Hercules Tricycle at Last!
 

This afternoon I took some pictures of my Hercules tricycle with my ancient Kodak digital camera. Please forgive the poor quality my camera is seriously old. The weather here is wet and frightful at the moment which is why I had to take the pictures in my garage.

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/3...cules01yc0.jpg

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/1...cules02vq3.jpg

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/9...cules03py5.jpg

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/9...cules04nk6.jpg

The rear wheel with the big hub is a 250watt 24 volt electric hub motor. The other wheel has a Sachs 'Duomatic' hub with coaster brake. The stub handlebar underneath the left hand handlebar mounts the speed control twistgrip and the original roller brake hand lever on the LHS operates a motor cutout micro switch as does the alloy hand lever mounted by the speed control. Rear wheels are 26inch, front wheel is 28inch. Saddle is a Brooks 'Supreme'.

Now that I've got all the electrickery and the Sachs hub properly sorted and working as they should the next task is to fit up a large wicker hamper between the rear wheels. I'm a big fan of basketwork containers because they're light and very strong - and of course they are easy on the planet too.
My previous trike had the hub motor wheel on the front (I don't have any pictures sorry) and while this did work Ok I was never entirely happy with the setup. I didn't really know how well it might work out moving the motor wheel to the LH rear, but I'm very pleased to be able to report that the new configuration is a total success.

My previous trike before electric conversion.
http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/1...ghtrikext1.jpg

Something I did try out on my old Raleigh based trike was dual rim brakes on the front wheel. These were very successful and worked very well. I had a part-time job delivering pamphlets and flyers around the neighbourhood at the time and my route included one of the steeper roads in town. Let me tell you a load of pamphlets for 225 households can weigh very heavy and I wasn't always that happy on the downhill bits. Dual brakes up front cured that very nicely :)

http://img477.imageshack.us/img477/60/dualbrakesxn9.jpg

For my next tricycle I'm planning on building a three wheeler with better weather protection. It is raining here like it forgot how to stop and I don't want to be forced into taking Mum's car out for a short run to the shops just because it's wet outside.
Goggle Patent Search is a great way to check out design ideas from the past and while I was hunting about I found this.........

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/9481/1877609fi4.jpg

I know it's a design intended for a motorcycle, but I don't see why it couldn't be adapted to a utility tricycle.
There's this other design too which could be promising .......

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/2...icycle2nf0.jpg

I'm leaning more towards this second convertible design to tell the truth and I'm sure it could be readily constructed from lightweight steel tubing and a suitable waterproof covering material.

Sainlle,
Remember the Morgan Trikes:D I have seen more modern versions dating from the late 70's using a small >20hp motor, that were fully enclosed as well as one based on a Honda CH125. No reason those couldn't be adapted to electric:p

Aaron:)

Yes I remember seeing the Moonbeam on the web a while ago and I was much intrigued by its construction. Though please don't show me any more pictures or drawings of Morgans Aaron, - I've still got my old 500cc Suzuki motorcycle under a cover in the garage and since I'm not allowed to ride it anymore I really don't need any prodding to start thinking about cyclecars and the like ;)
I want to stick with vehicles that need to be pedalled or have pedal assistance because I really need to maintain a level of exercise in order to stay well. An electric vehicle that has pedals as a part of its power transmission doesn't need to be registered as a motor vehicle here in NZ which suits my limited budget very well indeed.

Nice !! :)

http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/1021

theres a nice canopy ya might be able to close in fairly easy................simple design too

Looks very interesting, - thanks for the link :) As you say it's a nice simple design that involves not too many welded joins and it would be easy to shape in the home workshop.

That is awesome. :eek: How does it ride and handle?

Obviously it's no sportscar, but my lovely Hercules is very stable to ride and on wet Winter roads and in muddy going I can feel confident that I'm not going to end up on my ear. When I first started to ride tricycles over a year ago now I was worried about the single wheel drive on the LHS, but it's never been a problem for me. However the biggest improvement between my first tricycle and the Hercules is having the hub motor wheel at the rear as well. The drive is much more balanced and traction is improved by having all the powered wheels at the back; - and with a 28inch wheel on the front I find that the steering is much better especially over bumpy going.
For a serious tricycle a traditional heavyweight lugged roadster frame with braced forks is the best choice. My Raleigh tricycle was built around a lighter 'sports' (English Racer) type frame and I had quite a few problems with bending and flexing. Though to be fair I will confess that I did cruelly overload my poor old Raleigh sometimes. :rolleyes:

Built around? Is this a tricycle-ifying kit?


jim

Yes it is Jim.

http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/7513/trikekitss9.jpg

The kit does have its faults however and it's a very good idea to replace all the kit bolts with high tensile equivalents. The other thing that needs to be done is to fit additional bracing or else the axle tries to pivot downwards which bends things that shouldn't really get bent.
These pictures show the two extra bracing tubes I fitted to the Hercules; - they came from an old chromed 10 speed rack I had lying around.
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/1...cules02vq3.jpg
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/9...cules03py5.jpg

I'm sorry everyone I should've said right from the start that I construct my tricycles around a kit axle. :o
To actually go and buy a trike is $$$$$$$ and they are hard to find in the right configuration and frames size 2nd hand - and even then they still tend to cost $$$$$.
With the kit you can use a bicycle frame that you already know fits you and pretty much all the other bits you need (wheels, mudguards & etc) are usually lying in that dusty pile of scavenged bike bits you have in the back of the garage.
My first tricycle - the Raleigh - was built with 20 inch wheels on the back, was singlespeed and had a coaster brake. It did a lot of work for me, but the small wheels on the back brought the pedals too close to the ground and on the rough country roads around here the 20 inch tyres didn't last long.
The Hercules is a big improvement with it's bigger wheels (26inch rear, 28inch front) and its longer wheelbase frame and general robustness make for a much more enjoyable ride. I was pleased too that I was able to use the roadster chaincase with the trike kit which improves chain life and cleanliness; - not to mention the fact that the chaincase no longer gets in the way of easy rear wheel removal. I tried out a SA 3 speed coaster hub on the Hercules, but finally ended up going for the simplicity of a Sach two speed 'Duomatic' coaster hub.

Sianlle,
What was the issue with the coaster brake 3 speed hub? I have been admiring your trike and scheming along those lines. Also do you thing a wider (2.125") wheel would work on the conversion? Also does the electric motor drive just the one wheel or does is drive thru the hub? I have seen them set up both ways.

Aaron:)

The 3 speed coaster was fine and it did work Ok, but once I added the electrics into the mix I started to feel a little 'over-levered' up at the handlebars. For me and the way I use my tricycle around town the Sachs 'Duomatic' is just fine :)
I think the wider wheels would be completely Ok for this type of conversion. When I was setting things up with the basic tricyle conversion, but without the electrics, I borrowed a pair of 2.125" road tyres and wheels off one of my other bikes to see how they would go and they were good as gold.
The electric motor hub drives just the RHS wheel and the pedals drive the LHS. The hub motor wheel is fitted with a 1.75" tyre and for the moment the LHS wheel is running an 1"&3/8 rim and tyre. The difference in the two rear tyres isn't noticeable while riding on the road.
When I get time I'll build a spare Sachs hub into the same sized rim as the hub motor wheel; - if nothing else it's an excuse to practice my wheel building skills. :D