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Converted Kid Bike to Adult Recumbent
Frame Materials: 20" steel kid bike and a donor bike's BB and downtube, the seat is plywood on old Futon slats.
Weight as pictured: 36 lbs
What was I thinking?:
How to make a regular bike into a recumbent.
How Does it ride?:
It is stable and well behaved from 2-25 mph. It has the factory geometry but with redistributed weight and lots of (a little too much) steering tiller. The steep seat back leaves all rider weight is on the seat. The bike has a very solid feel.
What Changed before the photos?:
I first built it with under seat steering. Later I added over seat steering and rode it with both for a while. Underseat was better at low speed control and over seat was better at high speed and was more comfy.
What changed after the pictures on this bike?:
I rebuilt the seatback at a more laid back angle (for butt comfort) and rebuilt the stem more upright for a shorter tiller dimension.
What would I do differently on another attempt?:
I would raise the BB for an even straighter chain line (no roller), build a more laid back seat back angle (for butt comfort) and rebuild the stem for shorter tiller.
What lessons were learned?:
It worked surprisingly well
Bike design and execution are actually very forgiving if your expectations are low enough. It was an easy conversion.
What are the keeper developments?:
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