Hey...

U

Underhill

New Member
Local time
11:12 AM
Joined
Mar 24, 2008
Messages
11
Location
Olean NY
Currently I am riding a short wheelbase Sun Recumbent and I've ordered a Golden Eagle Subaru 35cc 4 stroke kit for it.

I'm in the most backwoods part of western NY state and the hills here can ruin a good day of biking quick. The motor should make my 18 mile (each way) comute a bit more apealing.

But the future for me is a pedal assisted velomobile. I'm currently designing a Carbon Fiber tadpole velomobile with enough capacity to be 3-1/2 season transportation. It will have a semi enclosed motor to drive the single rear wheel. I'm hoping this may be a good place to get input on various design ideas.

Anyway, have fun and don't be a stranger...
 
Hi Underhill, Welcome to MBc! Home of many answers, and awaiting your ideas.

General request to all new members.
Please, before posting any questions, do a search. Then READ,READ,READ.
There is a ton of information here. Many of your engine and performance issues in the Garage & Tech/Mech Help have already been covered. Here at MBc we are the home of nearly all MoteredBike questions. If you search and are unable to find your answer, don't hesitate to post your question. Were here for each other! Enjoy! :D}
 
welcome!

carbon fibre huh? dont think anyone else here is using that for customization, so you bring us a new area of expertise!
A standard google search on building tadpole trikes will turn up a lot of information, I'll assume you've done that all ready. I did it because as soon as i saw Alaskavan's trike i knew i would have to build one, one day :p.
Go through Alaskavans post is my best advice. When it comes to motorized tadpoles, i'm pretty sure he is the one and the only around here. And his project is soooooooo sweet, i don't know how you can look at it and not want one. Price tag for the basic Tadpole bike is absurd though, considering i could pay for courses, learn to weld and then buy a bunch of bikes, cut em up, build a jig and then build a tadpole for less then it would cost to just buy one. From what i've read the front end steering is certainly the most complex part to build, but you can in fact adapt a riding mower front end, or even build your own with a bit of engineering.
gl man!
 
Thanks for the pointers. I might have to get to know this 'Wheelman' character of whom I've read... This thing will likely weigh 120 pounds (a goal, probably closer to 140 all told) and I'm no lightweight myself. Add a motor to the mix and I will need 3 stout wheels.

I plan to use lightweight boat building technology for the shell and frame. I work for an engineering firm and a few of us are working on the design in our spare time. If you've seen the WAW, the shape is somewhat similar with a longer rear end (aprox. 18") to make room for the drive.

My goal is a 30mph cruise speed. Carbon shell (built on a foam core) with an integral frame (balsa core). I'm debating the merits of putting a layer of kevlar on the outside for abrasion resistance if/when I tip it over.

You bring up a good point with the steering on a tadpole. We've gone back and forth between a delta design and a tadpole. It looks like a tadpole is more stable, while a delta is a bit easier to design and probably a bit better in incliment weather. Sound right?
 

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