The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike

[killercanuck]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

Whoa, busy busy! r.i.p beater bike Definitely got your money out of that combo eh? Now you can make a generator or something out of it

The Mongoose should be a good trial for the hub, for playing with controller settings. It'll be easier to figure out than fighting it while on the Taddy, the same time as everything else.

Don't dare abuse the Rollfast, for sure, good call.

Have a good one.

 

[thegnu]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

wow is all I can say an I would be afraid to be that low up here , some truck would hit you like a speedbump an never notice .

 

[Cogswelln]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

any updates on this amazing peice of work, and hope all is good with ya man, srry for not keeping in touch with ya ur knowledge is outstanding, and with two jobs, i havent had the chance to even ride my mb lately. hope all is good with ya, and all of your creations.

 

[BarelyAWake]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

Hey Cog, good ta hear from ya! No worries, been a bit busy myself... but never too busy to ride lol

With the taddy thing - well, it occurred to me that it's electric drive was not only unknown, but I was not terribly familiar with ebikes so I went ahead and used the taddy's electric bits to build this bike and test the hub, batteries, lighting & converters;



vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNhS5FJCqNo
build & review: http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=38908
pics: http://s305.photobucket.com/albums/nn210/Serenity151/Mongo/

...and despite some initial teething pains, it's worked out almost too well - as in I can't seem to stop riding the thing

So I'm facing a dilemma, a good 'un, but still a conflict nonetheless - I've learned my concerns were disproportional, the electric aspect of the tribrid will work out really well with this particular hub & battery combo & all the lil widgets I've built to go along w/it have been successful...

...but b'cause it's working so well & the ebike is so much fun to ride I can't seem to bring myself to tear it all back apart again, or even stop riding long enough to tinker

*shrug* can't complain about that tho, the bike is a blast, the weather is awesome & now I'm confident the taddy hybrid/tribrid concept is not only valid - but will most likely exceed all my expectations in preformance & range... so as per my usual, it's jus' a matter of time

 

[Alaskavan]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

I totally understand the idea that you can either build, or ride. But 2 years?

 

[BarelyAWake]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

“How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before it's June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?”
- Dr. Seuss

 

[silverbear]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

I totally understand how a build can become a drawn out and complex endeavor. A couple of years ago I saw a picture of an early Indian tri-car which I mistakenly called an Indian Tadpole as it had two wheels in front. I thought about how cool it would be to build something like that, having little idea how complicated that might be. And I wanted it to be a kind of ultimate build, so it ended up having an obscure 1934 German Sachs motorcycle engine for it's power... just had to have an in frame copper gas tank, needed to be convertible for stand alone two wheeled motorcycle to motorcycle with a sidecar and also to a tri-car... three bikes in one. And it won't be done for another year (well, hopefully next summer). It might have already been done if I didn't have something else fun to ride. I would have probably abandoned the original plan, impatient to get riding. But like you, I have something fun to ride as I peck away at the big project. So I take my time and it will be done when it's done. And so will your wonderful tadpole. Carry on, sir.
SB

 

[BarelyAWake]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

Well let's see... turkey day is here again & delicious as the bird may be, it's also a harbinger, the final warning of the impending chill, the long cold dark that's here to stay. While I still ride ofc, the wanderabouts & meaningless meanderings are remarkable only in there brevity lol

So, time to dust off the tools & the taddy while I'm at it, it's amazing how much chaos can collect in a mere matter of months, my mental state included as I strain to remember just what exactly I may be doing...

Right, stuff & stuff heh

Anyhoo - turns out I made a grave miscalculation, I'd assumed I'd be done "testing" the electric drive components of this hybrid months ago when if fact I seem to have gained another addiction instead: Ruined by an electric bike... and can't seem to bring myself to stop riding the "test" bike, which is obv a test bike no longer after over three thousand miles and here to stay. Which is all fine & good and I'm very pleased w/it... except ofc I'd pilfered the taddy for dealies, widgets, bits & things - perilously close to a grand in parts have been reallocated, usurped for another cause.

I'd ofc toyed with the idea of scrapping the hybrid aspect of the taddy, to simplify the build and to make amends, to calm the pitiful wails of my wallet...

Yea, ta heck with that lol - if anything 'Mongo' the "test" bike made me more determined to make this work, the electric bit just too nifty to ignore. I've learned a few things however such as while the 48v 15ah LiFePO4 battery pack & Magic Pie 1000w hub are great on a bicycle - they are in fact a touch "overkill" as just a supplementary drive on a hybrid, I'll not need the 30 mile range or all the nifty, fancy-pants things the 'Pie's controller is capable of.

So I decided to experiment some more, to take a chance with a ever so slightly more powerful hub motor, yet one that doesn't have all the bells'n whistles... or reputation for customer support as it's a "generic" no name knock-off... but w/e lol, I s'pose we'll see *shrug*

It's from a fleabay merchant, so the listings expire and as I've not tested it yet I can't recommend it.... but it seems to have some potential, it's rather drab name is: 'Rear Hub Motor Kit with 26" Rim, 7 Speed Gears Flywheel and Brake Disk' which supposedly is capable of up to 1200w from;

http://stores.ebay.com/moreBatteryStore?_trksid=p2047675.l2563



...for a mere $250, I'm willing enough to give the kit a shot, but ofc that doesn't include the pesky batteries - the real cost of an electric setup.

I also ordered a bigger (wider) rim for the hub Alex DX32 26" 36H Black - while it turns out the hub kit comes with exactly the same double wall rim as the 'Pie (just not painted black), I just don't want such a skinny one as that (the Alex is 1.5", the MP 1");



Fate was smiling for a change however & as luck would have it a friend just happened to have a 36v 12ah GM LiFePO4 battery pack and was willing to part with it, provided I could make it work w/my setup... while it's 36v and I need 48 - getting another three cells & a different BMS is simple enough, adding them not a big deal at all so that settles that I figured.

The GM LFP-3612S-LT (36v 12ah LiFePO4) stripped of it's case;


Only it didn't lol as there seems to be a 36v conspiracy afoot - not only did I end up with a 36v pack, the b'danged fleabay seller sent me a 36v controller instead of the 48 I wanted - I could ofc simply demand what I ordered, I could ofc just buy another...

I think I'll accept destiny and just 36v the taddy lol, I really don't think for this particular application it'll make much of a difference, the lower the voltage the higher the amp draw to maintain the wattage - which combined with the smaller (but lighter ofc) battery will result in a range penalty, but as it's a hybrid range doesn't matter as much, not to mention my wallet is very pleased with the decision heh

So, now I just have to make a completely different electric drive system work with a project designed otherwise. There's a bunch of lil things that now need to be altered such as the hub is a 1/2" too wide for the dropouts, the disc brake caliper needs be relocated, the controller is no longer internal and the battery is ofc a completely different size & shape so I'll hafta figure out where & how to make them fit on a project that's been an ongoing fight for every fraction of an inch - which should be interesting.

 

[BarelyAWake]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

...and while I was "patiently" waiting for the blasted brown truck, I did manage to knock another little thing off the to-do list, minor perhaps but every bit helps heh

I'd gotten a set of 'Blazer' driving lights from ol' wallyworld, chrome & halogen they were too shiny for my eyes & too hungry for the amps, so I converted them to a pair of 'Torchstar' LED MR16 Halogen replacement spotlights (12V 4W/440 Lumen), one with a 30° beam angle (high beam & cool white) and one with a 60° for the low/daytime driving (in a warm yellow). Just 4w instead of 50w & jus' four bucks each FTW, then I painted some of the shiny away as I'm not the biggest fan of chrome... particularly right where it'd reflect the sun's glare right into my eyes, headlights being to help ya see not hinder it right?

Not a big deal at all 'cept ofc the LED bulbs were almost 1/4" taller (longer?) so I had to gut the housing & make different plugins, easy e'nuff & 'nother thing done;

 

[silverbear]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

Ah, the saga continues and with a new twist. The plot thickens!
SB

 

[Blakenstein]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

Wow!!! Those are great pictures - what beautiful country !!! Thanks for sharing Barely !!! And its been a whlie Silver Bear, and it's great to see that you're still around and that you're still happenin.
P.S. I'll bet that there is gold in that there dirt, but you know what?? I'ts aaaalllll gold. Bearlys pics are gold, my boat is gold, Fleetwood Mac is gold, my bike is gold.
Im' not tryin to rob the aluvial sands and gravels its' gold. The aluvial sands and gravels and the rivers are gold!!!
The dude that dropped me at the river for a 23 mile run, took this pic. I was waving goodbye. I was alone and had no Idea what was waiting for me.
Out of all my pics and videos this is my favorite.

 

[BarelyAWake]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

Ya must mean the pics in the ebike thread http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=40663 Blakenstein? As the poor taddy hasn't had the chance to see the country yet beautiful or otherwise lol - but thanks & yea, it's a great area for wanderin' about.

Ah, the saga continues and with a new twist. The plot thickens!
SB

Always Silver, a thick, never-ending series of plot twists seems to be the saga of the taddy heh

For example - I'm defo out of synch w/this project, I've forgotten me numbers and just how nit picky all the measurements really are, that I need to check to be sure no matter what I seemed to remember. I just spent the better part of the morning repacking the battery & shrink wrapping, a simple task made slightly tedious by the fact I've just a pencil torch, lacking the heat gun I should have for such - no matter, it jus' takes a lil longer is all...

...only to find the silly thing was 1/2" too tall, hitting the seat before it could recline fully - so I had to cut it all back apart again and pray I could figure a way to reconfigure the cells to fit. I knew I could separate it into two separate packs and mount them one per side as the 48v packs were if all else failed - but one of the gains of using this smaller 36v pack is I can use one tray for the battery & the other for assorted electronics & the controller, which fits so well it gets a lil stuck actually heh

So here we go the exacto knife again, cuttin' up my pretty shrink wrap job... not so pretty actually so it's just as well, I need the practice. After separating the cells, removing the center retainer & ever so gently bending the pack in half as not to break the cell's tabs I find I'm within 1/8" if I move the BMS to the side instead of what is now the top!

YAY! (lil dance) Obv I'm relieved - if I couldn't make all the cells fit on one side, I'd hafta find a place for the new controller and that isn't something I wanted to contemplate as I'm fighting for fractions of an inch for every component on this thing, the new controller isn't exactly small either. I'm very glad I made these trays big enough to fit SLAs as gives me a lil wiggle room for the different LiFePO4 combinations I had no idea I'd be experimenting with lol

Now that I know they'll fit, I just need to swap out the connectors & rewire to match my harness, then shrink wrap it again;

 

[killercanuck]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

Good thing you've documented everything so well, but now you have to read through your own 47 pages to catch yourself back up, doh!

But yea, like you say, the elec hub on that beast is just for "off the line" so range is no concern, until you run out of gas... right?

Glad to see her "back in gear" so to speak, not totally ruined by the electric woo!

 

[BarelyAWake]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

Defo killercanuck - I hafta review my own thread for part numbers & whatnot more frequently than I'd care to admit lol... and much as I do really like Mongo the ebike, the fact remains I do sometimes wish to go a lil farther than the thirty miles it's got, which is still pretty impressive for just batteries TBH


Well, repacking & shrink wrapping the battery pack "take two" went well, I added some dense foam spacer dealies between the stacks of cells and on the back & sides before wrapping to prevent movement/chafe & potential shorts - the original GM case had this and I thought it clever, kinda wish I'd thought of it lol

So anyway, here's a coupla more pics, though the battery is about 1/4" taller than the pack I designed the tray for, the nylon cover still fit - which is good as I really don't like sewing heh... the last pic is of just the mounts w/the tray removed, figured I'd show what I mean when I complain about "fighting for fractions of an inch"

 

[BarelyAWake]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

One of the things that tripped me up as a bit unexpected was seems I don't own anything like a small bottle or scissor jack to spread the stays with... well... that's not really surprising I s'pose as I don't bother with cars anymore. Still I hadta zoom around a bit to a coupla friend's shops and say "yes, I know floor jacks are better & safer for lifting a car, but I don't need to lift a car - can I borrow the jack you hate please?"

...and eventually got what I needed to spread the chainstays enough to fit my new hub motor lol

I coulda just used a plank or whatever, but that coulda twisted the stays a little (defo don't want alignment issues) and I woulda had to have removed the stays from the taddy... which is not that big a deal, I'll hafta do that anyway to weld the rear caliper mount & (hopefully) have it all powdercoated but as the jackshaft, three chains and two derailleurs (one is just a tensioner) are all routed through there - well, I'd like to keep it's disassembly to a minimum heh

While it's preformance is yet to be tested, I must say I do kinda like how this hub looks on the taddy better than the MP - not that such really matters *shrug* That's not the correct rotor (Avid), it's just the one that came with the kit... and I think it's on backwards lol but no matter, I've gotta pull it all back apart again anyway as I need to replace the rim itself with my spiffy new wider one (still yet to be shipped);

 

[paul]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

looking good ba. i look forward to hearing about the performance when you get it all done. that is going to be a lot of fun

 

[BarelyAWake]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

Thanks man, I'm lookin' forward to it too


Well, just as inevitable as the long, cold dark this time o'year is the onset of illness - the upstairs neighbor's kid seems determined to bring home every bug they can find... and sharing is good right? Yea...

So, addled on cough syrup & brain filled with snot the simplest tasks become a challenge - fortunately I've a looooong list of challenging simple tasks lol, so I've mucked about just doing not very interesting or photogenic things like some minor rewiring, resoldering connectors & reorganizing components to adapt to this different hub drive, battery pack & the fact it's now 36 instead of 48 volt.

Nevertheless, in the predawn silence and with no fanfare save a small snort of satisfaction - a major milestone was reached, the electric drive is live! While I was just testing components - this does mean I could tidy it up a bit, drag it outside & tootle around w/two of it's three drive systems (pedal & electric ofc)... dunno if I'm gonna though, seems like cheating somehow heh

Here's a pic & a very short lil vid... not terribly exciting I suspect - unless yer the guy who's had the silly thing "dead" on his bench all this time ...don't worry 'bout the "wheel hop" as in my haste I didn't seat the bead properly - the rim & tire is getting replaced anyway;

http://youtu.be/elrRCtTu2vs



One of the "minor" tasks I've obv not attended to is cleaning up my shop, but hey - gotta have priorities right? & jus' because it's been awhile, this is what the taddy and my shop is s'posed to look like lol;

 

[JonnyR]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

you know that jack you used is from the trunk of a car almost every car since the early 90s came with one of them under the donut spare just in case you need to use one again

 

[Dan]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

LOL about clean/messy shops BA. When ever Carol gets cranky about mine being messy. (She still thinks of it as her garage, sheesh.)

I quote Charles Bukowski; "Show me a man who lives alone and has a perpetually clean kitchen, and eight times out of nine I'll show you a man with detestable spiritual qualities."

 

[fasteddy]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

"A clean shop is a sure sign of a cluttered mind".

That's my story and I'll tell it the way I want.

Steve.