Recumbent E-trikes

[Cyclezee]

The thread started by Chief Ezee Power and the story of the Indian farmer's Ezee powered recumbent trike has got me interested in the subject.

A little while ago, I went on a ride with group led by someone on a recumbent trike. Previously, I have regarded them as slightly weird and ridden by eccentrics as this one was, no offence I'm sure Rich would agree.

I didn't ride it, but did sit on or rather in it, and found it surprisingly comfortable.

Do we have any members experiences of these machines?

J hn

 

[CheKmx]

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/2003-recumbent-electric-trike.html

Here's is my thread on my bike. If I were to try again I would probably go for a rear wheel hub motor. Great for leisure rides and I didn't find being seen was an issue. For commuting seeing stuff was sometimes ackward and cutting through traffic not possible. Also if there is an issue it not easy to push.


On the other hand they are great fun and comfort is fantastic.

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi CheKmx,

I will read your thread when I have some time this evening. I'm sure it will be of interest to me.

May I just ask did you choose a KMX for conversion, or did you already have this trike?
Which other recumbent trikes did you consider?

Many thanks,

J hn

 

[CheKmx]

I bought the KMX and kit together but they weren't a good match. On endless sphere people seem to have had a lot of success with the KMX as a platform for an electric conversion though. The prices is very good compared to most other trikes. I have no issue with the KMX although initial setup wasn't well done by the retailer.

 

[Cyclezee]

CheKmx,

The KMX does seem popular and reasonably priced trike. Given the problems you experienced and my own instinct would be to go for rear hub motor/kit, possibly Bionx, Ezee or Suzhou Bafang all of which I have had good experiences with on 2 wheels.

J hn

 

[flecc]

The Heinzmann rear hub motors are often used for recumbent trike motorisation, they make both 20 wheel and legal high torque versions, as well as higher power versions. Not cheap, but good quality.

The only snag with rear hub motors though is the restricted gear range. Recumbent trikes really need very wide gear ranges to allow for both the slower climbing and higher speeds resulting from their low profile.
.

 

[CheKmx]

TRIPENDO - the three-wheeler that likes bends how about this aldby? Looks like fun.

 

[Chief eZee Power]

ICE trike

Hi,

The trike that Govinda is riding across India is from Recumbent Trikes and Recumbent Bikes - ICE - Home

eZee Rear wheel hub motors with 200, 250, 300, 350 rpm (at 36V ) available, your choice For higher speed still we have 48V batteries and controllers
Please note beside the issue of safety, wind resistance is to the cubic power of speed.

20", 26" wheels with Schwalbe big apple
26 , 28" wheels with Marathon Plus

9 speed sprockets 11~ 34 T

Chief eZee Power

 

[Cyclezee]

Thank you for that information Chief regarding choice of motors.
I can see from Govinda's site that the trike is an ICE Adventure Recumbent Trikes and Recumbent Bikes - ICE - Adventure, a very nice quality machine.

As I am rapidly dicovering the there is large choice of recumbent trikes on the market. I am currently on a steep learning curve and trying to narrow down a suitable one for conversion. My first decision is tadpole rather than delta.

J hn

 

[Cyclezee]

TRIPENDO - the three-wheeler that likes bends how about this aldby? Looks like fun.

Looks great CheKmx, but not what I am looking for and no doubt very expensive.

J hn

 

[Cyclezee]

TW Bents Artifice Recumbent Trike

Decision made, deal negotiated and collecting this afternoon.

Lots of photos here of the trike by The New Hampshire Bushman, M.J. Klein, a fascinating American resident of Taiwan. Artifice - a set on Flickr

More about Mike here if you are interested About | TheNHBushman.com

My next task is to choose a kit which will take some time. From previous experience Bionx would be favorite, but it is over my budget for this project. I'm currently thinking of an Ezee or Suzhou Bafang / 8 Fun motor, but I'm not in any hurry.
Suggestions welcome.

J hn

 

[Cyclezee]

First photos of the Artifice following assembly and hitting the road for the first time this morning.

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J hn​

 

[flecc]

Handy that Wai Won's eZee rear motor can come with a 9 speed 11 to 34 rear sprocket, given how a recumbent needs a wide gear range. I daresay most recumbent trikes come with a good enough rear fork opening to cope with that.
.

 

[Cyclezee]

Handy that Wai Won's eZee rear motor can come with a 9 speed 11 to 34 rear sprocket, given how a recumbent needs a wide gear range. I daresay most recumbent trikes come with a good enough rear fork opening to cope with that.
.

Yes Tony, according to my Vernier gauge (very near gauge ), the eZee rear motor kit with 9 speed sprocket would fit perfectly. This is just one option I am looking at to power the trike.

J hn

 

[piotrmacheta]

I fitted an ezee motor to my trike and it's superb. I already had an 8 speed twist grip shifter so used an 8 speed freewheel and all I needed to do was fit a thin spacer to stop freewheel rubbing against the hub. 9 speed is same width as 8 so would also fit.
I have a 13-28 but have just ordered an 11-32 as I found that the lowest gear is slightly too high for the hills and the highest gear is only good to about 17 mph of furious pedalling.
The hub is excellent, only thing being that it's a bit whiny at certain speeds (quieter under load) but they do bed in. Recommended for an easy install.
I got a Velotechnik Scorpion by the way. Good luck.

 

[Cyclezee]

I fitted an ezee motor to my trike and it's superb. I already had an 8 speed twist grip shifter so used an 8 speed freewheel and all I needed to do was fit a thin spacer to stop freewheel rubbing against the hub. 9 speed is same width as 8 so would also fit.
I have a 13-28 but have just ordered an 11-32 as I found that the lowest gear is slightly too high for the hills and the highest gear is only good to about 17 mph of furious pedalling.
The hub is excellent, only thing being that it's a bit whiny at certain speeds (quieter under load) but they do bed in. Recommended for an easy install.
I got a Velotechnik Scorpion by the way. Good luck.

Hi Piotrmacheta,

May I ask which Ezee motor you opted for and what batteries are you using? Some photos would be great if possible

J hn

 

[trickletreat]

Hi John,

Having used a steel geared 53Nm Heinzmann kit in a mtb, towing a trailer with my daughter, every day for over a year, I would highly recommend that you consider them as an option.

When I bought my trike to do the daily commute, I had another built into a 20" wheel by Steve at electricmountainbikes.com. He delivered it to me at Presteigne rally this year. With the help of an extra pair of hands to ease the rear stays [care of Steves dad] it was quickly installed by me.

I again opted for a high torque steel geared motor as the synthetic gears were only for use in a combination not exceeding 125kgs. The trike, Hase Trets trailer, motor and batteries, me and daughter are more than that.

I still use the smaller Heinzmann battery, but with the motor choice, wheel size and weight of outfit, limit range to the 12mile mark with reasonable input from rider and a lot of motor assistance.

My previous trike had a 26" rear wheel ,taken from the mtb. The weight of motor and batteries are higher than with the 20" rear wheel, and I have been up on two wheels a few time when cornering, even at low speeds...can be fun, but not great when towing my daughter. You will need to give battery placement some thought, there seems to be room under and to the rear of your seat.
Here are some pics of installations. I have more info and help if you need.

And in the 26'' trike

 

[trickletreat]

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?

One of the things trike riders will advise is to use clipless pedals or secure heel with a bungie...if your foot comes free at speed and gets sucked under, it's going to hurt. A few of us get together for group trike rides, great to see other machines and pick up tips. Nigel

 

[piotrmacheta]

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

 

[piotrmacheta]

Hi trickletreat,
I've always wanted to know about the difference/preference between the Scorpion trikes and the ICE trikes. In your experience what are the differences in the ride as I never had a chance to try the ICE ones out? Anyone with the full suspension ones to recommend one? Sorry slightly off topic.
Peter