I waited a long time for this:)

[KeganSnow]

Hello all my name is Kegan (an apology in advance if my post a bit disjointed as I am extremely socially awkward). This is my first build. I’m already dreaming of the next build. Perhaps in aluminum I was hopping that if I provided more pics of this build if the community could tell me of any obvious mistakes I’ve made?

 

[edspedalcars]

Nice job Kegan. Did you do the seat?

 

[DannyC]

It all looks very good from here.

 

[KeganSnow]

The seat was bought as a set from amazon for $100. I believe that their original intent was to be bar stools. The second one I’m reupholstering in leather and separating the two halves a bit.

 

[stormbird]

Congratulations in finishing it and being able to ride it.

Couple of observations ?

I hope you intend to use some sort of pedal straps/cleats to save you from leg suck , it can be very dangerous on a tadpole trike.

Why does it have a steering damper , are you having steering problems

If the steering is twitchy it may be the ASS steering ? USS might make it nicer to ride.

Ride would be better if the rear tyre was less lumpy !

regards Paul

 

[Radical Brad]

Nice Work!
Brad

 

[KeganSnow]

Thanks guys. Good point on the pedals. At 52 I don’t recover from injury as well as I used to. So an once of prevention as it were Are there any brands/designs that you might recommend?

Yes I am experiencing some steering issues. No real “twitchiness” mainly “warble“ when I do the classic “Look Ma no hands” move. Admittedly the damper was a quick fix as I’ve only roughly dialed things in. Though I am now wondering if changing the way caster angle is achieved was a mistake.

The rear tire does make a satisfying hum when flying down the road But I do plan on replacing it when I switch out the freewhel with a Nuvinci n171b.
Also adding a rear disc brake in hopes that along with the rear v that there will be enough combined braking power so that I won’t have to add front ones.
Regards,
Kegan

 

[stormbird]

Thanks guys. Good point on the pedals. At 52 I don’t recover from injury as well as I used to. So an once of prevention as it were Are there any brands/designs that you might recommend?

Most of the folks I know use the cheapest Shimano mine are M520 they can usually found mew and second hand.

Yes I am experiencing some steering issues. No real “twitchiness” mainly “warble“ when I do the classic “Look Ma no hands” move. Admittedly the damper was a quick fix as I’ve only roughly dialed things in. Though I am now wondering if changing the way caster angle is achieved was a mistake.

Someone came on here claiming his welds were breaking and re-welding was not helping.
he had a bad wobbly and fixed it by adding a steering damper , well it stopped the wobble !
However the energy of the wobble was transferred to the frame mounting point of the damper and the weld was not failing , the tubing was tearing at the change in thickness between it and the weld.

Also adding a rear disc brake in hopes that along with the rear v that there will be enough combined braking power so that I won’t have to add front ones.

Please don't do this it is dangerous , no trike should [only] have a brake on a single wheel that is used to stop the vehicle when it is being ridden [ they are safe for parking brakes only ]
On a tadpole at some point the rear wheel will lock up and the trike will swap ends or roll or both ! , this is dangerous.
On a delta the front wheel will lock up and there will be no steering , this is also dangerous !

Paul

 

[Popshot]

That seat is very interesting.

I've had the back end round on me on a taddy. It can be huge fun when you are expecting it and want to scare or impress someone with your amazing feat of skid control. It's lethal when you aren't expecting it. I would recommend you find somewhere quiet and brake hard in a tight turn at a moderate speed to get the effect. In a turn the outside front takes the load and the rear goes light. It's a doddle to lock it. Given the vast majority of braking comes from front brakes I'd certainly want them on any tadpole and a rear brake sould be used very sparingly or not at all, especially in a turn. It looks a simple matter to add a small piece of box at the rear of those wheels to those long tabs and use some calipers on a single mount. If you do so then pay a little extra and get dual pivot calipers as they are massively better than single pivot. Any brakes you do add to the front will interfere with wheel removal. ie you'll need to remove the caliper to remove the wheel.

I would be wary of the battery in the place it is. On a bike that location offers no issues, as the bike leans to ensure all forces run straight down the tubes. On a trike that mass at the top will want to swing like a pendulum. It may not be an issue but if it were mine I'd want to see how much it swayed during a hard turn. It'll have the effect of stressing the rear triangle and helping to roll the tyre under. It would be better lower down. Ask a mate to ride it away from you and do a slalom to see if it pulls the rear wheel over. Much will depend on the torsional stiffness of the triangle.

 

[KeganSnow]

Yea now that you guys have pointed it out I see the mechanics of it. So much to learn. Nixing the rear brake altogether seems for the best as I am a bit of a space cadet and will likely forget which one is which. Also the complexity of trying to run two brakes from one brake handle seems wrong in the sense of balancing them. I agree Popshot lowering the battery (perhaps under the seat) would be of great benefit. It’s turned too cold here in Massachusetts for me so back to the shop with it it is! Thank you gentlemen for the guidance (read-not letting me inadvertently killing myself with my new hobby). I’ll post updates.

 

[Popshot]

There are levers specially designed to pull two cables and it's not too hard to balance them. It can mean a hard pull is needed as your force is having to do twice the work. One lever for each front brake is simplest and I would suggest safest too.

 

[stormbird]

You can keep the brake on the rear , just add a friction gear lever under the seat somewhere to activate it , it makes a great parking brake and stops someone casually taking the trike for a ride without asking.
I recommend a brake per lever , if one wheel locks up [ gravel , ice etc ] you can release that brake and free the wheel you may even recover some steering.
Also with one lever and two brakes you cannot signal with either arm out on the street as one is needed for braking ?

Paul