Terra Trike Tour 2 ebike conversion project.

H

HackD

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At the end of December, i picked this Terra Trike Tour 2 up for a cheap price, very little used. My intentions from the start, is to rework it for a straight-forward ebike setup.

I am a physically limited rider with hip issues. I'm not always stable enough for my DH eMTB project that i've already much enjoyed within my limitations (BBSHD build)... as such, i want something for when i'm not doing all that well for just 2 wheels.

As i am just coming off of doing a VERY complicated gas/electric hybrid bicycle project - i don't wish to overly complicate things, beyond reinforcing/replacing components that will need reinforcement.

As i saw it on Kijiji.ca.

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As it was brought home... real convenient!

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First major purchase for it... the Black Pie assembly.

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I am using this as a builder's thread, so i am going to reserve this post with a needs/wants/options post to keep track of it all, going into it.

Some of this will make no sense at all to others - it's an aggregation of ideas in my planning process, only.

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  • 2x 48v19.2ah Shark Packs - ordered February 2nd, 2021 - Shipped February 28th, 2021 - Received March 19th, 2021.
  • Order multiple rear freewheel sprocket assemblies (3) to mix custom sprocket ratio in limited gear range of 5 gears. Done February 26th, 2021 - Shipped 28 February 2021 - Received March 18th, 2021.
  • 5" LED visibility whip - ordered March 16th, 2021 - Received March 19th, 2021.
  • 203mm rotors - ordered March 18th, 2021.
  • 20mm caliper spacers - ordered March 18th, 2021 - Received March 19th, 2021.
  • Zoom cable-pull hydraulic brake calipers - ordered March 18th, 2021.
  • Electronics enclosure box
WORK NOTES:
  • Design/fabricate alternate method of seat mount setup.
    • Rear/top mount - Will require adapter bracket mount fabrication, retaining OEM adjustable mounts to rear fork.
    • Bottom slider mount - Fabricate adaptive Saddle mount, to plate attached to seat fibreglass bottom.
    • Incorporate Universal LED taillight into upper mount.
    • Utilize HD rack components, slider rods, if necessary.
  • DRL housings - left over from Project - use for front illumination in front of front wheel booms.

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  • Rudimentary 12v wiring system to be installed using 60v-12v voltage Down-converter Buck.

Stay tuned..
 
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Hi; my probs with Trikes is the handling. Yours looks as though a swing axle mod is possible. I would consider that before putting to much power onto that rear wheel
 
sojourner said:
Hi; my probs with Trikes is the handling. Yours looks as though a swing axle mod is possible. I would consider that before putting to much power onto that rear wheel
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Problem with handling? In which way?

This is my first go with a Tadpole, or Recumbent Trike design. In the motorcycle world, i've owned several sidecar rigs, including - a high performance rig.. now there's some weird handling to get used to.

The good thing about this wheel/controller - it's programmable. It'll only give out, what's been programmed to allow. ;)

I've already had a season's worth of experience with a BBSHD.. and certainly, there is a fair amount of torque being put down out of 1000w - especially if you get goofy with the thumb throttle in the wrong gear ratio with a mid-drive..

Initially, i eyeballed the Tadpole Trike, with 'extensive' mods in mind.. 26" rear tire with drop-out extensions, possible total rework to rear suspension, etc.. but i did get a few reports back to my inquires that indicated that the frame may be at limits of tolerance with a stock 20" wheel setup. I've decided to take a conservative approach, at least for this project round. If it isn't for me - time/money minimized - if it's for me - i might consider doing something greater than what this frame is capable of. It definitely has some inherent limitations to it, even for a talented shade tree mechanic practiced at upgradeability with a sawzall and a TIG..

In the meanwhile, i'm upgrading what is easily realistic and attainable. Larger tires/contact patches front and rear to start, to better resist push-out with lateral CofG shift, during cornering/turning for example.
 
Going around a corner, the bike stay flat until it can't. Then it goes all at once, possibly turning over. Most olds don't have a problem due to slow speeds.......but you're putting some real power into it.
 
sojourner said:
Going around a corner, the bike stay flat until it can't. Then it goes all at once, possibly turning over. Most olds don't have a problem due to slow speeds.......but you're putting some real power into it.
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Yes, definitely a factor to be aware of, and certainly not to be discounted. If it becomes an overwhelming safety concern, once i've actually got everything set up, i will consider taking the setup further to compensate, in terms of realistic mods. I have some setup ideas on that, that will require a bit of fabrication without destroying the base trike.. ;)

Either increase wheelbase, increase 'anchor weight' of rear end, and/or any number of front suspension/camber add-on changes or increase of width of front end, would help to mitigate.

Flipping a Trike? ... pfft. I flipped my first sidecar rig.. the irony behind that was that i had a broken leg at the time, and i was using the sidecar to carry Crutches, turned into impromptu Javelins... beware landscaper's dirt piles in the gutter, lurking behind a blinding sun beam in a corner.. I'm a Pro at turning things upside-down.

I do appreciate the Safety, behind the Message.
 
Schwalbe Super-Moto X 20"x2.40" tire came in and mounted, today.

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Edit - February 5th, 2021. Lightbar brackets came in, today. Will help with integrating aftermarket DRL's onto front steering booms, for maximum frontal visibility (sorely needed with low to ground recumbent, IMHO).

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Edit - February 18th, 2021. Hard-shell seat came in today, from Poland. This beats the speed of a part coming in from Terratrike in Wisconsin... about a 1/10th of the distance. This is going to need a combination of HD rear rack parts, Heim Joints and modification of components to make up a new mounting system utilizing the adjustable Base mount, only. I prefer a more minimalist seat, vs the fabric seat type of this Terratrike.

I also received the Big Ben 2.15" Plus front tires - significantly more cross-section evident.

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I haven't made a new update post lately - just iterative updates on existing posts. As such, if actually interested in my posts - recheck earlier to see my additions.

Today, i'm squeezing the front rubber on the original rims - going from the original 1.75" Cheng Shin to 2.15" Schwalbe Big Ben Plus. The Big Ben's are rated for 50mph... not that'll ever get it to that high a speed... but more rubber on the front, might be of stability benefit, with rear-drive. Worthy of the experiment, anyway.

Before:

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After:

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2.45" Rear, with 2.15" Front. Looks good to me!

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Everything so far ordered, with exception of batteries, and the TerraTrike rack i intend to hang them on, have come in.. so i can pretty much get a good start on it, starting now..


Edit February 20th, 2021: The Hard Shell seat that i sourced, i appear to have successfully track-backed to origin Recumbent Trike - this one.

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That gives me ideas to make adaptive mounts for my Trike frame, versus the obviously different frame setup of my Terra Trike. The base mount will work - the rear mount however, definitely won't. I'll get it figured out in a day or two of fabricating.

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Still haven't finished my Hybrid - just wiring to do, on that... but i've got a new creative 'pretty shiny' to play with this, in this new project.
 
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It begins.. my Assistant's are giving it a preliminary Technical Evaluation, apparently.
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Let There Be Light. The DRL's, brought into play on a test basis. This works for me! Great light-throw, just for DRL's.

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A bit of Fabrication going on, while awaiting the bulk of parts to come in. I have to fabricate new mount points for the fiberglass hard shell seat replacement.. so past few days has definitely been occupied with the 'nuts and bolts' of that.

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After a few intensive days working at it, the bottom mount is finished, and waiting for paint to cure, before i install it on the base of the seat.

I have to (impatiently) stop for the moment, so i don't bugger up the paint, before i can proceed with fabrication of the final portion of the top seat mount. It's going to need to be as equally intricate in setup, to achieve the scissors adjustability that i need in the mount angle, seat incline angle, relative to tail-light height and angle and original seat mount braces to the chain-stays.

The astute will note that the beginnings of this mount, already gained a tail-light bracket. I may or may not have to change this mount out for something different, depending on development process.

The tail-light is a 12v running/brake light.
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Only took a few weeks to do this seat bracketry conversion, top and bottom.. i thought it would be more difficult, but i guess my skills are getting better.

Batteries have finally come in, and i as usual will need to do something Custom in terms of mounting, to deal with the bulk and weight of them. Fortunately, a preliminary rummage through my scrap parts/aluminum bin have pulled a few promising parts to incorporate into an under seat saddle mount setup, bracketing the main tube of the trike. Weight needs to be kept as low as possible, with ~40lbs of batteries on board.

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It's been an intensive few weeks of work, since the last update. I am coming to the final stages of my dual battery mount fabrication, with just a few brackets more to make to mount it up to the rear rack, finish refining the mount itself in terms of fit/finish, and off to paint. Basically, i started off with an 8" section of 4"x6" rectangular 5/16" tubing, then started redneck machining it down.


I was working with loose design ideas floating in my head, inspired by a rummage through the scrap bucket.

I pulled out some salvage parts (adjustment track, 3/4" solid aluminum stand-offs, brackets) and let those inspire the build up. All about eyeballing parts, deciding where to fit, whether strong enough or not..

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As of tonight..
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CMac said:
Good looking work, keeping the weight low.
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That is the whole objective - keeping everything low, and away from making the Tadpole Trike tip-happy. I'm succeeding so far, i think.

It only took me about a month, to get to this stage.. but with the exception of two additional sets of small brackets to tie into the rear rack, and the middle saddle mount to the adjustable slider, it's done. I can actually start putting things back together now, in final form.

As such, i got it off of the coffee table, and onto some jack-stands to start some actual assembly.

Next task will be to mix up my own gear-cog ratio, to reflect the fact that i'll only have 5 rear gears available to me, and will need to 'lock' out the remainder with a large sprocket interrupter to prevent travel to gears 6-8. The nature of running a 2.40 cross section tire on that rear.

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Switching gears on this a bit, i needed a little variety in the project activity, before i finalized the battery saddle rack mount brackets.

I needed to 'Home' the 48volt => 12volt down-converter buck for the Tadpole Trike electrics. I wanted it to be relatively waterproof, yet sufficiently cooled to keep from baking inside an enclosure. A large electronic project box, and a few 12volt Computer fans to produce a pull-through active air-cooling setup, using 2 smaller electronics boxes to act as weather-proof fan shrouds. I've also epoxied a set of red LED lighting strips onto it, and found 2 amber LED/Reflectors in the project spares pile, to mount onto the fan shrouds. Should get the job done.

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How many amps you need at 12 volts? A bec will step down current way cooler, you definitely won't need active cooling, and way more efficient, while being 100% waterproof all in a smaller package. I didn't know people still buy buck converters lol.
 
Frogslayer said:
How many amps you need at 12 volts? A bec will step down current way cooler, you definitely won't need active cooling, and way more efficient, while being 100% waterproof all in a smaller package. I didn't know people still buy buck converters lol.
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I don't even know what a bec is.. i only just discovered the voltage down-converter buck, and thought that was the greatest thing since sliced bread..!

Working with what i got, now.. and i'm setting things up to be modular plug and play with my build in that department, so that enclosure or contents thereof, could see replacement/modification as desired. All just about the product components i am aware of, and learning!
 
This part of the project, done... now on to permanent install of rear hub assembly, wiring, etc.

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