Building a 20" wheel tadpole e-trike from scratch

[twinkle]

If you fit a set of pannier bags you could keep the weight well down and have the batteries easily removable for transport still.
Handling wise further forward would be better, Greenspeed always recommended 1/3 weight over each wheel and their trikes handle very well.

I am rather old school when it comes to battery mounting , everything should be fitted to the trike , I wont put batteries in a bag ,or mount on the rack as it is too high ( I learnt the hard way mounting the batteries on the rack )

I have the panniers and the rack as stated above i. The next problem having used the mudguard eyelets for the rear disc mount I need to re engineer the mounting for the rack .i will make three new arms to fit the rack to the trike.
The trike will dismantle into 3 main pieces and I am working on the placement of the heavier duty connectors for the" pedal less " sensor and other items which are fitted on the removable part of the front boom .

The battery should mount just behind the seat , this will add a little more weight to the rear and make the trike weight distribution about 65% front and 35% rear unloaded , , Then I will get someone to read off the scales the weight when I am aboard . The problems arise on a trike under braking and the weight is transferred onto the front wheels cause the rear wheel to lock up ,

This trike only has a 140mm rear disc and already shows the characteristic lock up under medium braking

Since the previous Photo (a few posts ago ) the trike now has Under Seat Steering fitted and it does make quite a difference to the handling .
This trike front boom uses a round down tube/seat tube salvaged from a bike it is adjustable on the cross boom end with pinch bolts . The heavier looking joint is the point where the cross boom is pinched between the front and rear sections of the main boom , inside the cross boom are fitted anti-crush bushes to keep the shape under compression . Even folding pedals have been used to help reduce the space taken up when the trike is dismantled .

regards emma

 

[twinkle]

Hi Folks.

Since changing the batteries back to SLA , we had a change of direction , We have decided to keep the second 20/20 and upgrade the trike to virtually the same specification as the red one . This means we have two trikes for the winter with virtually the same range and gearing as the weather is too cold at present to strip and spray the transportable .
Keeping this trike means we can go out with one in the boot and the other on the roof rack .

We changed the flat handlebars for a different shape set that allows a choice of grip , the new bars allow both the conventional bike grip of thumbs down and thumbs up and hand on the outside , this second position is made possible as it has a pedelec sensor and a twist grip throttle fitted .An identical pair of wing mirrors have been fitted as the red ones mirrors were also successful.

We have installed a 327 rpm q100 motor built into a black rim in place of the old Currie motor and fitted a 7 speed 11-32 freewheel ,. The band brake has been replaced by a 140mm rear disc brake and we refitted refitted the 37v 9ah bottle pack . Both trikes have a useful range of 15 miles on undulating terrain including 5 or 6 steep climbs and several long drags on both the outgoing and return journeys. the gear ratios are 18" to 86" and have proved successful on the red trike . Ken is pleased with the upgrade and is happy with the trike .

as the upgrade progresses the rear disc brake mount has been cut and manufactured from 40mmx 3mm and bolts to the rear mudguard eyes of the rear triangle
The jack shaft has been removed and the rear mechanism has been moved to the conventional position at the rear. The new handlebars were manufactured from a pair of mtb straight bars and a pair of BMX bars

As usual most parts including the handlebars are home built for the job.
Cut and sleeved ready to weld
welded and cleaned up sprayed with 2 coats of primer and satin black and ready to fit

The 3 stages in making a custom set of handlebars from Peacehaven its a nice ride along the coast to Brighton for a fish and chip lunch and home before it gets dark.
regards emma

 

[twinkle]

Hi Folks

A break in the colder weather got us out on the trikes at the weekend again and a little more development on the second battery pack for the trike . This is a 10 ah LifePO4 battery that is an optional battery to increase the range , it will be tested on the rear rack to see if it affects the handling before being made permanent , this should increase the range by over 100% as the standard bottle battery is only 9 AH.

The batteries came without end caps and replacement end caps were manufactured by the Sandman . Stainless Allen bolts were used in the rebuild and should help if they need to be dismantled for servicing .
I built the sliding rack to hold the battery as shown in the photo complete with a pair of thumbgrundles (left ) to hold the battery in the rack , even the end of the 19mm spacer tubes have plastic end caps to give a professional touch to the installation . hopefully we should have it all installed just after Christmas and test the battery to check the stability of the trike and the extra range the battery will give .

Happy Xmas all and thanks for the support and comments I have received over the past year on the trikes .

regards emma

 

[twinkle]

Hi Folks

We have been rather busy lately with the save Preston Park cycle track
slow ride and a few other bike related projects .

Last month I purchased a vinyl cutter and software and as it has been so cold I have started to produce my own vinyl decals for some of our projects that are currently under " construction "

Finally we have completed the two storey trike rack and have started to use the trikes a lot more as the warmer weather is now on its way ,

We have ridden out several times to the cafe on the lower " esplanade " since they now allow cyclists to use it from Saltdean to Brighton Marina and a little opportunity has come to surface on the blue trike , it is "current limiting" on steep hills a bit to soon for Ken's liking and does not have the pulling power of the q100 s controller on the red trike another little problem to solve with another controller .
The problem with both trikes is the smaller 9ah batteries that will be the subject to upgrade to 15 ah next to give a better range than the 15 miles we are getting at present using assist all the time .

Anyway a picture says a 1000 words so



regards emma
.

 

[twinkle]

Both trikes are over a year old now and have received a few modifications along the way , Last weekend we had a few nights away and took both trikes down to Selsey again .
Kens trike has had the controller replaced and the climbing power has increased and we have rebuilt the front wheels with Quando MTB hubs fitted with 14mm spindles and fitted new tyres .

Here is a pre holiday photo of one of our rides along the coast to Brighton .


Taking a touring Holiday out of season means quieter roads and an almost empty touring field .The trikes ran well ( 4 nights /5 days ) and were used as everyday transport . The battery range is about 15-20 miles on the 9ah batteries with the middle power setting on the controller



regards emma

 

[twinkle]

reopening the old thread again , a lot has happened in the last 4 years . Both trikes have undergone many mods and upgrades and are still in use .We have now worn out the original batteries and have now a pair of new ones , the front discs have been upgraded to 8" discs and a new shaped seat made for both trikes , I lost mum last year and the past year has been very different for me .

 

[twinkle]

A lot of the original photos have gone missing due to me using postimage as a photo host , sorry that is out of my hands.
We lost my Friend John earlier in the year who was one of our Zombie fest group , John was a Triker and a very good engineer who designed and built the Folding frame on project X and his counter poise and balanced boot mounted trike carrier. He was only 70 and is missed by our little group .
I will leave you with the photos of his unique
trike carrier . Taken on our last camping trip together. John and a couple of his friends took their home built trikes on a few trips to Holland.