I had finally put together (I thought) all the parts needed to finish building my trike. The first step in getting this beast rolling was front wheels, which I decided to build from scratch so I could use my favorite Sun Ringle Mulefut rims. Azub had provided the trike specific fat front hubs so I took the components to the shop for assembly. Calculating the spoke length was tricky because although there was no necessary dish (offset) to the wheels, there was also no locknut with which to measure for spoke calculations! I finally decided to use a thru axle adapter to create a point of reference and managed to get a spoke length I hoped would be correct. It turned out they were probably one millimeter too short, which doesn't seem like much, but in wheel building can be problematic. I'm sure they will be fine, but I wish they had that extra millimeter. Mounting the tires was literally a snap. The Mulefuts and Schwalbe Jumbo Jims are very easy to set up tubeless, which was one of the reasons I wanted to use that combination, and they popped right into place with no leaking whatsoever.
A little Spoke Prep on the threads, colored so you remember right from left!
The massive amount of offset made for an unwieldy build but makes a really strong wheel, although the nipples are under tremendous stress with the bracing angle
The first wheel, laced up and ready for truing. The wheels are built offset dishless using only one set of spoke holes.
And both wheels ready to go!
The next step was assembling the frame components. The frame plates were thoroughly greased and torqued together using the excellent threaded alignment pins
Definitely more secure than a folding frame design
Then I was able to mount up my newly built front wheels.
I really need to build a trike repair stand!
Both wheels on
Here I have to point out one of my first minor criticisms of the Azub Fat Trike...the quick release skewers. They are right and left hand threaded, which I guess makes sense? But they are very awkward to use and the leverage is either too tight or too loose, it's hard to find the sweet spot. And as the axle doesn't reference or "key into" the king pin in any way, trying to get the QR in the right spot to close so it's facing back under the frame crossbar just right is an exercise in frustration. Perhaps if you carry a Torx wrench, which is an uncommon size, to align the axle just right, but who wants to carry an extra tool just to install your wheels when the whole point is that they are quick release? I was just going to swap the QR's out for stainless bolts, but one of them being reverse thread eliminates that possibility. Maybe there is a trick I don't know, but I doubt it.
The next step was to mount the brakes. I ran into another snag here because the trike uses 140 caliper mounts even though the rotors are 160, or at least that was what I was using. And, of course, I only had one 140 caliper mount. Dammit! Well, I could at least get one mounted.
Having fussed with the QR's and mounted the front wheels and right brake I came upon my first major setback. The Azub rear frame is spaced at 190mm, the same as my Carver fat bike frame...I thought. Dammit! The Carver frame is 170, not 190! The beautiful Hope Fatsno rear hub I already had was useless, meaning the entire wheel was useless. I had to order another rear hub and rebuild the rear wheel, crap. Fortunately, the distributor is fast so I had another hub in no time and built and installed the correct rear wheel.
Wrong rear wheel just sitting in the frame to see what the trike looks like
My trike build stand. Right QR is wonky as usual.
In order to install the crank, I needed to install the boom, which went together with no problems. I wish the boom had a center mark on it to make centering it easier, but there is nothing there so you just have to eyeball it or use a level. I eyeballed it.
Boom installed. The rack mounts to the seat, which makes taking it off impossible, even though it has quick releases to do so. What is it with the QR challenges on this trike?
The Race Face Next Sl crank I was using was set up for a fat bike bottom bracket width and the fat trike has a standard bottom bracket width. Fortunately, the Next Sl crank is "future proof" and has a replaceable spindle to accommodate different frame standards. Swapping it out was simple enough with a youtube tutorial, and Race Face even provides the tool necessary to do it, nice! Once the spindle was swapped, I realized one of the tools I did NOT have was the Race Face proprietary bottom bracket splined tool, so there was no way to install the bottom bracket. Sigh. A trip to the shop to borrow the correct tool and I had the BB installed and ready for the crank.
Next Sl crank with old spindle removed and new one waiting to be installed
The finest crankset on the market!
I really like having bar ends on my trikes. It gives you a very natural place to rest your hands when riding on the flats and uphills, although I don't recommend it for the downhills! I was also excited to have internal cable routing in the bars, meaning I could run my brakes and shifter the "right way up" instead of inverted like you usually have to do on a trike.
Right way up brake lever and comfy bar end
Ready for cable and housing and final adjustment
While I was waiting for an opportunity to get the trike into the shop for cable and housing I mounted up the auxiliary bag under the seat. I was so psyched they made this adapter because I had an Ortlieb handlebar bag that had been sitting around for years without my being able to use it. With the adapter, it is a perfect fit and is a great place to put those things you need ready access to while riding.
Ortlieb handlebar bag
Mounted under the seat on the wonderful Azub bar bag adapter
Almost ready for adventure!
Glamour shot
I finally had a free day to get the trike into the shop and cable it up. I started with the brakes. The front brakes are fairly simple, although the left brake caliper is mounted upside down so needs some creative cable routing. I ended up using V-brake noodles to simplify the cable run. The shift cable housing was a little bit more of a challenge because Azub only provides one cable guide on the bottom of the frame so you have to run a lot of zip-ties along the frame to keep the housing run clean and tidy. I'm not a big fan of zip-ties along the frame, I think it looks janky and I would much prefer to have integrated cable guides.
Internal routing is so nice and clean
Plenty of room for two pieces of housing
Azub provides a caliper mount for attaching a rear disc brake as a parking brake. I really like this idea so that was the way I went. I came up with another challenge here though in that I could not figure out an acceptable way to actuate the disc parking brake. I ended up buying a Paul downtube shifter adapter and mounting it low on the left bar with a Dura-Ace shifter as a brake lever. I'm not at all happy with it, and the holding power is terrible, but it is the only thing I have been able to figure out for now. I'm sure I will come up with something better at some point.
Rear disc parking brake
Paul thumbie with Dura-Ace shifter as a parking brake lever
And last but waaaaaaaaay not least I needed a chain. Well, not "a" chain, actually THREE chains! It takes a lot of chain for a recumbent, much like a tandem. But with the chain installed and some minor tweaks to the shift adjustment, the trike was ready to ride!!!
Get out of its way, this thing ain't stopping for no one!
As I have said before, I am extremely impressed with this trike. There are a couple of little nitpicky things that I think could be improved on, but overall the design and execution of this trike is incredible, it really is a marvel of engineering. This is going to be an amazing back country exploration machine, I cant wait to get out there and have some adventures!
Stay tuned for an update on my opinions after getting an initial ride in on this trike. Much more to come!
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