Izip Trike Upgrade options

[Lessss]

http://www.amtizipcanada.com/izipbike/tricuiser.htm

What are the best options for upgrading one of these for
A) Better hill climb
B) Better range
C) Quiter ride

 

[dogman dan]

Adult trikes are a special problem. When I put a 25 mph front hub on one I found it hard to steer above 15 mph. Cornering of course is best done even slower than 15 mph on these kind of trikes, but what I meant was that at 20-25 mph, it really wants to go in a straight line, and just dodging random glass gets hard to do.

Of course the easiest option is to simply bolt on a front hub, and a 9 c motor does climb pretty good, especially at 48v. That results in pretty quiet.

But a trike does lend itself to chain drive options really well. So the experts on that kind of bike here may have some great suggestions for that. It looks to me like if you move the battery to another location, there is a great space there in the frame for a rc motor or stokemonkey type setup.

As allways, we need a better definition of what you want in hill performance to get really specific. A small front hub gearmotor might be enough power, or not, if the hills are really steep. Or maybe a bafang is to noisy? To me they aren't, but I consider Izips too noisy.

The range issue is really easy on a trike, as usual, just heave a big ol lithium battery at it. When I had my trike set up on sla's, I built a box under the basket to hold up to 9 of em. So at least where to place the batteries is not a problem here. I did find that going 25mph with 4 slas, my butt, and a basket full of cargo bent my rear rims pretty quick. Another good reason to build something with a top speed more like 17-18 mph. Another good reason to explore the non hub motor solution.

 

[Lessss]

Wow 2 days and only one post of advice. Man the sphere is really shrinking in the size of it's usefullness.

 

[dogman dan]

Too good weather last two days?

 

[dumbass]

Well if it was sold in Canada can we assum it has a 200w 24v motor wit ha 20a or 25a controller? If so why not just charge the motor and controller to the larger Ezip 450w motor and 35a controller? You can buy they from Ezip or several other places for about 100 bucks total. Or you could go big and install 2 450w setups. As for the noise it will be about the same. But a lot of people are working on ideas to reduce it (no one has found a way yet though).

 

[BLUESTREAK]

OK HERE GOES: (1) get rid of that geared motor and get a 24in. 6x10 ( EBIKEKIT.COM ) KIT.(2) get a western saddel seat. I have one of these in blue,but one of the big problems is the wheel base is really short. If you can do a little fabrication streach it out about 12in or 16in and you can go 25mph safely. also get a three speed kit (SHIMANO KIT THREESPEED KIT) just made for trikes it will fit .

 

[dogman dan]

Will it steer better stretched? My trike using the same frame, schwinn merida, ran in a straight line just fine at 30 mph, but you couldn't dodge a broken bottle for shit at that speed. I think a lot of the problem was that this design, especially when the basket is full, is light on the front wheel. The othe half of the problem is the inability to lean steer. Leaning is how you jog around broken glass on a regular bike or motorcycle at high speed. Try turning your regular bike by just turning the wheel sometime, without any leaning. Anyway, that's an aluminum frame, which makes fabrication difficult. The rear section though, is steel, so maybe you could lenthen the mounts on that end to stretch one.

I agree that a slow speed winding front hub might be the simplest easiest solution. With a direct plug in cycleanalyst, you could limit speed without limiting power I think.

But for sure, those adult trike frames do squeal chain drive me! I keep thinking for mine, someday stokemonky a planetary gear motor. 350 watts, top speed 15 mph, but able to climb 20%. That would be kinda cool. My trike has pedals driving one rear wheel, and the other freewheels. So I'm thinking pedals drive one wheel, and the motor drives the other. The pedal side has a freewheel that will act like a differential, so you don't need freewheeling cranks etc.

And also for sure, just slapping a higher watt, 36v currie motor on it would be super easy and cheap. Just noisy. Definitely the way to do it cheap.

 

[BLUESTREAK]

HI AGAIN: The complete frame front and back are all steel on the izip trike. Yes streaching it out at least 12in. and lowering the seat from about 32in down to about 26 in. makes it easier to stear but it will never be a pot hole dogger like a bike, if you have paved sidewalks and smooth streets this is one of the best ways to get around but it will never be a curb jumper or sideways slider. on my 26in meridian trike i am putting a front x5306 and 60 volt 40amph. TS battery set with CRYSTALYTE 50 AMP controller,"O" soo much fun. GOOD DAY

 

[dogman dan]

Interesting, I thought the long wheelbase was just a straight line stability at higher speeds thing. Lots I don't know about frame geometery.

I also found the higher speeds combined with cheap rims pounded the crap outa my rear wheels, so hopefully you have better luck that I did. I bought the trike to be a grocery getter to go to a new store being built nearby. Then the bottom fell out, and they never built it. So when I started riding the trike further, I got into crappy streets downtown and bent rims. Now I'm thinking of some kind of 15 mph setup for the trike if I motorize it again.

 

[BLUESTREAK]

DOGMAN: You are right about the rims thay can't take much I folded my rear wheels first thing. and replaced them with 144 spoke steel wheels and have had no more rim failure since. Someday before too long I hope to be able to post pictures.

 

[BungaEBiker]

I have been looking at getting one of these, I keep toying with the idea but never commit. If you could take some pics of the drive system and of the rear axle that would be great. If it's a split axle then your stuck with a front hub. If it's a single or joined axle then you have some more options like a mid drive or a belt drive. I don't know why they never include pictures of the drive system on these. None of the sites i see them on ever do.