Comments on: Trimtab 3×3 recumbent trike

By: Problem, solution, catch, possible solution, and outlandish proposal. | Jwinning

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 04:55:35 +0000

[...] cover image is the model of David Parrott’s industrial design master’s thesis, which is an enclosed delta t…. As a master’s thesis I’m going to shoot a bit [...]

By: fred

fred — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 07:35:25 +0000

i still like my tryke better, mine has 2 wheels in front and 1 in back, steers like a car, but thats a cool design

By: Jim Healy

Jim Healy — Sun, 01 May 2011 23:10:11 +0000

I tested this today, what a blast! The gear seat was small so this was nowhere near top speed but I got GT 30 mph without much effort. As with any Mark I prototype there are things that need work but overall there is great promise here. This was mostly straightaway so didn’t get a sense of how it will handle on a curve at speed. No wobble, felt steady. Thanks for the ride, David!

By: Steven Myers

Steven Myers — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 10:01:32 +0000

wow looks just like the Baccara Rush from a few years back (front wheel drive, lean steer, delta, with 3x700c wheels). I don’t think they went any further than a concept image though. Although I did see teh designer do a 50 mile ride hands free in Salem Oregon and we hit 50 on one downhill into Shampoeg Park!

By: David A. Parrott

David A. Parrott — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 14:45:35 +0000

I am currently working on a new video and sewing some seasonal skins for the prototype. I hope to design out the bugs before spring. Please check out the videos if you get a chance!

By: Andy Willingham

Andy Willingham — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 18:09:19 +0000

There is now a YouTube video of it in action. Just search for Trimtab trike and you will find it. Was just released yesterday.

By: Leo Horishny

Leo Horishny — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 05:30:26 +0000

Good luck David, you have some great ideas and creativity…definitely not a widely appreciated combination, from our experiences living in Cincinnati.

I am interested in what you have in mind for suspension. Horrible road surfaces are one of the impressions we took with us after living in Cincy for 25 years, especially within I-275. You definitely have several high speed twisting hills to test this ride quality on.

I like the Losantiville moniker, how about a future model being tagged the “Cumminsville Commuter”?

By: smalghan

smalghan — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:24:02 +0000

Like Adam mentioned, bumps at the rear wheel will induce some steering but that can be solved at the expense of a little added complexity. Replicating the principles used on the Carver tilting 3 wheel car, keep the body’s tilt axis parallel to the ground and also enable the front wheel to steer as in a typical delta trike. That will decouple tilting from steering so it will still track true at high speed over bumps. Highsiding is an inherent risk with any tiling vehicle so the risk is no greater with this than with a two wheeler as the temptation to test the limits always exists…Love the clean lines and look forward to a first ride report!

By: nicolas

nicolas — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 23:33:37 +0000

it’s great to see a concept idea brought to life, as usually designers express themselves with some 3d drawings that are non functional. A positive trail is not solving everything, but it makes a rear steer trike ridable at any speed, as I experienced it by myself with the mosquito (100mm positive trail). This 3×3 trike though, like greg’s TCR, does not solve the bump steer pbm, which makes it not practical to ride on open road. Moreover great care has to be taken concerning the position of the center of mass to make sure the trike won’t roll over when cornering at speed, this is a trade off with other parameters such as keeping a good traction on the front wheel. Another parameter that makes a leaning trike difficult to ride is the steering induced by side winds or aerodynamic forces, it seems that this design won’t be any better than the TCR.
congratulation and best wishes to the designer, because that kind of project is really difficult to manage successfully.

By: jorgensen

jorgensen — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 21:01:10 +0000

My Mattel X-15 Varoom Cycle has rear wheel steering, but only front wheel drive, and it banks into a turn, circa 1964. I had to give the original away as my mom saw a car almost run over me and it as the car was coming out of a driveway. I did however buy another 5 years ago, as they are just too cool. My son did however find that it has serious speed wobble on decents at speed.