Tadpole E-Trike Build

[Goped ESR750]

Started building a new project frame. This is based on a tadpole trike but uses scooters wheels on the front and a fire blade rear wheel.

Going to using a e-Tek motor. Here is a few pictures of what I got so far.

[bgnome]

that thing looks like it is going to be very beefy..
will you be able to pedal it at all?
looks like a hub drive is not what you are going for.. maybe mid chain or left side motor? seems like it will be leaning towards a electric tadpole motorcycle!

[motorino magnet]

absolutely love it!

thick-low-hi power.

im enjoying watching.

thanks for the look in,,,


like a thick low rider e-Harley?

[BATFINK]

Really does look great so far but does look really heavy. I like big butts and I cannot lie

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[Philistine]

Awesome, makes a KMX look flamingly limp wristed. I can't wait to see it going. Also can't wait to see you ghost pedalling it past the Po Po.

[Xanda2260]

Oh, I want this!! Subscribed!

[SplinterOz]

To be honest I can't see the point of the pedals, just put a big enough motor and have fun.

[Goped ESR750]

Thanks for the interest. The pedals are more or less for show, but hopefully it should not flag the attention of the fuzz if I am pedaling along.

The way in which the drive will be combined will be a shaft in middle of the trike, behind the seat. This will have the freewheel and cassette on it for the rear derailleur, it will also have a sprocket at the other end to take the large size chain to drive the rear wheel. Somewhere along the shaft will be another sprocket with sprag clutch for the motor.

Been busy sorting the steering linkages. Got around to welding the rear end on now. I have to make mounts for the shock absorber yet, which is probably more for show than anything because the shock is rock solid.

Here is a few pictures of what I got.

[ohzee]

Wow that thing is going to be a beast.. Love the thick tires and steel.

Cant wait to see it progress.

[sn0wchyld]

er, arn't you worried that the frame wont be strong enough?
other than that, it looks pretty damn good...

[Xanda2260]

er, arn't you worried that the frame wont be strong enough?
other than that, it looks pretty damn good...

Frame is far more heavy duty than my tadpole



And I ride i at 40mph with no issues.
I expect the frame will be fine.

[Philistine]

And I ride i at 40mph with no issues.
I expect the frame will be fine.

I suspect Snowchyld was being sarcastic. He even put an emoticon in just to be sure people got that

[sn0wchyld]

And I ride i at 40mph with no issues.
I expect the frame will be fine.

I suspect Snowchyld was being sarcastic. He even put an emoticon in just to be sure people got that

yea sorry xanda... sarcasm never works too well over the internets. I did in fact mean that the frame looks insanely beefy!

How hard was it to make a tadpole? I'd really love one for commuting but the $ is ridiculous... so I'm thinking ill make one instead.

[pelle242]

There are plans for two different tadpoles at www.atomiczombie.com . They are $20 or so but well worth it.

This trike looks really cool just thinking it might get to be a harsh ride without front suspension???

[Goped ESR750]

I have a copy of one of the plans from atomic zombie. I am not building the trike to those plans but was handy to read through.

I want to progress quickly with this project which is why I have not gone for front suspension.

I been working on mounting the rear shock. Need to make new linkages as I got the wrong shock, but should look pretty cool once it's in. I have welded on the frame extension to support the shock, need to make brackets now.

View pictures of where I am at.

[Kirk]

Are you going to put a damper on the direct steering? Muscling that steering at speed looks like it would need one.

[Goped ESR750]

Not sure about steering, surely a damper would cause more load making it more difficult to steer anyways, aren't they more for smoothing out light jerky steering?

Made some progress on getting the shock mounted. Welded the tabs on the frame to support the linkage arm and the top of the shock. Still need to machine a new linkage, but was able to test it like it is.

Couple pictures of what I got plus a small video of the shock. Is pretty solid, so doubt it will do a lot in use, but looks nice though.

[Kirk]

Not sure about steering, surely a damper would cause more load making it more difficult to steer anyways, aren't they more for smoothing out light jerky steering?

Depending on where your tire contact patch is and what shape it takes, your steering can develop a nasty shimmy at speed. For instance the Catrike Expedition's geometry is such that they had to take the top bearings out of the headsets and put in a bushing for stiction to stop its shimmy. An other way to fix it was to change the wheel/tire size. I run 34-355s on mine rather then the 40-406s that came with it, which changed the contact area of the tire enough to take out the shimmy and back in went the top bearings. On the other hand Matt's screaming fast Yellow KMX in the For Sale section for $7000 uses a damper to accomplish the same thing. From the looks of where your tires sit, it might be an issue. I hope not.

[sn0wchyld]

if you have room to extend the bar I'm pointing at in the pic below, that should have the effect of increasing the leverage you have on the shock, and give a bit more plushy feel...

what kind of steel are you using for the frame? This has inspired me to make a recumbent now as a commuter! probably not 'quite' as beefy though

[Xanda2260]

And I ride i at 40mph with no issues.
I expect the frame will be fine.

I suspect Snowchyld was being sarcastic. He even put an emoticon in just to be sure people got that

yea sorry xanda... sarcasm never works too well over the internets. I did in fact mean that the frame looks insanely beefy!

How hard was it to make a tadpole? I'd really love one for commuting but the $ is ridiculous... so I'm thinking ill make one instead.

Lol, my bad! Must read things properly!
Honestly, building a trike is much easier than I ever thought it would be. I had to teach myself to weld first and was really worried that my welds wouldn't hold. However, it seems they dont have to be pretty to be strong! Got the plans for the warrior trike from Atomic Zombie, and would reccomend it to anyone. If you check out the AZ forum, have a look at Spinners Warrior. It's amazing, he did a really good job with it. Much cheaper than buying (Ive spent about £750 so far, including electrics), and more sayisfying too! I have a build thread here and on AZ if you're interested. Look for White Warrior.

[sn0wchyld]

.......................Atomic Zombie, and would reccomend it to anyone. If you check out the AZ forum, have a look at Spinners Warrior. It's amazing, he did a really good job with it. Much cheaper than buying (Ive spent about £750 so far, including electrics), and more sayisfying too! I have a build thread here and on AZ if you're interested. Look for White Warrior.

will do mate. thanks for the tips.
do you know what your cost is just for the trike? (ie no welder, electrics etc, I already own that stuff )... thanks!

[Xanda2260]

.......................Atomic Zombie, and would reccomend it to anyone. If you check out the AZ forum, have a look at Spinners Warrior. It's amazing, he did a really good job with it. Much cheaper than buying (Ive spent about £750 so far, including electrics), and more sayisfying too! I have a build thread here and on AZ if you're interested. Look for White Warrior.

will do mate. thanks for the tips.
do you know what your cost is just for the trike? (ie no welder, electrics etc, I already own that stuff )... thanks!

Erm, let me do the maths here...

Steel £20
Front wheels £200 ( had to get em shipped from terratrike cos no lbs would make them. Import taxes suck)
Brakes + levers £60
Tyres £90
Seat £80
Various fastenings, pulleys etc. Maybe £50

So about £500 all told. If you're in the US you can knock off £140 from the front wheels.

Hope that helps!

Edit : just seen you're in Aus. If you can find some decent hubs (20mm hollow axle) and get em built locally they'll be cheaper than I paid. Bitex hubs are popular, they go for about £60 a pair. Then add rims, spokes, labour etc.

Edit 2 : also just rwalised that my figure of £750 was before I upgraded from a weak 20 amp controller and lead, to a lyen 12 fet and lipo so its more like a grnd now!

[Goped ESR750]

My trike uses kingpins I made for tapered roller bearings. I cant remove either bearing as they need to be locked against each other to work. I included a picture of the kingpins assemblies I machined, they obviously have all the rest of the steering hardware welded to them now.

The steel I used for this is 50mm square box section with a 3mm wall. The actual frame is not hugely weighty, the wheels double the initial frame weight I would of thought.

There was an upgrade package for the kmx trike seat. I bought it, and made it fit my trike. I decided I didn't like it, although it was comfortable it certainly was not weather proof. I decided to make a bucket sort of seat which comes out the frame using 40mm x 3mm flat bar. Will add weather proof padding where necessary. The only bit of padding I feel I need is on the rear shock support for my back. The rest feels really comfortable for me, and keeps me in one place without risk of falling out in a corner. Others who have tried preferred the kmx seat, guess this happens when you make it fit one person

Few pictures of where I at.

[BATFINK]

Really looks the part with the seat there. What sort of motor are you going to power this with?

[Goped ESR750]

Really looks the part with the seat there. What sort of motor are you going to power this with?

Planning on using an Etek motor with this build. I already have it handy.