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First ride. Apologies for the video quality - it's not my strong point. Click to 15 seconds before I appear.
At least it proves concept - not that it needed proving as Alan had already done it.
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.
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 cock 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.
At least it proves concept - not that it needed proving as Alan had already done it.
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.
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 cock 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.
These sit between the two halves of each case to mount to the two tubes. This still allows the opening half to open. Because these holes were the means of locking the cases I now use a M6 security torx bolt as basic security on the basis nobody walks around with one of those. I'm waiting on some tapered washers to sit either side of the plastic holes to make a flush joint. Until the other case arrives I'm a bit stuck to make much more progress on the mounts but can at least have a go at cutting the inner foam for the battery and controller to sit in.
