Converting a delta trike to a Cruzbike drivechain

[uncled]

I used to own a Silvio. I liked riding it, but sold it because my balance is not so good, and I had a couple of crashes. I drive an ICE Adventure 2fs trike, which I enjoy. But I miss the weight saving, and the more efficient front wheel drive of the Silvio.
Has anyone attempted a front wheel drive on a delta type trike?
Thanks.

 

[BobD]

I am not familiar with a FWD trike but....

have you seen the Phantom Quad by Lightning Cycles?
I don't know much about this bike either...but....I believe it was created exactly for the reason you expressed.
Bob

http://www.lightningbikes.com/quad/index.html

 

[Rsmith23]

I just bought my new Silvio

I just bought my new Silvio 1.5 yesterday and I really like it , I don't have problem balancing on this bike.

buy soundcloud follow
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[Jaybeeanne]

Great bikes indeed. Hopefully

Great bikes indeed. Hopefully I can have one too.

 

[super slim]

dear Uncled,
A Tilting pair

dear Uncled,

A Tilting pair of rear 700 c wheels on a 600 mm track, could be added to your Silvio, using the rear end design of Fleet trikes Blackmax.

The single wheel would be removed and using only 50 mm of the 2" square hollow section that the the headstem is welded into, with two side extension to simulate a 100 mm wheel spacing and so the two 700c front disk braked wheels are on the same wheelbase Centerline as the original single 700 C wheel.

The tilt lock would be connected to the rear brake cable via an adjustable spring, so it only came on when the rear brake was fully applied, OR via a lockable on third brake lever.

see http://fleettrikes.com/blackmax.htm#7mar09 for the rear end details.

SS

 

[Gromit]

Catrike 700 / Ice Vortex

Uncled. Most of the FWD delta trikes seem to be works in progress IMHO.
If you like the ICE Adventure trike then I personally would recommend an upgrade to an ICE Vortex or a Catrike 700 say.

 

[counterpoint]

Vortex

I tried the Vortex last summer and the very low weight is a delight.
Swiss longwheel base recumbent maker Fateba used to offer training wheels to make their bikes safer for winter conditions (I owned one) but soon discontinued them because they didn't live up to expectations.

 

[will_rifkin]

FWD Delta trike via Cruzbike conversion

Uncled,

The Cruzbike conversion kit fits reasonably well on an adult tricycle to make a delta trike. I will attempt to attach a couple of photos of my conversion. I made it for my wife, who never learned to ride a bicycle when she was young.

On this Cruz-trike, the rider sits lower than on an adult tricycle. That makes the trike less likely to tip over while turning, but I would avoid screaming downhill around a curve on it nonetheless.

The photos show the trike with the original pedals still attached. I had been thinking of adding a second seat over the rear axle to make it a tandem. I have now removed the old crank.

The trike that I purchased on E-Bay was one speed with 24-inch wheels. Brakes and the like were cheaply made, and the whole thing is heavy. To make it a multi-speed unit, I bought a cheapo ($100) mountain bike from Kmart with 24-inch wheels and a 7-speed cluster. That also gave me the suspension fork up front, derailleur, shifters, new handlebar, new brakes, etc. Not everything fit together perfectly (e.g., new fork into head tube), but with some simple shims here and there, it is fine for low-speed use. So, be sure to check on dimensions when creating such a hybrid.

The seat mounting has a chunk of 2x4 as a spacer (not visible in the photo) due to clearance issues. I might be able to overcome this problem and lower the seat another 2 inches.

The rear axle is a solid bar, which adds to the weight. Another option would be to attach the wheels one-sided (e.g., like front wheels on a tadpole trike). It might make sense to retain some sort of cross-member where the trike axle originally sat in order to stiffen the rear of the frame. One might also adapt the front steering mechanism from a tadpole trike, add it to the rear of this trike, and enable this creature to lean while turning.

Let us know what you try.

The trike came with a large wire basket for the back, which my wife refuses to be seen with. Future mods include possible addition of an electric motor, controller, and battery to drive the sprocket on the rear axle. That could make it a nice utility vehicle for a run to the shops in a hilly neighbourhood.

 

[Charles.Plager]

 Hi Will,
 Pretty cool. Can

Hi Will,

Pretty cool. Can you post more pictures? I'll be interested to here your opinions when she has more experience with it, too.

Thanks, Charles

 

[Kim Tolhurst]

Previously tested

I also built a similarly configured ( cruzbike fronted trike) and found it in testing very tippy. One can be going along quite nicely, instability can happen suddenly. To me there semed to be so many variables to bring up a tipping point.

See how you go....

cheers,

Kim.

 

[Charles.Plager]

For what it's worth, I'm

For what it's worth, I'm really hoping to see a tilting MBB delta trike as that might really take the edge off of the tilting...

 

[will_rifkin]

low like Kettwiesel

Balance is one of the issues about this front-drive trike - it looks stable without actually being as stable as it looks. A rider may be more inclined (no pun intended) to turn sharply as their balance is not as involved in swinging the handlebars as it would be on a two-wheeled bicycle.

Nonetheless, it seems as though a front-drive Cruzbike conversion for an adult trike would be less prone to tip than a regular adult trike because the rider's centre of mass is lower with the Cruz-trike. The tandem version that I suggested above may be still more stable, as there would be additional weight that is low and between the rear wheels, on the uphill side of the pivoting axis for tipping (which runs between the rear wheel on the outside of the turn and the front wheel).

One option is to put in lateral 'wheelie bars'/training wheels - lightweight outriggers (with casters on the end) that are mounted below the rider's seat (perhaps utilising the unused bottom bracket) to catch the trike before it tips over. The Vespa Ape, 3-wheeled scooter-truck used to have skids for this purpose at the front corners.

I was encouraged to do the conversation based on the Haase Kettwiesel and Greenspeed Anura trikes. With both of those models, though, the rider is sitting lower and centred almost directly between the rear wheels. One of Haase's demo videos shows riders racing down a hill through turns and balancing their Kettwiesels on the two outer wheels. The riders leaned to maintain balance. That may be one avenue to making this sort of set up more stable - enable the seat (at least the seat bottom) to tip into the turn so that the rider shifts their weight.

To create more stability, at the cost of weight, one could add a tricycle conversion axle (normally fitted to the back of a 2-wheeled bike) to the front to make a front-drive quad bike. It would need a differential, and it would steer awkwardly, as it would not have an Ackerman linkage.

Do not currently have any more revealing photos to add. What would it be helpful to photograph?

 

[Ian Smith]

How about a quad?

If it's all too much, Trisled do a 'bent utility quad or a utility FWD upright.

 

[Doug Burton]

Actually...

By moving the front seat forward a scoche and adding a rear seat, Will's bike could work as a tandem...