My latest delta project

[Hugh]

Well it's mostly finished now and has undergone a couple test rides. I am quite happy with it, it is very comfortable to cruise around in. It is heavy which makes it a bit of a power hog but since I have a couple 48V batteries I don't care. As noted in previous posts it routes the pedals through a jackshaft to the left rear wheel and the right rear wheel has a Golden Motor Magic Pie direct drive hub motor. It has a Grin Tech Cycle Analyst computer which allows the power and speed to be regulated. This is important because it allowed the motor to be operated by pedal assist (it does have a throttle as well). The power setting feature is important to me because the motor is rated up to 1000 watts and i have no intention of every running that much power. It is set to a max of 220 watts which gives a very nice cruising speed between 17 and 22 kph. That also helps in power consumption. The body has mesh front and rear to aid in cooling airflow, both for me and the 2 48V batteries in the rear behind the adjustable seat.

 

[DannyC]

Splendid job!
I hope you have many hours/miles of trouble-free use with it.

 

[Radical Brad]

Nice Velo, thanks for sharing!
Brad

 

[Popshot]

Doesn't look that heavy.

 

[Hugh]

Thanks for the comments and especially thanks to Brad for the inspiration.

 

[velocoupe]

Hi Hugh
Are you satisfied with Grin Tech's cycle analyst? Any issues?
I'm looking into installing a Grin motor, controller, and analyst on my delta velo, so would appreciate any comments.
Your photos of the painted yellow frame (while it was still in your shop) made me think the finished velo would look larger. It doesn't appear too large or heavy. As you said in a previous post, your prior experience building coro enclosed trikes has shaped your current design for sufficient comfort. ( Well ventilated convertible style and just roomy enough to avoid feeling encased.) It looks good with great visibility. Nice!
Cheers

 

[Hugh]

Velocoupe. the cycle analyst works well. The main reason I needed it was to make the magic pie motor work with a PAS. Without it the motor only worked with the throttle which was unacceptable. I was unable to get it to work at first finding it overly complicated. So after contacting the folks at golden motor.ca it, along with the external controller and basically all the parts with wires were boxed up and sent back to them. After a couple weeks they sent it back and since that time it has worked well. It's very likely that using a complete Grin system it would work well right away.

 

[Hugh]

I forgot to mention that the CA does not have an on/off switch, at least my 3.1 version doesn't. So the battery must be shut off either with it's built in switch if so equipped or the connector between the battery and motor unplugged.

 

[velocoupe]

Thanks for mentioning the need for an on/off switch. Knowing this helps me ask better questions about the e-assist components as my knowledge of electrical stuff is really limited.
Cheers

 

[MJ12]

That looks great…

 

[Hugh]

Update. A roof was constructed, installed and given a test ride to check it's usefulness also to see if it affected the handling. It works and no ill effects. It has been removed because the weather here is once again nice so I have no picture. The roof line is the same angle as the main body and it will just offer head and upper body rain protection. No side panels at all because to me airflow is important. On another note it now has around 200 km's of local test rides and is now my favorite trike. It has a dual battery switch installed which allowed the 2 rack mount style batteries I have to be installed in the back. That allows both batteries to be used at the same time or you can run one battery and when it's voltage drops down to far you turn that battery off and simply turn the other battery on which is the way it is being used at this time.

The Cycle Analyst allows the power level to be set, somewhat similar to setting power levels on your basic e bike as well as a speed limit set by the user. Currently I'm running the motor at max 221 watts which is the second level. This to stay legal although the limit here is 500 watts, but more importantly maximize range. So far a test run locally over a couple evenings yielded 35 km's with the voltage on the first battery starting a 54.6 and going to a bit over 50 volts. So I'm hopeful of a range of 100 plus km's with both batteries. And it gives a very comfortable ride albeit bumpy on our poor roads.

 

[Hugh]

It was raining hard this morning so I put the roof back on to give it a test run and wouldn't you know it, the rain stopped just as I set out. On the good side it turns out not to be as much of a power hog as first imagined. So far 55 km's on t one of the 2 batteries and the voltage went from 54.6 down to 48.

 

[Hugh]

One more update about battery consumption and distance covered. Riding with a friend who uses a GPS on his homemade trike it was discovered that an indicated 20 kph on the trike was actually 18 kph. Battery #1 started at 54.6 volts and ended at 44.7 volts at rest, distance 95 km's. If 10km's is deducted to allow for the correction and taking 2 batteries into account the trike will deliver 170 km's or just over 100 miles of range, Thats using a bit of level 1 and mostly level 2 power with an average speed of 17kph. And it's mostly flat around here.

 

[DannyC]

One more update about battery consumption and distance covered. Riding with a friend who uses a GPS on his homemade trike it was discovered that an indicated 20 kph on the trike was actually 18 kph. Battery #1 started at 54.6 volts and ended at 44.7 volts at rest, distance 95 km's. If 10km's is deducted to allow for the correction and taking 2 batteries into account the trike will deliver 170 km's or just over 100 miles of range, Thats using a bit of level 1 and mostly level 2 power with an average speed of 17kph. And it's mostly flat around here.

Lucky man. Its mostly flat around here (except for the hills)
36V & 10AH at reasonable levels usually gives me 20 Miles before it shows 50% capacity.

 

[Hugh]

Time for a short update on the yellow trike. Over 1100 km,s on it now. After a test ride in a fairly heavy rain, water was running down the roof slope and then blowing back into me so a 2nd lexan panel was added to close the gap. Problem solved. I need to apply a couple decals saying something like 3 wheeled bicycle because kids and some adults yell out - Nice car mister. Even had a policeman follow me down one of our roads that is closed to vehicles in summer except the people living on the road. He followed me for over a kilometer then pulled up beside me. Once he saw my knees going up and down ie pedaling he turned off. Had one issue with spokes loosening on the Magic Pie motor, that was fixed with some blue loctite and now a spoke wrench is included in my kit. Overall I'm pleased with the build and the ride.

 

[Leunam]

Those flat surfaces call for solar panels...
I like your project very much. Can you tell me which is your wheelbase?

Manu

 

[Hugh]

Sorry for late reply, the wheelbase is roughly 78", overall length is just a bit over 8 feet.