If the front trike wheel is 26", what is best for the rear?

silverbear

silverbear

The Boy Who Never Grew Up
I notice that on an adult sized delta trike with a 26" wheel up front the rear wheels are often 24", but not always... sometimes they are also 26". I'm still in the planning/ gathering parts stage of a hybrid trike build using a 1963 Schwinn American Deluxe ladies bike to be converted to a trike using a lawn tractor differential axle. It will have a 2 stroke vintage Villiars engine powering the rear axle and up front an electric Golden Motor 36V pancake motor.

Top speed on the straight would be around 30mph tops. Front fork is suspended from a light motorcycle. Tires will be 2.4 wide. Rider is 200+lbs. This will be a heavy trike, if that makes any difference.

So, with my front wheel being 26", what should the rear wheels be? Since the rear axle mount and engine mount will be made to order I can use either size wheels and adjust the height at the rear to whatever is best. I don't understand the dynamics of delta trikes well enough to have an opinion. What would you do?

I can get my cyclops tires in either size and will build the wheels using 2.125 width rims. It is easier to find used rims in 26" than 24" so for that reason I would lean toward 26" in back, but if 24 is better then I'll go that way even if it means buying new rims from Husky.

Thanks for your opinion.
SB
 
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From my background of cheap sidecar racing, smaller wheels are best as there isn't the same leverage from the rim to the hub that you get with tall ones. What size you can go down to before any pedalling becomes pointless, I don't know though.
 
Ludwig II said:
From my background of cheap sidecar racing, smaller wheels are best as there isn't the same leverage from the rim to the hub that you get with tall ones. What size you can go down to before any pedalling becomes pointless, I don't know though.
Click to expand...

Does that translate to better handling?
SB
 
It will help to get the centre of mass lower. Handling's dependent on so much else as well, but lowering the mass will reduce weight transfer when cornering and aid stability.

One thing that smaller wheels will give is a reduction in overall flex due to shorter load paths and a different angle between the hub and the rim, which should mean improved control. That's always worth having.
 
Thanks so much. Makes sense. I'm guessing, too, that heavy spokes are in order since there is a good bit of lateral pressure in cornering. Am I thinking along the right line? Not that I have in mind to be speeding through corners, but I might well be cornering on a gravel road out in the country where I live. I'm thinking 11 gauge spokes.
SB
 
I'm inclined to suggest over engineering whereever you can. Unexpected shock loads from the side can collapse a wheel very suddenly, even when the trike won't have been ridden hard. Something else to consider is running a rail from each side of the headstock to the wheel bearing area, with wide gussetting at the headstock. This removes a lot of the torsional load in that area and allows a lightweight construction, rather than just beefing up bits and pieces and the stress surfacing elsewhere.
 
I'm not real experienced with trikes, but I have seen a few custom weirdo's. You can use any size rim you like if you design for it. Your limiting factor would be the gearing of your differential.
Smaller is stronger as a general rule. Lighter as well which can affect handling and ride.
Larger is generally smoother and better handling up to a point.
Center of gravity is another issue on a trike.
Personally, I kinda like a bit of Big Wheel vibe in a trike so I'd go smaller in the rear. Fat lawn tractor tires would look sick, but would likely ride like a tank.
Spring seat seems called for, maybe a nice steel tractor version on a c-spring....
 
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SB, my Hercules trike is setup with a 28inch wheel on the front and the two back wheels are 26inchers. After riding a trike for a good while now I feel that the larger wheel at the front is a good thing in terms of tyre contact patch as an aid to steering. The rear load carrying wheels do better with being a smaller diameter with good firm well adjusted spokes.

the very first trike I built was a bit of a lash-up with 20inch wheels on the back and a 26inch wheel on the front. I would have preferred 24inch rear wheels, only I didn't have any at the time. I will say that the 20inch wheels were great for load hauling though, but tyre life wasn't all that good.
 
Thanks to each of you for the good advice. I have now decided to go with 24" wheels in back and have just now ordered the cyclops tires which are 2.4" wide. Nice that the front and rear tires will match even though the front wheel is 26". That one I already have mounted on the front wheel. It looks good and should give a comfortable ride. The smaller pair were ordered through Amazon and with extra wide tubes to go with them came to just shy of $50.00 with shipping.

I'll need to wait for spring thaw when the snow pack melts down to where I can see whether or not I have a set of 24" rims I can use from a donor bike. I suspect not as most of my stuff is in 26". Lots of time between now and then to find a set of used ones or break down and buy new ones from Husky while ordering spokes.

The wheels will be stout, the axle strong and functional in shifting power to left and right and the fatty tires will look good... and now I know what size the wheels will be. Thanks to you good people!
SB
 
There are questions posed by this picture. How wide is the SB axle going to be, and where is the engine going to be? Lower = more stable.
 
Yes, Barry, that's a nice looking trike for sure!

racie, I'm aware that trikes are inherently unstable and like my bike with a sidecar will require getting used to and also lower speeds, particularly at corners. I have no desire to see how fast I can go with this and foresee using it in safe, non traffic situations, something like a super mobility scooter. It is being built in preparation for when I can no longer safely ride a two wheeler... which could happen at any time as I have a disease called Guillane Barre Syndrome which has symptoms similar to polio. If it gets much worse then I will be crippled and want to still be able to ride a motorbike. In the meantime, knock on wood and keep on riding any and everything. Woohoo!

Ludwig,
I don't recall the width of the axle and can't measure it until I am back home in Minnesota. Right now I'm visiting my sister in Omaha, Nebraska where this crazy winter is less severe. -26 back home this morning. So it will be a month before I can measure it. It is what it is and I will ride accordingly.

I just located a pair of 24" X 2.125 Worksman front wheels, new and shipped for $60.00 from a member here on the forum. I'll need to re-lace them in order to use them as rear wheels, but they will work great!
SB
 
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