A case for a trike

[Rassy]

Docnjoj, good to see your wife enjoying the new trike already.

I don't think I mentioned this erlier, but a good way to get a place for mirrors, lights, speedometer, etc. on that trike is to stick a regular stem (long enough for pedal clearance) with a straight mountain bike bar over the fork.

There's an old picture of my USX with a front bar part way down page 1 here:

http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=703&hilit=delta+trike

 

[Rassy]

Docnjoj, I think you answered my above post in a torque arm thread.

Anyway, here are more details:

On your Sun trike, if they haven't changed, there is a dummy plug just above the fork that they stick into the fork tube. Just loosen the hex bolt a little and the plug pulls out. Some recumbents have a plug that you just have to pry out. Once the plug is removed you reveal a standard bicycle fork tube with the top of the fork visible. If you don't have old bike parts around go to a bike shop and get a 1" stem (mine was 1", it's always possible Sun has changed the size) and a straight mountain bike handle bar. Stick the stem into the top of the fork and tighten the bolt and you are good to go. Make sure the new stem is long enough that her feet clear the bar. Since you aren't actually steering with this bar, the stem can be raised higher than the safety mark.

You will find this new bar is real handy when pushing the trike around, like pulling it through the front door, etc. It also makes a good grab bar when stepping over the trike.

The cheapest way to get these parts is to buy a $5 Goodwill bike, but then you have other junk to get rid of.

Good luck with the project.

 

[docnjoj]

Thanks Rassy. i have an old junk Mt bike around that I will use if the stem size is correct. Right now I am concerned about the motor weight and the steering design. They did cheap with just a pushrod and at maximum wheel flop the push part is real hard. I am considering adding a pull cable and an arm on the other side to better use a pull-pull system to haul the motor back and forth while turning. I haven't road tested it yet with the motor so I am not sure that there is really a problem while moving. My wife said she noticed a slight pull to the left so I will have to test. I could also just limit the left turn diameter with a bolt in the limiter track on the fork. We shall see. That stem idea could be a way to mount a right hand bellcrank for the pull cable?
otherDoc

 

[Rassy]

I don't think there should be a problem with the stock steering set up. Maybe is needs to be adjusted a bit?

I gave my Sun USX to my Daughter-in-Law when I got the Tadpole, so can't quickly check it. That steering is similar to the Vision LWB recumbent I have, and the previous owner claimed 59 MPH. I only maxed out at about 30 MPH and on any bike, including my Tadpole I get uncomfortable above 25 MPH, but the Sun USX felt fine a little over 20 MPH.

I do remember that it turns just a little sharper in one direction than in the other direction. You might take off the steering arm and make sure nothing is binding up or bent, etc. Well, I guess you can do that without removing the steering arm. I also remember that the front wheel wants to flop all the way to one side by itself. I think that was caused just by the weight of the steering arm.

Also, when you ride the trike, you should not have to grip the bars at all, just a hand outside of each grip is enough to guide it.

I did have a slight pull to the left when first braking, but that was resolved by always touching the front brake first, so the pull was a slight imbalance in the rear brake system.

Let me know what you find. Maybe you could ride another one for comparison if there is a LBS nearby that handles them.

 

[docnjoj]

Well Rassy I think I got it. I have designed a pull system for the right side to counteract the "flop". It is a tandem brake cable and housing attached with a clamp and angle bracket to the right fork blade.. It looks completely unobtrusive and should help that "over center" flop feeling. I still don't know if this is needed until we road test again tonite. It may be a solution to a non-existent problem! Thanks for the info on the rod but I love pull pull systems. Elegant and light. I adjusted the rod myself and it looks to spec. The angle at the end of flop left is really poor for leverage, hence the difficulty in getting the wheel back on center. It may never occur while actually riding. Oh yeah. When you gave your daughter in law the trike did it still have the front motor or did you give her the powered trailer too?
otherDoc

 

[Rassy]

If I recall, there's a slot on the front of the trike with a pin sticking through it that limits the left and right flop of the front wheel. I either contemplated or actually did add a bolt at one end of the slot to limit the flop in that direction. You are right, you only turn that sharp when at a virtual standstill.

As far as motors this gets complicated. I quit using the front hub when I went from 36V to 48V a few years ago, and since then have just powered it with a two wheel/two hub motor trailer. But when I set the trailer up for her I swithced it back to 36V SLA, which worked out fine in their basically flat area. However, my son wasn't too thrilled about having to house another trailer and charge more batteries. I had given him a short BOB fork one wheel pusher trailer last year when he got his tadpole trike, along with my new V2.5 48V Ping battery , which he uses for his 20 mile round trip commute. So he adapted the hitch on the Sun USX trike to work with the one wheel trailer, and when they ride together he does the pedal only thing and she gets the pusher. So I get the two hub SLA trailer back to add to my collection of clutter.

I'd like to see a picture of how you did the pull cable, if it works out okay.

 

[docnjoj]

Tomorrow is Hardware store and Bike shop day so I will set up the cable just for fun. It might even work! I'll show my attempt tomorrow. Thanks again Rassy!
otherDoc

 

[docnjoj]

Hey Rassy! You were right. I spent some time trying different adjustments with the steering rod and amazingly enough I got it to work much better. I really didn't think Sun would let a trike out that steered like poorly and they didn't! I still may limit the turn radius but Joyce really liked the ability to turn sharply for U turns. we will see. Thanks again for the advice.
otherDoc