E-Trike Project

I can throw a few words in here about rear trike suspensions, since Ive rebuilt mine 5-6 times. First off, unless U got 1 Hz spring rates and 3-4 inches of travel, it aint gonna matter much. It just takes the sting out of small bumps! Figure 1 g force for a bump and U see why U cant get a plush ride with the regular suspensions found on bikes!!! That extra G doubles the force on the arm, and unless the springs are serious compliant and long U will bump, or they will not respond! There a huge interesting writeup in Speedweek(see two posts down) on Trike suspensions, even if U cant do all the things the writer did! My dream is to get Feister front trike Velo suspensions for my trike, but its just a dream! So to sum up, the little thing help a little, but it wont be a Caddy ever! Best of luck with the beautiful trike, Aussijester!
otherDoc
 
Oh yeah! Unsprung weight! Didnt even mention that. Dont stick a motor and batts on that rear trailing arm or U can double forget about a good ride. The inertia from the heavy stuff really makes the ride much worse! This from personal experience with heavy hub motors on rear suspensions. They suck!
otherDoc
 
That fantastic series on trike suspensions seems to have been transfered here: http://www.speedpedal.com.au/cms/A_108479/article.html This is just one of many really great bicycle and trike suspension articles!!! Follow the trail, cause its time for my afternoon nap! ( I think it was archived in this forum!)
otherDoc
 
Cheers for the link and info mate much appreciated... now i can prolly forgetz about all the wonderful alternatives i dreamnt up in bed last night LOL... off to the workshop now back with an update on proceedings later in the p.m :)
 
Got held up yesterday few mates dropped around and we had a few beers so not alot of construction got done....different story today however. I have made the two swing arms (still need a lil altering of the end taper on one of the swing arms to match it with the other...)

series_pic_1.jpg


I also took a snap of the seat pan i made end of last week as i neglected to take a pic previously :) Will of course be padded later down the track.

As can be seen the swing arms are only tacked together, i shall cut the re-enforcing pieces and have it assembled with axle tube and bracing etc before completely welding it to help avoid 'warping' when i do weld it.

The new pivot point should make miles happy now ::wink:: hehehe thanks mate ;-P and in turn improve the suspension geometry so as pivot point will be above that of the axle, I also decreased the angle of the bend slightly, more for appearance than anything...

Back with more tomorrow folks...

Kim
 
hi Kim,

not sure which im more jealous of, the guys that have the skills to make there own custom parts or the guys that have the space at their homes for workshops!!
Having both is just plain rude :lol: :lol: :lol:
keep up the good work looking forward to seeing it come together.

Cheers,

D
 
deecanio said:
hi Kim,

not sure which im more jealous of, the guys that have the skills to make there own custom parts or the guys that have the space at their homes for workshops!!
Having both is just plain rude :lol: :lol: :lol:
keep up the good work looking forward to seeing it come together.

Cheers,

D
Click to expand...


hahaha cheers mate and yeah it is nice to have the space to work in, I have been lucky enough to have grown up
with a workshop and full array of machinery at my disposal, from a young age i was learning from my father how to mill and turn metal, weld
grind, drill and spray paint, has been very beneficial over the years not to mention its just plain good fun getting into the workshop
taking raw materials and creating something yourself...tiz all very "blokey" hehe :)

miles said:
You might consider drilling a few large holes through the sides of the swing arm - this will make it look lighter (as well as feel lighter!).
Click to expand...

Cheers for the suggestion miles it is a good idea however i did actually take into consideration the additional weight the swing arm would be to the already
heavier than usual pushie frame, the wall thickness is ~1.5 the tubing the frame is made of is 2mm it really isnt as heavy as it might look I just popped in an put them on the kitchen scales the arms come in at 4.5kg (thats 9.92080 lb for the Americans and their archaic imperial system :p ) Which to me doesn't seem that bad? Then again i am more accustomed to motorcycle than pushbikes LoL... As top speed isn't all that important too me nor is distance i haven't been overly fussy about the weight (that said its gettin up there frame prolly weights about the same as a lightweight mountain bike with no suspension) I much prefer to lack the speed and distance over the frame breaking and me sliding down the road yet again... it has to support a fair bit of weight, im good for 90kg at least and then my chair ontop of that PLUS the motor and batteries etc..i will have ~25kg Matt tellz me worth of SLAs on this (more down the track when i gotto 72volt setup...more on that later ;-P ) Seeing i went for the 1000watt motor and now 18speed gears (1200watt will be the upgrade) I'm hoping i have the "grunt" and gearing options to handle the extra weight? quite honestly it is somewhat shocking to me when i read the speeds some of you fellas are doing on pushbikes, they werent made for it and especially not with a heap of extra weight in the form of batteries...

Anywayz...enough from me off to the lounge to ready myself for tonights F1 and MotoGP racing Go Stoner AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE OI OI OI :p

ciao fellas and as always appreciate the interest and input greatly :)

Kim

p.s I did forget to mention earlier also...i have plans to look into getting the rear swing arm assemble nickle plated to match the front springer forks i will be using, should look trick i think and something lil different from chrome :)
 
Kim,

The more you can reduce the mass of the swingarm, the better (not least, for the functioning of the suspension). My main point, though, was that it looks a bit clunky compared with the elegance of the rest of the frame - I thought perforating the sides might improve that.
 
Miles said:
Kim,

The more you can reduce the mass of the swingarm, the better (not least, for the functioning of the suspension). My main point, though, was that it looks a bit clunky compared with the elegance of the rest of the frame - I thought perforating the sides might improve that.
Click to expand...


Yes i do understand where your coming from there miles, i would be hesitant at boring large holes through the thing though i think it would severley reduce the structual strength of the unit. It still has a alot of support tubing to go on it PLUS the finish in nickle plating, i think when this is added it won't look quite so 'chunky' and with when all assembled with wheels on etc even less so, OH the shockie im using aint no pissy lil mountain bikd unit either tiz 26cm long made for a 'pit bike' i think if the arm was skinnier looking it would look a lil 'wrong' ? Personally though i like the look reminds me of my motorcycling days gone by and the swing arms they have ;)

cheers again ;)
 
Hey Aussiejester! Check out that suspension article! The holes help! Wow! U really do great metalwork! Keep up the good work! G'day mate! (I think that was Aussietalk!)
otherDoc
 
docnjoj said:
Hey Aussiejester! Check out that suspension article! The holes help! Wow! U really do great metalwork! Keep up the good work! G'day mate! (I think that was Aussietalk!)
otherDoc
Click to expand...

Thanks doc :) And have had a lil read through, rather technical for a 'dummy' like myself hehe... I wont be drilling holes in them however i like them how they are now, its not a 'high performance' vehicle its a cruiser, largest bumps it will encounter are cracks in the footpath/cyclway and up here they are all very new the shire has been replacing the paving with niiiiiice concrete ~1800 wide, i cross the road directly out front of my house and have my own 'personal highway' right to the main shopping center ~3km away (and the local pub) :wink: I'm sure they will work just fine as is :) Cheers for comments...

Kim

p.s tiz indeed 'Aussietalk' to mate haha...
 
Sounds like a fun ride!
otherDoc
 
Small Update

This morning I went and bought 8 x 28mm OD 12mm ID sealed bearings (AU$47.00) to be used on the trikes suspension and rear axle assembly.

This afternoon I knocked up the housing that will be welded to the frame, the swing arm assembly will attach to this. I took a series of pics to show how I went about making the housing that will hold the bearings-->

bering_piviot_housing_series_pic_1.jpg


As can be seen the tubing is slightly larger than the bearing OD and was a sloppy fit. I cut the tubing with a a 1mm thick cuttoff disk on the 4inch angle grinder , popped the tubing in the mini vice beveled the edges and welded it back up, the fit is near as perfect I can get it with the tools at my disposal and imo more than good enough for the job it will do. A smaller OD tubing was fabricated and tacked in place to keep the bearings in place.

Shall chop the frame tomorrow and weld these housing in place before continuing work on the rear suspension assembly/axle housing.

Back with update on days work tomorrow :)

Kim
 
Pitty wont be seen when all assembled though :-(

I also neglected to mention, my order from TNC Scooters (motor controller throttle sprockets chains etc etc etc) cleared Australian customs on the 20th so not too far away... All excited I is :p
 
Update

Stuffed about for TWO HOURS this arvo (thanks ALOT miles ... LOL :p ) getting the mod to the swing arm pivit location on the frame aligned and even on both sides ONLY to stuff the mitre up on one of them (see circled joint in pic below) I was too annoyed to redo the whole thing today BUT to make the mood more cheerful again my order from TNC Scooters arrived-->

goodies_and_frame_pics.jpg


As you can see folks I have already ::cough:: relabeled hehe the 1000watt motor to something the local law considers "legal"

Back tomorrow with another update...

Kim
 
Miles said:
:D

I love the curves on your frame.

On Mk II you could make a continuous sweep through the pivot point so that it echoed the curve on the front front 8) :p
Click to expand...


Cheers miles and there wont be a 'MkII' this will be it for two wheel at the back trike... Building 3 generator windmills after this to provide power for my workshop/converted garage/apartment/where i live LoL to run the pc, lights, and tools in workshop...then a beach buggy (600cc petrol motor) project with a mate then ill think about a revers trike (two wheels at front) but it wont be recumbent style...be upright along these lines http://www.brudelitech.com/pictures.htm (except electric powered) If i can figure out the tilting front wheel setup :) SO...if you have design alteration Mr Miles SIR speak NOW or for ever hold your peace hehehe...cheers for the suggestions thus far to mate much appreciated, my suspension should work better for it anywayz LoL...

Kim
 
It's not something that's easily alterable now and it's a pretty subtle cosmetic thing so, in the circumstances, I think I'll hold my peace.... :mrgreen:

PS You'd better doctor the Current rating, as well :p
 
That looks like a pretty overbuilt 24V motor. I think it'll take 48V juuuuust fine. 8)
 
You're a better man than I am , Gunga Din.......... I woulda used a dutchman on that space and filled the hole with auto filler! :mrgreen: I hate doing things over! Nice label. Sounds like the start of a cottage industry :)
otherDoc
 
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