Adult Tricycle?

Question

I want to buy or build a tricyle that is solar powered. I don't need to go very long distances, but without a car, it's difficult. I want a tricycle because I want to add one of those bike carseats for my 6 year old to ride with me and I thought it would be better balanced and safer if the seat was mounted in between the two back wheels instead of me trying to balance us two on these Georgia hills.

I want Solar power to give me a little kick on the road for at least a mile or two when I choose.

What do you think? Any tips, ideas, or facts to give me? Do you know how I would go about doing this without paying as much as a used car?

Serious answers only! Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

I specialize in e-trikes and e-bikes, others do the solar part.

Sounds like you have done a fair amount of research already.

The folks I support tell me the weight, fragility  and drag of solar cells make them a negative to drag around.  So they will charge  batteries from a  solar station at home, and use those batteries swapped into their etrike.

One fellow pulls a solar trailer behind an ebike and he seems to be fairly happy.

So good luck.  (charging from a 110vac outlet only costs about 10 cents a charge.  cheaper than a solar setup)

Answer 2

I would ask about on phones to companies. To find these companis i would to a google search. Than from the websites that come up explore. I hope i helped, the only reason i just didn't blurt out the answer is because it would be horrible if i got it wrong and you need to see for yourself the places.

Answer 3

The first thing to get right would be the trike.

The big advantage with a trike is balance. You can gear them right down to haul quite heavy loads up really steep hills. You don't have to worry about maintaining speed to stay upright. If you get the right trike the power assistance may not be necessary. Just bear in mind that most of the bike mounted child seats are only rated to about 45 lb and designed for bikes not trikes. You shouldn't have too much trouble devising something to suit a six year old though. Make sure that little hands and feet can't get into the spokes. Something along the lines of a small pedicab or rickshaw come to mind.

The next step would be to get a power assist kit.

There are a heap of these around also.You are going to need a battery even if you wind up solar powered.

My preference is a chain driven kit as this allows the motor to be operated closer to its most efficient speed more often.  Chose the power rating wisely. More power will mean better climbing but place a greater demand on the power supply.

Something like this one should do the job nicely.

http://www.cyclone-usa.com/

http://www.cyclone-tw.com/order.htm

My suggestion would be the 360 Watt kit. This runs quite efficiently at around 200 watts. 200 Watts should get you along flat ground (without pedaling) at around 17-18mph. Close to the maximum 20 mph that you are legally allowed. (with just that little bit of extra power for the hills). Don't skimp on the battery. The lifepo4 battery is much lighter and will last many more recharges than lead acids. (24 v 10 ah will give about an hours run time at 200 watts)

Third step is the solar panel.

Charging off mains power is going to be the cheapest and most convenient way to keep the batteries topped up. You can do this using "off peak" power at night while you are asleep. The money you save from using this type of vehicle could be reinvested into a grid connected solar system if you are interested in that sort of thing.

Since you have asked about a solar powered machine I'll go on.

If a solar panel is placed in clear sun (no shade) it will provide about 5 times as many watt hours as its capacity per day. I.e. a 50 Watt panel will provide about 250 Watt hours of energy per day. This should be enough to charge a 24 v 10 amp hour battery (240 watt hour).

The output of most solar panels is significantly reduced if even a small part of the panel is in shade. They are also fragile any impact could crack cells on the panel. Constant road vibration can fatigue the joints between cells. Most of the solar panels on the market are designed to be mounted stationary.

If you are only using the motor for less than an hour a day and you can make sure that the trike is parked in direct sunlight the rest of the time then you might get away with a 50 watt panel. You will also need a regulator to ensure the batteries are not overcharged.

If you want more range then it would be possible to mount a larger solar panel on your trike. A 200 watt panel (for e.g) is going to cost around $1000, be about 65"x 39" (1640mm x 1000 mm) and weight about 46 lb (22 kg). This will keep you moving at a reasonable speed whenever the sun is out. (probably about 14-15 mph on flat ground allowing for losses)

The battery should last most of the day then.

Have fun.

Answer 4

"without paying as much as a used car"...

That would be pretty much impossible. You can get a used car for as little as $200.00.

You might like this site:

http://www.microcarmuseum.com/

But this is the kind of trike you want:

http://www.boomerbents.com/new/index.htm

I tried a solar panel on my bike, when I was in Florida (stationed in FL , Navy service), the panel kept my battery charged so I had lights, but when I came back to New York It didn't get enough sunlight.

PS-

Baby seats for bikes were around YEARS before baby seats for cars.

But that aside , I think a six year old would look silly in a baby seat.