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Old 05-17-13 | 05:15 AM
  #12  
sreten
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Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 1,662
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From: Brighton UK

Bikes: 20" Folder, Road Bike

Originally Posted by gyozadude
Having crashed a 3 wheel HPV in testing prior to a competition, I can also say that a center-pivot steering design with a shared center shaft going through both hubs may not be the best design for stability and intuitive feel. The front steering may need some camber and toe in adjustments for stability and straight line tracking that may not be achievable with a straight axle. Our initial design was a simple center-pivot design but with a single center horizontal axle and relatively short wheelbase. It allowed us to attack the obstacle course with greater ability to steer. Only problem was the trike was never stable going straight and extremely twitchy. One moment too long without a correction and the ride would be heading off the course. We took some time with some machining and trial-error to get the stability worked out and reach compromise.
Hi,

The most critical angle is the trail, and the most often one
got wrong, as people tend to try to center the bearing over
the load of a front axle, whilst the axle should pivot forward
of the axle to give some self centering to the steering.

Only then do you look at camber and toe-in adjustments.

rgds, sreten.
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