THE DESIGN

When designing this vehicle I took into consideration vehicular mass, aerodynamics, energy efficiency and environmental impact.

The basic design is a tadpole recumbent trike design (two front wheels steering, one rear driving wheel). It has a all alloy frame with shock absorption on each wheel. I am currently testing different fairings for their suitability, I have found full hard fairings to be noisy and hot to ride in also direction indicator equipment would have to be fitted increasing weight and complexity. I have made the design of the whole vehicle as simple as possible, an open 3/4 fairing may not be as efficient but seems to be more practical.

JKM © 2003

Its primary power source is you the rider pedaling through a conventional bicycle drive system. Having such a small vehicle mass means that less energy is wasted powering the vehicle itself and the majority of the energy is used to propel the rider.

The front & rear fairings are made from tough but lightweight plastics (prototypes have been Coroplast) and helps shield the rider from the elements, and provides aerodynamic efficiency to the vehicle making higher average speeds possible.

JKM © 2003

Steering is by handlebars to the front wheels with Ackermann compensation for easy and predictable handling.

Braking and gearshifting controls are similar to using a bicycle.

In future developments I hope to include a re-generative power assist system (already in progress)