2 wheeled recumbent with rear wheel stearing
- Thread starter 4115steve
- Start date
Hi. I saw a vid of someone trying to ride a two wheeled RWS bike some time back. He was using an empty car park I believe so there was no obstacles and plenty of room in all directions which gave him nothing to worry about except staying aboard the bike. He had one hell of a job and didn't ever manage it as I recall.
With a trike there's no balance involved so RWS can be handled pretty much without probs but with a two wheeler handling involves leaning and ballance as you steer which is not at all natural with RWS.
I'd love to see the bike in the first pic actually being ridden!
John
With a trike there's no balance involved so RWS can be handled pretty much without probs but with a two wheeler handling involves leaning and ballance as you steer which is not at all natural with RWS.
I'd love to see the bike in the first pic actually being ridden!
John
Well that's the first I've seen of a 2wheel RWS actually being ridden although the guy didn't look too comfortable while he was doing it to me. I guess it does make the front drive system simpler when it doesn't have to turn?
Hey maybe that's the answer for Paul's racer! No fancy chain twisting or floating sprockets to worry about there Paul
John
Hey maybe that's the answer for Paul's racer! No fancy chain twisting or floating sprockets to worry about there Paul
John
I think it would be worth a build. The steering doesnt have to be complicated, it can be like the bike in this picture but the steering rod has to be routed to the opposite side of the fork so it turns in the direction you steer and bike direction isn't opposite when turning
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Really hope you do. I'd like to see a report/vid of that.
I thought about building a RWS tadpole trike a while back. Saw one that Emiel's friend had made and it looked so compact and neat. Then Popshot pointed out that with RWS traveling close to a wall or a kerb you had to turn the rear of the trike into the obstruction before the trike could move away from it. A definite drawback on the narrow lanes I would travel where I need to hug the left side of the road. With passing vans, tractors etc. each right turn would see the rear bumping up on the verge.
Keep us updated.
John
I thought about building a RWS tadpole trike a while back. Saw one that Emiel's friend had made and it looked so compact and neat. Then Popshot pointed out that with RWS traveling close to a wall or a kerb you had to turn the rear of the trike into the obstruction before the trike could move away from it. A definite drawback on the narrow lanes I would travel where I need to hug the left side of the road. With passing vans, tractors etc. each right turn would see the rear bumping up on the verge.
Keep us updated.
John
I have tried making a few RWS bikes in my bike hacking career.
One was upright and mainly a gag to see if anyone could ride it more than 10 feet (not often).
The other had a lot of careful engineering put into geometry and was recumbent like the ones posted above.
The end result was both being unrideable. After 2 days of practice, I "could" ride the RWS bent, but it felt so unstable!
... This coming from a bike freak that rides a 10 foot unicycle and 12 foot tallbike around town like it ain't no big thing.
I always give the same advice to those thinking about trying a rear steered bike...
Next time you are at the grocery store with a loaded cart, turn it around (casters at the rear) and start moving at a jogging pace down the isle.
When you get to the end, try to maintain speed and make the turn into the next isle. you will instantly see why this is a bad idea.
Fun reading...
en.wikipedia.org
Good Luck!
Brad
One was upright and mainly a gag to see if anyone could ride it more than 10 feet (not often).
The other had a lot of careful engineering put into geometry and was recumbent like the ones posted above.
The end result was both being unrideable. After 2 days of practice, I "could" ride the RWS bent, but it felt so unstable!
... This coming from a bike freak that rides a 10 foot unicycle and 12 foot tallbike around town like it ain't no big thing.
I always give the same advice to those thinking about trying a rear steered bike...
Next time you are at the grocery store with a loaded cart, turn it around (casters at the rear) and start moving at a jogging pace down the isle.
When you get to the end, try to maintain speed and make the turn into the next isle. you will instantly see why this is a bad idea.
Fun reading...
Dymaxion car - Wikipedia
Good Luck!
Brad
That makes sense, I suspect the gravitational force of the mass will sling shot the weight into a whipping motion around the corner. @Radical Brad was the bike you built a trike recumbent or a 2 wheeled recumbent. I'm wondering if a leaning into the turn helps prevent the weight from whipping the wight of the bike out of control. If it was 2 wheeled so that you could lean into curves, do you think it would have been more stable as a trike that leaned?
I just found this leaning recumbent cargo carrier to reply to @jonrev it has cable steering and it also leans.
Thanks for all the input everyone, I probably won't be pursuing rear wheel steering.
Anyone using an outboard motor quickly comes to understand this.
You're right there but with a boat it's second nature to push the bow away manually either by hand or using an oar before setting off. Not so simple with a RWS bike without getting off and lifting the front round.
Don't blame Steve for giving up on the idea but would have been good to see his progress. Having said that if Brad didn't get to grips with RWS I'm damned sure I wouldn't and Steve could have wasted an awful lot of time and effort proving just how hard it was.
John
Don't blame Steve for giving up on the idea but would have been good to see his progress. Having said that if Brad didn't get to grips with RWS I'm damned sure I wouldn't and Steve could have wasted an awful lot of time and effort proving just how hard it was.
John
