Drift Trike
Drift trikes have been around for a while now and are really growing in popularity, especially in the UK. A few months ago, (god knows how) I stumbled across them and decided that it was to be my new mission!
Whilst doing mine I really struggled for a guide to get over the problems I had stumbled across, so I thought I'd try and put it all in one little handy guide...
Whilst doing mine I really struggled for a guide to get over the problems I had stumbled across, so I thought I'd try and put it all in one little handy guide...
Collecting All the Parts
eBay! In a simple word!
There are plenty of weird and wonderful ways to go about sourcing your trike and ways of building it, so this is how I made mine and in my opinion, one of the easiest ways...
What you really want is a huffy green machine to start with and a frame
Luckily I already had a bmx front end but you'll want one of these too...
There are plenty of weird and wonderful ways to go about sourcing your trike and ways of building it, so this is how I made mine and in my opinion, one of the easiest ways...
What you really want is a huffy green machine to start with and a frame
Luckily I already had a bmx front end but you'll want one of these too...
Cutting Up and the Big Dilemma
I was lucky and brought my frame pre-cut for £30 as at the time, I didn't have time to make it myself.
If you haven't already got one I would aim to build one the same. (Feel free to email me for dimensions)
The next job is to cut up. You want to take the rear axle off of the huffy keeping the wheels and axle to one side. The next thing to keep is the front wheel.
This is when I came to my big dilemma! As I wanted to be able to pedal my trike I needed to be able to pedal forwards and coast at the same time. What I did was to cut the huffy forks just behind my bmx forks as in the picture.
These will then be welded in the same position to eventually end up as in the second picture.
If you haven't already got one I would aim to build one the same. (Feel free to email me for dimensions)
The next job is to cut up. You want to take the rear axle off of the huffy keeping the wheels and axle to one side. The next thing to keep is the front wheel.
This is when I came to my big dilemma! As I wanted to be able to pedal my trike I needed to be able to pedal forwards and coast at the same time. What I did was to cut the huffy forks just behind my bmx forks as in the picture.
These will then be welded in the same position to eventually end up as in the second picture.
Getting It Welded
If you yourself can weld and have access to a welder, then perfect...
I didn't, I'm a carpenter, I'm good with wood not metal so I looked up welders in the phone book and found a gate fabrication company 2 mins up the road from me.
I bung him £25 and he was more than happy to help (after explaining and showing YouTube videos of what drift trikes were...)
I didn't, I'm a carpenter, I'm good with wood not metal so I looked up welders in the phone book and found a gate fabrication company 2 mins up the road from me.
I bung him £25 and he was more than happy to help (after explaining and showing YouTube videos of what drift trikes were...)
Piecing It Together...
Once my frame was all in tact it was just a case of assembling it.
The head stock of my bmx came off, the top of my forks went through the headstock welded to my frame and the bars were fixed back on. Then the huffy wheel was mounted back to the new axle and the seat of the huffy back onto the frame.
The next step is "pimping it up" I've got a new seat (pictured) from "drift-trikes uk" (opens in a new tab)
They also do plenty of parts so if you want some fancy wheels/rims or anything like that then its well worth a look. (they'll be my next investment)
The head stock of my bmx came off, the top of my forks went through the headstock welded to my frame and the bars were fixed back on. Then the huffy wheel was mounted back to the new axle and the seat of the huffy back onto the frame.
The next step is "pimping it up" I've got a new seat (pictured) from "drift-trikes uk" (opens in a new tab)
They also do plenty of parts so if you want some fancy wheels/rims or anything like that then its well worth a look. (they'll be my next investment)
Finished!
That's it...find a big hill...don't fall off...it's easy!
All I need to do is paint it up, but not before I've had a decent go!
Once i have i'm sure i'll post a picture or two as i will do with any other modifications.
I tried to make my instructable as concise as possible, but if you feel i have missed anything, or would like me to go into more detail about anything, then feel free to leave me a comment or contact me, I'll help however I can!
Email: lewisgifford@hotmail.co.uk
Facebook: lewisgifford
Once i have i'm sure i'll post a picture or two as i will do with any other modifications.
I tried to make my instructable as concise as possible, but if you feel i have missed anything, or would like me to go into more detail about anything, then feel free to leave me a comment or contact me, I'll help however I can!
Email: lewisgifford@hotmail.co.uk
Facebook: lewisgifford