First trike frame build

[snoopshomme86]

Hi guys,
after some kilometers on my KMX Venom with Matt s drive i had some things that i will change.
First the trike could be little bit deeper on the street .
Second -i want some gears for my Shumaker drive.
And i want smaller and lighter batteries.
So i will strip the KMX and use the part s for my own frame.
To runn the Shumaker drive over gears i will put a Alfine 8 between the drive an rearwheel.
And i will use lipo s instead my Headway s.

I did some drawing today .
What do you mean?

 

[snoopshomme86]

 

[Geebee]

If that drive is putting out much power you will destroy the Alfine, mine doesn't seem overly impressed with 600-700 watts plus rider input, its much smoother with rider input levels only.
You will also have to brace the cable guide arm as it will try to constantly rotate thus causing shifting issues.

 

[snoopshomme86]

Today i build a seat for my recumbend,i had a little discussion with my mag welder so the welding looks not so nice 8) .
The seat will be integrated to the spaceframe of the bike.
I managed to build a spoket for the output of the alfine too.

 

[snoopshomme86]

Thanks geebee,
The Alfine will sit in the high speed side of the drive,so there will not be much torque.

 

[snoopshomme86]

Today i started with the backend i will put some tubes more on it when it stand on his wheels to reduce flex.
Now i have to wait for the postman ,my tubes are empty :|

 

[parajared]

It really helps to keep those trikes low to the ground. If you get too high up, the trike will flip under hard cornering rather than skitter and slide.

 

[snoopshomme86]

Jes that s true.
My first Trike the kmx venom was very low too .Bud i didn t get the gearing managed .With the big spoket on the rear it had a lot of tourqe but was only 48kmh fast.With the smaller spoket it was running 78kmh but it didn t manage big hills.
So i build this frame with enouth space to insert a alfine.
The new frame will have about 10cm ground clearance with the 20 " rearwheel.
I inert the 26" only for the right welding.
Greet s

 

[snoopshomme86]

This is the venom

 

[Chalo]

It really helps to keep those trikes low to the ground. If you get too high up, the trike will flip under hard cornering rather than skitter and slide.

If you put it too low, managing the drive chain becomes a major nuisance.

I like the design of the Russin Sputnik/Zenit trike, with drive to both of the front wheels. But it isn't particularly low-slung, because it's designed for snow and all-terrain riding.

 

[snoopshomme86]

I like se sputnik trike ,but they had some problem with the joints of the frontdrive-they didnt live long with the tourqe.

 

[Geebee]

It depends on your riding style, personally I like high speed and high G cornering thus there is no such thing as to low don't forget the recline of the seat and length of the wheel base has a massive effect on handling and braking (stops the back wheel lifting in an emergency braking).
My favorite trike, any lower would not be roadable.

 

[snoopshomme86]

I think the position of the seat is verry important.On the kmx it s ony 25mm more forward or back from highspeed corner sliding to a nose wheely.

 

[llile]

Plan on beefy front wheels. All the shop-made trikes I know about have had spoke issues on the front wheels.

I am currently rebuilding my trike with motorcycle spokes and rims, and DOT motorcycle tires. Your regular bike tires and rims aren't up to the task, in my experience, if you are considering an over-20mph trike. Even a non-powered cattrike often can have broken front wheel spoke problems, I saw a guy with one in the bike shop the other day. Use penetrating locktite (from an auto parts sotre) on the spoke nipples. Or better yet have John Robert Holmesbuild the wheels for you. He stocks custom heavy duty bike and motorcycle spokes.

Same with brakes. Good disk brakes on the front are easier to implement on a trike than rim brakes, and I have felt they were more reliable. Plenty of people argue about this on these boards but they are talking about bi-cycles, not trikes. I found the disk brakes a lot easier to fabricate from scratch if you are building a frame from tubing. Check my trike build in the signature line for lots more detail. Getting them lined up was easy: I put the disks on the front wheels, clamped the brake actuator onto the disk by tightening the cable all the way, and bolted the actuator onto a loose piece of angle iron. When everything is in the proper place, spot weld the angle iron onto the frame. Voila! Perfect alignment of the actuator. Just needed a small amount of adjustment, that was already allowed by oblong holes in the actuator mount. Dissassemble it and weld as required.

You don't even need a brake on the rear wheel, all it does it lock up. You can run each brake lever to a different front wheel, or cobble up an actuator that runs both front brakes from either front lever. Works either way just fine.

 

[recumpence]

That is only partly true.

Front spokes can be a problem, but not the rims. If running 12 or 13 gauge spokes, he will be fine.

Matt

 

[snoopshomme86]

I know the problems with the front wheels ,but i will build the frame complete and than put the parts from the venom on it inklusive the front wheels with mounting system (i don t know how it is named now).

 

[Geebee]

I think the cat trikes have more front wheel issues due to a higher front wheel weight distribution, The Greenspeeds I have owned have not had any wheel issues in 10's of thousands of kilometers, they have 1/3 rd weight distribution per wheel and being CroMo the frames can flex a bit as well which can't hurt.

 

[bowlofsalad]

Geebee, that is an awesome looking trike. Have you converted it into an ebike?

 

[Geebee]

I am seriously looking a Befang crank drive for the trike (it's a Greenspeed GLR), as I haven't been able to ride it recently due to health issues.
It rides even better than it looks

 

[snoopshomme86]

Did some prototyping today,to test if the alfine runs good in this conditions.
Was not able to drive a long way because the chaintensioner was not optimal.
But the alfine is shifting good.
tomorrow i will try it again.