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Tilting tadpole - with thanks to Alan Maurer

Discussion in 'Homebuilt and Modifications' started by Popshot, Jun 4, 2022.  |  Print Topic

  1. Popshot

    Popshot

    Region:
    North
    State/Country:
    England (UK)
    City:
    Wakefield
    Ride:
    Homebuilt
    brake and gear cables on but not tuned. I'm waiting for some extension cables for the motor but can at least try it out unassisted tomorrow. I have ceramic pads in these calipers so I'm expecting some bite. Picture also shows the location of the lower mount - right at the point of contact with the main beam. Although I have an extra long cage on the derailleur it can't cope with the range of both the front and rear rings so I'll set it to manage the top end gearing rather than the lower end on the basis the assist will make the lower gears less needed. I need to make a place to add the LCD display and add some bar tape plus reglue on the missing velcro for the seat mat. The "panniers" will arrive next week and I'll need to order some specialist mounting hardware once I can measure the locking hole diameter. I plan to use the holes for the main mounts and have devised a way to do this whilst still allowing them to open plus safeguard the contents to some degree too. More on that as the mounting develops.


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  2. Popshot

    Popshot

    Region:
    North
    State/Country:
    England (UK)
    City:
    Wakefield
    Ride:
    Homebuilt
    First thoughts...
    Firstly I can't use the largest rear cog as it's too close to the motor and the derailleur hits it. Not the end of the world but annoying. The marks are from just a handful of yards. I could space the freewheel off slightly but I'm already at max on the axle width so will likely have to suck it up and run just 9 cogs.


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    Secondly it has the turning circle of an oil tanker. This will be fine on an open road but useless navigating tight spaces. Turning on a residential road is a three point turn or 5 if you **** it up but reversing is easy enough. This would be a major issue for an every day use vehicle. For a Sunday day out much less so to the point of being little problem.
    Thirdly, it's actually quite nice to ride. The steering takes some thought to use though I expect that to become less mental effort as I get used to it. Tilting is easy down either way and easy back up by lifting on one bar whilst pushing down on the other. From this initial impression this is the best tilter I've built and I look forward to trying some fast corners.
    Fourthly the brakes are very powerful. Those cheap Chinese red calipers with ceramic pads are highly recommended. I'm glad I swapped the linkages over from Alan's trike to brace by pushing and would recommend anyone following to do the same. The rear brake will likely be very much used on this because of this design aspect of the front brakes rotating the caster.
    Fifthly I can get the trike to stand on it's own by the expedient of tightening the bolts that pivot the front wheels. A little friction goes a long way without getting in the way of tilting it when required. Whether this will need regular re-tightening to keep this feature I know not yet but it's nice to have.
    Sixthly, stainless is a nice material if you can stand the loss of many drill bits.

    Not quite finished but I can see the finish line.


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    tripod likes this.
  3. Popshot

    Popshot

    Region:
    North
    State/Country:
    England (UK)
    City:
    Wakefield
    Ride:
    Homebuilt
    Battery now attached and the controller is in the under seat bag which is bolted to the seat and also holds a few tools. Space was tight as I never envisaged using that space. With the benefit of hindsight a bit more space would have been useful. I've noticed that hard pedalling wants to rock the trike which in turn wants to slalom it. It needs the bars forward in straight line use to remove steering from the swaying action which requires some constant pressure as the bars naturally want to rest at 45 degrees of camber. I suspect much is down to me needing to improve rather than a technical solution. One other thing I've noticed is the tyre scrub. Without Ackerman this is both heard and felt and is the reason for choosiing the fairly skinny front Marathons which have as low a rolling resistance as there is whilst having good puncture protection. I suspect some extra air in them will help but I always knew this was a design issue with little chance of resolving. I'm still having the tendency to over lean into a corner especially to tighten the line when in fact pulling on the bars is the better option. Once leaned the bars make a substantial difference to the turn. Again more learning needed but I am tightening the turning circle with practise. I also need a wider BB as the chain now clears the battery by 2mm on the big front ring. The smaller one is currently unusable until that change is made.

    Enough of issues though as the smile is wide on watching other's faces as you slalom a bit just because you can. After improvements in my technique I've tightened the turning circle and my current view is that this is capable of being in regular use rather than just a Sunday machine and I see no reason why anyone who wants to shouldn't build something similar. If anyone wants better pictures of any area or measurements I will happily oblige.


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    tripod likes this.
  4. Popshot

    Popshot

    Region:
    North
    State/Country:
    England (UK)
    City:
    Wakefield
    Ride:
    Homebuilt
    I've put in a 127mm bb for extra clearance. The big ring is now fine but the small is still tight. Given the motor the small ring is largely redundant tbh. I moved the pas sensor to the right hand side as that's where it was designed to be. I deliberately took it through Ossett precinct for maximum ogle factor and wasn't disappointed by the heads swivelling. upload_2022-6-4_23-28-50.gif All being well I'll take it for a longer run tomorrow to shake it down.
     
  5. Popshot

    Popshot

    Region:
    North
    State/Country:
    England (UK)
    City:
    Wakefield
    Ride:
    Homebuilt
    The above posts are taken over from another forum and anything from here on in is live.

    I've had this in a reasonably finished usable state now for a few weeks and it works well. I've improved my technique and learned the foibles and idiosyncrasies that this machine has and can say hand on heart it's the best machine I've built and I've built a few. It never fails to make me smile and it draws many admiring looks which then become surprised ones when it tilts.
     
    A.D. likes this.
  6. Rocketmantn

    Rocketmantn Rider

    Region:
    East
    State/Country:
    TN
    City:
    Knoxville
    Ride:
    Strada, Corsa
    Name:
    Jon
    Thanks for the anthology of building a tilting trike.
     
  7. Popshot

    Popshot

    Region:
    North
    State/Country:
    England (UK)
    City:
    Wakefield
    Ride:
    Homebuilt
    I got into a bit of a tank slapper at 35-40mph down a large hill. I got it down to 10mph or so before it spat me off the high side which thankfully is very low. One taccoed wheel and a few other bent bits such as steering arm, rod end and main beam.

    cJT7o7w.jpg

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    A new pair of stronger wheels and a steering damper later and...

    pU4kaBb.jpg

    IUBKIRj.jpg

    The main beam had twisted slightly but that twisted back via two large bars inserted at opposite ends of the main beam. I'll replace the arms and rod ends with female rod ends and M8 high tensile rod with a 12x8mm carbon outer sleeve bracing it. I've bent male rod ends many times now (M8 and M10) and won't be using them again unless specifically needed. I've more leverage over the damper than the maker intended so it's maxed out on it's rate though feels about right at that setting. Time will tell if it prevents another off.
     
    tripod likes this.
  8. A.D.

    A.D. #1 Custodian

    Region:
    SouthEast
    State/Country:
    TN
    City:
    Athens
    Ride:
    Reynolds T-Bone
    Name:
    AD
    :jawdrop: Oh my, that had to be an artery-clearing ride! :nailbiter: Glad you were able to get it slowed down. Just happy you were on three wheels and not two, while in the midst of something like this! :surprised:
     
  9. Railtrailer

    Railtrailer

    Region:
    NorthEast
    State/Country:
    NY
    City:
    Nyack
    Ride:
    HP Velotechnik Gekko
    ****, dude, that is some impressive engineering. Well done!
     

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