recumbent Trike

[billym1967]

hi all. just a quick one. has anyone electrified a recumbent Trike. if so what would the best conversion to do rear wheel or mid Drive and what would the legal aspects be. the first issue i think could be the weight.

any info or advice

 

[Nealh]

Twinkle's your man, I mean your woman. Emma has built a few from scratch though not been posting much for a while now.
One of her previous build threads.
http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/building-a-20-wheel-tadpole-e-trike-from-scratch.17880/page-2#post-222518

Other notable trikers, E-homer, Aushiker and D8ve the other one who has now left the forum.

 

[billym1967]

interesting thanks. even though a number of years ago i did a lot of motor bike to trike conversions, the bigest being a vn1500. i have my eye on a trike so its just working out the best option and the legalitys.

 

[billym1967]

i found some rules and by what i'm reading its the same for trikes as bike apart from the overall weight.

 

[anotherkiwi]

A trike is on my list of things to do ASAP. Two strategies as you say, I have a spare hub motor in a 26" wheel so that is an easy choice to make

The EM3ev 250 W 25 Amp BBS02 motor being my favorite option because you have a wider choice of gearing and lots of street legal power, it should climb a whole lot of hills at 25 km/h!

Both of these are pedelec builds within the spirit of the law. For crazy power hungry hot rodders https://etrike.wordpress.com/ is the place to go. 68 km/h WOT with a hub motor overvolted to 90 volts...

 

[Deleted member 4366]

There's no weight limit on trikes anymore.

 

[billym1967]

thanks d8veh.

 

[billym1967]

to be honest anotherkiwi. i got a bit carried away with bikes and have ended up with 5 1/2 lol and i tend to ride the same one. so i have 4 kits doing very little. a 250 and 500 rear wheel and a 250 mid-drive though i'm not that impressed with that. i have a feelinhg that theres something wrong in the settings. but where i bought it from there after sales assistance has been crap.

 

[Nealh]

250 mid-drive though i'm not that impressed with that. i have a feelinhg that theres something wrong in the settings. but where i bought it from there after sales assistance has been crap.

If it's a Bafang BBS01 then the factory settings are very tame to prevent warranty issues or failure, so not a dealer issue with the drive. They can be reprogrammed by the individual using the appropriate programming lead and free download software available.

 

[billym1967]

the main issue is it feels underpowered, but that could be because my normal bike is a 500w. but the other problem is it wont pull away with the throttle. once moving its fine.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Several forum members have electrified trikes, some have used hub-motors and some crank-drives. I wouldn't say that one is better than the other. Like with bicycles, it's a matter of finding a system that meets your needs. If you want the motor just to help climbing, I'd choose a hub-motor. If you want help for climbing and at max speed, then a crank-drive. If you just want help to boost your high speed, then a hub-motor.

Sometimes, the design of the trike limits what you can do. If you don't already have the trike, before committing to buy, you should show it here, so that we can check the possibilities.

 

[billym1967]

im still negotiating on it, but thats great advice, as i want it for climbing and top speed maybe a hub. but as i have a few options i may try both out. lol

 

[billym1967]

so yet another question lol. does anyone know where to get front end steering parts, hubs and wheels for a recumbent trike. a kit would be great.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

http://www.atomiczombie.com/

Ask on their forum.

 

[billym1967]

Funny you should send that. I've just ordered one of there build instructions

 

[billym1967]

well i got the plans and being honest as i used to convert motorbikes into trikes there not overly complicated. though would be a bit basic. ive been looking and theres not much in the uk on recumbent trikes and those electrics ive found, well you would have to remortgage for one lol. so me getting carried away, ive got a 26in rear wheel coming from Taiwan, and depend on what o get stung on import duty, it should work out at a good price. ive also just bought a KMX cobra. so im going to have a bit play and see what i can do.

 

[anotherkiwi]

I also looked at the KMX (Tornado), what put me off was the direct steering and the disk brakes and the bucket seat... Too many components to upgrade to make it work for me.

So I have doubled my project budget and get in return SA 90 mm brakes (they don't fade on steep descents), a mesh seat (37°C here today...), folding system so I can keep it downstairs, tank Akerman steering, alloy frame...

Carefully check your motor wheel spoke tension after about 100 km of careful riding (check of course before fitting also). A trike will be less generous in case of loose spokes because of the increased forces at play on your back wheel and they will break without warning.

Have fun!

 

[billym1967]

thanks for that. ive done some more digging and bought a plan, the front end is the hardest bit. the plans show you how to do one using bike bits but its crude. ive also found out most of the front end parts are made in tiawan. trouble is its hard to find who makes them to buy some.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Send a message to forum member Twinkle. She and her friends have built a few. i'm sure she'll give you all the help you need.

 

[billym1967]

thanks