TTrike!!!!

[Charles.Plager]

http://cruzbike.com/tilting-trike-prototype-testing

?Bam!

(I'd love to see a rear brake here, but that's solvable. I'll be very curious to see how this evolves.)

 

[ratz]

Nothing is the same any more.

Nothing is the same any more.

So, I showed the video to two Trikers in their 50's this am that never participate online. They have refused to go two wheels despite my nagging. Immediate reaction was; "time to clean the trike and put it up for sale, I can learn to ride two wheels while they finish that"

Game changer.

I'll stop there while the hyperbole calms down.

 

[Vargas]

I am no longer afraid to become an old man

I am no longer afraid to become an old man and not be able to ride a two wheeled Cruzzbike. There will be a three wheeled waiting for me when the time comes!

PS I did really like that ZZ in the Cruzzbike logo.

 

[Tohopko]

My only question

Is when?

 

[mzweili]

TTrike

what a brilliant solution!!!!

 

[Rick Youngblood]

WOW! Just maybe I could get

WOW! Just maybe I could get my wife on that. As a matter of fact I'm wondering if that could/would be an add-on/upgrade for an exist Silvio, which I just happen to have crying out to my wife "ride me"????

This is the Evolution of Cruzbike catapulting itself forward - Next question, when will it be available?

 

[Robert Holler]

All good questions and this

All good questions and this concept will be evolving rapidly here. Stay tuned!



Robert

 

[snilard]

Wow. It is really genial.
It

Wow. It is really genial.
It looks strange at first look but at second look It is simply genial.
I can imagine TTrike for long distances. It will add some weight and rolling and aero resistance but I guess that added safety, easiness of handling and comfort will trump a little decrease in average speed.
I think that only dangerous environment for TTrike will be city with tram rails (like Prague).

 

[Eric Winn]

Cantilever or offset is not appealing to me

Personally, I don't find the cantilever/offset design particularly appealing from an aesthetics perspective. Is there an engineering/physics benefit?

The Raptotrike prototype which I've mentioned before is symmetrical and is also designed to be a quick swap in and out of the rear drops also allowing a quick change between two wheel vs three wheel operation.

The Raptotrike prototype design looks better to me and I suspect most other people would prefer this look too over the offset design unless there is a really compelling reason that makes it better.

I will mention that one really startling advantage of either tilting trike design (offset, even, delta, or tadpole) is how much more pleasant it makes riding on a road with anything more that even a slight camber to it. In my velomobile (non-tilting tadpole) even a small amount of constant road camber is really, really annoying.

-Eric

 

[boddhi]

TTrike idea for my Q-Hybid

Great Adaption and courage to follow the dream.
The simplicity and light weight of the Ilean system will help us folks with balance problems and other
physical limitations that makes the 2 wheeler more of a challenge to Master.
I have been tempted to try this ilean system on my Q-3 Hybrid which I still ride in the upright position to help with my balance.
To see the Ilean working on Silvio and Vendetta is very encouraging and opening up a lot of possibilities.
Keeping the weight down and a quick change system is brilliant.
Stayed tuned for my Q- Hybrid to received a similar adaption, Maybe wider for touring possibilities.

Cheers

 

[Rampa]

Does it become self-standing if the arms are at 10 and 2?

If the crank arms are mounted in a "V" instead of at 180 degrees, it becomes self-standing, I think. There is a picture of such a trike in the article Jim Links to.

The idea there is to have the "virtual" axle below the axles of each of the two real wheels. Think of it as the bike hanging from the axles of the wheels.

Depending on your bottom bracket spindle, there can be lots of options.

 

[chrisblessing]

Retrofit

I do hope that this would be made, at least initially, as an after-market add-on. For many existing Cruzbike owners this remarkable advance offers a potential opportunity to extend the usefulness of their current bicycles. It may also offer Cruzbike an opportunity to test it with existing, enthusiastic Cruzbike owners.

Chris

 

[Mark Amey]

ttrike

This looks gorgeous. As I get older I find the idea of a trike more attractive, but so few tilting trikes.

I don't think it matters that the tilting levers are 180 degrees out of phase. In the video Maria seemed to handle it pretty easily, although she is a recumbent veteran (in km, not age!).

 

[Jeremy S]

Eric, I agree about the

Eric, I agree about the aesthetics, but the design Jim and Maria are showing looks a bit simpler (and therefore perhaps a bit lighter/tougher/cheaper) than the one you link to. Plus the funny looking offset gives this benefit (from Jim Parker's blog):

Bumps and vibrations in the road oscillate the rear crank arms up and down, while the bike frame (and more importantly the rider) continues in a straight line, unperturbed. It's the most simple and effective suspension system I have ever seen.

What I'm not understanding is how this design is more stable than a two wheeler in terms of balance, assuming the mechanism tilts freely and is not self-centering (spring loaded or given an offset less than 180 degrees as Rampa mentions). Anyone care to explain?

 

[ak-tux]

Great stuff! I believe it

Great stuff! I believe it will eventually be just a conversion kit for the V20 and the Silvio (or even the softrider and quest.)

This will also double up as a trainer for those new to MBB. They can then later just convert to a two-wheel MBB recumbent and vice-versa if they need to!

The brake issue should be easy to solve with disk brake tabs on the trike cranks/axle pedal arms:

 

[Ivan]

That really is amazing!

That really is amazing! Personally the offset wheels make it look even MORE intriguing. A beautiful solution that appears very promising, though I don't see how a quick 1 minute wheel swap could include rear brakes...

 

[Charles.Plager]

Rumor has it (i.e. Bryan Ball

Rumor has it ( i.e. Bryan Ball over at BROL said that he heard) that this will be available as an aftermarket add-on and will have brakes and a tilt lock.

Very cool!


Added: You can find the link to the BROL discussion here.

 

[bladderhead]

Jeremy is right.  It needs to

Jeremy is right. It needs to hang from its axle or stand on springs, otherwise it won't stand up, exactly like a bicycle doesn't.

 

[Jeremy S]

It says something about

It says something about balance in the writeup by Stephen Nurse that Jim links to:

On flat ground, straight ahead, the rider is constantly turning and balancing, just as in normal bike operation.

And:

Preventing the rotation of the rear pedal mechanism around the bottom bracket stops the leaning and gives the trike static stability. This allows the rider to be stable when stopped at traffic lights or going very slowly.

This sounds like the tilt lock mentioned in the BROL thread.

Requiring a lock to hold the bike upright would seem to me to make this an advanced user feature: you would have to interact with an extra control and then the benefit is being able to stay clipped in at a stop, rather than putting a foot down. You could also be stable at very low speed (say going up hill) but if you forget to disengage the lock while in motion, you have a dangerous situation.

Without adding stability during normal riding (self centering) I don't see how this would assist casual riders or riders in the early learning stages, as I first assumed a trike layout would.

But then this is just in the early announcement/demo stage, probably I should wait and see how it turns out and stop speculating... It is quite interesting.

 

[bladderhead]

Tilt lock is good, but

Tilt lock is good, but consider this: Springs which are soft most of the time, and then you pull the lever and the springs go really hard. At low speed it is almost stable, but wobbles a bit, and is self-standing. More complicated than a lock, but you can get adjustable suspension. You could have continuously adjustable wobbliness.