The (still not electrified) trike WORKS! With pix.

Thaddeus

Thaddeus

10 mW
Joined
Mar 24, 2007
Messages
28
Location
St Paul, MN
Got home from work, got the chain sorted out (more or less) and the sprocket ratios fixed, got "some" brakes happening, added nylon washers to the steering connect points to take out the slack. Sprayed some black primer on there to keep the rust in hand.

And now it works! :D

trike.jpg


Black and menacing... :twisted:

trike2.jpg


Kind of looks like a big bug...

zoom1.jpg


The moment of truth!

zoom2.jpg


Life is FUN!

Tomorrow I'm heading out to REI to buy a disk brake kit... I have to get the rear wheel so I can stop.

Little by little... it's going to get there. One problem at a time.

Once it's viable as a trike, adding power will be easy... an hour's work tops.

Time for a tall drink of water! :D
 
Your facial expression says it all...

Nice work!

I'd love to learn to weld and construct something similar -- probably though with 3 hubmotors. :D
 
Imagine something like that made to be absolutely 100% legal, but with a PS2 controller to make it move around (vestigial pedals) and for seating a reclining lazy-boy. That would be sweet!
 
Amazing how much a lick of paint can improve things 8) Real nice looking trike, all the more impressive because you built it yourself!
 
Well done Thaddeus! Man you work fast. Took me about six months to do what you've done in a few weeks.

How does she handle on corners. Did you manage get the twitchiness sorted out?
 
Top job, looks great.
Re brakes I strongly advise not fitting a back brake unless for parking only, just 2 front ones.
Pop some nice high psi slicks all round and your ready for racing (it's amazing how much some good slicks will pickup your speed)
Can't get over what a difference the paint makes, hmmm might have to get around to painting the delta at last. :oops:
 
Why no rear brake? Not needed for straight line braking even in the rain? How do you balance the cornering and braking forces all around when coming up to the apex of a turn?
 
A rear brake does allow sliding etc. but at higher speed because the rear is very lightly loaded it causes instability.
Some of the reported incidents with rear brake use include riding in a straight line and grabbed the rear and front brakes together and instantly rolled.
Latest one a trike fitted with a rear disc for parking purposes applied the brake as a drag brake on a steep down hill to control speed the trike started fishtailing and rolled into a ditch.
The rear brake is next to useles if you have front ones as well as the weight tranfers forward under brakes leaving the rear close to weigthless especialy under emergency braking.
 
Geebee said:
A rear brake does allow sliding etc. but at higher speed because the rear is very lightly loaded it causes instability.
Some of the reported incidents with rear brake use include riding in a straight line and grabbed the rear and front brakes together and instantly rolled.
Latest one a trike fitted with a rear disc for parking purposes applied the brake as a drag brake on a steep down hill to control speed the trike started fishtailing and rolled into a ditch.
The rear brake is next to useles if you have front ones as well as the weight tranfers forward under brakes leaving the rear close to weigthless especialy under emergency braking.
Click to expand...

I'd be interested to know what kind of front braking system was being employed on the trike that rolled. It sounds to me as though there was unbalanced braking effort being applied, they maybe got lock on the rear wheel and one front, and the last one dug in.

What would have caused the fishtailing in the other example is beyond me.
 
i was doing 24mph on a windy day and started fishtailing. didn't dare hit brakes! thats w/2 wheels.
.
3 or 4 wheelers are very dangerous.
i tried 4 wheels on my psev and nearly rolled it several times. i now avoid 3 or 4. i avoid unicyces too LOL
 
I've gotten this thing to the point I can ride it around and push it kind of hard. It's not electrified yet, but the brakes are solid front and rear and I can shift gears and go up and down hills. I put some new tires on the front to decrease the rolling resistance-- they're called Maxxis 'TapeWorms' (radical, dude!) and can be run at 110 psi. I'm running them at 90 psi.

I have been taking this thing up to 25-30 mph going downhill. (Let me tell you, 30 mph feels MIGHTY fast. MIGHTY fast.) The steering's still kind of sensitive. But the biggest problem is the rear brake, as was predicted above by some thread contributors.

When I do panic stops from top speed, it does great from 30-10. At 10, the back wheel locks and the thing starts to go sideways. The first time it did it, it caught me by surprise, and I did not correct it until I was almost broadside. I then did a series of runs where I learned that, just like a car, if you steer into the skid, the thing can be controlled. Now it's just fun, because I can play with it, but it wouldn't be optimal if I was really trying to stop to avoid hitting something (or getting hit).

I'm also going to get a Maxxis tire for the rear. The rear tire is currently a cheap, knobby mountain bike tire, probably more prone to lock than a smooth tire would on pavement. I'd like to be able to avoid skids and getting it sideways , and anyways if I can get enough traction back there so the wheel never locks I'll shorten my stopping distance.

The other solution, of course, is to let go of the back brake when it starts to skid. Once the wheel resumes turning the trike straightens right out. Antilock brake system, anybody?:lol:

Right now, it requires driver awareness and interaction to master, but maybe there's a technical fix I can apply.

Anyways it's an interesting problem and one I will be giving thought to.
 
Thad, having fun much? :D

One thought on the rear skidding.
Have you decided on battery placement yet?
Can you get some battery weight on the rear wheel?
I would think that would give the rear wheel more traction during braking.
At least maybe it wouldn't skid until you're down to 5 mph or so.

Later
Kyle
 
Tweak your front brakes for maximum power (Photos of the brakes?) and use the rear for parking, you will find that with decent front brakes the rear is useless.
Regarding the fishtailing incident it was on a trike with no brake steer and front discs, as you have discovered its the rear brake locking, in his case grabbing intermittently due to surface irregularities.
Glad to hear you are enjoying it.
 
After a day of thought and sketching out massive redesigns of the braking system, I resolved the issue through the high-tech method of: letting a little air out of the back tire. It was at 65 psi, now it's at 55 psi. Which made the tire contact patch bigger, which gave it more grip, which prevented locking, which prevented a skid.

Yes, my rolling resistance is a tiny bit higher. Nothing's perfect. Still, I can now ride with confidence. 8)
 
The problem with the cure is that on steep hills it will return big time, similar issue as the new brakes bed in.
If you are using caliper brakes you can get converters to run v-brakes instead which will boost braking significantly, draw back being the rear brake will become redundent or dangerous dependent upon use.
If you live somewhere flat please disregard and enjoy. :)
Glad to hear you are enjoying your new ride.
 
Mr T, You say you have "Maxis Tapeworms" but I only find Maxis Hookworms and Ringworms -- which tire do you have?

Thanks,
Al
 
Ringworms on front, a hookworm in back. I'm always getting my parasites confused.

I kind of wish the maxxis marketing people would pick a different naming convention. My kid asked me what those things are right before dinner and the explanation almost made him not able to eat his din-din.
 
Oh, that's classic!

roflcopter7.gif
 
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