next build ideas

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stuee147

Senior Member
Location
north ayrshire
hi all
well iv not been able to get out or do much with the trikes over the last few months for one reason or another,
but iv have been planing my next trike build and the ideas are starting to make sense well as best they can lol.

the basic concept for MK3 is i want a long distance touring E-trike that is comfey to ride for hours carrying panniers or some form of storage. it should be happy to gently cruise main roads as well as the odd dirt track or lane. but i also want something i can use daily to pop to the shops or wherever.

so anyway so far i have been thinking along the lines of the A/Z's tricruiser
TriCruiser%20Winter%20Ready%20Tadpole%20Trike%202.jpg

i have the plans already but im thinking of making a few changes, im thinking of bringing the front wheels back a bit so they are behind the pedals instead of infront. im also thinking of useing suspention forks at the front and im hopeing to get disk brakes all round to.
iv not decided on front wheel size either 20" or24" im leaning more towards the 24" front wheels as they are eisier to get with disk brakes and suspention forks. and a 26" on the rear.

i like the idea of useing the forks and head set as it will make it a lot simpler during the build, i know it will make the front end high but i dont mind that as im wanting a slightly higher seat partly for better safety and visibility but also as im over 6ft it can be a long way down to a trike so a bit higher seat should help me a bit when trying to get off lol.

im also planing to make this trike an E-trike from the start and iv been thinking of useing the extra ground clearence from the higher boom and underslinging a box just bellow the frame and under the seat. this will then be used as the battery box and tool box (for basic tool kit) im thinking of spliting the battery box into 2 sections and haveing a battery or batteries in both sides so if one runs low i can swap to the second set. as im keeping the weight bellow the frame i dont think i will get any COG issues. but i am thinking of trying to get the wheel track as narrow as i can. i would like something around 22" to 24" but im a bit worried about how it will handle i might find it a bit tippy on the courners, having said that im not a fast rider i like to enjoy the ride and take my time so fast corners only realy happen if im going down a big hill lol.
i would like the smaller wheel track so it will fit threw doorways (so i can store the trike inside without having to take the wheels off)

im also thinking about having another go at the 2 chain drive system iv found more info and bits on the net and it seems to work well, but thats still in the planing stage. im also going to have a play about with indirect stearing im considering useing 2 leaver type handlebars one on either side. i have also been considering trying a single tiller type of stearing.

like i say i have a lot of ideas and im still looking for more i have been thinking of drawing out some plans like i did for MK2, but as i found with MK2 there was a lot that looks great on paper but when i had the raw metal in my hand it didnt seem to work, so alot of my plans will be more like backup plans for if /when my build goes wrong :wacko::wacko:

im also still playing with trailers and the trailer im hoping to make for this trike will have yet another battery pack that can be used as a back up for the E-trike.

anyway i have the plans and ideas my bigest problem at the moment is i have nowhere i can build it since my girlfriend moved back in september i havent had the garden to work in but im off to view a house tomorrow and if all goes well and i get the place i will not only have nice garden to work in but i will also have a nice little shed to play in ^_^^_^ so its fingers crossed for the viewing .

as always any ideas or thoughts on my plans will be greatly recived :okay:

stuee
 

Scoosh

Velocouchiste
Moderator
Location
Edinburgh
Calling @voyager ! ^_^

Now you're in trouble for lots of really good, practical expert advice @stuee147:bravo::thumbsup:
 
Oh Dear Stuee

Bad move here

The Tricruiser is well know for its instability, there are so many down sides it really is a do you really want to
I built a hammer head and that went down to Wales , that was another bad choice

Both were designed as a snow trike and snow is softer when you do fall off it - If it was me , give it a wide berth and go for a standard tadpole again with
Sturmey Archer qr front wheels .

Take a look around the AZ site and see the adverse comments ,Narrow and high even with a battery box down load is still a recipe for trouble
Mr I built one , even Brad admits that both trikes were only a slow paced trike , motorised and I think it will be an accident waiting to happen .

I found an easy way to align the front wheel tabs and have used it several times since .

My e-trikes ( all 4 of them ) are running smoothly and are still quick touring trikes and when the 2 x 36v 10 ah batteries are fitted to the 2 20/20 e-trikes I will get in excess of 30 miles range using the q100 36v motor and that is pokey enough with a 18" bottom gear to get me up all the hills I encounter .

Good luck but think more than twice before you build one

regards emma
 
Here is the big 20/26 e-trike, its the street e-foxes half sister . This is my daily transport with a powerful motor and now fitted with Lithium batteries it does about 17- 20 miles per charge and performance to match - We took it to the summer meet at Lancing last year and it was a success and has got a couple more riders interested in going electric , With big panniers it is an ideal touring trike but the range needed a second battery (40 miles ).
I do have a second battery that is currently fitted to the street e-fox but if that goes I can get another for this.
shoreham beach.jpg

The 2 20/20 trikes are fitted with q100 motors and are more versatile as they fit one in and one on the roof of the estate and are in use at the weekends and we take them on holiday .range is only 15 miles with the 36v 9 ah battery and I am looking at 2 x 10ah Life po4 batteries on each to give 35 miles
20sat Peacehaven.jpg


regards emma
 
OP
OP
stuee147

stuee147

Senior Member
Location
north ayrshire
hi emma
i know what you mean about the instability of the tricruiser it is a bit of a worry, and with wanting to reduce the wheel track and the raised ride hight i can see it all adding and not in the good way.
the main reason i was thinking of the tricruiser was to make it simpler and cheaper to fit the front wheels as i would be useing the compleat front forks and headset, i was thinking of bringing the wheels back a bit to reduce the wheel base and instead of making the front end like A/Z do on the tricruiser with the straigh boom arm and i was thinking of bringing the boom arms up at an angle reducing the hight of the main boom.
but to be honest i am starting to consider just building something more along the lines of MK1 and MK2 but with a slightly higher seat position.

its the angles and setting up of the headtubes and front wheels and getting it all working right always worrys me and i just like the idea of using ready made parts rather than making it. i think im getting lazy in my old age lol

iv thought of useing wheelchair wheels but they are not easy to find and so far the ones i have found have all been rim brakes. the front wheels are about the hardest part to sorce iv not had any problems getting of making any other part its just finding the right wheels. but the ones i have on MK2 are very good 68 spoke 20" wheels with 14mm axles and they are nice and solid. and they wernt to expensive so i might just stick with them. i should really have a try at building my own wheels im sure i could do it its just haveing the confidence to try.

at the moment im still in the planing and idea stage of the build even if i wanted to i couldnt start building yet as i still dont have anywhere to build im still waiting to hear about a house i looked at yesterday. but as soon as iv moved i will be starting the new build or at least sorcing all the parts first lol

stuee
 
The front boom can be made easier by Pre drilling the holes on the cross boom 10mm offsets on a square that gives 15 degrees on 40mm box section
then weld the head tubes in place , assemble the fork tubes and cut the angle on the fork tubes , with the brake arms welded to the axle tabs, clamp the wheel tab assemble to a piece of box , mount the cross beam above and weld up with the cross boom parallel to the lower tube.
front jigged.jpg


Happy to help

regards emma
 
OP
OP
stuee147

stuee147

Senior Member
Location
north ayrshire
thanks emma but im now im confused :wacko: i dont understand the 10mm offset holes part lol im one of these people that if i look at something or see it being done i can work it ot but words lose me sometimes (most of the time lol ) i understand the parrelel bar at the bottom for alighnment its just how you use holes to get the offset ??
anyway iv been looking around and this is the sort of shape iv been thinking of for the front boom arms.
1067px-Recumbent-trike-homebuilt.jpg


you can see the way the boom is curved to give the lower main boom and make it more stable.
like iv said before my main reason for considering using the idea of the tricruiser is so i can use front forks to hold the front wheels giving me a simpler set up for the stering a little less work, it would make it simpler to sorce wheels as less worry about axel size and spokes ect, and i would like to use the suspention so i could have front suspention as well as rear.
iv found these pics on AZ that i do like the idea of useing the fork tubes but i think it would look better if the forks were parrelel with the ground rather than straight up.
img_20150220_115918_1.jpg
img_20150301_204607.jpg

i do like the idea of useing the forks but i think im starting to rethink the idea now because i want to try and get as narrow a wheel track as i can so i can fit threw standard doors without having to remove the front wheels as i do now. if i use front forks it can add about an extra 30 to 40mm at best on the outsides of the wheels which would mean i would need to reduce the wheel track by 3 or 4 inches overall to allow for the forks and thats quight a bit to lose so im starting to go more with the bigger axels and modifying them as i did on MK2.

iv been thinking about how im going to build the next trike and iv sort of come up with a plan. i have quight a lot of 20mm box section and loads of 10mm bar and loads of other metal and wood offcuts, so i was thinking if i get some old wheels the same size as im planing to use (26" rear 20" front) and i will fix the in the position i will want them on the fnished trike. then useing 20mm box as temp supports i can build the frame into the wheels. having the wheels all set in the right possitions should help with keeping the frame alighned, during the build.

iv also decided that i would like the pedals to be slightly higher than the seat as i did in MK1 as i found it more comfey than having the straight boom and lower pedals of MK2
IMG_20140723_130343.jpg

MK2 with the straight boom and lower pedals
IMAG1074.jpg

MK1 with the angled boom and the raised pedals i find this a lot more comfey to ride and it gives me more power on the hills
im not sure how high to take the pedals i was thinking of rigging something up to try different hights to find the optimal hight for me.

thanks @fixedfixer its good to be getting back on my feet and i cant wait to move and get going on MK3 :dance:

stuee
 
I will try and find the original AZ thread on drilling the front boom rather than grinding out with a grinder , I drill ALL the holes on the frame before mounting the parts and welding it up . The front boom drilling means that with 6 drilled holes you get 2 cross booms with less waste rather than 4 holes per boom . I will look back inn the threads and find it, Big Bunny used the same for his trike and I think Duncan is using the method as well here in the UK .

Trikes are all a "matter of design and taste . I don't like the complete fork idea but that is me after 9 tadpoles , Its now easy , when the weather is good
I can make a frame in under a week and get it running in another and sorted and with a third week and warmth it can be painted ..

Roll on the warmer weather so I can paint the 2 trikes that are waiting :-

regards emma
 
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