TerraTrike Rover Meets Electricity

I began this project in early June and should have been done by now, but was derailed by a hideous experience chronicled in my Golden Motor Horror Show thread. I've sent that abomination back and now have an RH212/Phaserunner package ordered so things should be moving forward!

I'm 71 and a lifelong road rider but leg and balance issues force a change, thus this build. I had hoped to remain acoustic but the ergo of a tadpole is a lot different so I've opted for a little help. Okay, the RH212 is more than a little help, but I'm also prone to overkill when I engineer something. Having an EGO lawnmower and trimmer along with several batteries, I've decided to make use of them and save a few dollars. The largest I have is 7.5Ah, but I'm not planning extended rides so range isn't a big issue - and it's easy to carry a small spare.

Since the Rover frame will accept a 26" rear wheel with no modifications I'm going that route. The stance with the stock 20" rear is backwards-leaning, the 26" brings it a little high in the rear, and my planned addition of 24" fronts will take it back to nearly stock level. Utah Trikes had the right hubs on sale and I found a good buy on Sunringle Envy 24" rims, so I'm lacing that portion of the project up now.

Unpowered performance testing has gone well (with the !@#$ Golden 26" on the back), and I've found the Rover chassis to be very versatile when it comes to adjusting weight distribution. The average tadpole has only an adjustable boom, where the Rover has both boom and fore/aft seat adjustment. Being more than slightly eccentric, I also took some measurements. Here's weight distribution, loaded:


And here's my best guess at steering geometry change:


Obviously CG is going to be higher and it will be a bit easier to tip. But this build is intended to be more of a cyclecar than a road racer, so I'm not worried. Here's a quick pic while the unMagic Pie 5 was still installed. That jury-rigged 6sp freewheel is being replaced by an 8sp cassette and appropriate hardware, but it did pedal quite well in that config unpowered. And power never worked, so that's to come!

Thanks for the great Forum,
Garry

Harpo said:

I'm 71 and a lifelong road rider but leg and balance issues force a change, thus this build. I had hoped to remain acoustic but the ergo of a tadpole is a lot different so I've opted for a little help.

Click to expand...

Somewhat similar here. My machine is third link in my signature below.

I view my motor addition in several ways. One is that I can carry loads I can't otherwise when I want to.

With respect to exercise, I see the motor as a variable helper which relieves the anxiety that might keep me from exercising. No matter what hills or winds on the day, I am certain I can get there and get home again, so I only need the right clothing. With a motor on my trike, I expect to exercise more.

Where I was living until two years ago, I could go right out from home and ride safely to stores, restaurants, libraries and nice pathways with river views, and as a result I was in good health despite joint deteriorations. For reasons that still seem worthwhile to me, I've moved to a location with very poor cycling infrastructure, and I'm already working on solutions to this (like moving in a while).

Don't apologize for adding a motor. My motor is to keep me out of the Doctor's office, and out in the community helping out the local economy and inspiring other people who have lived as long as me.

Let us know what you think of the geometry changes on the road. I'm curious about the effects of wheel size changes too.