I bought a Viribus electric trike, which came unassembled. My son told me not to try it by myself (76-yr-old grandma, not as strong as I once was). I have to say he was not entirely wrong - it was very difficult - but I got it done. It's rides great on the paved riding trail, but very tricky out on my property (rough, bumpy, uneven terrain) which is way more fun than pavement if I can only keep it upright. Any suggestions as to how to make it more stable? This is 1 speed, no gears. The motor is on the front wheel, front V brake, rear band brake. Is it possible to install a rear end differential so the wheels can turn independently?
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1Trikes are notoriously bad when cornering and there's no way to fix that apart from braking to a nearly complete stop before each corner. There's a reason why well-cornering vehicles use two wheels (bikes, motorcycles) or four wheels (cars).– juhistCommented Oct 11, 2022 at 17:18
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1Or, @juhist, two wheels in the front. ;)– FreeManCommented Oct 11, 2022 at 18:24
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I've tried adding weight, which probably didn't help that much. I've decided to put knobbies on all three wheels to see if that gives me some grip. Other than that, I have my eye on an Evelo Comfort E-Trike, which is built with the differential rear end. Thanks to you all who responded.– trikeyCommented Oct 13, 2022 at 15:32
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Yes, I did mean the Evelo Compass E-Trike.– trikeyCommented Oct 13, 2022 at 15:50
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I'm going to be honest here. Love the story but honestly this type of bike is simply not designed for rough, bumpy, uneven terrain with a high centre of balance. It is designed for smooth paved, maybe hard pack tracks and going outside that design will result in some risk. If you're wanting to get a little rowdy, you might be better considering a trike where the 2 wheels are at the front which offer more stability. Something like icetrikes.co/products/shimano-steps-e-assist– HurseyCommented Oct 16, 2022 at 19:31
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2 Answers
Is it possible to install a rear end differential so the wheels can turn independently?
https://viribusbikes.com/products/3-wheel-electric-bike
Depending on which model you have, it looks like the rear wheels might share a drive gear and a rear brake, either way, modifying the rear wheels is almost certainly going to be prohibitively complex/impractical.
Your best bet for a quick fix will be to experiment with lowering the tire pressure as low as is practical, not so low that it causes a pinch flat: https://www.enve.com/journal/pinch-flats-the-ultimate-buzzkill
Another strategy worth trying might be to put some weight in that rear basket if it came with one, something soft that won't pose much of a danger if the bike tips over.
^ These aren't foolproof solutions, just simple things to try without spending much if any money.
answered Oct 11, 2022 at 17:23
My guess is that this trike has one driven rear wheel, with the other freewheeling.
There are a few trikes with proper differentials, although I haven't found anyone selling the diff mech as a standalone part, and I suspect that the part alone would cost about as much as your trike, never mind trying to install it. I have seen one "double freewheel" pseudo-differential that drives both wheels and lets both freewheel, but that would require some additional adaptation on your trike.
Stability on rough terrain is going to be about A) suspension, and B) center of gravity. There's no way to change your center of gravity on this trike, and your options for suspension would be limited to suspended seatposts and suspended stems. These might help a little, but I don't think you'll get the kind of improvement you're looking for.
answered Oct 11, 2022 at 17:27
