Building a Cyclekart is achievable by pretty much anyone. Having said that, there are definitely some steps that make it much easier and quicker.

Choose your inspiration car

There’s a huge range of pre-war race cars to choose from. You may have one in mind already but visits to museums like Brooklands, the British Motor Museum at Gaydon, Coventry Transport Museum and Beaulieu National Motor Museum will give you lots to look at and help you get into the spirit of the age. When choosing the inspiration for your first cyclekart, it’s worth thinking about how you might build it. Keeping shapes simple and choosing a car with distinctive features will help. For some clues, have a look at the cyclekarts that have been built before - there’s quite a few that have been documented on youTube.

A word to the wise. A Cyclekart is not a car, they’re built differently and they drive differently.

Come along to an event

There’s nothing quite like seeing and sitting in a Cyclekart to get a feel for them. You can poke around how they’re made, ask loads of questions and take photos. You’ll also get to know some of the people behind the names on the forum.

Join the Forum

There’s a whole heap of information on the forum. You can read about people’s builds, there’s technical discussions, find ideas for inspiration vehicles. True, it’s not a curated library of information, but hey, that’s what the search box is for! Starting a build journal will also be a good way to get advice and encouragement. Everyone else will love reading about your progress too. Join here

Read the Rules

The Club Handbook has all the technical definition and rules about what is a Cyclekart so have a read and stick to the rules – that way you’ll get to drive your Cyclekart at some of the best events and venues. Download here

Keep it simple

That’s it – for your first one, keep it simple!

Frequently Asked Questions

Ok, so you might well have some questions – well here answers to some of the ones that get asked more often:

• What size wheels do they use?

  17” C90, pitbike or similar wheels

• What engine does it have?

  A Honda GX200 or clone. That’s it.

• What suspension does it have?

  For your first one – leaf springs. But they copy the inspiration car.

• Can I buy a kit?

  Not at the moment. But there are plans shared online and plenty of videos you could build along to.

• Can I buy one secondhand?

  Some do come up very occasionally, but you’d miss out on the fun of building one.

• Do I have to weld?

  No. There have been plenty of Cyclekarts built without welding. Take a look at the Stevenson plywood box and steel rails method. Alternatively, there’s almost certainly someone nearby who would do a few welds for you. Or, why not learn?!

• Where can I get parts?

  Well, there are lots of sources - eBay, Facebook Marketplace, go-kart suppliers, plus some parts being made specifically for Cyclekarts (eg Gemini Karts and the club). Autojumbles are a great way to pick up interesting and often cheap parts to add to your Cyclekart.

  Visit the Where to get stuff area of the forum and if the answer isn’t there, just ask. We will soon have a list of potential suppliers that you’ll be able to download and as a club we are looking at getting some components made and available to members.

Other sources of information

www.cyclekarts.com is the best way to understand the origins and the philosophy.

www.gittrevillegp.com showcases alternative approaches to kart builds together with their annual meetings.

www.cyclekartclub.com contains a wealth of karts, articles and technical information.

www.huntsvillegp.com/articles/001/thecyclekart.htm some history and a commentary about the ethos of Cyclekarting

Dennis Thomas Cyclekart videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh0MOBj4QLAYsl4XsfXHfWA/featured

Steve Vinson Cyclekart videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_7aTYnh7gJXhoE36tyJP-g

Marek Nahajski Cyclekart videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVAJ1_h56dFTYDnQTbq3L1A/playlists