KrisWood
100 mW
At risk of posting my project on too many forums, here I go again hehe
I'm currently working on a Thunderbolt based tadpole trike in wood because I have neither the skill nor equipment to do any welding whatsoever but have ample tools, knowledge, and materials to build it from wood. I've purchased the full MKIII plans from http://www.hellbentcycles.com/ as they are both very complete and within my skill level to fabricate. They also seem to be a fairly simple / efficient design which are very much what I'm looking for.
The final product will be a fully enclosed velomobile inspired by the older Morgan race cars but with a much more modern and aerodynamic aesthetic. The body will be waterproof cloth over a bent wood frame.
Design requirements:
My original idea had been a delta rickshaw but after deciding on a tadpole for a number of reasons I discovered it would no longer be feasible to put the children in pannier-like seats on either side of the drive wheel.
In more recent concept sketches the pannier seats have been omitted, resulting in a more traditional velomobile design:
These were both based on the Thunderbolt MKI designs on ihpva.org and I'm currently working on new concept sketches based on the MKIII.
My main question at the moment is over how to approach the drivetrain. I'm not using a hub motor so as far as I can tell that leaves me with three options:
Are there other options than these three? Which would you recommend? I'd love to hear any feedback!
Edit: I've posted this project on a few other forums to get more exposure / answers to questions. Here are links to the others:
I'm currently working on a Thunderbolt based tadpole trike in wood because I have neither the skill nor equipment to do any welding whatsoever but have ample tools, knowledge, and materials to build it from wood. I've purchased the full MKIII plans from http://www.hellbentcycles.com/ as they are both very complete and within my skill level to fabricate. They also seem to be a fairly simple / efficient design which are very much what I'm looking for.
The final product will be a fully enclosed velomobile inspired by the older Morgan race cars but with a much more modern and aerodynamic aesthetic. The body will be waterproof cloth over a bent wood frame.
Design requirements:
- As inexpensive as possible
- As simple as possible (and no welding!)
- Built from as many salvaged / recycled / repurposed materials as possible.
- Must have room for myself plus at least some cargo, possibly a child or two in the final product (not necessary in this first prototype)
My original idea had been a delta rickshaw but after deciding on a tadpole for a number of reasons I discovered it would no longer be feasible to put the children in pannier-like seats on either side of the drive wheel.
In more recent concept sketches the pannier seats have been omitted, resulting in a more traditional velomobile design:
These were both based on the Thunderbolt MKI designs on ihpva.org and I'm currently working on new concept sketches based on the MKIII.
My main question at the moment is over how to approach the drivetrain. I'm not using a hub motor so as far as I can tell that leaves me with three options:
- A left-side freewheel on the rear hub (simplest to design but most difficult to implement given my current machining capabilities)
- A jackshaft to combine the motor / pedals to a drive chain to the rear wheel (moderate difficulty since I have no idea how a jackshaft works, and takes up the most space so working it into the design will be more difficult)
- A freewheel crank for a serial drivetrain (easy to work into the design and moderately difficult to implement without buying parts or some serious fabrication)
Are there other options than these three? Which would you recommend? I'd love to hear any feedback!
Edit: I've posted this project on a few other forums to get more exposure / answers to questions. Here are links to the others:
- My original research thread: http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php/evelotaxii-44876.html
- Build log on DIYEC: http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php/project-tempest-wooden-tadpole-46000.html
- Build log on the Hellbent site: http://hellbentcycleworks.yuku.com/topic/919
- Build log on bentrideronline.com: http://www.bentrideronline.com/messageboard/showthread.php?t=61097