Schwinn Trike conversion...Old and needy.

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DJ Bill

DJ Bill

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Some pics of a TRIKE I bought locally from a guy who bought it because it was cool.. I was going to make it functional for a friend who was too unstable to ride a bike but he has moved away. Now I need to make it function so I can ride it for fun.

It seems to have some sort of conversion but someone has added the newer wheels and there are bolts that sorta grab the sprocket on the left wheel but not really....How were these built originally as far as wheel attachment??
DSCN2036_zpsb5687440.jpg

Here you see one of the bolts they added to try and drive the new wheel:
DSCN2035_zpsa9508ee3.jpg

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Can anyone tell me if this was originally a differential equipped drive or not? Or is it a one wheel drive machine?

Looking to add a 3 speed hub or something to make it easier to pedal. Right now it is way high gearing until the wheel bolts slip.
 
Looks like you need more bolts there.

PPV's used something kinda like that. 3 bolts on a flange that stick into the teeth on a freewheel. 3 is the absolute minimum evenly spaced.
 
Pretty simple fabrication.

3 bolts, 6 nuts, some collars over the bolts.

use a full length threaded bolt with a nut to hold the bolt solid on the flange.
then a colar over the threads and another nut to thold the collar on. bolts need to be long enough to reach past the cog.

here are some photos of the ppv front drive that uses a similar system.

rick

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How many holes in the flange vs the number of teeth on the cog?
Hope it's divisible by 3 like 9 x 18.
 
Flange has 9 holes in it, unevenly spaced. I'll post a pic tonight of it. It is a one wheel drive, Amazing what you can learn when you turn something upside down and LOOK at it. One wheel is standard front axle held at both ends by the frame, other wheel is held at the brake arm end by frame, inner is held by the 9 hole hub. Weird but functional. I still need to do something to change the ratio, I'm thinking the front sprocket needs to be swapped out to a smaller one. Rear drive sprocket is pretty large and also a special one.
 
That front is probably a 46 or 47. just about any 1-piece sprocket will fit. the Schwinn Town and Country Tri-Wheelers had 24" wheels. A 26" wheel gives you more travel for the same gears. I think my T&C has a 32t sprocket.

The inboard cog on the drive axle may be very difficult to replace so changing the front sprocket would be the easy way to get a lower gear.

Or a Dana 3 speed crank transmission!

"Weird but functional" so that rear hub axle is bolted to the outer frame but the inner end just floats in the main drive axle that turns? I guess I'd add some grease there. Maybe they put another bearing inside the turning drive axle to support the wheel axle.

I was talking to long time Schwinn dealer years ago, he was showing me a RET-BAR trike kit and explained to me that was the kit Schwinn bought for their trikes. Yours looks to be an earlier model for sure.
 
I'd go ahead and tie the cog and flange together using three (or more) bolts spaced as evenly as possible. No doubt, some holes will line up better than others...experiment. Then, lube the crap out of all the moving parts. You may find the bike becomes much more rideable once repairs are made and friction is overcome. If you still want to change the ratio, then yes, swapping in a smaller chainring is likely the easiest way to gain some power. A larger cog affixed at the middle of the rear axle would accomplish the same result, but a tougher job. A larger (or smaller) cog on the hub itself achieves nothing.

Some of the multi-speed trikes I've worked on employ a modified internal gear hub as a jackshaft positioned between the front pedals and rear axle--yours doesn't.
 
RustySprockets said:
Ah-ha. This isn't a purpose-built trike...it's a conversion kit.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the Schwinn Town & Country Tri-Wheelers were essentially kits from the Schwinn factory. Schwinn used the girls 24" Hollywood model for the base bike with a different screen print on the chain guard and the ret-bar kit painted to match. They also swapped out the handlebars & seat and added a front caliper brake with a locking brake lever (parking brake). Rims were different too as they used a narrower tire. I'd guess the dealers had to install the kits as the shipping boxes would have been huge.

The T&C was sold from 1968 to 1987.
The 1 wheel drive model from 1968 to 1973. (ret bar kit)
The differential model was introduced in 1974.

Your bike is much older than 1968. The serial number can help date the original bike.

I prepared a t&c summary for the old defunct Schwinn Forums:
I reposted it in the new SchwinnBikeForums if you read that.
http://www.schwinnbikeforum.com/index.p ... 0#msg63540

rick
 
Here's some more pictures of the drive system, this time from underneath.
DSCN2105_zps4c1c598b.jpg


DSCN2103_zps18aa48fb.jpg


Here you can see how the one end of the wheel is supported by framework and the inner end is supported by the axle hub.
DSCN2102_zps89dfdff8.jpg


The non driven wheel is supported by both ends of the axle bolting up like it would in a fork.
DSCN2101_zps16138478.jpg


And for those that are wondering, the serial number of the girls bike that the kit is attached to:
H282631..you can just see the kickstand was removed, perhaps to save weight? :shock:
DSCN2106_zpsba027e39.jpg
 
That drive flange appears drilled to accommodate many combinations of hub and cog sizes--just what I'd expect from a universal kit. Once the tie between flange and cog is made, that single wheel will handle all the propulsion and braking duties for the loaded bike. Hardly an ideal situation, but it is what it is.

By contrast, a Worksman trike is equipped with a central coaster hub that drives and brakes both rear wheels, as well as a cable-operated front drum brake. They're heavy bikes and need the stopping power.
 
the bike: 1951 August 3rd H281716 to H283794
 
Thanks! I thought that style truss rod was fairly old, you confirmed my hunch.

I wonder if a set of 24 inch wheels on the back would look weird with that 26 inch front tire. Maybe I need to look for a 24 inch bike to convert with the kit on this one, if I can't make it a bit more user friendly with a smaller front sprocket. The conversion has been on this bike for quite a while by the appearance of things but the rear wheels were not what was originally on it I bet. Look close and you'll see someone tried to wire the sprocket to the drive at one point. The drive axle has shifted to the side somewhat so the chain is rubbing the inside of the conversion housing....so I need to take a closer look and see how to center the axle in the housing.
 
looks like a newer model with the offset rear wheels, dated 1966. Same version that is on my Schwinn T&C.

Hah, RET = Raymond E. Templeton
so who was BAR?
 

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