Sail Trike Observations, Design Concerns, Things to try

4-15-08

Sparrow Hub motor is under-powered for this vehicle. It has poor hill climbing and acceleration. The vehicle is not “fun” to ride. It’s max. electric speed is just over 20 mph.

Vehicle is too low in city traffic and parking lots. It has poor visibility in traffic (It gives a good view of car hub caps and bumpers). It’s hard for rider to see around/over cars and for cars to see vehicle. But, it rides nice and safe on country roads and bike paths.

How will Vehicle perform with wind power? What size sail is required? Will Body be enough or will vertical sail be required?

I don’t know if the vehicle platform is stable at speeds over 20mph. I’ve experienced no stability, front end shimmy, or control problems up to 20 mph. But I am concerned about front end flex/flop at higher speeds.

Front end flex is a concern. Will front end/forks bend or break in cornering?

Will Front wheel collapse in higher speed turns?

Pedaling with hub motor running makes vehicle rock back and forth sideways (sway) and makes the Springer fork bounce.

Turning radius is a problem with the front wheel drive chain system.

Rear suspension doesn’t seem to be required. The current 350 pounds per inch spring provides almost no rear suspension. Springer fork seems to be enough suspension for the vehicle. Could easily shave 8-10 pounds off vehicle weight by removing rear suspension.

I have not experimented with smaller rear suspension spring to see how it works WITH a rear suspension.

I have not tried to ride it without batteries as purely HPV.

Using Chinese rear wheels was a mistake in that I had a lot of rework to fix their quality problems. I should have used Honda moped wheels. Better quality.

Supporting the rear wheels both ends of the axle offers several advantages:

1. Supporting wheel on both sides allows use of standard axles and bearings.

2. Supporting wheel on both sides allows less expensive braking options (e.g. can use rim brakes).

3. Supporting wheel on both sides provides a place for wheel fairings to be attached.

4. Supporting the wheel on both sides provides a deflection structure to help wheels not get tangled up as vehicle passes something.

Moped wheels don’t need to be mounted with 5 degree angle. Bicycle wheels probably should be. Getting the 5 degree angle is a manufacturing pain in the ass.

Rear Moped tire width of 3” wide is nice. 3.5” width is overkill. 10” moped wheels seem to have low rolling resistance (the vehicle coasts a long way), have great brakes, but brakes tend to lock up in heavy braking. The moped wheels are relatively heavy.

Width of front end with Springer fork and wide hub motor may cause ergonomic problems with hips and knees. I felt some joint pain in the short rides I went on within 1-2 miles of start. Must be cautious!

Springer fork May not be required if connection point for front end is hinged and springs are inserted as diagonal support members.

Storage space should have been addressed more carefully during the design phase. How much cargo space is required? Where will space be? Will support brackets for seat/body get in way of storage? Where will vertical sail be mounted?

15^th gear is at least 2 gears to low for max SPARROW hub motor.

Getting 30-35mph electric powered speed with this vehicle requires an investment of $1,100 in electrical components. This is quite near the price point for an E-tek or Perm-132 motor. The E-tek and Perm-132 are a little harder to integrate because they require sprockets and chain drive, but provide 8 hp more available power!

For a 30-35mph vehicle the Crystalyne motor option saves up to 20 pounds on vehicle weight, is MUCH easier to integrate, and is much easier to wire. But, only costs $200 less and has half the horse power.

In reverse, the human power pedals turn backwards. This is inconvenient for the rider. The chain jams on pulleys in reverse (should be easily fixed by some tweaking). When not pedaling, the freewheel hub is freewheeling/clicking; how much energy does this use?

Performance Data:

Max speed: 22mph

Range: 13 miles at 15 mph with 48V, 20 Amp Hour batteries (with one of the 4 batteries being weak) But, I suspect with strong batteries range will be similar to my motorcycle.

Vehicle Weight without batteries: 90#

Battery weight: 60#

Rider: 185#

Gross Vehicle Weight during testing: 335#

Opportunities: If I were to remove the Human power, I could steer vehicle with feet and have hands free for moving sail. Also, without human power, the nose of canopy could be mounted lower giving a sleeker look.

Material Costs to date:

NEXT STEPS:

1. Review, tweek, improve and test concerns, worries, etc. of items listed above.

2. Experiment with various shell building materials and methods. Build a sail, build a shell for sail trike, electric motorcycle and 3 wheel motorcycle.

3. Build a few electric motorcycles with dustbin fairings for sale to fund this Summer?

4. Finish Sail Trike

• Wind, Electric, Human Hy-Brid
• Meets legal requirements of Moped (1 person, <2hp, 30mph max speed, etc.)
• Fully enclosed, provides protection from rain and cold
• Empty Weight < 200 lbs.
• Low areodynamic drag (Cd<.15)
• Three wheels, Front Steering via 1 wheel (Tripod Trike)
• Easy Enter/Exit
• Fits through 28 inch doorway and in back of Minivan

• Fun Sport Commuter Vehicle - As a wind powered vehicle, maximum speed depends on wind velocity and skill of driver
• Health Building - Pedals provide passenger with opportunity to exercise during commuting time when desired
• Environmentally Friendly - Electric Power is sustainable and renewable
• Saves Money - Highly Efficient Design offers less than $.01/Mile (Gasoline equivilant 300+MPG)
• Large Demographic - As a moped vehicle can be driven by young and old for sport, pleasure and commuting