# Building a couple of 20" wheel tadpole e-trike from scratch



## voyager (30 Sep 2014)

Hi Folks 
This year we decided to build a couple of smaller BUT still full size electric tadpoles for our holiday .
The builds were a success and the trikes came on holiday with us , and performed perfectly . the main problem we had with our bigger trikes was that they were too heavy and just a bit too big to fit in the car or worse to lift onto the roof rack . With that in mind we built a 24 inch ( pedal ) trike first and that was just too big to fit inside for comfort . Then we were given a couple of 20" Kids mountain bikes and with a bit of adjustment of the dimensions we built the first of the 20/20 e-trikes , During the first build we eliminated some of the problems of a non-dismantable trike and with a bit of planning the first trike was born and used , before the 2nd build we were modifying the original trike and upgraded it . Left over were some of the original build pieces which were then built into the second trike , 
The trikes use 37v lithium batteries and the red one has a q100 motor but the black one has a ez-go Izip motor running 37 volts rather than the original 24v but the hub motor that was living in the rear of a 16" wheel is now living in a 20" wheel , the reduction in torque offset by the increase in voltage still gives a good performance in the rear of the trike .

The trikes would have front disc brakes and under seat steering and be able to be lifted by one person into the rear load space of a mondeo estate .

Both trikes were built from 40mm 16g square tubing and have solid seats rather than mech seats that take up a bit more room . 



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the start of the little bits 
The wheels started life on a BMX bike and were modified to accept disc brakes 



upload pictures online
once the little bits were cut and made it was time to weld up the frame , starting with the main boom and the 20" mountain bike rear end 




upload pictures online


a week later and the trike looked like a tadpole 
The handlebar were cut and shut from the bmx and from a pair of mtb bars and the under seat steering assemble built from an old hub and a chopped down stem the most time consuming part is cutting the compound angles into the cross boom for the centre point steering which includes both caster and camber angles to be worked out 



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## voyager (30 Sep 2014)

With the trike assembled it was now time to give it an extended road test prior to painting - about 100 miles seemed the right amount to get rid od any little bugs that might have been lurking in the limelight 
here is the trike on one of its pre paint rides even in bare metal it attracted a lot of attention 



upload pictures online

After a good extended test ( it got its 100 miles plus ) it was stripped down and resprayed rosso red with a cream seat 




upload pictures online

to be continued 

regards emma


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## voyager (30 Sep 2014)

After the Red trike was sorted and fitted with a q100 motor the jackshaft drive unit and the rear end complete removed we fitted a disc brake to the rear and a pedelec sensor a 11-30 rear 7 speed freewheel fitted and the front rings remain with the 48-38-28 giving ridable gears from 16" up to 90"
the new controller runs up to 15 a on 37v and can be limited on mph / kph to the legal EAPC regulations but the trike is capable of 24 mph if the setting are set to max . and the range with the 9 ah battery is about 15 miles if used well .
The front wheels were also replaced with a set I had rebuilt with 32 hole 20mm hubs , These mods changed the colour of the trike as the white spokes complimented the cream upholstery .

The stealth E-trike came along a couple of months later, just in time for the holiday this used the black disc front wheels and the Currie motor from the original red 20/20 , and was fitted first with a set of SLA batteries this made the trike weigh just under 100lbs and it was imposible for me to lift it into the car or two of us to get it on the roof , so just before we left to go on holiday I transferred my spare lithium pack onto it . making both trikes weigh all up about 75 lb each , still a bit of a struggle to get it on the roof but I could lift it into the car on my own .( just )




upload pictures online

the matt black Stealth trike is built with the same dimensions as the red one but the handlebars are a different shape as Ken prefers the flatter bars
here is the first photo of the Stealth , The SLA batteries have a range of 15 miles , Since building the stealth I found out how to wire the controller links and derestricted with the Lithium 37v pack we could get 22 mph on the flat

With a couple of weeks grace before the holiday we got about 50 miles under the weeks of the stealth but as most of the bits were the discarded upgrade bits and the frame built to the same dimensions the trike did not need any more tweaking before we went on holiday.

In case you are wondering about the strange jack shaft drive under the seat , the currie motor has not got enough spindle to fit a multi speed freewheel so we adapted a 6 speed freewheel by removing the pawls and making a 4 speed block with a 21 t takeoff cog this made the gearing ( it drove a 16t on the rear wheel ) similar to a 26 " wheel ( maths 26/20 wheel size almost equals 21/16 cog sizes ) so with a 48-38-28 front driving a 14-16-18-24 rear freewheel that had a 21t drive to the rear wheel .

more to follow


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## voyager (30 Sep 2014)

Hi Folks 

So that was the mad rush to get to hand built electric trikes ready for the holiday
Over the week they performed faultlessly and the caravan site manager was also impressed by my trikes performance when he road tested it for himself
with the holiday over its back to the routines of life and another couple of projects in the pipeline , a electric folding shopper and a transportable / dismantable tadpole that will fit inside the caravan .






















photo sharing websites

Any questions Please feel free to ask I don't bite ( often )

regards emma


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## voyager (30 Sep 2014)

Which only leave the final photo of the trikes outside the house ready for the next outing



photo hosting


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## raleighnut (1 Oct 2014)

Very nice


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## stuee147 (1 Oct 2014)

Great build looks like I have some catching up to do lol. You say you adapted the bmx front wheels to take disk brakes how did you do that ? I've been wanting disk brakes on the front but just can't find 20" wheels with larger axels and disks 

I look forward to seeing more builds soon


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## voyager (1 Oct 2014)

stuee147 said:


> Great build looks like I have some catching up to do lol. You say you adapted the bmx front wheels to take disk brakes how did you do that ? I've been wanting disk brakes on the front but just can't find 20" wheels with larger axels and disks
> 
> I look forward to seeing more builds soon



Rear large flange 14mm BMX wwheels can be used the right hand on is easy with a screw on adapter the left is a little more difficult the lefthand wheel ( Hence Large Flange ) need to have clearance holes drilled through the adapter and bolted through the rotor , adapter and hub .
PM me for details and I will send you the link to my thread on AZ 

regards emma


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## voyager (1 Oct 2014)

This was the thread on AZ I wrote that show how to use standard MTB and BMX parts to make a pair of tadpole front disc wheels .

http://forum.atomiczombie.com/showt...air-of-front-Disc-hubs?highlight=disc+bmx+mtb

There are other methods but I have used this method for 3 sets of wheels and we have also re bearing ed Ultimate hardware 10mm hubs with disc mounts 
by boring the hub and making sleeves to fit standard ballraces and anticrush tubes , this method is more difficult and requires machining facilities but does produce a nice hub


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## Scoosh (3 Oct 2014)

@voyager - Very nice and some interesting engineering going on ! 

The lower jockey wheel on the stealth trike looks very close to the ground - do you have any issues when going over speed bumps or other rough bits of 'road' ?


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## voyager (3 Oct 2014)

Scoosh said:


> @voyager - Very nice and some interesting engineering going on !
> 
> The lower jockey wheel on the stealth trike looks very close to the ground - do you have any issues when going over speed bumps or other rough bits of 'road' ?



Its about 2 " off the ground but it varies depending on the gear its in , This is the problem with the 20" rear wheel trikes ,But they fit in the car 
haven't had any problems except you have to lift the trike higher at the back if you don't want tram lines on the roof of the car .

The jackshaft was a "novel " idea beat around by three of us on another forum , but it works its only a 4 speed totally freewheel as the 5 th one went as the space and bottom gear swapped around is the drive to the rear hub . No problem to date and the jackshaft has done 400 plus miles .


regards emma


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## voyager (5 Oct 2014)

Hi Folks
Got a few bits done this weekend despite the rain,, , We resprayed the front of the all black trike in blue ( it got a little scratched whilst on holiday ) and refitted the original 12ah SLA batteries , all road tested and good and IMHO the blue is better than the all matt black look  ,
Problem we have now











is that we are running out of space ........

regards emma


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## fixedfixer (6 Oct 2014)

Good looking trikes. Sounds like you need some sort of triple deck parking system in the garage...... I've lost count of the number of builds you've posted over on Atomic Zombie.


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## voyager (6 Oct 2014)

fixedfixer said:


> Good looking trikes. Sounds like you need some sort of triple deck parking system in the garage...... I've lost count of the number of builds you've posted over on Atomic Zombie.



Next project is the multi story trike park , ......
re projects so have I ? 

regards emma


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## voyager (6 Nov 2014)

Hi Folks 

I have just started the design work on the double trike parking rack , essentially it needs to be 
1 movable , - on casters , 
2 smaller than the overall length of the trike - but easy to remove -fit trikes about 2" wider than the trike .
3 top deck - would be nice to be able to be lowered to allow easy fitment of the top trike ( 75lb electric trikes ) (*)
4 able to be lockable both in the garage and have the ability to lock the trikes to the rack 
5 built from steel tubing and painted with hammerite smooth for a durable finish against rust and moisture .

(*) I am thinking of using tail gate struts to counter balace the top deck .

We went out on the trikes last weekend and since I have ordered the bits to upgrade the Blue Stealth trike 
this includes the rear wheel , an upgrade to a q100 and 7 speed freewheel making both trikes virtually similar in specifications and I will replace the SLA batteries with either the spare Lithium bottle battery or a lifepo4 37v 10 ah battery
At the same time it will need an upgrade to the rear brake to disc. This time I will fit a 140mm disc rotor as it will still be efficient enough to lock up under heavy braking and be easier to fit the e-hub as I had problems and needed to do wicked things with a disc cutter to thin the rear chain stay to allow a 160mm disc to be used .

regards emma


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## voyager (9 Nov 2014)

Hi Folks 
With several more miles under its wheels and lots of smiles , The trike is running well.
Ken went off clay pigeon shooting today and the weather cleared up a bit . In fact the sun came out for a little while .
I decided as the weather has turned out nice to fit the new mirrors ( I had already made some cut down goose neck stems with forward facing tabs ), after fitting the mirrors I went out for a pleasant 6 mile ride and returned home hungry and ready to make dinner .

The mirrors run quite close to the front wheels but are in the perfect spot for good rear views and the white reflectors on the front of the mirrors are above the wheels making out the width of the trike .










No Surprise now its raining again and we have a storm with real thunder and lightning .
The house was hit by a lightning bolt  a couple of years ago that cause several thousand pounds worth of damage and a complete rewire , Now I get very nervous with the storm so near . 

I have a new alloy rear rack to fit as my new pannier bags wont fit the existing rack 

regards emma


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## Scoosh (9 Nov 2014)

Do you have room for mudguards over the front wheels ?


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## voyager (9 Nov 2014)

Because the Handlebars are really an inch each side (2" overall ) too wide the hands can and do get rather near the wheels and the Head tubes ( hence the position of the mirrors ) If and when I make a narrower pair of handlebars , I could position the Mirrors higher to accept mudguard . The original design criteria of these trikes were ( and still is for us ) to be transportable E-trike transport when we were on holiday rather than everyday transport with mudguards and lights .
The Eastern burnout tyres are virtually slicks and don't pick up much water . . 

The Voyager was and still is the everyday transport trike with mudguards and lights .
I would like to build a semi velo shell for it to offer some more protection in the rain .

regards emma


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## Tigerbiten (10 Nov 2014)

The easiest way to make a shell is to use something like a streamer/windwarp fairing and a body sock.
Something like this -> http://www.bentrideronline.com/?p=1883


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## voyager (10 Nov 2014)

An Interesting Concept , originally it was something like I had in my mind but my idea was a semi rigid idea with loops but this is a good idea , I will investigate it further 
thanks 

regards emma


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## voyager (10 Nov 2014)

Hi Folks 

With storms again early this morning it looked like another day without doing much but the sun did show for an hour and I have got the Handle bars made for the blue trike , Ken has said nothing but does not like the flat bars as they can only be ridden hands up and thumbs in . Where he prefers hands under and thumbs out , So I have made him a replacement pair of bars with the grips at 45 degrees , using these bars you can go for either position and with the twist grip throttle and pedelec sensor have motor control in both positions .
Like usual you cannot buy what you want and its a case of make it so using a flat pair or bars and a BMX set I have done a cut and shut on the bars and have ended up with a nice pair of bars about 23" wide at the top . Inside the join is a piece of split tube to ensure the bars are in the correct place and to give a better joint when welded .











A couple of coats of grey primer and two coats of satin black make a professional finish to the new handlebars .

I am only waiting for the q100 motor so I can build a replacement rear wheel with a 7 speed hub giving 21 speed instead of the 12 speed it has now and I will replace the SLA batteries with a Lithium 37v pack 

regards for now emma


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## voyager (13 Nov 2014)

Hi Folks 

The 36h Q100 hub arrived on Tuesday ( 327rpm 36v )  and I measured it ( 110 dia and 50mm between flanges dished 10mm ) and ordered the spokes, I have recycled a BMX rim as it matches the front pair The next day, the custom length 147mm Stainless Steel spokes arrived from e-bay and last night ( Wednesday ) evening I built the wheel and trued it . I have fitted a 11t -32 t seven speed freewheel and a 140mm rotor . This will give gears between 86 " and 16" and the 140mm rotor is more than adequate for the rear of a trike .

All I have to do is make the caliper mount after I have the wheel fitted as I need to get the brake clearances right and I have to remount the rack so it clears the caliper . Its racing car clearances again between the caliper and the hub  with a 125mm overall hub and a 140mm caliper there is not much space .
The reason for using a 140mm rotor is the 160 mm rotor requires wicked things to be done to the inside of the left hand chain stay to allow the rotor to clear everything as the wheel is fitted or removed .

The q100 was fitted with a small 9 pin connector and I have made up a 9 way to 6 + 3 bullet connector conversion .  to utilise the existing controller .

Not much doing for the next couple of days as I have caught a chill in my lower back and I need to take a rest  ( the problems with getting old, The mind is still okay but the body complains working outside )

This hub motor change will make the jack shaft redundant but give us 21 gears ( 19 usable ) as the chain wrap will be in excess of 41t ) 


Photos later when its not raining .

Regards emma


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## voyager (15 Nov 2014)

Hi Folks 

Started to feel human again , Nothing done on the trike but the wheel is built trued and has the tyre fitted , Felt well enough to look at the trike with a view to sort it next weekend after I make the caliper mount and the modified rack mount .





Made part of the replacement rear rack for the red trike but I need to take it easy this weekend and recharge my own batteries 

regards emma


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## voyager (19 Nov 2014)

Hi Folks

I felt a bit better today , and fitted the q100 rear wheel on the blue trike and set up the caliper mount for the rear disc. The caliper mount is another home built item that bolts onto the mudguard bolt mounts , I made the prototype mount out of plastic and the actual mount from 3mm steel .



The caliper mount and the caliper prior to painting the mount and assembly 

The disc rotor is running less than a millimetre away from the left hand chain stay but it clears happily even when removing and refitting the wheel . The bottle battery has been refitted and it only needs the handlebars changing and the short cables replacing as the handlebars need a few more inches of brake cable .




The rear disc upgrade also is in need of a longer cable , changing the rear mech position from the jackshaft to the rear triangle needed a chain extension together with a longer gear cable . All these jobs will need to be done at the weekend .


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## voyager (20 Nov 2014)

Here are the long awaited photos of the red one with its makeover of the mirrors , alloy rack and new panniers

Hopefully these panniers might last more than the 4 months the last set lasted

All being well it wont require any more TLC until February

Now I need a cup of tea 



upload pictures online

regards emma


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## voyager (22 Nov 2014)

Hi Folks 

The weekend arrived and this morning ( and some of the afternoon ) we finished the blue 20/20 
The new handlebars are fitted along with the new cables ,Just before it got dark we got a few miles in around the block to test out the gears , brakes and the new electric wheel . As darkness fell we fitted the rear panniers , leaving the mirrors until next week , when the 100m m8 bolts comes for the mirror mounts ( we use cut down gooseneck tubes in the head tubes to fit the mirrors clamps to ) The original mirror mount was fabricated from a fork blade and a gooseneck.

unable to load a photo on this post


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## voyager (22 Nov 2014)

Tried again and it works . That windows virus is at it again 








regards emma


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## voyager (1 Dec 2014)

Hi Folks 
With the Last weekend in November giving us some marvellous weather, after We fitted the new pedals to both trikes and the mirrors to the blue trike ( here lies an odd story ) we decided to ride to Brighton for lunch and enjoy the weather whilst we can ,
We set off just before twelve and triked via the esplanade and Brighton Marina along the seafront to and stopped for Lunch at the bottom of West Street for Sausage and chips in the Sunshine before having a look at the pier and the Brighton Wheel before returning home via the cafe in Rottingdean for a cup of tea ( at £1.50 a mug ) we decided to wait until we got home for a dessert and a second Mug arriving jome just before three pm as the light was starting to fade and the sun was slipping down lower in the sky..
Now both trikes are finished and hopefully apart from a slightly out of true disc rotor wont need any more TLC until the spring . We can concentrate our efforts on the double trike rack as the metal has arrived and the set of casters are here as well .
After the fun we had with the mirror mount , one of the steerer tubes had a slightly smaller internal diameter than the other ( l had not noticed as the external thread was the same ) I machined the outside diameter of the modified gooseneck down and resprayed it and and modified the wedge with the angle grinder to fit snugly in the tube ..
I hope this weather stays for a few more weeks so we can enjoy the trikes fr longer . The batteries 37v 9 ah bottle style batteries just held out over the mainly flat with some really nasty hills both on the outward and return journey The were getting low at the end of the ride .




After the trike rack I can re concentrate efforts onto the transportable again as this only needs a few more miles ( and smiles ) before stripping and respraying and maybe a e-trike upgrade 

regards emma


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## voyager (23 Dec 2014)

Hi Folks

After the mild weekend where we did get out on the trike I have done a little work on the second battery carrier .

To supplement the 37V 9ah battery fitted to the trike we are going to experiment with an optional 37v 10 ah LifePO4 battery on the rear rack . We need to see if this affects the handling and how much it will increase the range of the trike .
We hope the extended range will be in excess of 35 miles for the pair of batteries .




The LifePO4 batteries ( all 5 of them ) arrived without end plates and mounting plate . While John (AZ Sandman ) worked his miracles and the CNC milling machine threw out a pair of prototype end plate that we have fitted to the first battery , together with a rack I designed and built to mount the sliding battery onto the trike .The mount is built from 16g steel with a pair of thumbgrundles ( left ) to lock the end plate onto the rack and square section tube as stand-offs the tubes are plugged by plastic inserts and the whole rack sprayed matt black , the whole setup looks very professional 

( John is going to use 2 of these on his warrior full suspension trike he is building . )

Further reports on the performance etc will follow after road tests .( both on my trike and the folding e-shopper which is now fitted with one of these batteries ).

regards emma


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## Scoosh (23 Dec 2014)

Amazing  … and I think I understood some of it !


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## voyager (9 Mar 2015)

The trikes are still in use but Ken has Identified a little opportunity on the blue one the current limit on the controller is limiting on steep hills ,
This is a problem we need to address as it does not climb as well as the red one .
The controller needs either "playing with or another with a bit higher current limit being substituted 
apart from that all is well and the new trike rack works well 
We did another couple of rides along to Ovingdean at the weekend and built the trike rack so all in all a good weekend 





regards emma


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## voyager (18 Jun 2015)

Hi Folks 

My Red 20/20 is a year old this week and finally I think I can say it is " finished " With a few bits to swap over between modes .

I purchased a couple of "hamster bags " designed for pushchairs and equally at home on a tadpole , these bags have a carry shoulder strap as well and make excellent shopping / day out bags 

I hope to improve the battery capacity , with only a 9ah battery range using assist all the time , the range is limited to a max of 16miles and it would be good to extend that to 25-30 miles as the summer is coming ( soon ) 











Rode out on part of the Sustran 2 route to Brighton Pier earlier this week - A nice afternoon for a ride along the coast and a cup of tea on Hove Lawns 

regards emma


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## voyager (6 Jul 2015)

With our Southern area "zombie fest " less than a week away I found a couple of unexpected problems ( the trike was finished just over the year ago ) 
The first was a naff wheel bearing on the outside of the Offside wheel ( for those that live outside the UK RH ) and the front brake kill switch stopped working , With about 10 hours tinker time before the weekend camping in Sussex , I was forced to replace the front wheels on the trike until a replacement set of bearing arrive , the hubs are only a year old and came from that Irish online bike shop , It is easier to just order a set of bearing and fit them at my leisure , The kill switch on the twin front disc brakes was a little more simple as I striped down the lever and replaced the switch from a spare switch , only a couple of hours of fun but then I needed to have a few rides to allow the front discs to settle down again ..

The failed hubs were the first time I had used 20mm hubs and was a little concerned that the bearings had only lasted 400 miles , the rebuilt MTB/BMX hubs I converted using real bearing seem to last much longer as they have been in use for over a 1000 miles without any sign of failure ..

Still the trike is back together using a pair of ultimate hardware , front disc hubs that the Sandman had modified with 15mm Silver steel axles and ballraced bearing .. At least the wheels match now . 

regards emma


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## voyager (14 Jul 2015)

Hi folks 

its that time of the year again and 4 of us " Zombies " had our own mini Zombie Fest down in Lancing ) near Worthing in Sussex .
With a combined age in excess of 255 years we still caused a stir in central Brighton with our convey of trikes .

A weekend of Sunshine  , Triking , Good company , high spirits ( distilled of course ) and good food . We catered for everyone by bringing the caravan to use as a base camp .

A couple of Photos of the weekend where we cycled over to Brighton Pavilion and of course the local hostelries 
And a little video shot on the Sustran 2 route behind the Southwick Power station taken by us with a GoPro on a stick [playing pass the GoPro )


View: https://youtu.be/kJ2bxHO_Buo


With 3 of us on e-trikes and Danny on his still unfinished tadpole built from round tubing a mammoth task for someone who only started to weld last year .
John's just finished folding electric touring trike (Sandman ) the orange folding trike ( fitted with a middie drive ) and our 20/20 e-trikes .




The Adur Ferry Bridge between Shoreham Beach and Shoreham




Lined up on the Pavement next to the Pub whilst we supped to quench our thirst 
The 20/20s Danny's trike and Sandmans e-tourer 




The Brighton I360 under construction . This is the lifting tower that will push the 450 foot tower skywards 

More photos to follow when my silly camera gives them back to me .

regards emma


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## voyager (15 Jul 2015)

Finally the camera has given me the camp and the final destination photos .

The barn camp site at Lancing and the Brighton Pavilion 











Since our return I have rebuilt the wheel bearings and refitted the original wheels back on my trike then l striped and copper greased the front calipers behind the pads in an effort to reduce pad squeal .
Now we need to wait and see if that helps.

regards emma


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## voyager (29 Sep 2015)

Hi Folks 

Both trikes are now well over the year old now and are still in constant use ,
Our weekend rides are now from Peacehaven into Brighton.
Usually with a stop at Ovingdean or Rottingdean for a cup of tea before we tackle that hill you see in the distance 





We have just come back from a 4 night break and again the trikes have been our main transport whist we have been away . Taking a touring holiday this late in the year meant that the site was not very crowded and nor were the local roads .

There have been a few modifications along the way and the trikes are now more similar to each other , I have replaced the controller on Kens trike with an upgraded one which allows more power on the hills , Whilst in modification mode I have rebuilt a pair of front wheels using a pair of modified MTB quando hubs and fitted 14mm axles and fitted them into a pair of black BMX rims with stainless steel spokes .
We also fitted a new set of tyres to Kens trike a couple of weeks before we went .

My red trike has had the original wheels refitted with a new set of bearings and round disc rotors , The brakes after resetting up stopped squeaking for a couple of weeks but now there is an audible "sing" from one of the front brakes . this odd noise appears to be a resonating sound that stops if you touch the actuator arm so I have to investigate that next . 
The Eastern burnouts on my trike are starting to show wear and the rear has lost the wear indicator on the main tread but the indicators can still be seen on the front ones , so I hope to replace all three later this year .

During the winter months I hope to strip and perform some preventative maintenance on the trikes ( including my tyres ) to allow us to have another year of reliable fun from the trikes .and to move my controller to another more inconspicuous place and to free up some behind the seat space to fit a larger battery for increased range . The paintwork has a few scratches to repair caused by the" car-moth" and constant task of returning the trike to the boot after use on my own .



One trike inside and one on the roof - Have caravan - will travel




5 days of really nice weather , good food and plenty of triking , we made friend with several people who were interested in the e-trikes .




The nice thing is you don't need to find a seat to enjoy the scenery or eat your takeaway under the watchful eye of some hungry seagulls.

What more can I say 

great fun for the last year and another super time away .

regards emma


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## voyager (22 May 2016)

Hi folks

Its been several months since I last posted on this thread , 
so since the last update
Both trikes had their end of season maintenance checks and the front pads replaced , The brake and gear cables were replaced as there was signs of corrosion inside the cable - possibly the ingress of sea water from our route along the under cliff path .
I also replaced my eastern burnouts ( 20 x 2.1 slicks ) as they were starting to show signs of wear . I have also fitted an 11 ah bottle battery to my trike to give me a range of 24 miles so I have the ability of a 50 mile round trip if we carry the spare batteries as well .
Kens trike seems to be able to get this range using the original 9ah battery but \i think his controller is not quite as thirsty as mine .
We have been away for another holiday ( last month ) back again to the same site as Billy Ocean was topping the bill on Saturday night . Sunday night "Mrs Loud " was on , The hall was packed for Billy Ocean but was only half full for Loraine Crosby ( Her claim to fame was she sang with meat loaf on his I'll do anything for love track ).
Since our return the trikes have had a few pre-season adjustments ( mine required another wheel bearing but I think this is due to the anti-crush tube on the brand-x 20mm hub being the wrong length ) , I also replaced my rear caliper as Ken decided to use it to stop his trike as he was a little too close to me when I was forced to stop .
With the better weather this week , I have made a new set of handle bars for the red trike and fitted them last Friday together with bar end shifters ,
The originals internal diameter would not allow me to fit the bar end shifter . I took great care not to jam the thumb throttle with the gear cables finishing off by using road bike tape to provide a comfortable grip .
Our ride out this weekend showed significant improvement to the riding position and to the ease of gear changing . The new bars are slightly narrower but are slightly longer .
now for a few photos.
regards emma




Ready for Summer




Part of the off-road route north from Selsey .




We decided to park at the end of the touring field away from the maddening crowd




All back on board ( 1 up and 1 in ) and off until next time 

take care and thanks for viewing


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## voyager (13 Jun 2016)

After 2 years of use we have finally replaced the original handle bar changers with bar end changers on both trikes .
Unfortunately 7x3 sets are no longer available and I changed a couple of pairs of 8x3 speed into friction types and have fitted these ,

Kens went on dead easy but I had a problem with the inner size of the bars on my red trike so I manufactured a set of replacement bars as well .( as last post )

We also swapped the twist throttle on Kens to a thumb throttle to allow the throttle lever to work without fouling the gear cable.

We have had a very intermittent problem with the electrics on Kens trike and finally located it to the controller , Just ordered a replacement and hopefully it will be fitted before we go down the New Forest for a long weekend.
.
I have just replaced the chain guide pulley on mine after 2 years of use it was still usable but started to wear and get noisy with the chain on the nylon .







Next month will be our third Zombie fest meeting in Lancing - photos to follow .

regards emma


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## numbnuts (13 Jun 2016)

Cracking photos well down


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## voyager (17 Jun 2016)

Hi Folks 

here is the update on fitting the new controller with LCD 


Well Wednesday was interesting and very frustrating .
The replacement new controller installation should have taken about 3 hours but due to the lack of technical support from the supplier the configuring took all day .

They had an online chat system that after no one from their end responded it disconnected me from the system twice after 30 minutes of sitting in front of a computer screen ( no wonder I have had a headache for the last 30 odd hours that has not gone yet ! )

So far the clever black and white bear supplier has not offered much in the way of apologizes , compensation or support in providing a permanent fix for the problem - Don't get me wrong this controller kit was their top of the range offering at 125 gbp with overnight delivery . a controller from BMS china for a similar unit would have been almost half price, if I had the time to wait for it to arrive but because we are taking the trikes away to the New Forest soon I needed it now !

Quickly after stripping the original system off the trike and fitting the new throttle and a rather large 12 magnet pedelec sensor ( a 2 piece disc held together with a very large circlip ) I needed to re-position the sensor and controller so the cable was just long enough ( behind the seat support worked well for the controller ) I modified the brakes with a conversion cable so I did not have to remake/ redrill yet another set of brake levers for dual front braking ( a legal requirement in the UK - all wheel braking on a e-trike ) The new controller powered up and the setup was very easy - maximum speed and wheel size ) and the system ran first time .

*EXCEPT 
*
no speedo output . after another drink and calming down through the frustrations of the support incident , the new controller I found eventually after several minutes of head scratching had 6 wires in the hall sensor connector rather than the normal 5 in this case the 6th white wire was the speedo sensor input , I modified an old bike computer sensor and magnet (( fitted magnet onto a spoke on the rear wheel ) and ( chopped wire off at the computer end and connect this between the white wire and 0v)) suddenly I had the speedo working 

The new system with the speed limit set to maximum would give me a max speed of 23 mph with the motor running without load 
After a short road test I have put the trike away until the weekend .

The new controller seems very smooth and the pedelec system kicks in after 3/4 of a turn and the controller has 6 levels of assist and a 0 position for zero assist but the use of the speedo and odo meter the ordinal brake levers have kill switches fitted ( EAPC requirement ). 

I will update you with the final outcome from the supplier once I have received it .


















image share

all apologies for the tatty welding but this was the 3rd trike I had welded up and it is over 2 years old now and has traveled more miles than I have walked in my lifetime without problems 

The mug is a standard mug with my roland cutter decals applied . all the decals on the trike are cut with this - for more information on the decals please email me lead time is generally about 2-3 weeks internationally and 7 days in the UK 


regards emma


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## voyager (30 Jun 2016)

Hi Folks

Another long weekend break , this time in the New Forest  , We stayed at Ocknell part of the former site of RAF Stoney Cross . Friday , Sunday and Monday we explored the remains of the Airbase ( dismantled 60 years ago ) with the help of some local maps and a transcript of a tour ..
The runways are now local roads and the remains of marker lamps are still at the side of the road .
We triked around the local area and took several photos and even saw some local deer in long beech campsite .


Friday we managed to arrive ( 100 miles in 3.5 hours and through the festival of speeds traffic queues ) , set up camp and get a few miles in before the rain came  and had dinner .

Sunday and Monday  , ( too wet  on Saturday  ) we triked to the local Pub for a liquid top-up and lunch  .........


The site was basic , with toilets and a washing up area ( no electrickery )  and we used a 120watt solar panel  coupled to an invertor when the sun shone and a 700 watt generator  under a rough home made cover in the wet ( 2 x 2hrs a day ) to recharge the on-board caravan battery and to recharge the trikes .

The site needed rock pegs to secure the awning as the hardcore from the demolished buildings is just covered by a thin layer of soil/grass with a lot of the hardcore showing through .

Wild Ponies and cattle roamed the camp site and we had a wake-up call at 6 am with a cow scratching its nose on the red tow hitch security device , it didn't want to leave and needed to be persuaded to take its itch elsewhere . There were many adder warning around the camp but we were fortunate not to see any , but small field mice were seen early evening running near the tents and caravans .

We met several people ( on site and on our travels ) who as usual showed an interest as why two recently retired ( or just tired ) would want to explore the countryside on these odd looking machines , Cars avoided us and we had respect from other road users except for one "cow with horns " that kept looking at the red fleece I was wearing ,
Its strange how fast you can pedal ( with e-assist ) to leave in a hurry 

It was great fun but like all good things time ( 4 nights on site )


















passed too quickly .

Would we go again - OF COURSE !

the next event is our southern area Zombie fest in July

enjoy the photos - we enjoyed the break

regards emma


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## voyager (30 Jun 2016)

The update on the controller was :----

The not so clever pandas knew less about their products than I did , they sent several emails back to me about what I should do with the product , I did reply with my alternative option of what I should do with it , sadly I have not received another reply from them but at £122.50 it was not worth the money , 
( but it was delivered the next working day ) and it would have been a better option to have got an alternative product from China if I had another weeks lead time to play with . A second one that I did order from China at the same time did appear on the Thursday morning before we left but that was cutting it too fine to fit . and didn't have all the bells and whistles but it was 1/10 of the price .

regards emma


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## voyager (12 Jul 2016)

Hi Folks 
Our third annual Zombie fest in Lancing and a superb weekend 
just a few photos with a ride out to Brighton on Saturday 

Another great weekend 

































zombiefest 2016


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## voyager (12 Jul 2016)

Here is just part of the sustrans 2 route from Shoreham Locks to Hove lawns 

Highlighting some of the problems of cycle paths being impractical or too narrow for trikes 

enjoy ( this is not my video ) 

I go charging off around 7 minutes to catch up and pass some "quick " MTB ers " just for "my sport " ! that chuckled at us as they passed !


View: https://youtu.be/xfAjnxTrVIg


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## numbnuts (12 Jul 2016)

Showing off the trikes well done


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## voyager (12 Jul 2016)

Thanks @numbnuts we are hoping to be down your way again this summer ( new forest ) , weather and time/health permitting .
Nothing planned for the next few weeks so we can do a little more trike building etc and a couple of car repairs .


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## neil earley (22 Jul 2016)

Enjoyed your video and pics are superb what a nice ride out you had


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## voyager (14 Sep 2016)

Another good long weekend break away with the e-trikes , and met up with John P the local velo owner , The Seachers ( 1960's group were on ) and we also used the sites sauna , steam room and swimming pool , what more can we say , It was the first time we used our new to us replacement caravan and awning despite a few little teething troubles we had a great long weekend away . Now we are planning another before winter comes and spoils our fun 

regards emma 


























image hosting over 5mb


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## voyager (31 Oct 2016)

With the sun getting lower in the sky and the nights drawing in , the last few weeks have been spent in making the most of the mild weather .
Virtually no building work except for the addition of the hard bags on the new trike but a lot more triking .

Another long weekend down to Selsey ( rather expensive as it fell on 1/2 term at £45 a night ) its usually £70 for the weekend at this time ,
but it was the only time could get time off . Still the weather was mild and we enjoyed the weekend , the last until next year as its getting cold and dark too early for decent rides . The moles had been enjoying themselves at the campsite with plenty of molehills on some of the pitches .I suppose that happens when you cull the resident rabbits .





Lunch at Bracklesham Bay after using the permissive bridle ways and side roads













before returning to *Bunn *, Warner Farm for dinner we prepared earlier in the slow cooker .
The weather was still mild this weekend so we rode out to Brighton and had Tea and cake at the under cliff cafe at Ovingdean 





regards emma
.


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## voyager (30 Jun 2017)

Well its that time of the year again

The fourth annual Zombie fest , a collection of old farts that should know better, meeting at a Campsite in Lancing in Sussex for another long weekend of Trikes , ( with a total age in excess of 300 years )
The weekend consisted of :-
Riding , discussing projects and of course good food and fine wine ( and spirits )

Hilary came down from Bolton and Danny came down from Essex with the other 3 of us being relative local .

What could go wrong -

My mother got admitted to hospital on the friday night , luckily her neighbour went to the hospital and stayed with her until she was admitted ( she is back home now )

Saturday was windy with a stinging rain hitting us in the face when we triked over to Goring.

Rusty the Rapion £750,000 , 80 ton digger was still stuck in the sand ( almost 3 months ) on the sea bed and it was still an attraction on the sea front ( it was pulled from the seabed yesterday by a 300 ton rescue raft /barge to go to Southampton ) note .( photos show its rescue yesterday and Kite surfers last Saturday )

Sunday we had a short ride out to Fort Shoreham by the harbour where Danny showed us how to capsize his trike , followed by an easy afternoon on that final whole day and John went to bed early as he felt a bit unwell .*BUT* at 22:30 he crawled out of his tent gasping he needed a Doctor , 3x9's later an ambulance drew up and after stabilising his asthmatic problem,then took him to the local hospital for a check up , discharged at 04:00 he rang me to collect him and eventually we all got back to sleep by 5 am .

Other photos just show that we were enjoying ourselves and the John designed hydraulic ram operated trike carrier in action . This attaches to the towbar and gentle raises to put the trike in position on the rear with the rams taking the load .
Hilary's pedal trike was the only non electric trike but we towed her several times when the wind was at its worst in the unprotected sea side part of the cycle track .

Would we do it again - of course we would, it was great fun andas good friends we club together when the going get tough .
and now the photos, that are worth a couple of hundred words from the Atomic Zombie site

Danny , John and another triker from Northampton are going mid July for a 2 week tour of Holland .






































https://postimg.org/image/mrgdlpf2f/



https://postimg.org/image/mrgdlpf2f/


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## classic33 (1 Jul 2017)

Driving lessons for the excavtor driver!!


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## numbnuts (1 Jul 2017)

Love the trike /car rack


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## voyager (7 Jul 2017)

Short break in Selsey with the caravan and trikes , My feet stopped too many miles being ridden, but never used the car over the 3 nights away.great fun on a permissive bridle path .

regards Emma


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## voyager (10 Jul 2017)

While this lovely weather stays with us we are trying to make the most of it .
Two short but nice rides over the weekend, the first to a hostery in Rottingdean for an evening drink , and a Sunday morning ride out to our usual café on the way back we ventured to the dead end of the undercliff way , after a chat with some interested df bikers we continued on our way home


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## voyager (16 Jul 2017)

Last nights early evening Pub run only 9 miles but 1800 ft accumulative climb , getting cooler , while we were they a lady stopped us and said her hubby had built one and he was in the hotel , 5 minutes later he arrived and we chatted for half hour before they went for a fish and chip supper and we rode home . Another great short swift evening ride .








later's emma


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## fixedfixer (16 Jul 2017)

Like the Twinkle graphics on the blue one


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## voyager (16 Jul 2017)

Thank you @fixedfixer I have a Roland Vinyl cutter and make my own ( and other peoples graphics )
The graphics are similar on both trikes but the white on blue stands out more than the black on red .
I can offer Pink , white , silver , red and black and I'm not expensive . 
Any one interested PM me for a quote .

Regards emma


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## fixedfixer (16 Jul 2017)

@voyager Might just do that once the next build has been finished (Tour Easy clone with USS and disc brakes)


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## voyager (23 Jul 2017)

This weeks weekend ride was to Brighton Pier and back , Nice weather and an icecream on the way back.

regards Emma


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## AndyBa (21 Aug 2017)

Can I just ask how you "modified" none disk wheels to accept disks?
I need to make a matching pair of front wheels for my KMX x class and have settled on 20mm Hope Pro 2 hubs which will need machining to match the stub axles.


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## voyager (21 Aug 2017)

we used quando mtb disc hubs (cheap Halfords bikes ) hubs these accept a BMX 14mm axle using smaller balls . If you join Atomic Zombie forum there are several good threads on conversions etc . Some of the Shimano hubs can also be used with an anticrush tube installed.

regards Emma


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## AndyBa (22 Aug 2017)

Thanks for your prompt reply. I'll take a look at those for replacing my mag wheels on my Tornado. But will probably stick with Hope ones for my x class.

Andy


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## voyager (27 Aug 2017)

The start of the long ( for us as we took Friday as well ) weekend started off well a 35 mile trike ride with a picnic lunch at the wide water , followed by a short while listening to a busker in Shoreham before returning home via an italian ice cream parlour for a nice icecream tub .
Saturday was equally good with a trip up the local flying field with a RC model aircraft and a couple of fights before bringing it back home in one piece , using the trailer and trike we can reduce the distance by using the farm tracks from 18 mile round trip to just 3 miles .

All in all a good start to the weekend .

Its nice when 2 or more hobbies can co-exist in a long weekend ,


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## voyager (11 Sep 2017)

The first week of September we went down the new forest for a triking holiday and to spend a few hours on the roads.
This plan appeared to be unfavourable to the man upstairs who decided to make the weather unpleasant for us . Not to be out done we managed a few miles on the forest roads despite being water blasted by the front wheels and rain down the neck .some of the brighter points were ,
brie , bacon and cranberry toasties at red shoot , bolderswood , and the Canadian memorial while we stayed at Ocknell campsite , more photos to follow. Charging the e-trikes on solar and a small generator was not the easiest things to do but it did keep the batteries up for the week away.


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## voyager (13 Sep 2017)

Another few photos from the camera, including one of my favourite spots janesmoor pond , only a couple of miles from the campsite, a small pond with a couple of trees and always a few ponies around.The last two at putticks bridge at the bottom of rhinefield drive . All within triking distance of the campsite.

Next project is changing all the halogen bulbs for led lamps if we intend going to non electric sites.

regards Emma


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## voyager (25 Sep 2017)

Hi folks 
Another long weekend break at Selsey , with 40 miles more under our wheels and several inches of rain , mostly at night . We met up with John the velo for a cup of tea and had hoped to see the Searchers, sadly they cancelled due to ill health.
Otherwise a good weekend with a couple of good rides and good food.


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## voyager (16 Oct 2017)

Yesterdays morning ride to Brighton






proved interesting as the new Volks railway station/ visitors centre was open , and a 1907 train was just loading it's passengers for it's short ride to the carpark at the other end of madeira drive. Then back to the cafe at ovingdean for a well earned cup of tea before riding home for dinner.

regards Emma


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## voyager (9 Dec 2017)

With temperatures just over 0'c and after repairing Ken's ageing Volvo's rear exhaust mount we decided to get an hour or so out on the trikes with an eight mile round trip to the cafe on the under cliff way , The sun was forcing itself through the rather overcast clouds to try and show us it had not forgotten it's purpose in providing light and some warmth . Sitting low in the sky it was still a little murky as we set off about two pm , we still had almost a couple of hours daylight left . It was ******* cold through out the ride but the warm tea helped us get back before it got dark , 
The trikes were covered in a chalky and salty mixture of dust and after a wash down were put away. Probably one of the last rides of the year unless we can get out for our Xmas day Santa run before dinner. The trikes proved to be a conversation piece with some of the walkers and bikers also out enjoying the last of the cold but sunny afternoon.


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## Andrew1971 (11 Dec 2017)

Hi Emma 
Now let's see if you can resist the temptation to build any more next year. and enjoy the one's you have hmmm
Andrew


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## voyager (11 Dec 2017)

I have 2 ideas running around in my mind , a 20/18f (2018) e-assist tadpole (smaller) and l still have the single seater quad velo to finish. But then plans can change.


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## voyager (17 Dec 2017)

Hi Folks

Another Saturday afternoon ride out to Ovingdean cafe in less than favourable weather just to make my annual mileage up ,
( Air temps of 3 - 4 degrees, a south westerly wind and a suggestion of possible rain later in the day ) Long Joans were the preferred clothing added before we left , I hate the cold ( my ageing body complains bitterly about it )  
Thankfully the cafe was open and the hot mug of tea  was used first to warm my hands before the liquid helped to warm my body .

Another 8 miles at an average of 10+ mph despite the combined climbs of 1800ft to get back into Peacehaven . On the way back (yes ) it rained  and we stopped to put on our weather gear . The first 4 miles to the cafe was into wind and for 2 miles along the sea front path the swirling sand caught up by the wind sand blasted our faces , and stung our eyes . Still we still returned with a grin on our faces and came home to a real log fire to warm ourselves with .  before starting Dinner . We are thinking about some of the "yellow sun glasses" to help with both the poor visabilty and the sand problem .

The next modification to my trike is the twin rear lamp and reflector bracket to fit to the rear of the seat , I have purchase some of these very bright alloy bodied lamps with 2032 batteries they are small but very bright and work well , especially the fact they do not get broken as the body is a 2 part machined alloy unit that attaches vertically to my new bracket . Last week we fitted 2 of these lamps to the rear of Ken's trike and they perform well and are not expensive from China ( £6 for 4 )

Hopefully in the new year we will service both trikes for the 2018  season . And clean up some of the rust patches that have been caused by the sand and salty air of the coastal cycle paths .

Later's Emma


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## voyager (14 Jan 2018)

With outside temperatures rangeing between cold and even colder we limited ourselves to some diy inside the house but the sound of neglected trikes from the garage become unbearable so we spent an hour or so fitting twin rear lamps to both trikes .
The trike storage stand helps reduce space and makes it easier to work on , being on casters





now to get a couple of new batteries for the other lamp . Still have some cleaning and respraying of the black parts once the air temperature rises a little

regards emma


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## voyager (14 Jan 2018)

Close up of the integrated rear lamp and reflector bracket .
It bolts to the rear of the seat post , sitting nicely between the hamster bags
These little lamps are quite bright and frugal on batteries.
Bought 4 front and 4 rear mini led lamps with batteries , under a tenner delivered from China. Result! ( 5 week lead time )

Later's Emma


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## voyager (27 Jan 2018)

Hi Folks 

With January's weather ranging from cold and wet to very cold , wet and windy , todays slightly warmer but windy was a good day to get a couple of hours trike ride in , It was cold and hard into the SSW wind into Brighton but just plain sailing along the Undercliff way on our way home , stopped at Ovingdean Cafe for a chat with a couple of pair of tandem riders ( on foot today ) before returning home for Lunch .
One of the Li-on batteries ( a 36v 9ah bottle ) seems to be getting tired ( its almost 4 years old and was causing Ken a little grief before it sorted itself out ) This battery will need to be investigated before we start our new season of triking (proper ) Apart from that it was an intersting couple of hours 

regards emma


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## voyager (27 Jan 2018)

BTW currently down to ONLY 4 e-trikes and NOT planning to build any more ( yet ) 

regards emma


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## voyager (11 Mar 2018)

Well The weather hasn't started off very well for us , even down here in the south so rather than get wet and cold yesterday we started the pre season maintenance on the trikes , Both rear tyres were replaced and the panniers had to come off for Kens . followed by the normal "once disturbed its readjustment time " Next weekend its replace the tyre on the front of mine and a little bit of paintwork come on England we want our SPRING .
The storage rack doubles as a double maintenance rack and helps prevent a bad back.

regards emma


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## fixedfixer (11 Mar 2018)

Canee see any snow in that photo? Still got six inch covering up here,


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## voyager (11 Mar 2018)

@fixedfixer ,

The snow all went in 36 hours , Just wet and windy down here now.
Lots of bits and pieces to complete now before the caravanning and biking starts 
Including some decorating , carpet laying , and three rooms to finish off .

At least the car has an MOT currently we are still awaiting a replacement drive shaft as we need to replace an oil seal before we start towing . I got out for an hour last week and hope to get out again during the week but work( outstanding jobs ) come before pleasure.

later's emma


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## fixedfixer (11 Mar 2018)

Snow on ground here for two weeks - still here.


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## Time Waster (12 Mar 2018)

What 20" (406) tyres do you use?

I bought my streetmachine with marathons but a variant I've never heard of like marathon street or something. It looks a lighter, more supple version.


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## voyager (12 Mar 2018)

Time Waster said:


> What 20" (406) tyres do you use?
> 
> I bought my streetmachine with marathons but a variant I've never heard of like marathon street or something. It looks a lighter, more supple version.



We use a variety of tyres .
I prefer the Eastern burnouts which are a low rolling resistance 2.1 slick tyre , the original rims on the front of my red trike were too wide for some narrow tyres and l sourced 12 of these bmx burnout tyres while stocks lasted. Sadly I only have a couple left .
Ken's tyre have a road tread 1.95 kenda tyre on the front and a 2.1 on the rear

Despite a heavier tread pattern than mine his trike's tyres throws up less water than mine.

Marathon speed tyres were a lightweight version , I have a pair on another trike but don't think they will last very long.

regards Emma


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## voyager (14 Mar 2018)

After a bad start to the morning, l did manage to spend a little time replacing the front tyres on my trike , sadly l have used the last pair of eastern burnouts.
I liked these as you can fit and remove them by hand and they have low rolling resistance .

I have managed to get a set of 3 marathon speed at a good price so l have spares for next year. 






regards emma


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## voyager (6 Apr 2018)

Hi folks 

The Easter long weekend was a bit of a wash out to say the least , Luckily Ken and I sneaked in another day allowing us a 5 day break, We managed a couple of short rides a total of 33 miles without getting wet , only one problem, Ken's trike broke it's USS spindle as we left home on Sunday morning , We robbed a rear hub of it's bearings , cones and spindle and quickly rebuilt it , despite the little disruption we still managed 13 miles before lunch the other 20miles were done on Tuesday as the weather perked up . A nice ride out from Peacehaven thorough Brighton to hove lagoon and back stopping atbTescos in Rottingdean for lunch before getting home to put the trikes away before a large amount of wetness descended on us about 5 minutes after we opened the garage and put the trikes away.
The i360 seemed busy as we rode past , somehow it reminds me of a sore finger on the skyline







regards Emma


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## voyager (28 Jun 2018)

lots of weekend rides on these trikes as well as a weeks holiday in the forest. 
This pair of trikes are getting well used .
selection of photos since may of things that have happened.including a group we met on holiday.


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## voyager (15 Jul 2018)

After dinner last night as the day cooled down we decided to go for a short evening ride . Out to Brighton makes it 10 miles and with a detour onto Rottingdean added an extra mile as a detour to the plough Inn , a nice summers evening finished off with a drink before returning home before lighting up time . More miles and more smiles.
will try again to upload files later -

regards Emma


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## voyager (15 Jul 2018)

Plough Inn ( next to whipping post lane )


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## voyager (15 Jul 2018)

Kipling lived north of the Pond ( not the cake man )


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## voyager (15 Jul 2018)

Finally it allowed me to upload 3 photos 

The Newhaven - Dieppe car ferry can be seen in the distance.
( sustrans 2 route A259 Telscombe Cliffs ) 

grrrrh


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## raleighnut (15 Jul 2018)

voyager said:


> View attachment 419539
> 
> 
> Plough Inn ( next to whipping post lane )


I'd be hearing this in my head if I ever went there,


View: https://youtu.be/-TItmXT8DkM


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## voyager (15 Jul 2018)

just down the road is Tesco's where we get a few odd bits , sometimes it's a bit like


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nndS22Qda0

Still life is still a laugh


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## voyager (21 Jul 2018)

Back to the pub tonight for the other 1/2 of cider . Here's another couple of photos
The pond with the pub in the background , whipping post lane for the unbeliever










and the local church


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## Nigelnightmare (22 Jul 2018)

Looking forward to your next build here are some bits.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Recumbent-trike-Parts/132708739949?hash=item1ee60eab6d:g:9IUAAOSwpJdbT1Pg

Wheels and *folding* rear frame from an ICE trike.
Might be useful.


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## voyager (22 Jul 2018)

@Nigelnightmare 
Thanks 

I might bid again but the £20 carriage kills it for me .

Won't be any more builds for a while after the current build in "another tadpole trike" . Too many pressing immediate family problems to allow me to concentrate on anything , I had built several and logged the builds on here and Atomic zombie and on my Facebook page .
My main aim now is to trike to stay fit and reduce my blood sugar problem .

Old age doesn't help and I am slowing down , there is no fun in being a pensioner , the trade off of a bit more time to the prospects of old age and poor health is not the best scenario in the world .I hope to finish this current build to " use up my spare stock " I really need a break and as Ken retires next week we hope to spend more time away and on 3 wheels before old age engulfs us both .
Later's Emma


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## voyager (22 Jul 2018)

Todays Midmorning ride to Brighton followed by a tea stop in Ovingdean and Lunch in Rottingdean before coming home for dinner










regards Emma


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## voyager (22 Jul 2018)

Our evening ride to Rottingdean and a photo of Rudyard Kiplings house behind the newly refurbished war memorial and finished the ride with a trip out to the "dead end" of the under cliff walk .
Could this be the end of the line?













regards Emma


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## voyager (9 Aug 2018)

More evening rides out to Rottingdean, just getting home with the use of lights .
Dark at 21:00 now so getting the most out of this summer .











I am surprised how bright these little red and white Chinese 2032 powered led lamps are , as the night starts to draw in ( no beam but you can be seen )

Later's Emma


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## voyager (8 Sep 2018)

Ken and I have been away to he New Forest for 10 days , with our caravan and 2 e-trikes . The site Ocknell an ex WWll airbase had very few facilities , without electricity we survived and keep the batteries charged with 2 x 2hrs of "allowed" generator running and maintained the caravan leisure battery with a solar panel . good fun for a rest and think about the future .We did about 100 miles around the Forest with visits to most of the local pubs .Some of the riding was "off road" on local forest tracks as well as local roads.

The Swan at Lyndhurst,the Portuguese fireplace on the emery down - Boldrewood road and the Ocknell campsite .


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## voyager (22 Sep 2018)

Hi folks

Back from our break we have started the house clearance and trying to get a few miles in , a couple of rides out and " lunchtime dinner rides " have increased the mileage a bit , Still lots to do and the weather is not as good as it was.


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## raleighnut (23 Sep 2018)

voyager said:


> Hi folks
> 
> Back from our break we have started the house clearance and trying to get a few miles in , a couple of rides out and " lunchtime dinner rides " have increased the mileage a bit , Still lots to do and the weather is not as good as it was.
> View attachment 431136
> ...


Has someone been playing skiddies.


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## voyager (23 Sep 2018)

raleighnut said:


> Has someone been playing skiddies.



who me ? 

The corner always has a coating of small pebbles washed up on it after a strong wind / wave combination and becomes a playground for the rear brake.

regards Emma


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## voyager (25 Sep 2018)

So after a puncture repair (#2 in a week ) we triked into Brighton , it was like a summers day with that big ball of fire in the sky sending lots of heat down to us.
After the u-turn at Hove lawns we stopped to take a photo of a huge colourful snail beside the cycle track , well nobody would believe us .returning home we gained out 3rd puncture and after replacing the tube consoled ourselves with a tub of Cornish ice-cream each before triking home.
This retirement game seems fun so far.









View attachment 431623


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## voyager (3 Oct 2018)

Just come back home from another 6 night break with the trikes , this time in Selsey, West Sussex. Apart from the Mersey beats the entertainment wasn't very good as it is out of season .
Still it gave us a change of scenery for a week and put a few more miles on the trikes.


Had another puncture making it 4 in less than 4 weeks.

regards


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## Rickshaw Phil (4 Oct 2018)

voyager said:


> .........
> Don't blame me this silly editor put in 2 sets of photos .
> 
> ................
> ...


I've sorted that out for you.


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## voyager (4 Oct 2018)

The campsite was almost deserted save for a few harder retired caravaners, and several bunnies running around ( must have got the site name from them )Luckily our van has underfloor electric heating and the evenings were nice and toastie at 24deg C . 

Next question is where next ? 

( Thanks Phil) 

regards Emma


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## Phaeton (4 Oct 2018)

voyager said:


> View attachment 431619


Not that I am suggesting you do anything illegal, but you need to steal that snail & graft it onto the trike, it's keep you dry & give everybody a giggle as you rode down the road.


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## voyager (4 Oct 2018)

Phaeton said:


> Not that I am suggesting you do anything illegal, but you need to steal that snail & graft it onto the trike, it's keep you dry & give everybody a giggle as you rode down the road.



They auctioned off the snow dogs that were scattered around Brighton on their last advertising feat !
I think they are fibreglass


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## voyager (7 Oct 2018)

Another day 
another snail .
Unfortunately the sun has played havoc with the photo , still another 28 miles today . Every snail has a different paint theme .


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## voyager (10 Oct 2018)

Retirement, is enjoying the simple things in life ( sometimes ) a 17 mile round trip to the peace statue ( caught out again next to a cafe ) sitting in the sun shine beside tge statue watching the i360 ascend it's metal finger pointing skywards . Eating an icecream ( shouldn't have that really ) and a ride back to Rottingdean for a shared meal deal before riding back home for a proper dinner.
Caught up with a couple more snails on the way .


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## voyager (7 Nov 2018)

Hi Folks 

Having carelessly lost a family member in Wales and a pilgrimage down to his funeral, we have managed a few more short rides into Brighton before the winter chill really decends upon us .

We have noticed a bit of headache in one of the spherical ball joints on the steering linkage , and found the new replacement to be just as bad .Another make will be on order soon , 
Still nice to enjoy the last of the autumn sun while we can .
Later's Emma


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## voyager (10 Nov 2018)

Hi folks ,
Back into the swing of triking again , between the house clearance and other general duties , another couple of snails photographed






View attachment 437914
today and 14 miles added to the total mileage , not a lot but coming along slowly this year.

silly editor still adding photos grr !!!!
regards Emma


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## voyager (17 Nov 2018)

With the sun low in the sky , and Ru Matiks massaging my old knees we set off ( as the tide went out ) to Brighton.




The under cliff path was full of dying seaweed washed over the sea wall as the waves crash over at high tide with walker and bikers trying to enjoy the last few hours of the autumnal sun . 
The additional anti flood ( large heavy planks ) defences have been dropped into place to reduce the chances of huge amounts of water causing havoc along the path.
Home in good time to give the trikes a wash down before the light goes for another day.

This years upgrade will be to 202 mm front discs and new calipers to suit as well as replacement spherical rod ends .
A treat after 5 years of use.


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## voyager (22 Nov 2018)

Hi folks

The snails have gone , and the weather is getting cooler and the days shorter and duller . A short 10 mile ride today to keep the legs active. The current caliper / disc combination has started to sing , patiently waiting for the new 200 mm rotors and calipers to arrive .
We are starting to redesign the seat on Kens trike , watch this space.
regards Emma


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## voyager (25 Nov 2018)

Hi Folks 

With space now at a premium, we managed to cut out the new seat form and secure both halves together , The edges were finished off with the grindette , awaiting next delivery of time and some 5mm tee nuts to make the battery mounts .
Once they arrive we will remove the current seat to mark the mounting locations of the new seat before testing and covering with foam and vinyl.







We hope the fixed neck rest will be better than the current type.

The calipers have arrived but we are still waiting for the 202mm rotors.

Later's Emma


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## voyager (30 Nov 2018)

The postman played a big part in supplying some of the upgrade parts for this winters refurbishment of the trikes
l have the 3mm steel plate for the calipers mounts modifications, the calipers and the 203 mm calipers, the 8 mm spherical rod ends arrived with tge 5mm tee nuts and now l am waiting for the 10mm rod ends ( they are in the country ) 





Still trying to achieve this years target before stripping the trikes.

Later's Emma


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## voyager (1 Dec 2018)

today the weather is wet or to be honest very wet it has stopped further work on the trikes , but yestersdays effort has kept us on track. The Seat was test fitted on Kens trike and all tee nuts inserted. Then dismantled and painted to stop water ingress.
Next stage and final stage of the day was to make 4 templates to fit the larger breaks on the existing mounts before darkness fell .

More photos later when it dries up again when we can mark and cut the second seat blank . 

Next job is locate some red paint to refurbish my frame and fit new decals .

Later's Emma


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## raleighnut (1 Dec 2018)

voyager said:


> today the weather is wet or to be honest very wet it has stopped further work on the trikes , but yestersdays effort has kept us on track. The Seat was test fitted on Kens trike and all tee nuts inserted. Then dismantled and painted to stop water ingress.
> Next stage and final stage of the day was to make 4 templates to fit the larger breaks on the existing mounts before darkness fell .
> 
> More photos later when it dries up again when we can mark and cut the second seat blank .
> ...


It's *Brakes* Emma , but good to hear the mods are going well


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## voyager (1 Dec 2018)

raleighnut said:


> It's *Brakes* Emma , but good to hear the mods are going well



damn predictive sex again 

l need a break . 
Working in a now cramped garage ( logs and bits from mums ) does not help especially when the weather is unkind.

Vinyl ordered for covering but need some medium density foam .

I need to cut out my seat blank once the weather breaks , then l can start on mine.


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## voyager (2 Dec 2018)

Well folks ,

A couple of easy hours spent on the second seat blank today, shaping with the angle grinder made the job easier than normal .
Then some searching on flea-bay for medium density foam ( now duly ordered ) 

I found some spray adhesive in the cupboard left overs from the last build leaves only the paint ( red 20 ) to source .
When we get a dry 1/2 day we can mark out the seat for the mounting tee nut positions. 

The spherical rod ends haven't turned up yet 

Later's 

emma


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## voyager (3 Dec 2018)

And the good news is ...

The 10mm rod ends turned up in the post today .

I found another supplier of Rosso red today and I have collected a can .
The original ones l used were carplan RED-20 and the new is a Holts HRE05 but both identify as YAF136 . Hopefully these will be a match .

Once the cream vinyl and foam turn up I can start to upholster Kens blank and prepare my one prior to covering.

regards Emma


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## voyager (5 Dec 2018)

Yestersdays efforts summed up in one photo 

the foam was shaped and covered .

Kens seats finished 






regards Emma


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## neil earley (5 Dec 2018)

Ken is one happy man


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## voyager (5 Dec 2018)

neil earley said:


> Ken is one happy man



@neil earley 
He will be after xmas and the refurb / upgrades. The seats ( both trikes ) aren't going on until the trikes have been repainted , The seats stand a better chance of survival  .



My cream fabric turned up today by Royal Mail 48 ( only 24 hours late ) 
So we have all the bits  but limited time 

Next jobs , a bit of car maintenance and a trip down into the dark country of the Dragons.

Regards emma


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## voyager (8 Dec 2018)

today started well until wetness descended from the sky , as the workshop is full of my other workshop (mums) we were forced to work just outside the workshop , still seat blank now drilled for accessories and ready to cover .
A wet and fed up old bird
regards Emma


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## voyager (8 Dec 2018)

Last photos of the day.

painted the backs of the seat blanks and rough cut the foam ready to shape and cover. ( when it stops raining )


Enough for today .








regards Emma


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## voyager (9 Dec 2018)

Hi folks 

Last photo for a little while , We covered the cream seats today ( for my red trike ) it went quite well, this material was more stretchy than the black which made some parts easier but others became a pita .
Next "Jobs" will be the brake adapters after I have tidied up the workshop and brought over the workshop gas heater.




Later's Emma


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## Nigelnightmare (10 Dec 2018)

Looking good.
You definitely need some  &  .

Regarding the post times (48Hr) being 24Hr late, you should try living in Moray Scotland.
We're lucky if it's only 48Hr's *late*  and we're told that's Quick as sometimes it can take up to a week!


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## voyager (10 Dec 2018)

Our current problem is a lack of working space the more we bring over from mums ,the smaller our workspace is getting , So until Christmas its tidy the garage and locate a 2nd garage from somewhere .
A lot of the tools from mums have gone but still a lot more tools and bike/trike bits to re home.

Later's Emma


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## voyager (25 Dec 2018)

Hi Folks 

The last few weeks have been rather hectic , The house is sold stc  , Another week down in Wales -  well perhaps ( you will have to wait and see ) and some furniture demolition ( to feed the log fire )

Replacing the alloy wheels on the tow car ( found one was buckled ) an MOT and disposing of some of mums household bits and pieces . Reduced the last 3 weeks triking down to Nothing - Today's good weather (10c and sunny ) and the lack of open shops ( hurray ) allowed us to air our legs and do a mid-morning trike ride to Brighton .

How I have missed the hills and hope to do it all again tomorrow

Enjoy the break everyone 

The hamster bags are off mine as we are waiting for January to strip and respray both trikes ( locals ) before fitting the new seats and making the new brake mounts to fit the 203mm rotors 

Regards Ken and emma


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## voyager (27 Dec 2018)

Hi Folks .
Having failed miserably that we didn't get a ride in on boxing day, we decided to go out today to the peace statue in Hove , a round trip of 16 miles in near perfect conditions 10c and calm on a sunny December day . From Peacehaven we followed the sustran route 2 to Saltdean as usual and dropped down to the undercliff , The part near the marina was wet and very chalky so we diverted along the harbour wall and went through the marina village before coming out to madeira drive , We stopped in Brighton to look at the graffiti at the west end of the marina and at the shelter hall currently being refurbished before arriving at the peace statue. Then home for lunch and mug of tea.


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## Andrew1971 (27 Dec 2018)

Well Emma putting to shame with all this riding 
Andrew


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## voyager (30 Dec 2018)

With 32 hours before the end of 2018 , I have achieved my minimum mu leave for the year despite losing mum earlier in the year and spending a lot of time clearing the house . There has been a lot of ups and downs this year but can say I made it through. Final ride today for 2018 , 15 miles and a puncture on a fast descent, looking forward to 2019 and a better year I hope . Thanks for reading and commenting on the further adventures of the two trikes and next stage is the front brake upgrades to 203mm rotors , happy new year everyone





Brighton Pier at 15:00 today as the sun ( what sun ) was going down .
Later's Emma


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## voyager (5 Jan 2019)

Hi folks

We have managed to tidy up the garage and dump quite a bit and have enough space now to start the 203mm disc upgrades . Templates and conversion plates made on the first trike and hope to complete the first one tomorrow ( with luck ) 
photos to follow.

regards Emma


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## voyager (6 Jan 2019)

in need of refreshments .

Hi Folks 
Thing are,starting to happen both lhs assemblies fitted and adjusted , some remedial paint work in progress today . With the rhs plates awaiting some spacers before reassembly.
203mm discs are large 
regards Emma


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## neil earley (6 Jan 2019)

looking good any reason discs as opposed to drum brakes


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## voyager (7 Jan 2019)

@neil earley 

Same reason that Jaguar stopped using drums 60 years ago ( discs are more efficient )

Still finishing off the Right Hand Side ones , photos will follow


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## Tail End Charlie (7 Jan 2019)

Not seen this thread before. Love the write up. Wow, just wow.


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## voyager (7 Jan 2019)

@Tail End Charlie 


Tail End Charlie said:


> Not seen this thread before. Love the write up. Wow, just wow.



Have you read the other 3 threads !

regards emma


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## Tigerbiten (7 Jan 2019)

voyager said:


> Same reason that Jaguar stopped using drums 60 years ago ( discs are more efficient )


But do you need the extra stopping power of disks vs the almost maintenance free use of drums.
All the write ups I've seen say drums work fine on bent trikes.
I admit that I've got disks on my bent trike.
But that's more due to me only having one hand after my accident so both front brakes need to be linked to a single lever.
If I independent front brakes then I'd have may well gone the drum route.

Then again I don't know how hard drum hubs are find or how expensive they are to buy from the likes of ICE.
And it's probably fairly easy to get/mod a stub axle to work with a disk hub for a home build

Luck ...........


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## voyager (7 Jan 2019)

@Tigerbiten

E-trikes due to EAPC regulations need brakes on all 3 wheels and since the trikes were originally designed with 160 mm front discs ( these have proved inadequate going down hill at 40+ mph ) and the squeeze pressure to stop starting to get too hard for my old hands , it was decided to upgrade to bigger rotors , an easier route to go as l have the disc hub wheels and only the mounts need extending , currently both trikes are under going local paint renovation as well as new spherical rod ends. They might get new chains as well.

Regards Emma


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## Tigerbiten (8 Jan 2019)

Do you go both fronts on one lever and the back on the other one or each front on it's own lever and the back on a friction lever so it can work as a drag/parking brake.
The first case is probably the strict interpretation of the law but it takes more strength to get good front brakes. 
The second case is probably an acceptable interpretation of the law and on a bent trike you probably have better overall braking from less effort. I've also never heard of anyone being pulled over for using this combo.
I use a mix of both with both fronts off one lever and the back off a friction lever under it. So two independent brakes but it's tricky using both together. I need to keep the fronts on by pressing my leg against the lever, only then I can then modulate the back friction lever. This means Ikeep control on steep downhill runs while I use the back brake as a drag one. That's because I can then let the fronts cool to stop them from overheating. 
Then again I have shifted to twin hydraulic fronts off a single lever as I do think they give better braking for less effort.

Luck ...........


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## voyager (8 Jan 2019)

We use both front brakes of a single lever on the right and rear on the left as per a standard d/f , These trikes apart from "everyday" transport have always been test beds for new ideas . 
The way we have converted them will allow us to return to the pit bike brakes or experiment with 180mm at a later date. 
During the conversion l noticed something in the rear tyre , a silver of glass , the next day the rear tyre was flat , not a problem as we are swapping the tyres ( all 3 ) for marathon speeds and replacing the rear rotor with a matching one whilst that is been done we will be repairing and spraying the scratches on the rear triangle.

Later's Emma


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## Tigerbiten (8 Jan 2019)

I'd try setting your brakes up the other way tadpole trikes can be set up and see if you like it.
Left front off left lever, right front off right lever and the back brake off a friction gear lever.

Advantages ........ 
On a tadpole trike there's is not a lot of weight on the back wheel so it cannot give you a lot of stopping power before the back wheel skids. So with independent fronts and the back brake only used as a drag/parking brake you may well find that you get better overall braking for less effort.
Easier to setup as you don't need to fine tune the front brakes so they work the same.
You probably don't need it but on silly long type alpine descents with three independent brakes it gives you more options as to how to stop the brakes overheating. You can rotate two on and one off. That's what I really miss with my linked front and independent back setup when dropping down steep twisty hills with a full camping load. To date I've actually burnt out two different sets of front brakes whilst on tour.
Also with the back brake on a friction lever it make it so easy just to twist it on when you stop to stop the trike rolling away. Just remember to twist it off when you set off again. Everybody makes that mistake at least once ........ 

Disadvantages ............
Probably not strictly 100% legal, but ICE has been building them like that for at least 20 years now.
You may have to be slightly more careful of brake steer when stopping in a straight line if/when you're only using one front brake, but that also can be helpful on corners. You'll probably soon adapt to it anyway.

Luck ..........


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## Tigerbiten (8 Jan 2019)

Reading further I found that


> in the case of a pedal cycle which is not a bicycle, they comply with the standards for braking systems fitted to a bicycle which comply with clause 4.6.8 of the 2014 BS EN Standard


Now 2014 BS EN Standard also points to to ISO 4210
But ISO 4210 does


> not apply to specialized types of bicycle, such as delivery bicycles, recumbent bicycles, tandems, BMX bicycles, and bicycles designed and equipped for use in severe applications such as sanctioned competition events, stunting, or aerobatic manoeuvres.



So as far as I can tell you need two efficient independent braking systems split front /back.
Which both systems are.
But without digging a lot further how strictly legal it is to also split the front brakes on a tadpole trike is ???????

Luck ...............


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## voyager (8 Jan 2019)

but that is not eapc regs.

legally you only need a rear brake on a bent trike as the seat is under 18" ,
eapc regs states braking distances etc .

Tried L&R but didn't get on with it

regards Emma


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## voyager (9 Jan 2019)

Day 5 on the upgrade , bitten off more than we could chew but starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, only to find it was some one with a lamp bringing more work .

Mini spray booth made for the small parts .
another few days should see both sorted.









regards Emma


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## voyager (12 Jan 2019)

Hi Folks

Day 8 on the conversions to 203mm discs and just as a by-product the local respray on mine has turned into a lot more than originally anticipated , Kens is almost done leaving only the brake cables to be cut and fitted, a rear tyre is also on the cards but that can wait a few more days .
I have replaced the tyres on mine for Marathon Speeds using 1.5x20 tyres and the 6 chains ordered earlier this week have arrived , looks like another 5 days before the trikes are finished , Life unfortunately gets in the way with the continuing house clearance .

Photos will follow soon

regards emma


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## voyager (15 Jan 2019)

With the deadline getting nearer time is getting precious and trying to split myself between house clearance and sorting the trikes the trikes have to take second place. But we have started to refit my trike but still left with s lot to do , kens trike is further on but still need a lot more time.


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## voyager (18 Jan 2019)

Not a lot of time has been spent over the last few days , but it is starting to come together , but l have lost 100 cable nipples , unimpressed with myself


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## voyager (19 Jan 2019)

Cable wrapping arrived today 5 days on a 3 day delivery , despite being damp and cold ( not by my log fire ) Ken persuaded me to venture outside and do something to the trikes , suddenly remembered I had some spares in the house and returned to the warmth for a few more minutes to locate a pedelec sensor and a replacement ignition switch for mine ( salt water from the coastal path ) Again Ken encouraged me to return to the garage to do some more , well 5 hours later Kens electrics have been sorted and new inner and outer cables fitted . The rear end of mine ( not my bottom ) almost finished with the exception of a little more paint refurb to do . , more tomorrow and photos if fine enough.
regards Emma


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## Andrew1971 (19 Jan 2019)

I am really enjoying reading this thread. Keep going they will soon be finished
Andrew


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## voyager (20 Jan 2019)

Hi folks,
Sunday afternoon and it has now gone dark here ,The morning started with a winter sun cutting it's path through the dark morning. The alarm did go off at 7:58  but it was quickly turned off  as we did not feel human enough to rise , a morning cup of tea  in bed at 8:45 did get a response of **********. **** . Even a cooked breakfast did not fuel any enthusiasm within me so we started late .
The enthusiasm arrived finally about eleven o'clock after a second mug of tea and a handful of my daily medicinal tablets.
Despite the sun it was not the warmest of winter days and after the blood sports of a passing JW  we got a lot more done on both trikes .
By the end of the day both my front brakes were reassembled and cables fitted and seat fitted . Camera won't give me my photos so next job is to forcibly remove them. Grrrrrh !
regards Emma


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## voyager (20 Jan 2019)

Having submitted this poor old Windows phone  to some verbal and physical abuse (go on report me to Microsoft ) or Rspcf  , the phone reluctantly returned my photos so .
The photos so far. 

Not in order I might add







Finally photo of the day illuminated by a worx led lamp to get the last few bolts ins before putting it away
















I hope this thread is still a source of amusement to others .

One thing I have learned is  NEVER START TO REFURB TWO TRIKES AT ONCE .

regards Emma with the help of Ken


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## Nigelnightmare (20 Jan 2019)

Looking good.
My "get up and go" hasn't just gone it's emigrated , without leaving a forwarding address.


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## voyager (21 Jan 2019)

With the milder weather deciding to move away without leaving a forwarding address  . This morning we were waking up to a collection of white cars parked in the road.
It was ten by the time the cars had thawed leaving us plenty of time for a full English breakfast  and two mugs of tea each  .

Another dump run from the house clearing and locating some metal for the controller mount took up the whole morning leaving only a couple of hours mid afternoon to mount the controller , sort the bag supports and a few other fiddly things .

By five today it was too cold to work , a mug of tea each  deemed necessary and dinner was also calling out to be made , l adjourned to dinner duties  whilst Ken put the trikes away.


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## voyager (21 Jan 2019)

The controller has been mounted in a bag behind the seat , this providing protection from the environment  and making a tidy installation.
The hamster bags have now been refitted and daylight  is really necessary for the next photos , and safety checks before a test run . 

The replacement chains ( ALL 6 ) can wait for a warmer day together with Kens replacement tyres 

regards Emma and Ken


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## 404 Not Found Anywhere (22 Jan 2019)

I may have missed it earlier in the thread, but what are the two bolted together struts in the pic above for?


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## voyager (22 Jan 2019)

The strut is on the chain side only and is used to stop the hamster bags being eaten by the chain , the redesign of the mounts needed an extension to make the bag hang better , this is not required on the left side as the battery holds the bag in position.
Ken did a little more to his trike today rerouting the tear brake cable run whilst l made dinner.

regards Emma


Hopefully tomorrow we will spend a few more hours on both trikes after another house clearance dump run .
Safety check and road test are next on my list


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## voyager (23 Jan 2019)

Hi Folks ,
Today despite the cold ( 2C  here ) after a cooked breakfast and a couple of mugs of tea , we performed the safety check and the test ride of a couple of laps around the block on my trike just as the sun started to show its welcome face 
The front brakes have been adjusted and balanced .
The brakes seem smooth and powerful ( first impressions ) and the new rear rotor locks up ( as usual ) under normal braking . A forgotten connector stopped the speedo working but that was easily plugged in once the hamster bag was removed and the roswheel bag opened to reveal the cables.
More miles are needed to bed in the pads and rotors .
Only the replacement chains are to be fitted once it gets a tad warmer.

Kens trike is progressing with some of the little but scabby bits getting a clean up and repaint.( we use primer and matt black rattle cans ) The little spray booth is earning it's keep.

Tea and a roll refreshed us at Lunchtime  , quite a difference sitting in the Dining room beside the log burner at 22C

Ken has done a little more to his and is currently on its road test .

More will follow .
( Few photos added as the phone released them without a problem today )
Regards Ken and Emma


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## voyager (23 Jan 2019)

Hi Folks

With Darkness falling around us and temperatures down to 2C again , Ken just finished the day with a test ride and brake balance tests .

He agreed that the bigger discs had improved the braking and the new seat shape proved to be more comfortable on both trikes .

So at the end of the day , both the upgrades have proved successful.

The lack of warmth ( due to the winter weather ) even with the butane heater was a limiting factor in the upgrade.

The final stage will be the new chains and the replacement tyres on Kens trike .
Respraying of the crossboom with replacement decals can wait until the warmer temperature of spring.


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## voyager (26 Jan 2019)

Todays extended road test of 10 miles round trip was terminated early due to rain setting in at 3miles out ,This shortened the test run to 6 miles. At that point the ride suddenly turned into a who can get home before they are soaked panic ride back from the undercliff path.

On a good note both the trikes upgraded brakes are working well as they bed in and the new shape seats feel more comfortable .

They are ready for the next trip out.
regards Emma


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## voyager (27 Jan 2019)

Close up of one of the front brake conversions from 160mm to 203 mm and from a handed calliper to a standard caliper . This is part of the reason the upgrade took longer than initially thought.





regards Emma


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## Nigelnightmare (29 Jan 2019)

You're putting the rest of us to shame!...….


...….For gods sake don't stop, it's damned inspiring!

Having been ill since before Christmas with "old moania" (worse than pneumonia) I have not been able to get out on mine and reading of your exploits has kept me (mostly) sane.
Thank you.


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## voyager (2 Feb 2019)

@Nigelnightmare
Not to disappoint you , this week has been a mixed bag , snow ( white fluffy stuff that is cold and turns to mud flavour slush puppies ) , and running out of tablets ( didn't help ) more house clearance, this lead to the other two trikes coming home to mine. The first time project "X" ( the youngster ) has met the other 20/20's ( in 20 months) .

Today with temperatures about 4C and the big round warm thing  burning it's way through the overcast sky we ventured out . Ken on his trike and l used project X , This has sat at mums for 6 months trapped in the dining room whilst the house was cleared around it.

Nice couple of hours out in the winter sun  and a mug of tea  on the return leg put 10miles of exercise into the legs and produced a few photos .











regards Emma


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## voyager (3 Feb 2019)

Another Day  and another few miles on the trikes, l am trying to put a few miles on project X and Ken is still playing shake down rides with the 203 mm front brakes, being more powerful they need a little more critical adjustment to get them pulling straight.
Tea stop again on the way home


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## voyager (14 Feb 2019)

Valentines ride today.


With temperatures around 13C down here in Brighton and a big bright sun  shining down on the world .

Valentines day as well made it a special day out 

Yesterday we had already decided that a ride was on the list of "to do's"  todays.

The house clearance completed  earlier this week meant that we can have a few days to rest , recuperate , and enjoy retirement before we get too old .

With two teas  and large slices of Cake  at Ovingdean ( ouch £8 ) 

Anyway we put a few more miles on both trikes and on arriving home and found Ken's trike to have a puncture , a perfect opportunity to replace the front tyres before the start of the season . 

Later's Emma


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## voyager (20 Feb 2019)

16 More miles in the sun today and an icecream at Hove, home in time before dark for dinner.
With the derelict west pier in the background


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## voyager (2 Mar 2019)

A quick look over both trikes today , 
Both sets of 203 mm brake conversions working well and the mkll seats are more comfortable,
These trikes with their mid suspension are more comfortable than the project X without suspension..
With the house sale completed yesterday we have more time to spend doing the things we like .

More photos later..

regards Emma


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## voyager (27 Mar 2019)

Back from 2 weeks in Wales , house hunting and 3lbs over weight back on the trikes again 

regards Emma


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## neil earley (27 Mar 2019)

voyager said:


> Back from 2 weeks in Wales , house hunting and 3lbs over weight back on the trikes again
> 
> regards Emma
> View attachment 459578


leave them welsh cakes alone


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## voyager (28 Mar 2019)

@neil earley 

too much welsh beer and chocolate fudge cake, l think , lost 2lbs in 3 days so far , so getting back in shape .
Homemade welsh cakes didn't help either to tell the truth.
Later's Emma


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## voyager (1 Apr 2019)

Hi folks 
Its a week since we returned from the home of leeks and rain ( only joking folks (not)) 
74 miles this week in a desperate effort to shed 4 lbs , I seem to have put the 2 lbs I lost back on with another 2lbs to boot .
Waiting to hear about the cottage I have put an offer in for . Fence repair ( gravel board was rotten ) and lots of other wonderful DIY jobs sorted in Peacehaven , including a dump run , couple of bike repairs for a neighbour and a bit of work on the trikes .
Whilst we were out we bumped into Ronnie a guy from just along the road on his Full Fat ICE trike . Photos will follow .
The only joy of retirement , the disadvantages far out weigh the advantages - Old age , poor pension and slow healing with aches and pains . 

Later's folks - dinner to cook and dish up .

regards emma


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## voyager (1 Apr 2019)

Our "To Brighton " trip Saturday with Ronnie and his full fat trike.


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## voyager (3 Apr 2019)

Desperately triking to get fit again and reduce my blood sugar .
House offer has been accepted .
50ft of fence panels painted today before another trip to Brighton .
Feeling pleased with ourselves .

The remains of the daddy long legs railway could be seen at low tide today.










regards Emma


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## voyager (18 Apr 2019)

More fun on 3 wheels today with another ride to the meeting place cafe in Hove , 16 miles in the warm , made a change today rather than the spiteful wind of the last week , mileage slowly going up .
Ken is running my spare battery as the small ones appear to have some low capacity cells .
regards Emma


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## voyager (25 Apr 2019)

Currently looking into having 2 bottle batteries re-celled Currently I cannot find anyone relatively local who doesn't want more than the battery cost originally .

Just ordered 4 pair of toestraps ( securing trike to roof ) from an eBay seller ,
Guess what - only supplied 2 pairs - what are they like - unimpressed of Brighton 

regards emma


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## voyager (27 Apr 2019)

New 36v 10ah bottle battery ordered for Ken's trike ( due this week) .

The " replacement " 2 pairs of toe straps " are on their way to us .

These are to tie the trike on the roof of the car for transport.

Updates when the battery arrives.

Regards Emma


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## voyager (30 Apr 2019)

hi folks 

The replacement toe straps arrived yesterday along with the new battery for Ken's trike . A 36v 10ah to replace his 9ah battery that had served him well for almost 5 years .Charged the battery last night and today We rode out to Brighton to check out the capacity and it seems good . (14 miles )
Ice cream on the beach before leaving Madeira Drive .
Strange happenings on the beach with a lot of foreign students on the waters edge at low tide.
Home for dinner .

Later's Emma


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## 404 Not Found Anywhere (30 Apr 2019)

Hi Emma

Can I ask where you get your batteries? I have a project on the go. I have seen the £170 36V 15 Ah lithium batteries on eBay but suspect that if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is!


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## voyager (30 Apr 2019)

This particular battery came from eBay at £161 delivered , it was chosen as it was the nearest to the one it replaced , supplied without a charger , it was to replace another bottle battery and the mounts which had been built into the new seat last Christmas.

The problem with some of the batteries is the mounting and unless l was to design a mount for a new battery , l tend to stick with " old favourites" beware of batteries with limited warranties as these could have problems in the short term , hence the limited warranty.

Hope this helps .

regards Emma


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## 404 Not Found Anywhere (30 Apr 2019)

Battery mounting isn’t a problem, I’m going to keep it in a bag behind the seat... or is that likely to lead to overheating problems?


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## voyager (30 Apr 2019)

It shouldn't be a problem in a bag , personally on a df a rack mount isn't a problem , l keep batteries as low as possible on a trike for stability reasons.


regards Emma


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## voyager (24 May 2019)

_
Let's go for a nice evening ride says Ken , 
As the day drew shorter it got colder ._
it ended up a 10 mile round trip with a drink at the local watering hole , before coming home . Still the ride did us good l think , both of us slept well.


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## voyager (30 May 2019)

An interesting start to the week , strange arcing noises started to emit from the charger .
A trip to the Peace statue , and a rush home to keep infront of the rain drops .
A quick rewire of the charge plug found the outer screw-on cover to have developed a stress crack .
Rewelded the crack with a soldering iron and a quick tape job until I can find some large heat shrink.













rewired the plug but next time it will be a replacement l think.

House clearing still taking up to much time and the other events are moving closer to fruition. 

Regards Emma


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## raleighnut (30 May 2019)

voyager said:


> An interesting start to the week , strange arcing noises started to emit from the charger .
> A trip to the Peace statue , and a rush home to keep infront of the rain drops .
> A quick rewire of the charge plug found the outer screw-on cover to have developed a stress crack .
> Rewelded the crack with a soldering iron and a quick tape job until I can find some large heat shrink.
> ...


 how much current does the charger draw.


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## voyager (30 May 2019)

raleighnut said:


> how much current does the charger draw.



Charger is a 36/42v 2.5A unit but there is also a voltage present from the battery , l do not know if there is a current limit when backfeed from the charge socket. It did get rather warm , burnt and generally upset with itself.
The Charger is almost 5 years old and the black insulated covering is starting to show signs of cracking .

regards Emma


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## raleighnut (30 May 2019)

voyager said:


> Charger is a 36/42v 2.5A unit but there is also a voltage present from the battery , l do not know if there is a current limit when backfeed from the charge socket. It did get rather warm , burnt and generally upset with itself.
> The Charger is almost 5 years old and the black insulated covering is starting to show signs of cracking .
> 
> regards Emma


So it's around 100w output, even assuming that the charger is only using 'half' the sinewave of AC and allowing for losses in the transformer it shouldn't be drawing more than an amp or so from the mains.

Time for a new charger maybe.


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## voyager (30 May 2019)

I will rewire it once , and it might last another 5 years , l have 3 spare chargers so not a problem .
regards Emma


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## voyager (1 Jun 2019)

With the sun shining brightly in the sky , Ken and I decided to have a ride out to Hove lawns and get back through Brighton before the Hells Angles invasion ( motor cycle run ) lots of Police presence around Brighton.
Grabbing a Tesco meal deal before stopping at Rottingdean Pond for Lunch , great day out .
Rottingdean is a pretty village and former home to Kipling ( 2nd photo ) 
nice pubs as well.



















Regards Emma


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## voyager (8 Jun 2019)

What a change in the weather from nice to nasty ( flaming June ) The only flames were in my log fire . Only a couple of 10 mile short trips this week as the wind was cutting and lowering the temperature .
Still its a few more miles and it will all



add up eventually.

regards Emma


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## voyager (10 Jun 2019)

Hi folks 

A few more miles this week and after Ken managed to lose the trike keys yesterday a quick hot wire to get it home .
Keys now sorted and a clean up , during the clean up the rear mech lost it's spring , new mech fitted and ready to go again .

regards Emma


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## voyager (8 Sep 2019)

Not much has happened to this pair of bikes of late , few more miles and little maintenance needed , hope to replace my rear wheel later to test out where an intermittent rubbing noise is coming from .


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