The SB Cruiser : Amberwolf's 2WD Heavy Cargo Trike & Dog Carrier

[amberwolf]

The ride is good, and nothing fell off.

Some wheel noise is louder, without the fender covers. I'll put those back on (or new ones, more likely) after I finish the work on the rack and whatnot. That way I don't set them on fire like I did when I welded on the rigthside dropout months back.


A very interesting and unexpected bit of data is that today's ride was an average of only 40Wh/mile. It was 45wh/mile on the way to work; I don't know what itw as on the way home separately, but it msut've ben a lot less, to average only 40Wh/mile, probably down to 35wh/mile.

This is a drastic reduction from the 50Wh/mile average I had been getting just prior to this, with the new tires (knobbies).


And I have no idea what causes it :?

Well, not NO idea, but I don't know what actually does cause it.

I know the knobbies ahd been rubbing on the frame, but taht wasnt' the cause, becuse I'd been getting the same kind of wh/mile with the other tires that werent' rubbing.

I suppose it could've been something with bearings in the 9C, but I would imagine that wouldn't just cure itself with the new dropouts/etc., and even if it did, that's kind of a lot of power to be wasted inside tiny little bearings--I'd epxpect them to be pretty hot and I don't recall them ever being hot.

It's not weight; if anything it's a bit heavier now.

Maybe it ws a combination of things?

Well, we'll see if this efficiency change holds up over time; it's only been one commute so far.


Full data:
58.3vstart
55.6vrest
48.7vmin
4.575mi trip
3.424ah
183.29wh
40.5wh/mile
76.06amax
-14.1amin
20.1mph peak
14.4mph avg
18m58s triptime

 

[amberwolf]

Been riding with Tiny in the back for the work commute last couple days, since she's been sick again, and hte wh/mile is about 50 average; about 55 on the wya to work and about 45 on the wya home.


Makes an even better drift trike with her in the back and the knobbies than it did before....it's actually hard to make a normal turn without the rear end sliding a little around the turn even at slower speeds around 10MPH.

No tipping, which is good, but these tires just don't have much grip.


Three more days of work this week, then I can get back to (hopefully) finishing up the rebuild of the rack supports, a more permanent wiring harness for the lighting bar, etc. on my next day off when I can take everything apart long enough to do it.

 

[amberwolf]

Saturday I had to work at the 44th/thomas store again, which is about 15-16 miles from my house (depends on route), and the way there has some pretty bad sections of road, where i actually have to dodge holes and missing chunks of pavement up to a foot or more across, as well as badly-placed thick steel plates laying over the road that I have to slow way down for or risk the edges breaking my wheels or cutting my tires.

The way back is better, but can't be used for the wya there on a midday Saturday because of the traffic at that time of day.

There are many routes I could take, but only a few that don't have tons of stops and starts on them, or so much traffic that I couldn't safely use a lane in a way that lets me avoid unexpected road problems or debris, etc.

Only one idiot the whole way, though, that was in the far left lane of three, with no one else in either my lane or the one between us, and a couple behind him in his lane (but none in front of him), who yelled out his window "get off the (bleepin') road!", honking his horn repeatedly as he slowed enough to force those behind him to brake as he passed by, then accelerated up to much more than the speed limit. He had never been in my lane (or the one between us) as far back as I can see with the rearview mirrors (a half-mile or more in that area), and he made his way into a left turn lane to go north on another major road a little ways ahead, so obviously I was never in his way, he was just an ass.


10.02 miles into the trip, the tube I had patched after it was worn thru when the tire wore out failed, not exactly unexpectedly, even though it was a large 2" diameter patch. It probably would've lasted a long time on a non-rough road, but having to ride over compression ridges over an inch high every dozen feet or so for miles, along with other road damage, eventually beat it so much that the patch just gave up along one tiny line from the worn spot to the edge. I might be able to lift and re-glue it, but I don't know that I would trust it as any more than an emergency get-home spare.


Thankfully this happened ona sidestreet transition from one section of the route to another, rather than on the major road (Osborn). I stopped and changed the tube for a spare, about a 15 minute job, and rode on for about two miles, when I realized the tilting of the trike that had been growing wasnt' entirely due to the increasing road crowning; it was the tire getting slowly lower and lower. Was down to less than 20PSI by the time I coudl pull over in a parking lot and check it, finding nothing in the tire to poke the tube (without taking it off to check inside) and I just re-aired it up to 55PSI again, knowing I'd have to do it again at least once before getting to work.


For some reason it didn't leak as fast the second time, and I made it to work only having to re-air it once. While at work it did totally leak out again, though, over the 8 hours or so I was there (dunno exactly how long).

I had a second spare tube with me, but I didnt' change it at the time mostly because Ididn't have the time to, I only made it to work with about 3 minutes to spare, even though I had left with an hour to spare. Between the stops for flat fixing and traffic problems in a couple of spots, and having to stop at the store (that would be closed after I got off work) for some things, it used up all of my "spare" time. I also didn't change it because I wanted to leave the last "good" tube for my ride home, in the hopes that being able to ride the better streets would let me make it home without further problems, not having to stop anywhere in the dark (and possibly bad neighborhoods) to fix things.


Thankfully it did work out that way, and in fact the ride home was really quick and easy, never having to stop for any traffic lights (I hit them all green, thanks to cars already waiting at htem to trigger the sensors just before or as I got there). I only had to stop at about a dozen stop signs that were in some of my transition areas from one major road to another (where the actual major intersection is best avoided either because of road conditions or traffic, so back streets used instead).

So the wh/mile on the way home is lower than that on the way there, but both are way lower than my typical commute. That tells me that the rolling resistance and aero of the trike are not that much worse than the bike, about 50% more, rather than the double-plus they seem like on short trips with lots of stops and starts.


So on the way to work, it was:
15.94miles
12.27Ah
39.5wh/mile
628.02wh
58.3vstart
45.0vmin
51.3vrest
81.51amax
23.1amin
0regen
1h2m57s triptime
15.1mph avg
20.7mph peak (probably on the one slight downhill)


On the way back, it was
14.79miles
10.19ah
36.4wh/mi
533.92wh
45.8vmin
51.8vrest
58.4vstart
78.12amax
-13.3amin
0regen
51m31s triptime
17.2mph avg
20.7mph peak





I didn't take TIny with me, as much as I wanted to, becuase I knew how bad the roads would be and didn't wnat to beat her up with them for an hour's ride each way, plus it was nearly 90F out there for the latter part of the trip there. (was cold enough on the way back with windchill to need my gloves and the liner to my jacket, and wishing for my wind-pants and windbreaker jacket).

Raine kept an eye on her but she didn't get up from the bed, where she slept most of the day in the spot I usually do, instead of on the floor she usually prefers, until shortly before I got home, when she went to the feeding couch and climbed up to wait for me. (and dinner). She was sleeping there when I got home.

Today, she's going back to work with me, as she's still not well (more meds now, after yesterday's multi-hour wait at the vets), but she is a bit better than she has been.

 

[amberwolf]

I forgot to note above that the two "spare tubes" i had with me saturday for the long trip were the ones out of the tires on the trailer. So presently the trailer has no wheels (cuz it has no tubes for it's tires).


I talked with my boss at work, and will have next week off work, so that I can watch over Yogi (and Tiny) (see the post below
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=68997&p=1152743#p1152743
for details of that), but it will also give me time to finish the stuff on teh trike I didn't get to before.

I might also be able to build the front suspension to hold the rear Fusin geared hubmotor, too, if I get that far.

But one other thing I'll need to build as a priority (for Yogi), is a wider trailer to hold the bigger wire crate so he can come up to work with me and Tiny, and stay in that crate while I work (like Tiny does in the smaller plastic one on the trike), to give him his "crate rest" time, but where I can keep an eye on him if I have to.


Since I'll need wheels for that, I'll have to have mroe tubes, and since I can't rely on the bicycle-class tires/tubes on the trike, and spending more on those is kinda silly when better ones are available for cheaper or the same price, for mopeds, I'm going to invest in some of those Shinko tires (the Pirellis cost more than I can skim out of my food/etc budget; the Shinkos are about half the price), and some moped-class tubes to go with them. Then move the triek's old tires/tubes over to the trailer (until someday I can afford to moped-ize wheels for that, too).

Now, the rightside rim is already good for this, but the leftside rim is a narrow bicycle rim and may not hold the moped tire. So I'm gonna need to go ahead and invest in the other rim for it, from Ypedal, which I've been putting off since building this thing because of lack of budget.

I had an anonymous sponsor that was willing to help me out buying a spare battery, but the one the "deal" was for (an older headway https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=73341 ) apparently sold to someone else right after I got the details about it I needed to be sure it was one I could use, so the sponsor thing fell thru--it was just for the battery, not anything else, or I would have asked for it to go for the rim and some other stuff in place of that.


Anyway, I'll have to hope all the bits arrive in time to do the stuff on my week off next week.

 

[amberwolf]

Wow, the tire problmes just keep coming.



Rode to work normally, arrived, and 10 minutes after parking in the breakroom, while sitting with Tiny giving her icecubes, a gun went off in the room...or so it sounded.

First there was creaking, which I thought was just Tiny shifting positions, but what it probably really was was the tire's bead tearing off, and the tube herniating thru the tear.

I'm guessing the frequent sideloading and weight was too much for this thin BMX knobby, and it just ripped along it's bead/sidewall interface.

The tear is 3+ inches long, and the tube just burst right under it (probably actually burst *thru* it). Almost the entire "inner" sidewall (left side of the righthand wheel) shows signs of tearing; this was just the first spot to give up.

View attachment 2

So much for these "new" (nearly) tires. I have to assume the leftside tire is in just as much danger of failure, though I have not had a chance/energy to lift the trike to check it, too.

I thankfully had the old tire off one of hte trailer wheels with me, as well as the slow-leak tube from the same wheel; I'd slimed that tube the night before figuring it would sit around a while before I needed it.... :/ Lunchtime saw me replacing tire and tube; it's a lot narrower and less tall but at least it worked for the ride home from work. Will hav to see tomorrow morning if it's holding air or leaked again.


So now I need new tires, and new tubes, as I have nothing left that I trust enough for a daily commuter wiht a St Bernard in the back.

I've wanted to try moped tires for a long time; now's my chance, since good bicycle-class tires would cost quite a bit, ($40-$50 minimum), and crappy ones that are cheaper will just cause me more problems like I've recently had. No thanks.

So i's either Shinko SR714 or Pirelli ML-75, based on what I've read around the forums on this. 2.25" is the widest I found hte shinko for, though the Pirelli comes in up to 3" at least. I don't have room in the fenders for 3", but might for 2.5" (and could cut/reweld if Have to).

Pirelli's cost about twice as much, though, so the Shinko will have to do.

The rightside rim will already take it, being an ex-Zero rim, but hte left is a narrow bicycle rim. Ypedal is fixing this problem by sendin me another of those Zero rims, for which I thank him profusely. Should be here next week early enough to relace the 9C motor into it.

(unless someone's got an X5304 laying around they don't want, to match the rightside motor :lol


I've started a thread here:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=76365
with some tire, tube, tire lever, and valve stem questions.

 

[amberwolf]

Shinko moped tires, and some moped/mc tubes, are on the way, ETA mid/late next week. (earlier would be better, but there were no options for shipping faster, only the free "standard" shipping).


I've been piling up parts I'll need to build the new trailer for Yogi, tubing, the wire crate/kennel, etc. I am not yet sure if I am going to just cut the original trailer to make the new wider/longer one, or leave it alone so I can still just use it with the plastic crate/kennel.

Probably I'll just start over from scratch, cuz I have some ideas to try out that won't be as easy if I modify the existing one (and if they don't work out, I can't go back easily or quickly to a working trailer).

Either way, I will almost certainly take the hitch and tongue off the MkIII trailer and use it on the new version, just because it is heavier duty, and replace it with the skinnier lighter duty one I had bought the day of the housefire (but didn't run across again until after I'd bought the new one).

That stuff will be over in a trailer thread, either the MkIII thread here if I mod that:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=63781&hilit=flatbed+kennel+trailer
or a new MkIV thread if I start a new one.


On the trike itself, a list of things I would like to do, in no particular order:

--finish the rack rebuild. Easy enough, just a few hours' work, I'd guess.

--Finish the wiring harness for the lighting bar, and mounts for it to put it at the seat back, the cargo bed, or the rear rack.

--change out the front turn signals (remove old plastic ones, replace with tougher chrome ones).

--Rewire much of the trike, with consistent wiring (rather than spliced scraps) that's hidden in the frame or covers over it.

--make the actual covers, with rivnuts in the frame to be able to screw them on, for the front frame "triangle", and the fenders, etc. (rather than the coroplast I'm presently using).


--build a new front suspension "fork" out of a rear linkage swingarm and an old steel front fork (for it's crown and steerer); this will let me use any of the rear hubmotors I have, including the disk-brake-capable Fusin "1000w" geared hub taht's already in a 26" wheel. I've got the suspension part (with a crappy spring) from a mongoose "hatchet" I think it is called. If I can find it, I had an old heavy junk suspension fork, that is a double-crown type, that i can use the top part of the legs, the steerer, and the clamps, to weld the legs to the suspension frame bits to give it something to pivot from. Haven't seen it since the housefire, though, so it might be gone.


--change the scooter headlight out for the car one the mount is meant for, and wire up a new switch for it's bright/dim filaments.

--build a "canopy" I can mount along with the windshield, for bad weather, or hot weather, etc., to shield me a little while riding.

--add a tailgate (for cargo retention) / ramp (for the dogs), and extend the fenders on their outer edges to make more of a containment of the cargo area at the back. There've been a number of times I used it without the crate/kennel on there, for cargo trips, where such containment would've been useful, as straps just didn't quite really hold stuff down as securely as I'd've liked, without that.



--rework the center frame and seat supports and cargo bed frame front end to better fit "trunk space" and batteries in there.

--make actual trays to secure the batteries in place, with locking covers that make it easy enough for me to change them out when needed, but secure enough to not be easy to just walk away with.


--add a 3-speed IGH (or two in series if necessary) to the pedal drivetrain, and regear the cranks so I can actually pedal along with the motor usefully, *and* still pedal it unpowered, albeit extremely slowly.

--Change the cranks out from the ashtabula type to the 3-piece square taper type, and move the BB and the seat forward a couple of inches, at least (as much as I can). This will also mean shortening the tiller tube on the steering. Doing these things will move the center of mass forward, making it better at keeping the front wheel traction good under non-ideal conditions (which it doesnt' do right now). It'll also take a bit of load off the back wheels, which should help them for durability, etc. I'll probably leave the old BB itself in place, so that I can change back to that if I have to. (and not actually cut the tiller tube at first, just move the bars forward on it) Might ahve to make the seat bolt-on instead of welded.

--re-lace the left motor into the new rim from Ypedal.

--Add stops to the righthand dropouts to ensure the axle/wheel always has a bit of negative camber, which might help with wheel stresses a bit, compared to completely vertical, for sideloads, since I turn pretty hard with this thing several times on every commute, twice a day.

--Add rim v-brakes in back (already have a cable installed for them to a lever up on the bars).

--switch out the seat padding for some new stuff...it's old and not really much padding anymore.

--make teh "dashboard" with switches and stuff, and a moutn for the CA, on the bars.

--make "brushguards" on the bars to block wind from my hands for cold nights, and rainy days, and vegetation (usually trees or bushes) taht grow out over the road in some places.


Keep finding myself dozing, posting the above list now so it doen't get lost, and will add ot it as I recall mor ideas.

 

[amberwolf]

Shinko tires arrived today. Tubes and left rim haven't yet.


View attachment 6

Will probably try mounting one of hte tires sans tube to the right tire tomorrow after a last trip to the store to get essential stuff, before I start disassembling the trike to where it's not quick to put back together to go get stuff with. And also put one of the battery packs back on CrazyBike2, and verify it's all still working, so I have it as a backup in case I have to go get stuff to finish the trike or something.

I didn't get anything actually done yet today, but have been digging bits out of storage and laying stuff out to get ready to start the modifications, and the trailer build.

The wire crate itself is setup in teh bedroom for Yogi to stay in for increasingly longer periods, to teach him to stay there and not go nuts, thru the week, so he'll be able to handle up to a few hours at a time while I'm working.



I've also been pondering a custom-built version of the wire crate, to fit over/around/between the fenders on the trike. It would give more room than the plastic kennel does, but not by very much; most of it at the back end. It would "be" the top rack as well, fitting on in place of it, with the lighting bar at it's back edge just above the door.

Probably it would be made of 1" square tubing at the corner/edges, top/bottom/sides, and then using some other old small wire crates taht are incomplete / broken, and some of the old broken dump bins/etc, for the "cage" sections. Stuff like this:


I can make some sort of holders to slide in sections of thick styrofoam on the top, probably sandwiched in with coroplast, to keep heat from direct sunlight from shining on the dog(s). (or cargo).

I could use this same thing on the trailer, if it's built right, to fit around the trailer wheels themselves, and allow me to use the same basic trailer with a couple of modifications to secure the crate to it, and alter the hitch to clear the door and stuff, but still leave it usable with the plastic crates/kennels, too.

To use it on the trailer it will need a sturdy solid bottom of some type, probably plywood with a metal grating under it to secure it to the rest of the crate. Wouldn't need that part on the trike but easier to just leave it as a permanent part than to make it removable to save the few pounds it will add.




At present, the crate I have that fits Yogi is too wide for the existing trailer, and too long, so I have to do something, either build the above or modify the trailer or build a new trailer just for it.



.

 

[amberwolf]

Looks like I might have to modify the fenders after all:
View attachment 9
that's the Shinko next to the trike, with the large BMX knobby actually on the wheel inside the fender. Top of pic is aligned so it's being viewed with the top of the fender parallel to the image axis, so it shows how tall the tire is, uninflated. It'll probably be bigger once inflated and mounted, so....


I'll deal wiht that when I get there, I guess.


In the meantime, wihtout the kennel on there, and the rack not finished yet, I need to have the lighting bar mounted somewhere for tomorrows store trip (which I was too exhausted to manage tonight). These are some pics of it just placed across the hitch mount, approximately how it will look once bolted on.










I also temporarily mounted one of the white downlight bars on the back edge of the seat to light up the cargo deck and the road around the trike. I was going to put it on the bottom of the lighting bar, even though it wouldn't light up any of the trike that way, but that sits right on the hitch bar when down there, so there's no room.

If I move the Grin Tech LED tail/brake light up to the top of the bar, I can put the downlighting on the back face of teh bar, and it'll then fit either place, but it will have to be removable because then it will be in teh way of the bolts that secure the bar to the trike.


I considered putting the whole light bar ont he back of the seat, but I still need to build and weld a mounting point for that on there, in such a way that I can still put the seat cover over it (cuz that has to come off during the welding or it will burn).
View attachment 2

So I put just the downlight on the back edge of the seat top bar, and will decide what exactly to do tomorrow when there's light enough to do the work outside. Mabe I will get it done the way I really wanted to on the seat back, *and* make the mods to the rear edge of the deck for alternate mounting, too.


The only big problem with it is that by some murphological coincidence, the bolt holes I drilled for it to mount to the rack's rear edge are EXACTLY spaced so that when it's down on the back of the cargo deck, they each end up in the center of the front-to-rear tubes that run under the deck, so that I cant' directly just drill bolt holes to put them in there. I would have to cut holes into the tubing to insert and weld nuts into place (which isn't really a bad idea, just complicated), or else I would have to re-drill new holes for mounting it down there vs on the rack (or redrill the rack, too).



.

 

[amberwolf]

At present, the crate I have that fits Yogi is too wide for the existing trailer, and too long, so I have to do something, either build the above or modify the trailer or build a new trailer just for it.

Maybe something like this for the new crate, so it could actuall be used on trike and trailer. problem is it ahs a lot less floor space in the middle, so Yogi couldn't sprawl out like he usually does. But it would work well for Tiny
.


the thick black lines are 1/2" square tubing, and the thin ones are the solid wire grill stuff. the solid gray areas would be coroplast tied over the metal from the inside of the crate, for padding/etc., except the bottom that would be plywood for durability.

 

[amberwolf]

No new construction yet, other than drilling the bolt holes in the cargo deck to actually mount the light bar as shown above. (for now I just offset it to the left enough to clear the frame stuff that is in the way of centering it, without drilling new holes in the lightbar itself).

Before starting on the trike/trailer, I had to make a grocery run, dind't get it done yesterday, so did it today with just the cargo deck and some coolers strapped down to it. post from another thread below has the only interesting bit of that trip:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=76162&p=1154969#p1154969


But while I was shopping, I had more thoughts on how to do the on-trike kennel in a way that is like a crate, but is removable without being an actual complete crate.

Since I am adding inserts to hold up the cargo rack, I could also use those to hold sides to the trike's cargo bed. So I thought, why not just build a rack that instead of just being a rack also has wire-rack type sides, like a dog crate. Then it still uses the deck itself as the bottom, and the fenders as part of the sides. Saves a bit of weight and space.

This means that in order to use it on the trailer, the trailer itself will also have to have a bed like the trike.

Since I'll have to modify the trike bed and fenders to mount the thing, and I will probably have to mod the fenders to fit the new tires, then before I build any of this I really need to mount the new tires on the trike, so I can fix the fenders, so I can then put the side-moutning hardware on the bed, and then build the kennel/crate on that, and then build the trailer to fit that.

I can save waiting for the wheel/tire stuff by just rebuilding hte fenders to ensure they will easily clear any tire/wheel I might use; it's easy enough.

But the other steps kinda need to be done in that order, which is a PITA.

I could do the trailer first and then mod the trike to fit the stuff already built, but it is a lot easier to build to the trike and then build the trailer around that.


The trailer, though, I think I will build wider than the trike, so that the space between the fenders is the same as the kennel/crate width, so Yogi has a lot more space to lay down and sprawl out in.

It'll still work fine with the same "top" as the trike would.


Anyway, it's still just a thought/concept, and will probably evolve as I get ready to build.


Also, this
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=76478
is a possible fix if I have tirespin problems with these Shinko's on my rims.

 

[Chalo]

When I made my trailer, I built the frame to fit 6-foot fence boards lengthwise. The frame is a rectangle made of square steel tube, with a couple of extra cross pieces in the short dimension. To avoid drilling into the frame to mount the deck, instead I drilled the deck boards on either side of the frame cross members and used zip ties to secure them.

Cedar fence boards are light (about 5/8" thick), cheap, plenty strong and stiff, weather resistant without paint, and easily replaceable. They don't warp or hold puddles of water like plywood.

 

[amberwolf]

The frame design is about how the present trailer is made, though I used a pre-existing frame from the bottom of a retail-store rolling book/magazine rack.

I'm still tempted to use that and expand it, cutting it in quarters and lengthening/widening it, but it's useful as it is, and I've got the materials to build one from scratch, which will be just as easy, and easier to build the wheel holders and supports/fender frames, as teh existing ones wouldn't do what I want, on the smaller trailer.


You're right about the differences between the boards and the plywood. I do have some pressure-treated 1"x6" boards leftover from the shed-building after the fire; most have some warping but would still work for this purpose. I am not sure if I have enough to do the whole surface, though. We'll see.


The mounting method will probably be the same as on the trike: tabs welded to the frame, boards screwed from underneath to the frame. (though the trike uses much thinner boards, because I had them from a nice-looking pallet that I disassembled for them).

If I have to I'll bolt them on, but screws should be sufficient with the board thickness I've got.


I'm probably going to put a cargo rack as teh top of the trailer, too, so it can hold heavy stuff on top as well as Yogi (or cargo) inside. Basically all the improvements to the smaller trailer I had intended to do will be part of the original build of the new trailer. Including rim brakes (gotta dig out the old bike frames to get the studs/parts off of).

It probably will be on the heavy side. :/ When I get the stuff to do it, it'll be in the cards to put a pair of hubmotors or something on it for assisting in moving it around and stopping it (regen).

 

[amberwolf]

Rims from Ypedal arrived:




with some extra goodies attached


that will be useful in monitoring the battery packs (lighting and traction) on-road, if I get some looooong extensions made up for the balance leads I coudl put them on the "dashboard".
(there's actually 3 of the larger ones, too, but the other is just out of frame).

Yogi came to investigate; Tiny was too bored with it to get up:



Both are snoring away now, Yogi in his rest-crate and TIny on the end of the bed.

I guess the next thing to do is go ahead and relace the left trike wheel with the new rim. The original spokes should fit. While I"m at it, I can see if the new tires fit easily on these rims or if I need to make or buy levers.

 

[amberwolf]

Comparison:




One is now laced up and tensioned/trued, replacing hte bicycle rim on the 9C on the left wheel. I had to reuse the spokes, which thankfully fit (I had planned on this when ordering those spokes, so they should've). When laced in the bike rim, I used alternating head-in/out on the spokes. When lacing in the new rim, I did the same as I did with the same type of rim on the right wheel: all head-in, to give the widest bracing angle, as the spoke holes in the rim are spaced widely, too.

Pics of it being laced, of it just laced, then tensioned and being trued using the ziptie-on-frame method. I got it within a mm everywhere; it's close enough for now. I can do it closer after its' ridden a few miles to break in.






I also test-fit the Shinko on there, using the CST "1.9"" bicycle tube inside it to partially inflate the tire (it's not large enough to fill the shinko before it might explode :lol to about 15-16PSI. Below is a pic of it pre-inflation; it's practically lost inside the tire:



The 15-16PSI is just enough to seat it on the rim.


and even then, as soon as I pulled the compressor off the stem, it almost disappeared inside the rim, and I had to use pliers to pull it out and put the valve cap on to keep that from happening agian while I took pics.
View attachment 8


Even with only that much pressure, the tire still holds up the trike weight (even with me on it it will roll without crushing the sidewall); any other tire I've used (bicycle-class) would've been totally flattened by just the trike weight at that pressure.



The Shinko was pretty easy to get on, using just one regular flatblade screwdriver. I think if my fingers worked right without hurting knuckles, I could probably get it on there without a lever, with a lot of pushing/pulling/squeezing (it doesnt' just slip on there though).

At this partial inflation, it clears the fender frame by a significant amount in all places, but I don't know if that will be true when fully inflated, especially at the top.





This is the Maxxis HolyRoller knobby I was going to put on the right side if I had to wait past this week to get the Shinkos installed; the Shinkos are significantly bigger than that:




While I'm here, this is how much movement (almost vertical) the axle has on the outer side of the left wheel, until I can get the hole drilled thru the plates and threads tapped.


I assume it *is* moving that much on every right turn, where sideloading pushes the bottom of the tire to the right, pulilng down on that axle/plate. The rightside would then be pivoting at the clamp point on the axle there.


Bored Yogi in the crate on hte porch in the shade, since he wanted to be outside with me really bad, this is the best I could do with him while I worked (we tried a leash tied to my belt but he kept wanting to try to chase moving things...in the crate he doesn't, really, so it's better for his knee healing).

Tiny had been laying on the porch next to him, but as soon as it got windy and gusty (15-20mph+) she headed inside. Yogi eventually decided it wasnt' worth being out there either, and I took him in and wetn back out to finish the stuff above, before taking a dinner break and post this stuff.



.

 

[DAND214]

NICE!

Dan

 

[amberwolf]

Thanks! We'll see how the tires and stuff work out over time.

Started a new build thread for the new trailer stuff:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=76539

Didn't get much else done today besides sorting old bike parts to find rim brake bits (for the trike to make rear brakes, and for the trailer to give it brakes), and trying to find wood for the trailer floor.

 

[amberwolf]

Dinner break, so posting trike and trailer progress and pics (trailer over here:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=76539&p=1158285#p1158285
with pics)

Tubes came today, but apparently the sender can't tell the difference between a 0 and a 6, cuz they sent 10" tubes, which I can't use. :/ The actual package appears to have originally been marked as 17", wiht the 7 hand-changed into a 0, which makes it even more confusing, but the actual tubes inside are definitely neither 16" nor 17". They agreed to take them back, but I'm not gonna waste time risking whether they send the right thing next time, or wrong thing again, so just gonna go for a refund (which they won't do till they receive them back, so I'm out that money until they get around to that).

In the meantime, after experiencing much the same problem I did last time I tried calling around for anything at these places, Raine found a place locally that supposedly has a pair of the right size (hopefully they can read/etc), and Bill and I will pick them up Saturday when we do lunch; they're just far enough away that I'd really rather not ride there until after I've got the new tires/tubes installed and tested...whcih I can't do until I go there. :/ So its safer to just wait and do it later with Bill,. though I would much rather do it right now.

(I could possibly do it on Crazybike2, but that's been sitting a while including being rained on a couple times, and has both the battery and the CAv2 off of it and on the trike instead, so I'd need to put that stuff back and retest it all before heading out on a longer trip like that. I am way behind on the trailer build and trike fixes, so I'd rather not waste the time with doing all that (and then putting them back on the trike afterward), as well as the actual trip time itself, since Bill and I would be out and about anyway, and can just choose to do lunch in that area).



I've found the old bike frame with the BB I'd be using for moving hte cranks forward, and set it aside; also found hopefully enough bits (some still onf rames, some not) to do the brakes on both the trailer wheels and the trike rear wheels.


I don't think there will be enough time to do all teh things I want this time around, but since I have to redo fender frames anyway, I might as well put the brake bosses on there even if I don't get the brakes installed yet.

 

[amberwolf]

Got the correct tubes, installed and fit the tires, and they don't touch the fender frames--several mm of clearance at worst.







So I don't have to rebuild the fender frames, which is good, cuz I didn't really want to yet. (no time right now).

The new tires feel like they ride better in the local neighborhood, but I'm not sure if they'll be the same on the rougher roads of my commute.

I've got them at their rated max, 33PSI, though I need to deflate them a little and reseat them to evenly go on the rim (right now they're at least a few mm out of round due to the uneven seating, and you can feel that as a wobble.

right-angle adapters for the valves work great; shoulda had these years ago.



Trailer is finished enough to do a test ride with the frame, so I did, seems to work ok like that; needs a load test to be sure, once the bed is covered to have a palce to put the load.
View attachment 7

.

 

[amberwolf]

Nightime pics of SB cruiser and the new trailer:

 

[amberwolf]

daytime pics, with yogi in trailer:


View attachment 1



Oh, i forgot to post several posts back, when redoing the wheels/tires, that I might've found the source of the change in wh/mile; the left wheel "sticks" really hard when spinning by hand sometimes. I havent' found the specific problem yet, but i suspect the bearings in the 9C covers. if it is, there's probably a chip out of one, and sometimes it's getting caught in a bearing as it rolls by. I have other covers, I think, if I have to replace the bearings I can use the ones in those.

The right side (x5304) has a different problem; every revolution there is a noise as if something is touching, hitting, scraping, etc. It's a small noise, but there with or without load. Could be a bearing, or something else.

Next time I have things apart, I need to open up the covers and check.

 

[amberwolf]

Pulling Yogi in the new trailer, plus the trike's new Shinko tires, is about 70+ wh/mile for power usage, on the 5-ish mile work commute.

I'll test the trike without trailer at some point (had planned to this weekend, but see here for why I couldn't
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=76539&p=1161482#p1161482 ), and see how much the tires are eating by themselves.

ALso didn't get to any of the other trike repairs/mods....

 

[amberwolf]

crosspost from the trailer thread:

Today I managed to hit every light green, every traffic crossing or turn clear, so I didn't have to stop but a couple times each way (where there are actual stop signs), so wh/mile was only 61 average (vs 70+ previously).

Still high but shows that the real loss is from acceleration not from drag/rolling resistance (though I'm sure there is some of that, too, with the open-framework trailer/crate being so low to the ground it's not as much as the trike itself by any means, I'm sure).


I keep forgetting utnil I am on the road or am already in bed that I need to align the tires on the rims better, to eliminate the off-roundness causing bumpiness that resonates at various speeds while riding.

:/

 

[iangreenhalgh]

Nice work. I'm sure you'll grow to love those moped tires. I put a pair of Michelin M45 3.25 wide 16 inchers on 20 inch BMX wheels and they are just so much more robust than any bicycle tire - they must be 3x the weight of a bicycle tire which means 3x as much rubber. I think moped tires are a great solution for ebikes, especially cargo carrying ones.

 

[amberwolf]

We'll see how they work out but I expect much better life from them if nothing else.

I took both Tiny (in the trike) and Yogi (in the trailer) today, and got about 76wh/mile average, and 82wh/mile on the way there.


Also, it takes about 9 seconds to accelerate from a complete stop to just a hair under 20mph, with that load, at WOT, pulling 3000-3500+ watts almost the whole time. That test was only done on the way home, as there was way too much stupid traffic to spend time on counting/etc.

 

[iangreenhalgh]

Yeah, with the thicker tire and thicker motorbike inner tubes I used I can't imagine getting a puncture on one without running over something really nasty.

Sounds like you've got things working really nice, that's pretty good haulage capacity and watts used.