Recumbent E-trikes

[trickletreat]

Hi Peter,

I have only briefly ridden the Scorpion at Dtek, and it was not comfortable for me. My first trike was a Thorax Sinus, which was very heavy. The motorised Ice is approx.8kg lighter, and you notice the difference straight away. I did not go for suspension because of the extra weight.
I run the ICE on big apples with low pressure, it is a very good ride, and I would not consider buying a suspended one. Here it is before the motor and new tyres were installed.

As you can see I have a rigid seat, which fits me really well. It rattled my teeth until I bought the big apples, no issues now with it at all.

 

[Cyclezee]

John, having looked at the pics of your trike more closely, may I ask if you still have the toe clips, and if so do you use cleats as well?

Hi Nigel,

Thanks for the info and advice.
Having owned several 2 wheeled Ezee bikes, I'm going to fit an Ezee kit. I'm happy with the performance and reliability, already have batteries and it will work out to be half the cost of a Heinzmann kit.

The pedals on my TW Bents are double sided, i.e cleats on one side and toe clips on the other. I have removed the toe clips and now only use the cleats.

J hn

 

[Scimitar]

I have pics but being a bit computer illiterate I can't figure out how to post them. They are jpgs on my hard drive but whenever I try to post it asks for a web address!
Peter

Upload pics to a free hosting service like ImageShack® - Online Media Hosting or Free Image Hosting at FreeImageHosting.net - Upload Images for MySpace, Blogs, and Galleries or Welcome to Flickr - Photo Sharing , then pick the url of the uploaded pic. Keep it to 800pixels wide or so.

 

[trickletreat]

Hi John,

The ezee seems to be a good option, it is a lot quieter than mine. I have ridden one fitted to a mtb on North York Moors and at Presteigne. The batteries IIRC are long and could fit nicely in pod bags behind your seat, thus keeping weight low down.
Glad to hear about the pedals
nigel

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi John,
The trike has 20" wheels. I fitted the 300 rpm motor as this was the fastest one available. This gives about normal assist speeds - 17 mph at 36V and 22mph at 48V. From an earlier posting it looks like a 350 rpm might be available too. Using the 52-13 low gear is a bit high for the hills - luckily I have the electric and with this using 10 amps and pushing hard on the pedals I can get up quite steep ones. I'm still waiting for the 11-32.
I have pics but being a bit computer illiterate I can't figure out how to post them. They are jpgs on my hard drive but whenever I try to post it asks for a web address!
Peter

Hi Peter,

My TW Bents has a 26" rear wheel and I'm going for the 350w 250 rpm Ezee motor and a 9 speed 11-32t rear sprocket. I'm sure this will be fast enough for me and still have hill climbing ability. I am also going to fit a dual battery setup.

As for posting photos on the forum, go to manage attachments, choose the option to upload from your computer, not upload a file from a URL. Remember the max size for jpg is 97.7 kb, so you will need to reduce the size before you can upload them, this can easily be done if you edit them with a fairly basic program like Microsoft Paint. Hope that helps.

J hn

 

[jbond]

Trikes and Bents seem ideally suited to the Cyclone arrangement with a motor and dual freewheel mounted half way down the chain line. 2 chains: Front sprocket set to motor: Motor to rear mech. Are there good reasons for *not* doing this? Or are we back into the hub vs gear powered argument about efficiency, cadence and noise from the extra freewheels.

 

[trickletreat]

Trikes and Bents seem ideally suited to the Cyclone arrangement with a motor and dual freewheel mounted half way down the chain line. 2 chains: Front sprocket set to motor: Motor to rear mech. Are there good reasons for *not* doing this? Or are we back into the hub vs gear powered argument about efficiency, cadence and noise from the extra freewheels.

You might be interested in this

The Recumbent Bicycle and Human Powered Vehicle Information Center

 

[flecc]

Trikes and Bents seem ideally suited to the Cyclone arrangement with a motor and dual freewheel mounted half way down the chain line. 2 chains: Front sprocket set to motor: Motor to rear mech. Are there good reasons for *not* doing this? Or are we back into the hub vs gear powered argument about efficiency, cadence and noise from the extra freewheels.

Some members have used this conbination , but some have had troubles. Here's one example on this link.
.

 

[Cyclezee]

Almost Completed

Here are some photos my almost completed trike. As you can see I went the Ezee route and it works great. I still have few more modifications to make. Possibly mounting the 2nd battery on a standard battery rack behind the rear seat and using a conventional keyed on/off ignition/lock switch. This would lower the centre of gravity and make the 2nd battery easily removable to use on my Forza.

Description of Photos:

1. Controller which is mostly covered by the seat base.
2. Ezee Assist Dial.
3. Cycle Analyst 2.2 with 3rd wire to power lighting.
4. Dual battery setup.
5. 14 Ah Li Po battery in bag and 32 Ah MCB as on/off switch.

​

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and more in the next post below......​

J hn​

 

[Cyclezee]

Description of Photos:

1. Rear wheel and motor.
2. Motor and torque bracket arrangement.
3. Modified pedelec sensor fits inside smallest chainring.

​

That's all for now​

J hn​

 

[trickletreat]

Thanks for the update and pics of your conversion. I do like the "black widow" look

How does it go? Should corner with no probs with the batteries low down.

A jolly roger flag with reflective skull and cross bones would suit the clour scheme
Nigel

 

[Cyclezee]

Thanks for the update and pics of your conversion. I do like the "black widow" look

How does it go? Should corner with no probs with the batteries low down.

A jolly roger flag with reflective skull and cross bones would suit the clour scheme
Nigel

Thanks Nigel,

Cornering is fun, but I haven't pushed to the limit or had on two wheels ......yet.
I want to get the weight even lower to the ground by repositioning the 2nd battery.
I like the sound of the Jolly Roger, do you know where I can get a reflective one?

I did fancy a rainbow flag as they are quite conspicuous, but it might send out the wrong message to the wrong people I would imagine the vast majority would wonder what the T W Bents flag is all about

J hn

 

[trickletreat]

Yes best to avoid that on a flag! I think kite makers are the best option for custom flags, or some 3m tape and a needle and thread.

There seems to be a nice space at the back of your seat and a handy cross support bar for mounting a battery or two.

Looking at your second set of pictures, the one showing the pump, have you considered attaching a mtb rear mech. protector, to shield the wires coming out of the axle? Something like this...BIKE STEEL GEAR MECH DERAILLEUR GUARD IN BLACK on eBay (end time 08-Nov-10 00:23:20 GMT)

 

[Cyclezee]

have you considered attaching a mtb rear mech. protector, to shield the wires coming out of the axle? Something like this...BIKE STEEL GEAR MECH DERAILLEUR GUARD IN BLACK on eBay (end time 08-Nov-10 00:23:20 GMT)

That is on my list of things to do, I was thinking of the standard Ezee protector, but your suggestion of a Mech Guard is a good one Nigel. I will look to see if I can find a place to attach one.

J hn

 

[Cyclezee]

Slide show of the completed Trike Ezee Powered T W Bents Artifice Recumbent Trike

J hn