Current etrike offerings and buying tips

I have not viewed this thread in ages. Someone gave a like today from something I mentioned at the beginning of the year, bringing me back. @tomjasz mentioned the TSDZ2 I made a trike with a TSDZ2 five years ago from a new $350 big box special. It is still being used everyday. I immediately installed really good tires and touch points, plus upgraded the brakes. Now there is a 'b' version of that motor with refined firmware, a second clutch, a throttle with a torque sensor and additional bearings on the main shaft. You need to start with a trike with gears, such as a seven speed.
 
I bought the XP Trike for my in-laws, they are in their mid-80's.
Limited in their physical abilities, balance, stamina.. and height (5'2|" & 4' 9")
I changed out the OEM cranks for shorter crankarms, installed seat with backrest, and a mirror.
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kevinmccune said:
Had a trike so equipped, had good pulling power.
Query-Does more weight in the front help the wheel lifting any?
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I made it for a University Professor to carry lab equipment on Campus. It sat in his barn for four years gathering dust then he died after several stokes and a heart attack. His wife informed me and wanted it gone, so it ended up with my disabled friend John for free. He moved the battery from the downtube and placed it perpendicular to the frame, behind the seat tube, and likes the handling better that way. It took him a week of practice to be able to use it. Now he loves it and can't imagine life without it. From an engineering perspective you would think the downtube would be better. It is lower now and at the center axis of the trike.
 
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kevinmccune said:
You found us

I believe there is a conversion kit to replace the one piece crank, some of the older members may be able to verify.
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Kevin,
There is and they look like this. The adaptor must be eccentric (off center) and convert from an 'American' bottom bracket to 'English.'
I used one last week when I converted this nine-year-old Huffy. It was a free bike and sold Saturday to a Fashion Designer. The matching grips, nice saddle, and brown pedals arrive tomorrow. She says it is the most beautiful bike she has ever seen. I staged it with flowers in the basket's cupholder. The single piece BB weighed as much as a sledge hammer. This is what a clean build of an electric bike can be. The battery slides into the bottle cage.

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tomjasz said:
FWIW This isn’t always the case.
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That is so true, so be carful. The distance from the bottom of the frame's BB shell needs to be very close to the motor, 4 or 5 mm max, the thickness of two nickels to clear. That factor does not come into paly if you are installing an analog English BB. That can be centered. A conversion requires an eccentric adaptor.
 
I've put about 5 miles on the XP Trike. My wife put about 25 miles on the XP Trike,
still keeping it on the standard mode for eventually the trike will go to the in-laws soon.
Wife keeps the PAS level at 1, pedaling along she's able to keep the trike moving along at 12 mph constant, even on hills 400-500 ft. long.
Me riding along had to put significant effort to keep up with her on the same hill, granted I was on analog 40 lb. cargo bicycle.
I weight about 175 lb. fully dressed and wife is about 140 lb., in-laws are about 120-130 lb.
I put a mirror & bell on the handlebar, swapped out the long suspension seatpost to a lightweight MTB seatpost, so seat can be even lower position than OEM; in-laws being under 5' tall.
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Folding the XP trike down is simple, taking the seat off the trike makes it even much smaller
overall size gets pretty compact, likely able to fit inside many SUVs.
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Size comparison against my gravel bike, Fiido T1 & 20" folding bike:
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With a little effort & maneuvering, the XP Trike can fit inside my Toyota Yaris hatchback.
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Given the Op's original asks, I would recommend keeping up with the latest offerings via this particular forum/subheading and those willing to bring same forward 'old school' (simply name something better). $3000 or better (as asked) will deliver a might fine trike in 2023 with few compromises. Seating (even modifiable possibilities), dual suspension, maximum power, drive type/location and even the benefits of rear differential types have been purposefully 'poo poo(ed)' of late in this space at the price point above.
Again, wade through the fan boys/naysayers who jealously bash designs/technologies long standard fare in ebikes which are finally beginning to show up in trikes for a reasonable price.
The extra spend, in my opinion, is beginning to push out some budget selections as indicated by the outrage alone towards new offerings with much more to offer and those who report back on their advantages.
 
DashRiprock said:
Given the Op's original asks, I would recommend keeping up with the latest offerings via this particular forum/subheading and those willing to bring same forward 'old school' (simply name something better). $3000 or better (as asked) will deliver a might fine trike in 2023 with few compromises. Seating (even modifiable possibilities), dual suspension, maximum power, drive type/location and even the benefits of rear differential types have been purposefully 'poo poo(ed)' of late in this space at the price point above.
Again, wade through the fan boys/naysayers who jealously bash designs/technologies long standard fare in ebikes which are finally beginning to show up in trikes for a reasonable price.
The extra spend, in my opinion, is beginning to push out some budget selections as indicated by the outrage alone towards new offerings with much more to offer and those who report back on their advantages.
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Have you got any riding experience with these wonderful e-trikes of yours to share?
Any pictures?
Any experience transporting them with your car or truck?
Why do you always have to bring up the naysayers or jealousy in your posts?
Leave those comments out, please; they contribute nothing to the discussions you post, including your own threads.
 
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I have been waiting for Arcimoto to produce their Lean Mean Machine ever since they bought Tilting Motor Works, purveyors of motorcycle conversion kits that convert certain Harley, Indian, and Honda motorcycles into tadpole (two wheels in front, one in back) trikes. The tadpole configuration is more stable in turns than traditional two-wheels-in-back trikes. Their Lean Mean Machine is a tadpole all-wheel drive (3 motors!) electric trike with tilting tech. You sit on it at the height of a regular bike, not down low like a recumbent, which is a big plus. It is not yet in production. Unfortunately, Arcimoto nearly went bankrupt, and is just now (apparently) emerging from its crisis.

It would be great if Tilting Motor Works (or another company) would make conversion kits for ebikes, i.e. kits that would replace the front wheel of ebikes with two tilting wheels! Then almost any ebike could be converted into a tadpole trike. There is probably a big market in the aging Baby-Boomer population.

You can buy (or at least order) Arcimoto's FUV in some states, a two-passenger tadpole electric vehicle, more the size of a micro-car. I believe they start at $19,000.
 
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Bicyclista said:
I have been waiting for Arcimoto to produce their Lean Mean Machine ever since they bought Tilting Motor Works, purveyors of motorcycle conversion kits that convert certain Harley, Indian, and Honda motorcycles into tadpole (two wheels in front, one in back) trikes. The tadpole configuration is more stable in turns than than traditional two-wheels-in-back trikes. Their Lean Mean Machine is a tadpole all-wheel drive (3 motors!) electric trike with tilting tech. You sit on it at the height of a regular bike, not down low like a recumbent, which is a big plus. It is not yet in production. Unfortunately, Arcimoto nearly went bankrupt, and is just now (apparently) emerging from its crisis.

It would be great if Tilting Motor Works (or another company) would make conversion kits for ebikes, i.e. kits that would replace the front wheel of ebikes with two tilting wheels! Then almost any ebike could be converted into a tadpole trike. There is probably a big market in the aging Baby-Boomer population.

You can buy (or at least order) Arcimoto's FUV in some states, a two-passenger tadpole electric vehicle, more the size of a micro-car. I believe they start at $19,000.
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Just couple of threads down:

Tilting/leaning trikes

Hello all, I previously posted about riding e trikes on rail trails, and think that it is feasible in my area. My riding would be recreational, do not need to transport people or heavy cargo. I have become very interested in the tilting trikes. So far, the main brands seem to be Mastretta MX3...
electricbikereview.com electricbikereview.com
 
Wonder what advantage there is to a tadpole (2 front wheels) vs. 2 wheels in rear ... must be something to it (at higher speeds at least) since I see lots of tadpole motorcycles and haven't seen a conventional tricycle layout on a motorcycle in decades.
 
Art Deco said:
Wonder what advantage there is to a tadpole (2 front wheels) vs. 2 wheels in rear ... must be something to it (at higher speeds at least) since I see lots of tadpole motorcycles and haven't seen a conventional tricycle layout on a motorcycle in decades.
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Low center of gravity is the biggest advantage. I have a Fat Tad with a rear hub motor. I've topped it out at 24mph so far. I would never do that on a traditional trike!
 
None said:
Didn't grow up with a 3-wheeler?
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ATCs were all the craze in Tucson, AZ and surrounding areas when I practiced diagnostic radiology there in the mid-1980s. Saw lots of serious injuries and some deaths. No one seemed to understand the inherent instability.

The deaths included 9 year-old twins, whose parents thought it would be a good idea to let them loose in the desert on their own ATCs. Unsupervised. The twins decided to race each other straight up with wall of a wash. Both ATCs flipped backward, landing on their riders. Soon everyone was talking about the dangers.

Sadly reminiscent of that recent death of a 12 year-old girl on the back of a Rad ebike in west LA. Who knew that a heavy ebike with a passenger could outrun its brakes on a 14% downhill?

The legal case is controversial to be sure, but I have to think that the parents of the friend of the deceased whose bike it was bear significant responsibility. That steep downhill was the only way out of the cul de sac where the girls lived. If you let your kid loose on that bike, it'd be descending that 14% grade every time. Did the parents ever test the bike on that grade themselves?
 
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Art Deco said:
Wonder what advantage there is to a tadpole (2 front wheels) vs. 2 wheels in rear ... must be something to it (at higher speeds at least) since I see lots of tadpole motorcycles and haven't seen a conventional tricycle layout on a motorcycle in decades.
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When you turn the outside wheel in tadpole configuration helps prevent flipping over.
 
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