Worksman utility trike build

[Wolfeman]

Good morning all. Just got approval at work to purchase a utility trike for use at a facility I maintain. The trike will be used for carrying lawn maintenance equipment (backpack blower, gas cans, string trimmer, yard waste barrels etc.) and other various items. My idea is to fabricate a stake-side utility bed with a flip down tailgate. The Worksman Mover M2020-3CB seems to offer the features I want and it's made in the USA.

Of course I will electrify it, and am looking for suggestions. My inclination is to go with a geared hub motor in the front for ease of installation and maintenance, but am open to suggestions. Thanks in advance.

[wturber]

I like that idea as well, though with that small wheel diameter, I'm not sure you need a geared hub.

But I also notice that the bike shown has a drum front brake. Can the bike be ordered with a sidepull front brake instead? If so, I'd do that. If not, make sure that you can mount a caliper brake of some kind to the front fork.

[amberwolf]

If it doesn't come in rim brake (or other brake options) and only has a drum option, you can add rim brakes like i did (I have two sets on the front; you probably only need one):

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=96749&p=1417610&hil ... A#p1417610

Use two tight-fitting torque arms, no matter what the fork's dropouts are like, because a geared hub can easily produce enough torque to spinout. (done this).

I'd recommend getting the geared hub in the slowest winding you can, since you won't be going fast with it anyway. (A trike built like that can flip in a turn going greater than just a few MPH, because the weight is all up pretty high, and even just a quick dodge of the front wheel to avoid a small bit of debris or whatever can also cause a flip, beyond around 10-15MPH depending on conditions).

The slower the winding, the better it will work at lower speeds.

A lower voltage system will help that, too; I'm guessing you won't need a lot of wattage, maybe 250-500w.

You can use a DD hub, too, but for low power and low speeds, with possibly a lot of starts and stops, the geared hub is probably more energy efficient, so you could use a smaller pack, and just plug in to recharge as needed.

Build the charger into the trike with a retractable power cord. Plenty of room under the deck for battery, charger, and any other accessories, like DC-DC for lights if it has to work in the dark. Controller I'd put on the "downtube" just behind the fork, so the phase wires to the front hub would be as short as possible (without actually putting it on the fork itself).

[Wolfeman]

I like that idea as well, though with that small wheel diameter, I'm not sure you need a geared hub.

But I also notice that the bike shown has a drum front brake. Can the bike be ordered with a sidepull front brake instead? If so, I'd do that. If not, make sure that you can mount a caliper brake of some kind to the front fork.

Worksman doesn't offer rim brakes, but I have a friend who can weld ANYTHING that can weld brake bosses onto the existing fork. A little rattle-can will make it look like new.

[fechter]

Another option would be a BBSHD motor. No issues with the brakes and you can change the gearing for more torque if you want to go up any kind of hill.

[ddk]

Another option would be a BBSHD motor. No issues with the brakes and you can change the gearing for more torque if you want to go up any kind of hill.

unfortunately, this particular trike utilizes a coaster rear brake, precluding the use of (most) mid-drive motors unless the rear brakes are (also) modded.
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I used MXUS series 214 front wheel geared-hub motors for this very job.
With a 20A controller @ 36V it could pull a 500 pound weight (the user, the trike and stuff) up a any grade less than 10% requiring no effort.
+10% grade with some effort on the operators' part (about +75W effort)


Like they said, use a low speed (high wind) motor to help keep the max speed low, or incorporate a user-programmable controller to set the max speed to about 12 mph, because this trike isn't very stable beyond that.

[Wolfeman]

I've found many different 48V 20" front wheel kits available on both eBay and Alie Express. Leaning towards a DD hub motor since this will be operating mostly on flat ground with only minor hills occasionally. DD will be simpler and keep moving parts to a minimum. A 12S 20aH Multistar pack will provide plenty of power.

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[wturber]

I like that idea as well, though with that small wheel diameter, I'm not sure you need a geared hub.

But I also notice that the bike shown has a drum front brake. Can the bike be ordered with a sidepull front brake instead? If so, I'd do that. If not, make sure that you can mount a caliper brake of some kind to the front fork.

Worksman doesn't offer rim brakes, but I have a friend who can weld ANYTHING that can weld brake bosses onto the existing fork. A little rattle-can will make it look like new.

Workman sells an electric trike already made. They show that one with caliper brakes. So the do have them.

I'd be concerned about welding anything to a front fork because it might change the temper of the fork metal. If I had it done, I'd probably take it to someone who works on bike frames and would know what to do for sure. Either that, or I'd check with Workman and ask them if it is OK to weld to the fork.

[wturber]

I've found many different 48V 20" front wheel kits available on both eBay and Alie Express. Leaning towards a DD hub motor since this will be operating mostly on flat ground with only minor hills occasionally. DD will be simpler and keep moving parts to a minimum. A 12S 20aH Multistar pack will provide plenty of power.

s-l1600-2.jpg

A 12s pack trigger the controller low voltage cutoff a bit early unless it is adjustable. So make sure you check/account for that if you don't get a 48v battery system.

[amberwolf]

Welding to the fork (if steel) isn't likely to cause a problem, as long as it's done properly and the metal isn't so thin it gets burnthroughs.

I've done this for several different forks, different reasons, including welding brake bosses and a stiffening arch to the one on Delta Tripper.

Also cut and welded formerly-vertical forks into horizontal side mounts for wheels on my Mk III dog/cargo trailer, which still functions (just not very wide so I don't use it much these days).


If welding isn't appropriate due to metal thickness/etc., then brazing could be done instead.


Alloy forks...those I wouldn't weld to. (which is why I clamped on the brake bosses/arches on the SB Cruiser trike and CrazyBike2).

[dogman dan]

Brilliant idea, but if not too controversial for here, you might try it without a motor first. When I had 68 condos to maintain, we used two Schwinn trikes without motor. Not much hill on the property, and 2-3 mph was plenty of speed anyway. motor just was not needed, and nobody living there wanted us going 15 mph or more. Different story if your property is on a hill.

One lap of the square property was about a mile. The trikes saved a ton of time. walking, pulling a large wheeled trash can with tools and weeds or hedge clippings was slow. We used to say 4 laps is an hours pay. On the trike, it would be about 20 laps.

We rigged a very simple hitch for pulling the standard garden wagons. just a vertical wood stick that you could drop the handle of the cart over. The carts had a similar hitch on their rear, so you could make a train of two wagons and the trike and carry a ton of stuff if needed. Tools went in a bucket on the trike, large totes or trash cans on the wagons. Worked real good.


If you do go motor, look at E-Bikekits trike kit. Not the cheapest, but its the one with the right speed for trike use, less than 15 mph. More like 10 with the tiny wheel. FWIW, 20 inch is small as that kit goes. Other trikes could be a better choice for a mid drive. Depends on the details of the bottom bracket. Schwinn trike would have a bb compatible with a mid drive, or good for a front hub motor, having a rim brake. The Schwinn did have crappy wheels when I bought them, like 10 years ago, and I had to put better rims on them. That's the plus of a worksman, a bit stronger wheels.

At low speeds, your rear brake, assuming there is one, will be all you need. But a fork swap could get you rim brakes pretty easy.

[Wolfeman]

Brilliant idea, but if not too controversial for here, you might try it without a motor first. When I had 68 condos to maintain, we used two Schwinn trikes without motor. Not much hill on the property, and 2-3 mph was plenty of speed anyway. motor just was not needed, and nobody living there wanted us going 15 mph or more. Different story if your property is on a hill.

One lap of the square property was about a mile. The trikes saved a ton of time. walking, pulling a large wheeled trash can with tools and weeds or hedge clippings was slow. We used to say 4 laps is an hours pay. On the trike, it would be about 20 laps.

We rigged a very simple hitch for pulling the standard garden wagons. just a vertical wood stick that you could drop the handle of the cart over. The carts had a similar hitch on their rear, so you could make a train of two wagons and the trike and carry a ton of stuff if needed. Tools went in a bucket on the trike, large totes or trash cans on the wagons. Worked real good.

Thanks Dogman Dan, I have very similar plans. This trike is going to save me a ton of time and LOTS of walking. I'll try it without the motor first, but am definitely going to put one on it. Probably going to mount a radio or bluetooth speaker as well for tunes while I'm working.

[Wolfeman]

My Worksman trike was finally delivered the other day. Lead time was about 4 weeks from time of order. It arrived in a big brown box on a pallet.

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First impressions are good. Build quality of the frame looks good. The components are pretty standard stuff. I'm looking forward to being able to clear some work space and start on this project. First step will be to assemble it, then I'll fabricate the utility bed. Looking forward to this project.

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[aroundqube]

This just might be an application where a DIY push trailer makes sense.

[dogman dan]

Just pedal it. Unless you have a steep grade, pedal will work fine. Even towing 500 pounds of trailer it works fine if the grade is mild. Especially since you picked the worst trike to modify. Best for durability, but worst to put motors on them. Faster than you can pedal that thing just gets dangerous, and the folks you work for wont want you hauling ass around the complex.

But now you got it. you need to replace the front fork with one that can give you a rim, or disc brake. That should be easy, then a front motor will work.

[fechter]

Just curious; does that thing have a differential in the rear or how do they accommodate going around corners?

[amberwolf]

Far as I can tell it just scrubs the inside wheel; both wheels are just keyed directly onto the axle that's driven directly by a "bushing" welded to the drive sprocket, unless I missed something:

https://www.worksmancycles.com/m2020-3cb.html

The pedals drive a 3-speed IGH (with coaster brake) in the frame, which then drives the rear axle. I don't think there's any other freewheels than any the IGH has, and no differentials I can find.

[fechter]

I wonder how they do a coaster brake with a IGH?
If there's no differential, then it would be hard to do a tight turn, especially with a load on the rear.

I see they make one that already has a motor on it:
https://www.worksmancycles.com/electric.html

It has a front fork with a caliper brake. I wonder if they would sell just the fork? This would solve the front brake issue.

[Wolfeman]

I was finally able to spend some time assembling the trike today at work. Everything went together smoothly with basic hand tools. First impressions are that this thing is well built. It feels solid and everything works the way it's supposed to. It's very comfortable to sit on and rides easily (without a load). The right rear wheel is the drive wheel, I'll take more pictures later of the drive set-up with the 3 speed Nexus set-up.

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I'm considering lots of options for the utility bed. Ideally I'd like to have a flip down tailgate ramp that would allow me to roll my Honda lawn mower up into the back of it. I think this is going to be a really good setup for it's intended use.

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[amberwolf]

I wonder how they do a coaster brake with a IGH?

That's easy; there's a number of IGHs that have had them. I'm sure some are still made.

I have a couple of old used Sachs Torqueedo 3 speeds like that, that if I had all the shifters/pullrod-chains/etc for them I'd wanted to use them in a tadpole trike project I wanted to do some time back (ARTOO, I think it was), that would've been 2WD in the front by motor (powerchair brushed motors, chaindrive to each front wheel), pedal chain to the rear wheel like normal. Would've used a cable to pull a lever to pull the torque arm to engage the brake rather than fixing the arm and rotating the chain backwards like normal. Or, fix the arm in place and use a button that momentarily reverses the motors to engage the brake.

[amberwolf]

Ideally I'd like to have a flip down tailgate ramp that would allow me to roll my Honda lawn mower up into the back of it.

If you make the ramp in sections, piano-hinged together with the hinge point on the top and the leaves between the sections, you can fold it into a non-tall tailgate that will still make a low-slope ramp to roll stuff up, so it's not hard to push them up there.

You could also make a pull-out ramp under the deck, below the axles, with a support bar at the rear that acts as a fulcrum, so when the rear of the ramp is on the ground, the front of it is raised above that to line up with the top of the deck.

[Chalo]

I wonder how they do a coaster brake with a IGH?

Any bike shop can get one for you. There's a special kind for trikes.

If there's no differential, then it would be hard to do a tight turn, especially with a load on the rear.

Only the right wheel is driven. The left wheel is free spinning. Pedicab trikes and some older granny trikes use Peerless axle differentials.

[fechter]

If there's no differential, then it would be hard to do a tight turn, especially with a load on the rear.

Only the right wheel is driven. The left wheel is free spinning. Pedicab trikes and some older granny trikes use Peerless axle differentials.

Ah, cheap. Good thing he didn't try to use a BBSHD. So it will be hard to do a sharp right turn, but a left turn will be easy (pedaling). The front motor sort of solves that issue.

Also, since the motor is DD, it would be possible to have a reverse function. Many controllers have this feature, but not sure if that one does.

[Wolfeman]

I'll take some pictures today of the drivetrain for those curious. While looking for a proper useful cargo bed I found this on Harbor Freight. If it were just a couple inches narrower it would be perfect. I only have about 21.5 inches between the wheels.

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[Chalo]

Only the right wheel is driven. The left wheel is free spinning.

Ah, cheap. Good thing he didn't try to use a BBSHD. So it will be hard to do a sharp right turn, but a left turn will be easy (pedaling). The front motor sort of solves that issue.

The engineering is cheap; the handmade-in-Manhattan, abuse-proven construction is pretty expensive. Workman trikes are built like we're still in a post-WWII steel glut, but with pre-war technology.

Front hub motors are the right choice for most upright trikes. Most especially for trikes that have small front wheels.