The Brass Lion – Steampunk Recumbent

You'll recall I posted a picture of my recumbent bike last week and that one of things I wondered aloud was how one would go about steampunkifying a bike?  Well Eric and Alan – a.k.a. Steuben's Wheelmen – sent me a whole passel of new photos that show exactly how one would go about this process!

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This is a 'tadpole' configuration recumbent trike that Eric and Alan built from scratch!  I was privvy to some of the early construction photos and I'm happy to say it was at my urging that Eric installed the brass coach lamps.  His initial reaction was that they were  'over the top' but thankfully I managed to convince him that the steampunk aesthetic was at it's very best when pushed just beyond the limits of good taste!

The choice of lighting is as follow: acetylene headlamp up front, kerosene coach lamps amidships and what I believe is an incandescent tail lamp.

 The steering gear is quite elegant in it's simplicity and on viewing the movie below you will see the geometry is bang on.

Elk hide wrapped handle bars and a brass bell – nice! 

Ah! ready for a afternoon's picnic!  I'll bet the tea set rattles a bit over the bumps.  One should always pad ones saucers and cups with napkins! 

 The view from behind – I do love those wooden fenders!

The bike's mascot and namesake at the fore!

 The inventor out for a test drive in period attire, though I do fear for his car coat in the chain!

 Many more images of this fabulous conveyance's construction can be viewed at the builders' blog.