I put the knobbies on the trike and had some fun playing in the mud / dirt. I had to remove the fenders to fit the tires, but it was worth it. I've since gone back to the slicks for road use and now need to build a e-fat trike for true off-road fun!
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Utah Trikes Annihilator X90 BBSHD Build
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I’m happy to hear that you’re pleased with the conversion to the BBSHD. I have that motor on a two-wheel cruiser and am considering getting either a Terratrike Rambler or Traveler and converting it to a BBSHD. I was a little concerned about how it will perform with the long chain of a trike.
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Update: 05-19-2020
Still loving the powered trike! I've had it at 50+ while pedaling and it is very stable with the big wheels. I'm swapping in some knobby tires this weekend to take it off road.
BTW: I have about 4000 miles on the motor so far and going strong. I've re-greased it each fall as part of my full maintenance on the trike.Last edited by mtrain13; 05-19-2020, 04:54 PM.
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OK, I now have the first 150 miles on this thing and have a brief word of caution for anyone who is going to replicate this build on a trike . . . ENSURE YOUR HEADSETS ARE TIGHT!!!
Before adding the BBSHD, I noticed a little oscillation / wobble when I would hit a few specific areas of my commute path that have buckled since the 2016 floods here in Houston. I wasn't overly concerned about this as I thought it was just the really rough asphalt surface. However, after adding the BBSHD, I experienced a violent oscillation that can only be described as a "death wobble" when I hit these areas. I had to come to almost a complete stop to regain control of the trike. This wasn't a speed issue as it occurred just as easily at 8 mph as it did at 28 mph on these specific sections of the path.
So, I went back through the trike to ensure everything was secure (or so I had thought), yet still experienced the same death wobble. After some research, I was concerned that the extra weight of the BBSHD on the end of the boom was causing the problem. However, I thought I would try one other fix first . . . I reached out to Utah Trikes to order some new bearings for the headset thinking this might be the problem. They asked if I had tightened it (which I thought I had done). However, they reminded me that I needed to loosen the handlebar bolts first (something that I had forgotten to do). Surprise, surprise . . . Once the handlebar bolts were loose, I found I had two full rotations to tighten the headset--this is an example of my novice "trike" wrench skills.
End result . . . no more oscillation or death wobble. My steering is nice and tight again and I have cruised over those sections of path at speed with no more issues.
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Thanks for catching that! I did have it at 30, but think it reset when I was playing with the other settings.
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Here are my controller settings that I programmed using the Luna cable . . . On the inaugural ride, I hit 33mph in PAS3 (33% power). I now have to find a long smooth stretch of road to really test it out!3 Photos
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Utah Trikes Annihilator X90 BBSHD Build
For this build, I converted my Utah Trikes Annihilator X90 (Catrike Expedition frame) into an e-X30 using a BBSHD kit from Luna Cycles. You'll understand the naming reference shortly . . .
The donor tadpole trike started as a Utah Trikes Annihilator X90:- Catrike Expedition frame
- FSA Gossamer Triple Crank
- Sturmey DualDrive 3 speed rear hub with SRAM X7 10 speed cassette (30 speed total)
- Schwalbe Big Apple 24x2 tires on the front and 28x2.15 tire on the back wrapped around Velocity rims
- Terra Cycle Elite Power Idler
- Avid BB7 Disc brakes on the front
- Utah Trikes custom seat mesh
- Double Mirrycle mirros
For the Luna Kit, I went with a BBSHD kit including:- BBSHD - 68-73mm
- BBSHD Aluminum Chainring Adapter and 42T Sprocket
- Luna Full Color Display DPC-750c For the BBS02 and BBBSHD
- Bafang BBSHD and BBSO2 Universal Thumb Throttle
- Bafang BBSxx Brakes Pair - Silver
- Speed Sensor
- Gear Sensor
- 48 SHRK GA (I already have two chargers from my previous build)
- Luna Cycles Cyclops LED Light
- Luna Rear Light
- 2x - Bafang Gear Sensor Extension Cables (1 for the gear sensor and one for the second brake handle)
- 2x - Bafang 24" Speedo Extension Cables
Now, in terms of the naming . . . replacing the front FSA Triple crankset with the BBSHD meant I was going from 90 gears to 30. Not a big deal given the power I would have from the motor. Given that instructions exist for mounting a BBSHD kit, I'm not going to repeat those here, but rather call out some trike specific stuff of my build . . .- I started by removing the seat mesh and also removing the chain to soak it in degreaser to clean it while I did the rest of the build. The seat mesh definitely gets in the way of the wiring.
- I then removed the front derailleur and front shifter as shown in the photos. On the X90, I had a bar end shifter for the front, so removed this to allow for the placement of the console mount.
- Next, I removed the front crankset and replaced it with the BBSHD. I used one shim spacer to ensure a biting grip into the bottom bracket. A word of caution here . . . as the motor mounts on the top of the boom, it wanted to swing down until I secured it. The weight of the cables was pulling it back around, so I secure those with a zip tie until I could tighten the mounting nuts. I also placed a small piece of 1/8" thick rubber between the motor and the boom extension to prevent rub at that point.
- With the motor now in place, I swapped out the brake levers for the Bafang ones. Not a big deal, but a little more involved on a trike than a normal bike.
- I put XT60 connectors on my lights, battery cradle, and motor for power connections. This then allowed me to use a splitter at the front of the bike to connect the light wires to the motor wires. I did the same in the rear with the rear light and the battery cradle. I then just needed to create a single extension cable with XT60s on both ends to connect the two splitters. Power wiring now done!
- I mounted the speed sensor to the existing mount near the front left wheel. This still required two speedo extension cables to reach the connector coming from the controller.
- The wire for the left brake cut-off connected directly to the console harness, but I needed an extension cable to reach the right brake wire.
- I also needed an extension cable to reach the gear sensor which I mounted close to the rear cassette derailleur. I did not put a second sensor on the Sturmey IGH as I don't plan on using that while pedalling. I also understand from some of the forums that it is best to keep this in the middle gear when using the motor.
- I programmed the controller using a modified version of Karl's Secret Sauce. I'll add those settings to a reply to this post.
Let me know what you think!10 PhotosTags: None
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