Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (testing phase)
Sorry for the lack of updates folks - it's the sunny summertime so I've just been out riding & playing w/the taddy... not much to report really, but sometimes that's a good thing
...well
...I did finally crash test the tribrid, bound to happen sooner or later and it was ofc my own dang fault. Of the three wheeler types tadpoles are far more stable then deltas, but they're not quite as stable as a four wheeler & they've some... interesting behaviors when they decide to be a two wheeler, when yer picking up a wheel in a hard turn or serious bump.
Yep, ya guessed it - I rolled it, "flipped" it would perhaps be more accurate lol
The taddy came out almost completely unscathed, busted a Mirrycle mirror which was pretty impressive, they're just glass but I've run them on my bikes for tens of thousands of miles & crashing all the while (well, mostly in the winter lol) and yet this is the first one I ever managed to smash. Knocked the headrest askew, but that's no surprise & easily fixed. Didn't notice it till later but I bent a brake lever a lil too... I'll be honest I'm torn, I'm irritated cause it looks funny and the Maine Scooter & Moped Rally is this weekend, but I'm askeered if I try and bend it back it'll snap and that'll not only look even funnier, it won't work & it's my fronts, natch.
I fared slightly less well, pretty sure I heroically spared the taddy the brunt of the impact with my body, which has some engineering oversights I would have liked to address with the original manufacturer, namely the relative frailty of it's limbs & joints... but I digress lol, I'm fine - gimping on a cane for a lil while but that'll pass.
If you're unfamiliar with the "interesting behaviors" a tadpole exhibits when they decide to be a two wheeler, they're a bit startling when first experienced. The first example I encountered was when I stuffed left front into a massive pothole at about half cruise (15-20mph). This was done deliberately fortunately, cause that stuff happens & best to find out the results when yer not hemmed in by irate traffic. The result was obvious, if in retrospect - despite the suspension right front jumped off the ground & I was suddenly riding a two wheeler... one that's in a hard right turn as right front & rear aren't inline, the front is about 16.5" off the centerline, which is a dang steep turn for a two wheeler even with the front wheel straight.
Thankfully recovery was instinctive, turning right (when left is off) puts the left wheel back down so it's almost self-recovering, if done in time. It's mostly just a bit exciting but note to self, when in traffic hit the unavoidable holes with left front - if it goes south, better the ditch then a truck's wheels I figure lol
My learning experience this past weekend was a slightly different scenario - still the "three wheeler pretends to be a two" gig, this time it was a hard, fast turn under power... and as it turns out, that can get ugly fast if you're pushing the line. Sadly, we've no hidef slomo instant replay, no pics or witnesses & I hadta piece together what happened as one second it was all good, then it was all bad and upside down - the really weird bit is I'd crashed the wrong side?
I was screwing aroun... *cough* "testing the high speed turn radius" in a nearby & empty parking lot, trying to get into & launch out of the tightest possible turn as fast as I could with a combination of hard braking and power application of all three drives, pedal, electric & ICE on the out... Fine, I'll admit this is boatloads of fun - the thing's pretty torquey so even in cruise range on pavement & coming out of the turn under load the soft compound semi-slick 26x2.215 in the rear is just starting to break free, but not quite so all's well... usually.
Not this time though, I think what happened is it did break free for a moment, then grabbed & launched as I exited the apex, just as left front was coming off the ground. The addition of drive torque increased the wheel lift, putting me in a sudden & steepening right turn just as I was supposed to be exiting my hard left, the end result being when it all came tumbling down it was hard onto the left at such a rate I rolled it, flipping it onto it's left side & over - although normally you'd expect the right side to take it in a high speed left turn rollover.
Well... I think that's what happened anyway, it was over so fast & I didn't even realize till a bit later that I'd "crashed the wrong side" somehow & lemme tell you that gave me more than just a mo' of "wait... what?" lol - it could have just as easily been driver error, maybe I could have leaned more, maybe I twitched and did the wrong thing... most likely a little of all the above as I'm still learning this thing's behaviors & some of 'em are dang odd heh
*shrug* Live & learn, as is wont to be said in racing - if ya don't hit the wall from time to time ya ain't been trying to win... win being learn in this case ofc.
& now for something completely different lol, while the taddy hasn't required any repairs or refinements of late aside from that, I did "upgrade" the following widget to what I now like to call "the leech" a small & portable power pack that's capable of charging/powering any/all of my camping gear, trickle charging/maintaining the taddy or recharging from it - as well as accepting charge from solar/110v AC, 24v or 12v DC, I skipped the 36v DC input as the taddy already has a 36v to 12v (and 12v to 36v) converters;
I just thought it kinda nifty & it's part of the taddy's trailerload of camping & travel gear so close 'nuff right?
Sorry for the lack of updates folks - it's the sunny summertime so I've just been out riding & playing w/the taddy... not much to report really, but sometimes that's a good thing
...well
...I did finally crash test the tribrid, bound to happen sooner or later and it was ofc my own dang fault. Of the three wheeler types tadpoles are far more stable then deltas, but they're not quite as stable as a four wheeler & they've some... interesting behaviors when they decide to be a two wheeler, when yer picking up a wheel in a hard turn or serious bump.
Yep, ya guessed it - I rolled it, "flipped" it would perhaps be more accurate lol
The taddy came out almost completely unscathed, busted a Mirrycle mirror which was pretty impressive, they're just glass but I've run them on my bikes for tens of thousands of miles & crashing all the while (well, mostly in the winter lol) and yet this is the first one I ever managed to smash. Knocked the headrest askew, but that's no surprise & easily fixed. Didn't notice it till later but I bent a brake lever a lil too... I'll be honest I'm torn, I'm irritated cause it looks funny and the Maine Scooter & Moped Rally is this weekend, but I'm askeered if I try and bend it back it'll snap and that'll not only look even funnier, it won't work & it's my fronts, natch.
I fared slightly less well, pretty sure I heroically spared the taddy the brunt of the impact with my body, which has some engineering oversights I would have liked to address with the original manufacturer, namely the relative frailty of it's limbs & joints... but I digress lol, I'm fine - gimping on a cane for a lil while but that'll pass.
If you're unfamiliar with the "interesting behaviors" a tadpole exhibits when they decide to be a two wheeler, they're a bit startling when first experienced. The first example I encountered was when I stuffed left front into a massive pothole at about half cruise (15-20mph). This was done deliberately fortunately, cause that stuff happens & best to find out the results when yer not hemmed in by irate traffic. The result was obvious, if in retrospect - despite the suspension right front jumped off the ground & I was suddenly riding a two wheeler... one that's in a hard right turn as right front & rear aren't inline, the front is about 16.5" off the centerline, which is a dang steep turn for a two wheeler even with the front wheel straight.
Thankfully recovery was instinctive, turning right (when left is off) puts the left wheel back down so it's almost self-recovering, if done in time. It's mostly just a bit exciting but note to self, when in traffic hit the unavoidable holes with left front - if it goes south, better the ditch then a truck's wheels I figure lol
My learning experience this past weekend was a slightly different scenario - still the "three wheeler pretends to be a two" gig, this time it was a hard, fast turn under power... and as it turns out, that can get ugly fast if you're pushing the line. Sadly, we've no hidef slomo instant replay, no pics or witnesses & I hadta piece together what happened as one second it was all good, then it was all bad and upside down - the really weird bit is I'd crashed the wrong side?
I was screwing aroun... *cough* "testing the high speed turn radius" in a nearby & empty parking lot, trying to get into & launch out of the tightest possible turn as fast as I could with a combination of hard braking and power application of all three drives, pedal, electric & ICE on the out... Fine, I'll admit this is boatloads of fun - the thing's pretty torquey so even in cruise range on pavement & coming out of the turn under load the soft compound semi-slick 26x2.215 in the rear is just starting to break free, but not quite so all's well... usually.
Not this time though, I think what happened is it did break free for a moment, then grabbed & launched as I exited the apex, just as left front was coming off the ground. The addition of drive torque increased the wheel lift, putting me in a sudden & steepening right turn just as I was supposed to be exiting my hard left, the end result being when it all came tumbling down it was hard onto the left at such a rate I rolled it, flipping it onto it's left side & over - although normally you'd expect the right side to take it in a high speed left turn rollover.
Well... I think that's what happened anyway, it was over so fast & I didn't even realize till a bit later that I'd "crashed the wrong side" somehow & lemme tell you that gave me more than just a mo' of "wait... what?" lol - it could have just as easily been driver error, maybe I could have leaned more, maybe I twitched and did the wrong thing... most likely a little of all the above as I'm still learning this thing's behaviors & some of 'em are dang odd heh
*shrug* Live & learn, as is wont to be said in racing - if ya don't hit the wall from time to time ya ain't been trying to win... win being learn in this case ofc.
& now for something completely different lol, while the taddy hasn't required any repairs or refinements of late aside from that, I did "upgrade" the following widget to what I now like to call "the leech" a small & portable power pack that's capable of charging/powering any/all of my camping gear, trickle charging/maintaining the taddy or recharging from it - as well as accepting charge from solar/110v AC, 24v or 12v DC, I skipped the 36v DC input as the taddy already has a 36v to 12v (and 12v to 36v) converters;
which is now this;a small example is this lil setup I threw together just to jam out while setting up the tent;
I just thought it kinda nifty & it's part of the taddy's trailerload of camping & travel gear so close 'nuff right?
