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

[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.

 

[kevinmccune]

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'.

even a cheap full suspension setup made a believer out of me,the last bout of stenosis from hell has caused me to reset a lot of things I used to believe in first one being not 34 no more( double that) and its not going to get better on its own in a week like it used to[mans gotta know his limitations] however this thread has given me ideas Dash brings up several salient points,dual motor good idea,full suspension good idea,enough weight to keep it planted-however I hope he gets his trike and doesn't suffer the "sonders" syndrome and find out this whole thing was a scam( believe me it happens,some fly by nights disappear never to bee seen seen ago with the lucre.

 

[kevinmccune]

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.

do like the adjustibility hope its a steel frame.

 

[DashRiprock]

even a cheap full suspension setup made a believer out of me,the last bout of stenosis from hell has caused me to reset a lot of things I used to believe in first one being not 34 no more( double that) and its not going to get better on its own in a week like it used to[mans gotta know his limitations] however this thread has given me ideas Dash brings up several salient points,dual motor good idea,full suspension good idea,enough weight to keep it planted-however I hope he gets his trike and doesn't suffer the "sonders" syndrome and find out this whole thing was a scam( believe me it happens,some fly by nights disappear never to bee seen seen ago with the lucre.

It is always a risk and I don't recommend anyone taking it who should not. I have never had a relationship with any company up here beyond calling them as I see them in terms of features that I like. But one person (period) out there on YouTube who even actually has one of these is admittedly about as risky a proposition as it gets. My raw excitement versus common sense should be called out here and I'm glad that you did for the sake of everyone else.
I'll also agree that we're not talking first class suspension here by any means as top suspension components even in the bike world are as much as this trike or more.
But as you offered, any suspension is better than none and rarely available in the rear on a (relatively) cheaper trike.

 

[DashRiprock]

do like the adjustibility hope its a steel frame.

It's 6061 aluminum yet something to keep in mind if you unbolt the two halves and modify it.

 

[DashRiprock]

....I'll take the above one step further to offer that you should probably have more than a grade school shop class education as offered earlier given that very few kids nowadays even ride bikes/trikes let alone work on them. Ditto for cars given the current lack of interest in driving same that has also apparently been sucked from the American spirit.
One (exclusive?) benefit of the Tour that should have been mentioned in Post#67 is the torque available with two motors. I'm not sure what these newer single motors are producing in terms of torque or if the Tour could even handle anywhere near the same amount if outfitted without modifications...but torque is a big deal at over 200# dry and a 550# claimed capacity. I would even go so far as to say that if you're looking at the 'lite' version and loading it to the latter limits(?) stick to hauling your stuff around a farm market or spring for the original version. That the original Tour is getting away with one motor at the lower PAS levels is a miracle in and of itself yet I seem to remember that the YouTuber's version had only three levels.
At any rate, if we get these things a month from now and everything holds up, this will be a nice workhorse trike.
I'm still debating on the following spare part and don't know enough about how the rear motor drives/engages..yet what is anyone's opinion on the normal wear rate of these front hubs and/or the obvious?
https://meetonetrike.com/products/meet-one-hub to order

 

[kevinmccune]

....I'll take the above one step further to offer that you should probably have more than a grade school shop class education as offered earlier given that very few kids nowadays even ride bikes/trikes let alone work on them. Ditto for cars given the current lack of interest in driving same that has also apparently been sucked from the American spirit.
One (exclusive?) benefit of the Tour that should have been mentioned in Post#67 is the torque available with two motors. I'm not sure what these newer single motors are producing in terms of torque or if the Tour could even handle anywhere near the same amount if outfitted without modifications...but torque is a big deal at over 200# dry and a 550# claimed capacity. I would even go so far as to say that if you're looking at the 'lite' version and loading it to the latter limits(?) stick to hauling your stuff around a farm market or spring for the original version. That the original Tour is getting away with one motor at the lower PAS levels is a miracle in and of itself yet I seem to remember that the YouTuber's version had only three levels.
At any rate, if we get these things a month from now and everything holds up, this will be a nice workhorse trike.
I'm still debating on the following spare part and don't know enough about how the rear motor drives/engages..yet what is anyone's opinion on the normal wear rate of these front hubs and/or the obvious?
https://meetonetrike.com/products/meet-one-hub to order

shouldnt be an issue with the front drive,Justin from "Grin" seems to prefer fwd( he has some pretty nice expensive components) the aluminum alloy is fine-until you get a bend and try to straighten it,this trike is already so heavy the addition of a chrome moly frame would add very little to the total weight( some light planes actually have chrome moly fuselage frames and the like it is a question of judicious application of such,I could see this trike having heirloom quality if the structure holds up,you may like this workhorse so much you want to be able to pass it on- another example of sturdy 3 wheel "trucks" are the Asian "chuck-chucks" its a good concept even now there is a promising 3 wheeler in production (or near) called the "arcimotor" some models have basically unlimited range,the future is bright( if not shut down-flying cars and fusion? fuggetit( we already have flying cars called "cessna's" and plenty of safe clean power called fission reactors)
on the fusion question,I got excited and was so happy I was wrong until a little research proved it was "smoke and mirrors" my home state was supposedly developing a "fusion center" made me happy until i realized it was "poppy cock" what will probably happen is this( hope I am wrong) it will be another case of the bankrupt (take the money and run) company-think "Elio"-best.

 

[DashRiprock]

One of the more important videos released to date on how the Tour handles:

 

[DashRiprock]

,I could see this trike having heirloom quality if the structure holds up,

Even though $3200 is a lot of money for a frame only; it is basically the #1 reason that I purchased the Tour. Everything else can be sourced easily elsewhere. It's all about making it your own.

Another example of sturdy 3 wheel "trucks" are the Asian "chuck-chucks" its a good concept even now there is a promising 3 wheeler in production (or near) called the "arcimotor" some models have basically unlimited range,the future is bright

They have perfected the 3 wheeler over there no doubt. Saying that, very few of these 'new' trikes (especially the enclosed) seem to either make it over here or sell. I'm guessing that the current economy will exacerbate that reality. I'll probably use a trailer of some sort if I veer off in the direction of hauling cargo. I just picked up Gorilla's 1400# yard cart w/15" tires which is basic but nice and easy to pull. The Tour probably pulls effectively with no problems and those three 180mm hydraulic brakes will certainly help control it.
Here's the cart that I have now:

 

[sc00ter]

We have a guy in our area who pulls a little trailer from Wal-Mart behind a bicycle with the following on the trailer:
Push mower.
Banana shaft string trimmer.
Hand gas blower.
One gallon gas can.
Holds it all down with straps and a cable lock to reduce theft.
During the summer I see this guy all around the surrounding area mowing grass. I need to get a picture of his set-up. So your'e asking "Why is this ghetto lawn care company of interest to me?", trailers behind bikes make them little pick-up trucks! JackRabbit ebikes sells a nice trailer (Earth+Kin MULE) I've been tempted to purchase. It can work on the JackRabbit and my Xpedition. But seeing this much more affordable Wal-Mart trailer survive multiple summers being overloaded I might experiment with one of them first.

Oh, what is the status on the trike arriving? Every time you update this post I assume it has arrived.

 

[DashRiprock]

Oh, what is the status on the trike arriving? Every time you update this post I assume it has arrived.

Yeah I agree in terms of these new electric motors opening up possibilities for entrepreneurs who don't see the need to spend thousands on a vehicle/insurance when their scope/service area doesn't match the cash outlay/risk. 180 Nm of torque likely expands these possibilities in terms of an etrike/trailer yet we'll have to see.
They've been saying the end of January for delivery and have not changed that time frame. All of my correspondence with them to date has been both positive and timely in terms of the professionalism exhibited...and I'm kind of hard to please being an old Scot.
Although if it makes it here and we are even slightly disappointed(?)...I'll still likely be happy given what I've witnessed to date.

 

[DashRiprock]

Here's the closest shot of the optional seat that I have been able to find. I'm a fan of the long seat (you rarely see it) for those who likely won't use the pedals anyways