My Human Petrol Recumbent Tadpole Trike --- Just finished.

[teknomage2012]

My Human Petrol Recumbent Tadpole Trike --- Just hit the road, gonna be a fun summer. I will start logging fuel mileage as soon as I get the bicycle computer working.

Check out the videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxNgLXTQOUk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbrMnTNiLmQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTovZdu2SU4

Looking forward to your comments?

[sjr]

looks cool got any pictures and build details?

[MadisonMPG]

I don't get it, I don't understand what it's for.

[olmon]

There is a guy here in Sequim that has a Staton Inc motor conversion on his tadpole trike. He averages over 200mpg with a top speed of about 40mph. He headed out for W Virginia year before last but only made it to Wisc before breaking a leg. That trike is his principle form of transportation year round. I see him all over the Olympic Peninsula on it. His is bare, not even a faring. With the faring and bodies available, it is feasible in quite a few areas to use one for regular transportation/shopping.

[Frank Lee]

[Grant-53]

Looks very well built and the rear engine should help the anti-dive under braking. Definitely look into a Blue Sky, Mueller or Zzipper fairing. Lights, mirros, helmet, and a seat belt are in order. I agree 200 mpg and 40 mph are likely. Since the seat height is below 20 in. this would not be legal in NY - pity!

[Bicycle Bob]

Anti-dive is hardly a consideration with no suspension. What counts, though, is not the location of any particular component, but the combined center of gravity and its relationship to the tire contact patches. If the heavy bits are mostly close to the cg, there is less polar moment of inertia, and things like stoppies can happen faster, if they can happen at all. A relatively high cg will cause more pitching or dive under braking if there is suspension, and so the suspension geometry is sometimes adjusted to resist it, often using brake reactions. Arranging for the front wheels to move forward on bump helps too, but adds harshness.

[123]

Nice I want one.

I live in Oregon and would like to know how this is legal? I looked into building a Motorized Bicycle and found out there are a lot of legal issues so I never did.

[Grant-53]

Okay Bob, I took a closer look at the last video and could not see any pivot points. The first class in mechanical engineering that talked about steel flexing and bending gave me a nightmare. 'Endo' is not a precise engineering term but most of us have experienced it! Some texts define the center of gravity or center of mass as the summation of the centers of mass of each component. Fine if you have a high end CAD system. Polar moment of inertia is calculated in each plane about the center of mass. Front suspensions now tend to let the wheel move up and back as the wheel hits a bump. More later

[Grant-53]

A stable braking tadpole will have the angle between the ground, the front tire patch, and the center of gravity (usually the small of the back) less than 45 degrees.

Any trike capable of more than 30 mph should be built as a motorcycle with FMVSS certified tires and brakes