Will this Trike Conversion work?

Perhaps another option is to start with a donor adult trike, disconnect the coaster brake, use rear disk brakes and a mountain bike rear wheel in the front. This may be cheaper but a lot of work and standard adult trikes are very heavy.

Please give me your thoughts.

thanks,

Jeff

I've thought about the adult trike angle. Something like this might work:

If you could ditch the drive parts and lose the tractor seat... It might be fairly light. Look at how low the Cruzbike seat would sit.... Could be the ticket, but do you want to gamble $400?

Mark

I found a U.S. ToysRUs bike that might work.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2929042

It only has a disk brake on the front but perhaps I could order a second front wheel with a disk brake (I will need a thrid wheel anyway).

I already ride a Freerider and just ordered a conversion kit. It will be fun to see if I can make a cruzbike trike.

thanks for your comments, keep em coming.

Jeff

The problem with using a trike like the one above is it would be too low. I don't want to ride too low. I am half blind anyway, that is why I ride a bike. I have not driven a car since 1993. I like the height of my Freerider, on a regular mountain bike I have trouble ducking on time from low hanging branches.

I will upload pics when the project is finished. All suggestions are appreciated.

Jeff

Does anyone know if there is a such thing as a Dual Cable Disk Brake Lever? If I can run both rear disk brake cables to one lever then I can keep my front brake.

thanks,

Jeff

They are available but have different leverage on each cable, so you kind of turn under brakes if the are set to one rear wheel each. Greenspeed make one specifically to avoid this problem.

Allright. Then take a look at apax.ca and see how the advanced project would have independent rear wheels.

Wow, that supertrike is cool! It is wild how it goes down stairs and over curbs. Do you know if anyone sells them? The probably cost a bundle.

Anyway, I found a solution for the dual brake lever. The sell one at Spooky Tooth for $13.00. Now I am trying to find disk brakes for the wheels which come with the trike conversion kit at spooky tooth.

Jeff

No, they dont sell it. They made a few prorotypes, but they dont have the money to start production. apax.ca has been there for a loooong time. I heard something about a projected $2000 pricetag, but that was years ago, and before production starts. I would expect a $3000, maybe a $4000 pricetag today.

My point was that i think you can make something like that from a cruzbike for alot less.

I thought I would resurrect this thread to see whether anyone has attempted to create a trike using a Cruzbike.  I just sold my wife's TerraTrike Cruiser because my wife found it to be too difficult to mount and dismount.  A Softrider would be about the right height.

Thanks

A rear end of an adult trike will, with a couple of flat mild steel brackets, fit on the rear of a CB Quest  20.  Abandoned project, too tippy,

at any kind of speed.    Not to put you off as much as 'be careful'. 

http://www.topgear.com/uk/videos/clarkson-tips-over-reliant-robin

This is a pretty humorous take on what can happen on a trike of this format, so, yes, be careful. And don't ask me to test ride it!

I was afraid that might be the responde.  I guess a Greenspeed Anura http://www.greenspeed.com.au/anura_main.html might be the answer.  

 The lowracer project I'm working on (if I can figure out how to post a pic, I will) should convert to a tilting trike which seems to be a good format for MBB/FWD. Its a bit of a long running project but I'll post as it moves along.

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss51/kidneyboy1/007-4.jpg

@3WHELZ
Greenspeed designers have been very particular in where they place body mass with respect to the three wheels. It appears identical to how Hase do it and is not coincedental.

@kidneyboy
I have been interested for quite a while in tilting a cruzbike. What is the purpose of adding another wheel, and if the trike rides like a bike, how is that purpose realised? Very interested in what you are others are doing.

Here [IMG]http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss51/kidneyboy1/047.jpg[/IMG]  (Dennis Grelke's I think) is a bolt on tilting rear end. Tires less than shouder width apart.

 Balance would be the main reason for the 3rd wheel, of course a tilt lock mechanism of some sort is probably needed. You really have to put yourself in riding situations to see the advantages, staying clipped in when stopped, more confident cornering while riding. Cornering speed would be another reason. Then there is the cool factor .

 I've been lucky enough to ride a couple of trikes and staying clipped in is pretty nice. Cornering, especially at speed, is interesting though. The go kart feel is fun and I think we all enjoy that, but when you really get moving you want to lean into turns. So the 3 wheels keep you balanced at low speed and the tilting mechanism lets you lean into corners.
 The go fast guys are experimenting with these things, which is cool, and there is much talk lately about tilting velos (morciglio) and stuff but the appeal to me is how much fun it looks to ride one.

Questions I have include

1. managing the tilt lock according to speed in a manner that avoids calamitous mistakes, such as thinking you will lean when it is still locked
2. if losing the front wheel in a corner is the true danger of riding a bike, how does two wheels at the rear help?

Interesting stuff, for sure.

Googling "Dennis Grelk New Zealand" brings up a few videos of him in action, including a very short video of him on what one assumes is the tilting machine shown in Kidneyboy's photo. Interesting.

Okay, I have not fully given up on the idea of a front wheel drive delta, and maybe this discussion better belongs on BentRider Online’s Homebuilder page, http://www.bentrideronline.com/messageboard/forumdisplay.php?f=12 , but hear me out.  I can fully appreciate the instability created by a high center of gravity perched on three wheels.  However, could this not be overcome by lowering the center of gravity at or below the axel height of the rear wheels?  Racing wheelchairs manufactures, such as Top End, seem to have successfully created a delta that has overcome the instability issue.

That is true, but when you lower the CoG like that you move weight from the front wheel and create traction problems. You need 50% weight on the front wheel. 

If you replicate the geometry of one of the hand cycle racers, it will work, as long as you accept the traction limitations.

In the case of my wife, that would likely not be an issue.   Moving the center of mass forward coupled with the weight of the FWD components may may come closer to reaching thee 50% sweet spot.  The drawback may be trike that some may find too long length or too heavy.  Given that we also have a GTT that is 11 feet long, all is relative.

I certainly appreciate your willingness to discuss the topic.  Others too seem to have an interest.