremely uncomfortable after the first few miles. Naturally, it's not a very practical ride, but then, I didn't build it to be. It's more for riding in parades & showing it off at car & bike shows. It definitely garners the attention, though!"

Chopzilla specs:
Length: 8 feet, 10 inches
Height: 46 inches
Weight: 102 pounds
Cost: $200
Work: 400-500 hours (Approx.)

Then, in November he completed his second recumbent, a truly unique, way cool design (bordering on 'weird' in its original manifestation). ... and in Joey's words: The Twister.

"I've finished my second home-built! It's a SWB Delta. I call this one The Twister, cuz originally, I built it with caster wheels on the rear, for spinning, twisting & doing tricks. It was loads of fun, but when I added regular trike wheels & turned it into a SWB Delta, WOW, it REALLY became fun!

The casters are still on it, bungeed up, to keep them out of the way, but I may never go back to using them, as this thing is more fun as a regular delta trike, than I ever imagined. I own an ActionBent tadpole trike which cost me nearly $1500, but right now, I'm getting more of a kick out of riding this little thing! Don't get me wrong, this thing can't even come close to comparing to the ActionBent, which is my all time favorite factory-built, but I enjoy it because it's so tiny, so close to the ground, & I BUILT IT!!!

It's just a single speed trike, but I set it up with an intermediate gear ratio, which is perfect for the slightly hilly terrain where I live. It's not real fast, but it's also not real hard to climb these small hills, so it's a lot of fun! As you can see, I took great pains on the paint details, & really tried to 'doll it up', with a flag, reflectors, mirror, dice valve caps, front end kickstand, a handle on the rear of the seat & even some razzle dazzle handlebar streamers, which I thought would really look cute on such an unusual ride!"

In September of 2007 Joey sent in these photos of his first homebuilt recumbent. Note the comfy-looking seat! Here's what he had to say about this recumbent bike project: AlleyKat.

"Here's a pic of my first ever home built, a SWB bent. I call it the AlleyKat. Originally built with a home built seat, I changed it to the boat seat, which looks nicer & is a bit more rigid than the one I built. It's only a 6 speed & built from a low-quality bike, but I worked hard on it & it's my first, so I'm still pretty proud of it."

Joey Wallace's Nine Homebuilt Recumbents - 9/2007 thru 2/2009