"Free to Caster (FTC) leaning reverse trike

Willow said:
will be checking out that footage when I get home from work. I grew up on the Bones Brigade.

wish I had one of those longboards... thats me at the start of the clip, carving down the footpath.

super stoked with the video... hope it sparks some interest to get me to the next level.

Does FTC mean that you lean it like a motorcycle?, (countersteering?), with no power assist?

I really like this concept for it's numerous advantages but especially because you can still lean it like a motorcycle, and a plane.
 
FTC means no connection between the steering wheel/handlebar and the front wheels.
front wheels are free-to-caster.
power assist? i believe so... or maybe not...
and no countersteering.

I don't fully understand how it works,
The designers of FTC vehicles are quite vague describing about how it works,
probably to protect their design.

you can read more about it here,
http://tiltingvehicles.blogspot.com/2010/07/tva-phillip-james.html
http://tiltingvehicles.blogspot.com/2009/08/tbx3.html
http://tiltingvehicles.blogspot.com/2010/07/sparc-xev-project.html
http://tiltingvehicles.blogspot.com/2010/10/mi-kit-ev.html
 
sk8norcal said:
http://tiltingvehicles.blogspot.com/2010/10/veleance.html

[youtube]qbI7c0msV0c[/youtube]

Link is dead here is a new one from Véléance's channel:

[youtube]mzjA9PPF9Fo[/youtube]

and here you can see that Tri'Ode isn't FTC:
[youtube]6iZjadJ497c[/youtube]

I work there so if you have questions, i'll be happy to answer.
 
hi Glump,

basically I am interested in a video showing closeup view of the front linkages,
camera shot from the front with someone tilting the trike back and forth.

_wsb_371x221_moteur.jpg


_wsb_281x177_train+av.jpg



veleance%2Bcloseup.JPG



seems like 90% of the tilter I blogged dont want to show closeups, probably trying not to reveal too much of their design.

I like the TriOde, the front face is a bit funky aesthetic-wise, but I like the moped style design.
When are you guys bring it to market?
is this categorized like a moped in the states?

these specs correct?

weight = 375 lbs
range = 28 miles
top speed = 28 miles
specs says u guys are using SLA.

price?

btw, what do you think of the FTC idea?
 
Hi, so Tri'Ode will be available on market for professionals only this summer (hopefully end of may) for 7500€ (taxes included) in France, then in Europe and one day in the US and the rest of the world. It is for professionals only for now.
The first production is small (50 units) the fallowing will be around 300 units.

as for specs it is:
165 kg -- 365 lbs for the sla version
45km -- 28 miles range for the sla version
top speed buy moped regulations in europe 45km/h -- 28miles/h (top speed rule for mopeds in the US ?)

Over versions are coming: moped/lithium (80-100 km range), faster/lithium (~80km/h/60km), 2 seaters etc ...

for the funkiness of the design, five main reasons :
1 st, i designed it (last version) and i'm a mechanical engineer, I've never designed anything else before, so I've done my best.
2 nd, the thermoforming Technic makes it very hard !
3 rd, we have to look different because we won't match "standard" automotive finish level with thermoforming.
4 th, the kinematic of the front axle make it very hard to "dress"
5 for the last version i had to look like the previous ones because we showed them in car shows etc... so the public now it is the same bike.

Concerning our design for the front axle. It is true that we don't like to show it too much. it took us years of fine development to get the performance we have know even if it looks simple, it isn't.
We are competing against big companies like piagio, quadro, peugeot .... etc ... they have many people working on this when we are 3 mechs on our side.
The performance we have in handling, comfort, braking etc.. is very good so yes we keep it a bit secret.

What you don't see on the image is that we have a patented system that can "lock" the system from tilting if needed automatically. you can see this very well on the videos. When I get off the scooter while roalling, the system makes shure it don't fall.
This system is our main difference it brings a lot of confort :
locks if you go backwards
locks when you stop
and security :
locks when you slip and don't let you fall like any over 2 wheeler (thats what we are competing against)
It allows us to have a slow speed non tilting mode too.

To be honest, and i don't want to be rude but for me the FTC idea is dangerous if applied to a full tilting vehicle (like ours)!
It is a serious miss understanding of the way tilting vehicles work.
On a tilting vehicle, leaning angle and steering AREN'T correlated !
FTC will work in one scenario or in an over but vehicle dynamics is a lot of scenarios and an infinity of combinations.
So for me FTC can exist as a prototype for a very specific use but never as a commercial/on the road vehicle because it won't be able to handle dangerous situations.

PS: Sorry for the English,feel free to correct me (so in can improve myself) !
 
anti-dropping ! that's the word i was looking for, thanks !

For the vids, i will do my best !

The four wheeler, Quat'Ode, will come out eventually when money comes .... to continue it's development (has been largely improved on CAD but needs more work ...).
I work on it when ever i have a little time. It is AWESOME to ride !! Two motors, a lot of torque, electronic differential etc.... and the noise it makes is very cool !

[youtube]7MGf8uJyVW0[/youtube]

Thanks for the support, it is much harder than expected to go on market but we are finally getting there !
 
sk8norcal said:
i would like to see some vids of extreme maneuvers,
like sudden sharp turns on wet ground.

Just for you (and the overs of course !)

[youtube]wWD9RX9Wtb0[/youtube]

If you have doable "extreme maneuvers" in mind, just ask, i'll do mi best during test drives :D
I already have:
1- sharp turn on wet ground // waiting rain (easy) and body on test vehicle (harder but will be done soon).
 
very cool video!!

how about going through a turn with a oil spot, a pothole, and sand patch.

1:36 2nd rider hit the inside berm,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdB4QFflntk

i seen this one video where a highside start to happen before the rider caught it,
but the link is dead.
http://tiltingvehicles.blogspot.com/2010/09/university-of-padua.html
 
Harold in CR said:
I hate to appear to be rude, also, BUT, what does this mean ??

will be available on market for professionals only this summer

The first production (we already have all the parts in stock for 50 vehicles) will start in June and we thought until now that we would sell only to pros.

The product is designed for professional use and the price is quite high. The price isn't a real problem for professionals as they understand easily the real cost of such a vehicle for 3/5/10 years of use. We are going to sell the Tri'Ode directly to customers and through local distributors that usually work only with pros.

We thought until very recently that the public wouldn't understand this but it turn's out we were wrong. We are now OK to sell the Tri'Ode to the public once we make sure they understand that our after-sales services are not ready for this yet.

The first 15 Tri'Odes will be ready by the end of June, 35 more will follow during summer, after that the fallowing production will depend on how much investors are ready to invest on us ...
 
glump said:
The product is designed for professional use and the price is quite high. The price isn't a real problem for professionals as they understand easily the real cost of such a vehicle for 3/5/10 years of use.

Nice build, I hope you market it successfully.

What is the job function of the "professionals" you intend to market to, who will want 3/5/10 years of functional life? My experience has been that commercial entities are slow to adopt/invest in unproven technology (ie EV's of any sort), and those that run vehicles as part of their business want something that will move them all day long.

I'd consider adding one to my stable if the price were right. What is the price? Many members of the public forked out big bucks for first releases of Vectrix, Brammo, and Zero motorbikes, so the public niche of the market has a pretty good handle on the "real cost". I'll be interested to see if you have better luck in the private or commercial sector.

-JD
 
This illustrates my concept for a tilting trike that can transition from tilting free to caster mode to non tilting normal steer mode. Previous versions were non mechanical and or far to complicated. This version is purely mechanical and is very simple to construct. for more information about this project please visit my site http://www.meanleanmachine.com

[youtube]wztaJqzKZDA[/youtube]
 
Wow, the future is coming finally...so probably in the next two years they will be selling these
worldwide...hope they do...
 
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