Homemade delta trike on 20" wheels using a BBS02 mid drive

[hugh]

Using the Atomic Zombie plans for inspiration I built myself a Delta trike equipped with 20" wheels. It has underseat steering and runs a 750 watt Bafang BBS02 mid drive. Currently 8 speed rear and a 52 tooth Lekkie bling ring up front. Avid BB7 rear disc brakes provide stopping power. The mesh seat also home made and isnt pretty but provides a lot of comfort especially on those hot days. I tend to overbuild and as a result the trike is fairly heavy since its main tube is 1/8" steel. That was done on purpose since the roads here can be rough and on a previous tadpole build I did manage to tear and later bend a thinner frame. The trike is around 8' long and is very stable at speed. The picture of it is from last year in front of a bike sculpture in our downtown. The sculpture was supposed to be sent to another city but covid has delayed that.


I have another delta I,m currently modifying, it,s 2 wd with me providing pedal power to the left rear wheel and a soon to be installed Magic Pie direct drive hub motor providing power to the right rear wheel. It uses 26" wheels and is more of a cruiser type not designed for fast cornering. It is also in the process of receiving rear disc brakes. When I,m done there will be a picture posted

 

[hugh]

I,ve been riding my 2wd delta now for a couple months. The Magic Pie /Cycle Analyst system took me some time to sort out. Actually I didn't sort it out, I boxed up the external controller, the analyst and all the cables, basically everything except the direct drive motor and sent it to the good folks at Golden Motor ca. They were able to get the programming sorted out and enable the PAS (pedal assist system) to work. It is very comfortable to ride, and is a bit of a power hog due to it's weight but the concept of the 2wd works. In it's current form I've pretty much nailed the dimensions of the seat height/distance from the pedals. Over the late fall and into winter a new lighter frame will be drawn up and built. Here is a picture of it in a nearby to my home. I reinstalled the coro roof. It,s been very hot and dry here lately so it gives some useful sun protection.

 

[hugh]

One note, sharp eyed readers will see a geared hub motor on the right rear wheel. I removed that wheel/hub combo and replaced it with the Magic Pie direct drive motor. The spokes on the geared hub were loosening up and the pinging of loose spokes while riding was very irritating. Turned out the factory had not cut the threads enough on the spokes to allow for proper tensioning.

 

[wheelbender6]

That is quite a land yacht, Hugh. I like the under-seat steering.
-For a while, I planned on building a recumbent using a wooden 4x4 post as the back bone. At some point,
I decided to build a muscle bike instead.

 

[CMac]

Interesting build. What size battery do you use and approximate range do you get.

 

[hugh]

If your asking about the red trike in the first picture it has a 14.5 AH 48volt battery. I never use just the throttle by itself. When pedaling in town and keeping the speed to about 17 to 18 kph I can easily get over 100 km's. However on most long flat stretches with minimal wind I set the assist level to zero to get the benefit of the speed and odometer. The other day I met some friends at a nearby provincial park. They are all long distance DF riders. I mostly pedaled to the park under just my power, then when we went for our ride around the park I had to turn the power up to level 4 mostly to keep up. Speed was 24 kph plus or minus depending on hills. That segment was over 30 km's long then another 25 km's home using level 2 and running a bit under 20. Battery started at 54.6 and was down to 47 volts and the end.
I could not even guess distance using it as a scooter but pretty sure it would be way less.

 

[hugh]

The blue delta in the pictures was a test bed of sorts to see how the 2 wd would work. It was heavy and quite long. The curved roof with the partial windscreen also a test. Previously that trike was equipped with 4" tires and was fully enclosed. At that time it's weather protection was very good but it was way to hot in the cab when pedaling. I took it for a couple long rides at 20 below Celcius and it was problematic to dress properly. While pedaling my upper body needed gloves and a good sweater. But if stopped for more than a few minutes a jacket was needed. So thats when I tried the version in the picture. The thought was it's openness would ensure a good supply of cooling air. In fact it seemed even windier behind the screen. I had built it like a convertible and with the roof and screen removed it was nicer to ride. On that version 2 rear triangles from scrap mountain bikes were used to mount the rear wheels. A lot of steel was used and as mentioned it was heavy. It rode nice but all that weight meant it was a power hog. So the newest version uses thin wall tubing and will be a bit shorter. I plan on going back to a full body but with way better airflow. So far only the rear part of the frame has been built. I will post a picture and you will see the "chainstay" for the left wheel is way longer than the right side. That is because the left side uses a jackshaft to route pedal power over to the wheel and I wanted to give the chain an uninterrupted run. 1/2" electrical conduit will be used to make a arch from the open ends of the chainstays. EMT tubing because it's easy to get nice bends and will also be used as a cage of sorts to put the coroplast body panels. I will alos include a picture of the delta when it had a full body and ran the fat tires. At that time it was one wheel drive using a BBS02 mid drive.

 

[hugh]

I've been slowly working on the I hope final incarnation of the 2wd trike. It has a 1/2" EMT framework made to attach some coroplast panels to. That framework is now finished and the welds will be cleaned up and then the whole thing gets paint before fitting any body panels. If anyone here has seen the fantams nephew cycle car, that is approx what the trike will look like. The enclosed blue version above was way to hot and uncomfortable to pedal so open roof is the answer for me.

 

[hugh]

Well the framework is finished and painted. All 3 wheels had been removed to allow the frame to be rotated for easier welding and weld clean up. That was done and now the wheels and rear disc brakes are reinstalled. the brake and shift cables are laid out, just need to make and install a few cable guides. The Cycle Analyst 3.1 has been remounted as well and the dual battery mounts made on the behind the seat platform. Still a bit of work needed prior to a test ride but we are in the midst of a late winter storm with over 7" snow anyway