The Garage        

Brakes

Picture this, you’re hurtling down the first length of the Soap Box circuit, wind in your hair, goggles flying off – when suddenly you realise you’ve got a problem.  There’s a corner coming up and you’ve got no brakes!

If you don’t fancy making friends with a hay bale on the first corner of the circuit then here’s our idiot’s guide to “Braking Systems”!

Simple Brakes

Braking Systems Using Bicycle Brakes: Find an old bike with its brakes still in good order and use as much of the braking system as you can which will save you both time and money!

Find an old bike with the old style of braking system – they will be more resilient and they are much easier to remove from the bike and then attach to the soap box.  You also have some brilliant brake handles to go inside the cockpit for your convenience!

 Making Your Own Brakes…

The More Complex Solution:

Pedal Brake Systems: Now we’re going to let you into a little secret!  There’s a favourite braking method for professional soap box racers.  It is a bit more tricky, as it requires a pulley system to link the pedal with the brake at the rear wheels.  The brake arm must be lifted by a spring so it is held away from the wheel until the brake wire is pulled tight by the driver with the pedal, when they want to brake.

The Even More Complex Solution

Handle Brake System: Now the pedal brake doesn’t suit everyone.  If you’ve got big feet or your soap box is going to have a small nose or it’s just too complicated, then you may find there isn’t much room for your feet to move the brake pedal.  This will probably mean you will have to settle for a hand activated braking system.  This is where the lever is pulled up to the brake pushing the pads against the back of the rear wheel.  No spring is needed as the handle counteracts the weight of the brake pad keeping it clear of the wheel.

Steering   

Car Steering:  Steering can be made from a rack and pinion steering box out of a small car (minis or old fiats etc.) and attached to your soap box axle.  Finding parts of old cars is probably the easiest way to begin building your soap box.

You  might prefer to build your own steering system.  There are two simple ways you can do this, bicycle steering or string steering.

 Bicycle Steering The easiest use of a bicycle would be to attach the frame or just the fork and sleeve to the frame of your soap box and then keep the single bicycle wheel at the front to steer with.

Or if you want to have steering for two wheels at the front, weld the front fork of the bicycle to an outer sleeve (metal tube) covering the axle.   The fork would need extra support to guarantee success.

String Steering This system is the easiest to create.  It involves attaching rope to both ends of the front axle.  The axle should be able to move freely with the use of a pin and sleeve attaching it to the main chassis or frame of the soap box.