Dual motor; full suspension; semi-recumbent MeetOneTrike with 180nm torque @ 25 mph

[DashRiprock]

First video off-road/climbing a hill:

 

[PCeBiker]

your drive-train is destroyed because you do not pedal and most likely do not start out in a low gear, what do you expect?

I've got a hub drive.
My my drive-train has less than 50 km on it.
My e-bike has over 3,800 km on it.

My drive-train looks pretty good.
The motor does too, and it did all the work,..

 

[AOE4]

my point is quality mid drive motors like my Yamaha/Giant motor do not destroy drive-trains if you are shifting properly and do not ignore maintenance. you are the rare person that does not abuse your hub drive Ebike. I assumed you were like most riders I know that abuse their hub drive Ebike typically starting from a dead stop in a high gear (8,9th etc) and replace chains, cassettes and chainrings in a few hundred miles. My apologies for assuming that you botched up your bike. "my drive-train has less than 50 km on it" ? not sure what you mean by that. my E-mtb climbs like a goat, tons of torque that if applied judiciously can be awesome.

 

[DashRiprock]

(Back to the topic of this groundbreaking trike):
One of the biggest things intriguing me on this MeetOne Tour trike is the bolted frame midship.
I can't even imagine how easy it will be to lengthen that frame to literally the exact custom fit needed for any rider or even multiple.
Great design for future modifications on several levels.

 

[DashRiprock]

I really like the time that these guys from Grin take to explain their product and the base physics of their motors.
I'm guessing that nobody with any knowledge whatsoever concerning a two-motor system is coming up here to compare one motor to two (the Tour) due to:
1) There is nothing out there currently even remotely resembling the Tour(?)
and
2) They would have a hard time arguing why this fat tire trike wouldn't benefit from having two motors/two batteries in the first place. (not to mention a 2nd motor that sits in reserve until called upon)
I'm kind of hoping that I can wear out the OEM motor just to see what a Grin would do for this trike...yet I'll probably yank them both out of simple curiosity long before that happens...
(At the 1 hour 17 min. and 7 sec. mark):

Dual Motor Drives - Learn

Dual Motor and Multi-Motor drive systems allow you to get more power and torque than is available with a single motor. But they are also more complex to setup and wire.

ebikes.ca

Can an Ebike Have Two Motors? Benefits and Drawbacks of Dual-Motor Electric Bikes

Discover the advantages and disadvantages of dual-motor ebikes. Learn how two motors improve power, stability, and off-road performance in electric bicycles.

movcan-bike.com

 

[DashRiprock]

The other (major for me) feature that I believe is currently keeping the naysayers away from this thread is definitely the front and rear suspension that the Tour boasts.
So many manufacturers have simply depended on the now standard 4" tires to satisfy customers in this department.
Believe me, front and rear suspension made a huge difference in my enjoyment of my Soletri whether they were of the the thousands of dollars (+) Fox (etc.) variety or not.
I've noticed that the fan boys of 'everything but' get real quiet when you point to groundbreaking trikes with a suspended ride like no other, comfortable seating, plenty of power/torque and any (no-comparison) beefy frame with dual rider/utilitarian possibilities.

Add in a much more stable platform with rarely enjoyed predictable steering(?)....'crickets'.

 

[DashRiprock]

I'm kind of hoping that I can wear out the OEM motor just to see what a Grin would do for this trike...yet I'll probably yank them both out of simple curiosity long before that happens...
(At the 1 hour 42 minute mark):

Dual Motor Drives - Learn

Dual Motor and Multi-Motor drive systems allow you to get more power and torque than is available with a single motor. But they are also more complex to setup and wire.

ebikes.ca

It is interesting to me that Grin seems to promote the K.I.S.S. principle as well (one single powerful motor/control) when referring to the popular CAT trikes which I seem to remember as being much lighter recumbent tadpoles.
While I can appreciate the dual motor Tour as designed for the reasons offered above, I could also see the advantages of modding in a single torquey high wattage Grin(?) motor boasting a high capacity battery/spare if the applications weren't just totally different.
It would be nice to have Grin weigh in on this when the Tour drops next year given the weight challenges inherent and what if any upgrades would be required to the drivetrain to make a single large motor even be practical.

 

[DashRiprock]

MeetOne has done something unprecedented with the Tour that I wanted to illustrate below.
Look at how low that the seat can be positioned while still allowing easy access via the step through design. Just as striking is the amount of area that the seat can be positioned around the seat post bottom shoulder and the recumbent angles possible from there.
Now take these two features and imagine a frame that can be stretched longer by a teenager in his first shop class for pure comfort...at any desired seating/reclining angle.

It's the 'what if' and a beefed up enough frame to back it up which make this trike special ala the old cars that my generation used to tinker around with/make better.

 

[DashRiprock]

New version of the same Tour (less one motor/battery):

 

[m@Robertson]

A high power mid-drive destroys chains and sprockets in no time that need to be replaced regularly.

You are completely wrong about that. Building a mid drive ebike ups the ante on the required competence of the builder. When someone not up to the task decides to build one anyway, the incompetent builder promptly blames the equipment instead of looking in the mirror and taking responsibility for their mistakes (or even understanding that they made any).

How To Build a Mid Drive Ebike That Doesn’t Break

Mid drives up the ante on the required competence of the builder. Read this so your bike lasts without things breaking or wearing out early.

talesontwowheels.com

I have mid drives I built as far back as 2017. 1750w typically (a standard BBSHD with a 52v battery). No issues. Also a mid drive is MUCH much more energy efficient. If you had hills to ride up, you would see (and hear) the motor groaning as its rotation slowed down and its electrical energy was given over to heat as opposed to creating forward motion. That is a motor doing very little in the way of moving the bike, but still eating maximum amps from the battery pack. A mid by comparison gets downshifted, and spins merrily away on lower power levels, using its power to move the bike not heat the motor casing. This is the reason why all quality e-mtb's are mid drives. Speaking of downshifting, and rider competence...

How To Ride a Mid Drive Ebike Without Breaking It

If you can ride a bicycle you already know how to ride a hub drive ebike. Not so a mid drive. Particularly a powerful one that can tear your chain apart. Fear not. The rules are simple.

talesontwowheels.com

Combine a competent build with a couple of extremely simple rules for riding the thing and you have reliable transportation whose chains and drivetrains will last literally thousands of miles.

Fat tires are for mentally retarded people like you.

You are just as bad as the person who started this thread (there's a reason he's mostly just talking to himself on this forum... you are new and missed the previous gushing over a different 'groundbreaking' trike).

The origins of fat tires originated in A laska for riding on snow and ice, they are good for nothing else.

Not a whole lot of experience talking here. Mostly parroting back what you have read other people say on the internet, I'd wager. First of all, sure the early fat bikes came out of Anchorage, but they simultaneously were developed by a different group in the deserts of the Southwest, where they perform extremely well in sand. Additionally, if you ride overland (as in there is no trail, so not even singletrack) your vaunted 2.5" tires will go next to nowhere, while my fat tires will roll right over stuff.

Massive unnecessary weight drains batteries.

Not meaningfully. Especially if you match your air pressure to your terrain.

Slow to accelerate and stop with all that mass.....worthless compared to a 2.5 tire with quality suspension.

This is nonsense. First of all, a fat bike as a bicycle when in its element is about overcoming terrain in forest, sand and snow. Speed is a non issue and you are missing the point of the platform if you think speed is a driving factor in using them... but on the other hand, when was the last time you saw a motorcycle with 700x20C tires? There's a reason for fat tires on pavement and thats compliance and stability at speed. I put many thousands of miles (about 12000 across three bikes) on pedaled 28-32 mph bikes with fat tires. Hit potholes at 28 mph on a ride you are making for transportation (i.e. serious use not recreation) day in and day out and you will have a better understanding of the importance of fat tire wheels' utility and reliability.

Guys like you are clueless in regards to the crappy knock off bikes you buy from some sketchy company that rips people off . Gosh , fat tires are SO awesome, all the pro riders use them. I hope I get banned ,to painful to deal with morons like you ,kiss my ass , you know nothing about high performance bikes, I do.....,I race bikes and motorcycles and am very good at it......so there, take that.....pussie

A tough guy running his mouth on the internet... Wow thats new.

 

[PCeBiker]

You are completely wrong about that. Building a mid drive ebike ups the ante on the required competence of the builder.
,.. Also a mid drive is MUCH much more energy efficient.
,.. A mid by comparison gets downshifted, and spins merrily away on lower power levels, using its power to move the bike not heat the motor casing.

When compared to a hub drive, a mid drive puts all the motor power through the chain and sprockets.

I don't pedal, so I have no power going through my drive line, so it will last forever unless it rusts out.

The MeetOne trike is using a hub motor as a mid drive motor mounted to the frame, but it only has one gear, so the efficiency can't be corrected by changing gears.

 

[m@Robertson]

When compared to a hub drive, a mid drive puts all the motor power through the chain and sprockets.

Yes its supposed to do that. Your contention was that doing that was a bad thing for the chain's longevity. But it isn't.

I don't pedal, so I have no power going through my drive line, so it will last forever unless it rusts out.

Even if you did pedal you would have next to no power going thru your drivetrain, since a hub motor powers thru the axle. Drivetrains on DTC hub motor ebikes tend to be junk. Its a corner the manufacturer can cut because they can. The motor doesn't need it, and the rider won't stress it much even if they like to pedal. You are showing this poor quality to us up close and personal in the other thread where we see your freewheel is a $2 Temu knockoff of a Shimano product that - even when its genuine - only costs about $18.

But in exchange for that cheap drivetrain lasting forever, you are getting worse performance. You say you don't need a mid because you have no hills, but you have also showed us pictures of your bike being dumped down in a mud bog. A mid drive would go thru that without noticing (so long as you can keep your balance... oh and there's one more place that fat tires excel over traditional ones).

But... we're straying from the central point here, which was that you said "mid drives destroy chains and sprockets in no time" which is completely untrue. Incompetent builders and rookie riders can cause problems, and then get on the internet and blame the equipment for their own ignorance.

The MeetOne trike is using a hub motor as a mid drive motor mounted to the frame, but it only has one gear, so the efficiency can't be corrected by changing gears.

Yeah its obvious that the product is not particularly well thought out.

 

[PCeBiker]

Your contention was that doing that was a bad thing for the chain's longevity. But it isn't.

Well, I did post a picture from the video where it shows the chain, and it's a heavy-duty chain from a motorcycle or something?

I guess that if it's a geared hub motor (which is does look like), then the nylon gears inside may need some regular attention?

It might be a direct drive hub motor that uses the sprockets for gearing instead?

 

[m@Robertson]

Well, I did post a picture from the video where it shows the chain, and it's a heavy-duty chain from a motorcycle or something?

Looks like a kart chain (google "219H") and yes that should last forever. But thats a custom solution that has no bearing on a mid drive bike that is made to have gears to run thru.

I guess that if it's a geared hub motor (which is does look like), then the nylon gears inside may need some regular attention?

Not regular attention. But using a geared hub motor like they do on a big heavy trike is absolutely the way you would stress those nylon planetary gears so they are more likely to strip. USUALLY to strip gears on a Bafang G060 fat motor, the people who suffered the problem had both overvolted the motor (to 52v or even 60v) and on top of that used a controller upgrade that pumped the amps up to 35. That was on a 2-wheeler. Its not difficult to see how a big heavy trike with lower power but way more weight could cause elevated stress on the motor's internal gears so they can strip. The second motor will help alleviate that risk however. So... roll the dice it may survive just fine, or not. You'll know when they go

It might be a direct drive hub motor that uses the sprockets for gearing instead?

Nah. DD motors have peak torque at around 45 Nm for this quality level AND given the amount of space available. The only way you can get decent torque without going to an enormous motor is to go geared hub. It just makes sense to do geared hubs if you are trying to build something like this (it makes a whole lot more sense to do a mid in the back and a geared hub in the front but thats more money). My cargo bikes and my adventure bike do this mid+geared hub solution. They are unstoppable over terrible terrain, and never need maintenance.

 

[jabberwocky]

...big heavy trike...

211 lbs, apparently. Thats impressive! Basically a golf kart built with bike components.

 

[DashRiprock]

The MeetOne trike is using a hub motor as a mid drive motor mounted to the frame, but it only has one gear, so the efficiency can't be corrected by changing gears.

(m@robertson) Yeah it's obvious that the product is not particularly well thought out.

The Tour is very well thought out indeed. No other trike compares to it at this time. Why do we know this? Whenever it is demanded that an even remotely similar trike be named/compared...crickets.
This thread has been hijacked several times already.
The latest attempt (above) involves mid-drive discussions which don't even apply to this trike.

Newsflash: The front hub drive on the Tour is specifically designed around its lower PAS levels (period).There is no 'gearing' even remotely needed for what it is designed to do nor efficiencies needing to be achieved in this application.
The motor and battery disengage themselves from the balance of the power system to perform the task that it is designed to do:
Conserve battery power during lower PAS/throttle/torque requirements so that the 2nd battery is always fresh and ready for action when needed.
No other trike that I know of does this.

...yet we all pretty much know by now that there is no other trike out there doing what the MeetOne Tour is feature for feature in January of 2025.
If the above bold statement is not fact and as I've challenged many times now with no takers...'bring it'.

 

[DashRiprock]

211 lbs, apparently. Thats impressive! Basically a golf kart built with bike components.

The beefiness of the overall build is directly related to the weight of the machine which nowhere resembles a golf cart (my other hobby is UTVs or glorified golf carts with turbochargers).
I predicted that this would happen from the first page.
Not one member here can name a product in production today anywhere near comparable to the Tour let alone compare it.
So what happens next?
"...they didn't put the right motor in it or in the right place..."
"..yeah, the motor will probably fail..."
"...it won't handle the weight (and is something that it isn't)..."

I'm just going to sit back here and wait, take delivery, beat the crap out of it...and likely have the time of my life doing so.
And if it breaks?
This trike has enough going for it (see the old Ford Model A's built like a brick poop house) that I'll simply retire to the garage with a smile on my face and have just as much fun making it even more badass.

Yeah, I know...the above is my boomer generation's answer to "....bbbbbut they didn't hand it all to me on a silver plate and then give me a trophy for riding it!!!..."

Y'all will be just fine, We didn't shoot the therapy pony left over from the last time that Trump won and he's right over here....

 

[DashRiprock]

....so we pretty much all agree that there is no reasonably priced trike out there (I paid less than $3200 delivered) in January of 2025 which:
> Has two motors allowing unheard of torque
> Can carry 550 lbs.
> Has suspension both front and rear
> Can easily be accessed by the disabled
> Has a 'spare' battery which can be disconnected from the system by simply using only the other (separate controllers)
> 4" fat tires all around for both a nicer ride and all terrain chores
> Turns on a dime without tipping over (comparative to other trikes on the market)
> Has enough braced aluminum in the frame and enough room in the seating area for a multitude of modding possibilities
> Boasts a 'bolt together' frame allowing infinite length adjustments easily performed for rider comfort/positioning
> Allows for a full office-style seat with arm rests
> Is built like a brick poop house
I'll stop there.
Bring it.

 

[kevinmccune]

I'm a simpleton. Example: I can afford any car I want but I purchased a base model Honda Fit. I don't need all the extras that I'll never use. Just give me a.c., cruise control and reliability. Also would never buy something huge, like a quad cab pickup. I just need a vehicle to get from point A to point B.

So when you get some seat time give us a review. Dazzle us with all the admittedly neat tech the MeetOne packs!

I remember when you bought the "Buzz" you simply rented a van and met halfway and picked it up,thought to myself practical man, my daughter sort of resides in Norfolk now,she loves the urban environment( not so much myself,love the convenience don't like the crowds- like sasquatch and the woods) due to balance issues probably going to try a trike again if the ft 24" cruiser fails me. is there any brand you recommend( groundbreaking or other wise not trying to hijack this thread)? as Columbo sez"one other thing- my newish 271 stihil runs out of power and breaks down at a long heavy cur any suggestions? lets hope "dash riprocks "tour " works out come to believe he is right about the weight,actually I believe the drifter style would be more stable-best.

 

[kevinmccune]

OK, I'll try.



View attachment 187293



The Range says "Up to 130 miles (209 km)"

That is a bunch of hooey, especially if you unlock it to 23.6 mph.

You'll need a 20mph tailwind and to be going downhill the entire trip to get that kind of mileage.

You'll only regret your purchase if you don't buy another pair of batteries for it.




That's a lot of money for a 15ah battery, but it is UL-listed.

You can probably find cheaper batteries, even UL-listed ones for less if the battery doesn't have proprietary software to enable it. (A digital handshake between the controller and battery)



My two wheeled ebike weighs about 90 pounds with two batteries and I get just over 60 miles using up both batteries and Not pedaling at all.

I use up a 48V 25ah, and a 48V 19ah battery to do it with my speed limited to 32 kph.

I can go over 80 km on the 25ah battery alone if I ride at 20 kph.

View attachment 187294

bet that thing rides nice.