Quote: Originally posted by jantie

and the answer to Randy's question: most of them are the cheapest DIY-tools here in NL. only thing missing is a XL pipe-bender and the rotary-machine to make the ball-bearingheads. And thanks Abkayak, I'll take that as a compliment.. :D

Thanks for showing that. The craftsman is obviously not limited by his tools!

Quote: Originally posted by rtz

I don't have a lathe yet either. The first head tube I made; I bored out the bearing pocket using one of these adjustable boring heads. Works but slow to do. https://www.ebay.com/itm/333725651886 I've since made them like Popeye did and slit the tube to put it inside another. In the future I might just use flanged bearings.

to cut a pipe 90-degrees you probably get that with big saw Carl (Popeye) used, but with a metal-Lathe it is always a 100% accurate.
if the inner tube isn't 100% accurate the bearings will not last very long.
i only have a hand-grinder with a thin cutter-blade, so that's why i asked my uncle..

progress for today:

started wih the uprights,.



it fits in the a-symmetrical rim.



then copy/paste it..



and look here: all grown up to stand on it's own 3 tyres..:D



the took a corner-piece of 25x25mm and 4mm thick.



cut it, weld it together and drilled 12 and 16mm holes.



spraypainted and it fits perfect!!




cant wait to take it out to the beach..



next:
completing the uprights and continue with the steeringrods

You are getting close to the finish line. Can't wait to see it in action.

continued with the temporary foothboard:

i'm still considering what the final shape, material and looks
the foothboard is going to be i've made this for 'inbetween'..


drilled the mainpipe to stick the 10mm solid steel pipes true.




welded and spraypaint.



used leftover ply-wood.




used seatbelt-band for foothstraps.






for fun painted a footprint.


the test-fase is coming, can't wait..
:D:D

Big Foot would love it!

Sasquatch approved! Outstanding. :D

Looking forward to your first ride.

first of all thanks for the comments, it is nice to read and also see the read-counter of this topic getting higher every day knowing that people here are interested..
i'm curious if this one wil exceed the Crab I number of readers.



today was a beautiful one to continue on the Coastline Cruizer




the uprights only need the steerlevers





the main adjustable steeringrod from the foothboard
all the way to the back including the extra supported bearinghead
wich will go further to the uprights.




it got to dark so time to call it a day..



so close but still a few hours of work away..

finished for testing.. YEAH...!!!!


main steeringrod with protection ( ex-racingcycle innertube.. :D)



rear axle





with tires




max downwind steering position



max upwind steering position



does it pack down is Redsky probably gonna ask?
owww.. yeah, way better than Crab I



click here for a fullsize pic


now only wait for:
wind
low tide
dry beach
good wheater
time
etc, etc...

I hope you get your list of 5 soon.

:bouncing::bouncy::bouncing:

Absolutely loving watching this beauty come together. I was studying your photos this morning and one thing I was trying to figure out was how you made adjustments for different height riders. I would think all riders would need approximately the same angle in the knee at rest so that they put their feet on the pedals in a relaxed way when riding. One wouldn't want to be always plantar flexing (pointing your toes) just to stay straight or be forced into dorsi flexion as the crab tracks to center. I think I see a way of doing this but I'm not sure. It appears that the foot plates are at a fixed angle when the back wheels are straight (I get that they pivot; I'm talking about their neutral position).

I'm sure you discussed all this with your original two-wheels-in-front thread as the same problem would have been there too, but I forget. As you've no doubt considered, leverage will be important here as your ankle only has so much comfortable range to go through as you turn the crab from straight. I'd love to hear your thought on this as you would have needed to give this aspect of the design a lot of thought.

Congrats on getting the Cruizer ready for a first run, hope you're gonna have at least as much a fun time on this first ride as I've had, following you build log here. Great photo & excellent construction.

Really thoughful design of the crazy linkage. And keeping the CoG low. And making it all into such a small pack for transport.

Godspeed! Enjoy!

Thanks all for the compliments..!!

To adjust the board to someone with shorter legs i just
unscrew the 8 bolds of the 4 (exhaust) clamps and slide
it backwards to the seat. Then by screwing/adjusting in the threated rod of the main steeringaxle to (re-)set the angle of the board.



for myself it's also gonna be the question of how to set the angle of the board since the steeringwheels are in the back.
i have absolutly no idea how it is going to ride, slide, turn and break.

but what i did gain is the big weightdrop in compare with Crab I:
just under 20 LBS lighter in total, and a way different weight ratio on each wheel when i'm in it.

nice touch: after a re-measurement the triangle from the tips of all wheelbolts was near perfect, just 0,5% deviation.
but checking after allignment of the 3 wheels i got it right up to 1mm
that's 0,03937008 of an Inch..


click here
for a short movie of the build with most of the pics in it.

That's how I figured you would adjust for leg length. Thank you for the clarification. So cool to watch it come together.

first time out was really good.
the advantage to allready know how to Crab comes in handy,

but still it is a different Crab.
i could feel the weight difference because this Crab tracks like a train.
the way it continues after a powerslide is more stabile than Crab I.
also i don't get lifted on the rear side like Crab I.
but run the risk of getting too confident and when i do eject.... take cover!!


only had to make 1 minor adjustment on the beach:
the main steeringrod needed to be 2 cm longer,
not to bad for a backyard preset.

conditions today weren't that great but good enough for a decent testrun.
it took more time to pack, get out there and assemble it and taking it apart and go home than the actual time i got it to run,
but it was so well worth it.

used a few actioncams to record this one.
too bad there was no one to film a driveby and the cam in the kite came a little loose.
but i got enough to look back on and make a good impression.

next time with more camera's... :D:D



click here
For a short testrun movie...

It's really cool to see that you have got it up and running! Keep those videos coming!

Looking back to your first post on this thread, it has only been about 75 days from design to completion. It is pretty amazing you did all that quickly and it seems ride quite well right "out of the box."

many thanks Randy, it took this 'long' mainly due to waiting for parts
and being an outside builder i need decent weather.

it took about 80 hours to build but easily double the time
thinking, re-thinking, building it, riding it and improving it in my mind.
and all that 100 times over...
But to make the frame seat-section multi-purpose saved
some serious time.

the advantage was the build and riding the first Crab.
But to be really honest:
if i'd knew nr. 2 was riding this good with the steeringaxle at the rear i would never build nr.1

still glad i did since i learn every time with (re)building a buggy.
because making and modifying one is for me almost as fun as riding it..

Wow nice video! Good job converting it from VHS! :D
I watched your video earlier today (Tuesday) on my phone and again on desktop when I got home that evening.
Nice to finally breath some of that fresh oxygene. :smug:
Great job! Looking forward to seeing more.

In retrospect (and biased no doubt by your comments and comparisons of Crab 1 and Crab 2) the Crab 2 design seems to make so much sense from a weight distribution and tracking perspective. Lots and lots of linkages and pivot points in #2! That's clearly the price of steering in the front (where your feet are) but actuating in the rear.

So hard to wrap my head around the visual of you riding sideways; really plays with my mind! Really good stuff.

@ Windstruck:
there are more pivotpoints, hinges and linkes on the first Crab..
a total of 15 in nr.1 and just 11 in nr.2


but that's improvement:
it's the 2.0 version with less mistakes or unnessesery things.
that explains also the weight-loss..
:D

the first is a mix based on all the pics an movies i found on the internet,
99% of them with the steeringaxle in front of the rider..
there is one picture of an Australian or New Zealand rear-steering Crab,
but i cannot find it anymore...



for today:
made a slight improvement to the footboard:
the (seat)belt i used folded in sometimes but i want to put my feet blindly
in position knowing they are suppported at all times,
added some sticky-sand tape for more grip.

made 2 camerasupports on Crab II.
also ordered a 360 degrees cam, and curious about
how that is gonna look.

unfortunatly the Netherlands is of now in lockdown,
still hoping to take it out soon.



frontwheel:



with cams:



rearwheel





with cams:




overview:






for a short video

All angles covered. Look forward to the video after lockdown. You will love the 360 camera.

yesterday wasn't perfect, but way better than spending the day indoors.

got to try the camerasupports and most are good and some not yet..


for the short movie with a nice beat

Great to see you have gotten out again. Keep it up!

Came here straight from youtube. xD
The top down view looks like you're powersliding a regular bug haha. Welldone on a great job!

All your camera mounting efforts seem to have truly paid off. Super cool. Still hard to look at from the sky cam; hard to get my head wrapped round your crabby patty. No free napkins!

Thanks people, hope to get some more miles in 2021
in all 3 buggy's and make more video's..