TRICYCLE HELP NEEDED PLEASE



welshviking

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Apr 13, 2009
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[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]Firstly apoligies, i actually posted this last night but i put it in the wrong forum..Anyway here goes[/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]Hi, Good evening from Wales Uk, I need a little advice please today i bought my wife a new Atala folding tricycle (6 speed). I say new because despite it being 6 months old the elderly lady i bought it from on ebay had never used it so it was still in the original packaging. The tricycle was 95% built and all i needed to do was fit the handlebars, seat, inflate the tyres, fit the rear basket and lube the chain. What i need to know is when i ride this tricycle it tends to pull to the right especially when trying to turn left, Everything seems to be set up correctly, is this a usually problem with tricycles, I have never ridden a tricycle before so i have not encounted this problem and would obviously want the tricycle to be perfect before my wife rides it the 1st time. Any advice help would be very much appreciated...Looking forward to any replies.....Regards Colin[/COLOR]
 
Do you know what a differential is? Well, most tricycles don't have one. And a differential is what you need if you want to have two drive wheels and still be able to go round corners with dignity.

If you use a solid axle for both drive wheels, they will try to spin at the same rate/cover the same distance. This is fine for going straight but makes turning a nuisance, as the outboard wheel will have a longer way to go than the inner wheel. On a grippy surface this makes steering heavy, as one wheel will have to slip a little to compensate for inner/outer curve.
As most trikes (of that configuration) are aimed at rather casual, low requirement riding, manufacturers try to get away from having to use a diff/heavy steering by simply using only one drive wheel. It's usually considered good enough for sedate riding, but will lead to the issues that you are having.

If you lift both rear wheels off the ground and crank you should be able to see which is the drive wheel, (unless you're able to figure out the mechanics). Pulling to the right would indicate that it's the left wheel that's powered and that the right is only coasting. If yours is a rare breed that actually come with a diff (or any other flexible power distribution arrangement), then it's something wrong with it.
 
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[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 205)]Many thanks for your help and i do understand 100% what you are saying. I have not long finished work so i will lift the rear of the tricycle tomorrow morning to see which wheel / wheels drive when i crank the pedals...............Thanks again Colin[/COLOR]
 
Originally Posted by dabac .

Pulling to the right would indicate that it's the left wheel that's powered and that the right is only coasting. If yours is a rare breed that actually come with a diff (or any other flexible power distribution arrangement), then it's something wrong with it.
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]Hi dabac, Your a top guy and your analysis is 100% correct, i have just been out to the garage and lifted the rear of the tricycle up and cranked the pedals and its only the rear left wheel that is driven, and as you rightly quoted the right wheel is only coasting. I am quite happy at least i know that there is actually nothing wrong with this tricycle when going round corners, it will just be a case of my wife getting used to riding it ...Cheers for your help it was much appreciated...Regards Colin[/COLOR]
 
You're welcome, and I hope your wife will enjoy her bike.

With that kind of design, reworking it into a dual drive system would require some serious fabrication work. Not impossible, but probably more effort than buying another bike.