All things must end: The life and DEATH of an electric trike

So glad to hear you didn't get hurt.

Learning to turn one on two wheels helps, but above 15 mph on those things is sketchy. I just rebuilt new back wheels for my meridan trike, and have a motor on it that is slow wound. I keep it up on the mesa near the house, and ride where it's flat and predictable. Side sloping hills or road shoulders make steering really hard, so I avoid anytning not nice and level.

You'll really love your ebike when you get it on a two wheel bike. Hunt for a cheap old MTB with a large frame triangle, and you'll be able to carry the lead there and still have a decent handling bike to ride to school.
 
Again, "delta" form tricycles are inherently unstable in turns (especially during braking turns).

You'll be much happier (and safer) on a bicycle, or possibly a "tadpole" tricycle.
 
Hi MikeFairbanks
I too am glad that you are OK. Perhaps IC57 can give you a copy of the video. Maybe a "teaching moment" for your students?
otherDoc
 
HAHA why does everyone think I shoot video all the time.... lol Something told me I should have Saturday but i didnt carry my camera with me. It was a very fun ride. I was hanging back kinda far. I will also admit when were going down some these hils that trike was moving. id figure he was trying to keep his speed up so he would have inertia to get up some of the hills around PTC. Even though I have front suspension The tree roots under the path are horrible. I was just holding my e-brake button to regen down at a safe speed. In most areas. I almost clipped his trike a few times when trying to merge behind him to let other traffic pass.

But what I think happen is the path had a z Turn. Think of a straight path.... You cross over a street but the entrance to the path/side walk on the other side doesnt line up with the path you came off of. So you have to turn left and cross the street diaganally to get to that entrance but when you get there the path immediately turns right and then straightens back up parallel to the path you came off of.
Almost any vehicle has the tendency to pull straight out of a turn combine with a human realizing the cart Is going to tip over and steers abruptly to compensate and get it back on all 3 wheels...
 

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Well, I just put the wheel onto a different bike, tightened it up, and it's spinning true so far. I was going to go to the LBS to get it trued, but don't know if that will be necessary.

Next step is to run up to Wal mart and buy a seatrack for the SLA and some zipties, elec tape, and that should just about cover it.

The suspension forks on my cheap Schwinn are steel, including the dropouts, and the wheel fit nice and snug with all washers and the torque arm in place.

My goal is to have a working e-bike by this afternoon.

NOTE ABOUT ABOVE ILLUSTRATION BY ICECUBE57: That's exactly right. Perfect diagram. Keep also in mind that it was downhill (if only a little).
 
MikeFairbanks said:
Next step is to run up to Wal mart and buy a seatrack for the SLA and some zipties, elec tape, and that should just about cover it.
Click to expand...

Will this be a "seat/post" rack or a rear rack?

I ask this because very few "seat/post racks" are strong enough to hold an SLA batter pack.
 
Very true about a seatpost rack. You may be able to reinforce it with added struts back to the seatpost tube on the frame if the bike is rear suspension.

And wear that helmet bro.
 
It's a rear rack. It doesn't actually touch the seatpost.

I picked it up at the local bike shop for 25 bucks. I'm going outside to install it in a couple minutes.
 
BLUESTREAK said:
MIKE glad that you are not hurt, but don't give up on trikes.
Click to expand...

Mike, I concur with BLUESTREAK. You were unlucky in having a tree in the path of your mistake and you were lucky (thank Heavens) in coming out of the experience with only a couple of scrapes. The point here, the teaching moment, IMO, is that, assuming a solid build of the e-bike/trike, the most important safety component is between your ears, making good judgements about the capabilities of your vehicle and riding appropriately. Getting into trouble that you can't deal with in a hair's breadth of time happens with all vehicles. I got a feeling from your initial post on this thread that delta e-trikes came off with somewhat of a bad rap. Since I ride one as my only form of non-public personal transport, it wasn't a good feeling.

So, I'd like to point out a few things about delta e-trikes that make them a valuable addition to the e-bike/trike stable, if they are ridden with common sense as to their capabilities, slowly when cornering, the sharper the corner, the slower, and with a learned and executed body lean.

The delta e-trike is the only type of e-trike/bike other than heavy cargo bikes that can haul a significant amount of cargo (100-300 lbs.) without the encumbrance of a bike trailer. For those using an e-trike/bike for function rather than sport, this isn't a trivial feature. A tadpole e-trike has no more cargo hauling ability than an e-bike, unless the frame is extended like a cargo e-bike. The three point stance with the road makes any e-trike easily usable in below freezing winter, in situations where an e-bike must stay home.

Like any other vehicle, 2, 3 or 4 wheels, you have to use good judgement, within the capabilities of your ride, if you ride any kind of e-bike or the results will be hilarious when they aren't tragic. The following link takes you to a hilarious "Top-Gear" test of a delta automobile where the principals of capable driving are the same principals that apply to a delta e-trike.

http://videosift.com/video/Top-Gear-Clarkson-tests-a-Reliant-Robin-3-wheeler

Ron Shook
 
You're right, Uncle Ron. Totally right.

My mistake was that I was racing through the trees on the trike, and should have known better.

I went over there today on my electric golf cart, and it really is a sharp turn. I took a quick turn to the left, and then had to make a quick turn to the right, but the path sloped to the left.

The bottom line is that I was going too fast. I was overconfident.

Plus that damn tree refused to get out of the way.
 
I agree with Ron that the trike has advantages other ebikes, even those with nice big panniers don't have. It's why I finally got off my ass and laced up new wheels and got my meridian trike back on the road again. I use it for shorter trips, where limiting speed to 15 mph is no big deal. Usually to the flea market where I load up with cheap fresh vegetables and day old snack junk food on the cheap. But while there, no telling what I may want to haul home once I see it. Often enough, it's a whole bicycle or some other large object. Perfect for the trike.

The lure of zooming around on the ebike is very hard to resist though, and when your only one is a delta trike, it's trouble brewing.

Hilarious top gear video. 8)
 
Any Trike that has SLA needs to position them to take advantage of their weight; right next to the wheels on both sides UNDER the bike as close to the ground as possible.
Click to expand...

I agree with lesss on this. I would even go so far as to suggest that they should be positioned just in front of the rear axle (rather than behind the axle). And place them as far apart to the left and right as possible.

If you improve the brakes and limit the speed, battery placement becomes less important, but...it couldn't hurt?
 
Forget this thread, lads.

A new beginning for my ebike adventures:

1240143120_DzTPf-L.jpg
 
UNCLE RON that was one funney video :lol: :lol: :lol: . I have said beford that my blue MERIDIAN TRIKE will do 30mph. at 72volts on flat streets but I am not foolish enough to try to take sharp turns at this speed. and I agree that the battries need to be as low as you can put them close to the outer sides under the rear axel if possible. some where here on ES (DIVER) has a MERIDIAN TRIKE with ton's of lead battries all located under the rear end and just bearly off the ground and his is stable at 35mph. the delta trikes have a place here and like DOGMAN said thare are very useful as a cargo hauler and fun to just ride at a reasonable speed for your sourindings. just ride safe and ( DO-NOT) try to impress anyone with your ridings skills just have fun. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
 
MIKE go back to DEC. 16 2008 and look at ( SENIOR ENGINEERING PROJECT-E-TRIKE SUGGESTIONS WELCOME) TAKE A LOOK AT HIS BUILD AND LOOK AT (DIVERS) MERIDIAN BUILD IN THE (E-BIKE GENERAL DISCUSSION). this may be helpful. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
 
There are two obvious flaws on that Reliant video, as funny as it was.

a) they always flipped the car on the right side only, which is where the drivers 220 lbs was seated.

b) the car had no anti-sway bars that i can see. Can you imagine designing an unstable automobile without anti-sway bars?

Delta Trikes, like the well designed http://www.Lightfootcycles.com are seated near the rear wheels, and low (recumbent), unlike the cheaper top heavy trikes. It's all in the design.

I've seen a lot of motorbikes with trike rear wheel assemblies, and they don't seem to tip over. I think trikes are getting a bad rap here because of one inexperienced rider, no offence intended.
 
recumbent said:
a) they always flipped the car on the right side only, which is where the drivers 220 lbs was seated.
Click to expand...
That is a good point...I didn't notice that.
 
recumbent said:
There are two obvious flaws on that Reliant video, as funny as it was.

a) they always flipped the car on the right side only, which is where the drivers 220 lbs was seated.

b) the car had no anti-sway bars that i can see. Can you imagine designing an unstable automobile without anti-sway bars?
.
Click to expand...

I can assure you there are more than 2 flaws in the design of the Reliant Robin ! :lol:

FYI, those things are notorious for tiping over ..both ways
..and for shattering to pieces when they failed to make a corner, ( tips onto the nose , then skids into the road kerb !),.. and also bursting into flames ! ( fibreglass& resin construction).

They only ever existed because of the UK taxation system rated them as Motorcycles ( a hangover from motorcycles with sidecars ) which meant they were cheap to run and could be driven solo by anyone with a provisional bike licience ! :shock: ..which , of course, just added to their safety record ! :roll:
Back in the day ('60's -'70's )... any spotty 16yr old could get a provisional licience ( no tests or training required), hop in a Reliant Robin, and hurtle off solo at 70mph with absolutely zero road knowledge or understanding of the dangers.
( Note: -- in those days there were no restrictions on drinking & Driving either :shock: )

Actually , i am surprised that any Robins survived for TG to test ! :lol:
 
Hillhater said:
Actually , i am surprised that any Robins survived for TG to test ! :lol:
Click to expand...
Hillhater,

That was no test by any stretch of the imagination, but a purely entertainment sketch with one intentional crash after another. But then you knew that. (g)
 
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