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Old 09-22-09, 08:12 AM
  #15  
purplepeople
Bent builder
 
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: London, Ontario
Posts: 334

Bikes: Magic leaning delta FWD trike, various bents and Fisher Sugar 3+

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If I read that photo correctly, the pedals are practically in between the two front wheels and your CoG is much closer to the rear axle than the front axles. If so, you will get a very large amount of understeer.

That of course is the compromise with tadpole trikes. Best handling comes with a perfectly even weight distribution of 1/3 on each wheel. That requires CoG to be at the geometric middle of the triangle created by the tire contact patches, which leads to the CoG being placed about 2/3 of the wheelbase ahead of the rear axle. This can lead to problems under hard braking as the height of the CoG can combine with it's forward positioning to create a tipping situation. In addition, having only 1/3 of the weight on the rear tire can create an issue with traction on sketch surfaces.

:)ensen.
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