The Marengo "Loki" Thread.

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As many of you will remember, we lost Sandman (John Price) in April.

Part of his legacy that I inherited consisted of his two folding trikes. "Nicor" his own personal touring machine with full e-assist; and "Loki" the other folding frame that was unfinished in many respects.
This thread is to document/blog (call it what you will) the process of completing this second trike into a fully working machine.

The story so far:
Loki arrived as a basic rolling frame but without working brakes, gears chainrings etc.
Like the "Nicor" trike, John had originally intended to make it e-assist with a captive "hub-motor" mounted within the rear triangle and driving an intermediate layshaft in the BB-Shell of the triangle.
This e-assist design necessitated the trike having the riders pedal input (chain-ring, primary chain and diverter pulley) all on the left-hand of the frame; and the hinge-pin side of the hinge also being on the left of the trike's frame.

As I do not intend to use the same e-assist method (if any at all in the first instance) I need to make some changes to the basic machine. The gearing John had implemented on "Nicor" mandated the use of e-assist and it is far too high for use without the e-assist being available (I did try, and it made my ancient knees explode and swell-up something fierce) and "Loki" was intended to be exactly the same when John originally made the 3 frames.

Firstly, I have split the frame into its two halves at the hinge (so I can work on it in a more manageable way and then removed the fixed “welded in” 12mm axle for the chain diverter on the left-hand side of the main keel on the front section and replaced it with a crush-tube that can accept a 12mm bolt instead. This will mean that the chain can be run down either side of the trike by inserting the diverter pivot-bolt from one side or the other (this provides me the option to mount the primary drive for the trike on either side (should it prove impossible to fold the trike with the chain on the right-hand side)).



I have already removed the 7-speed cassette rear-wheel and changed it for the Nuvinci N380 wheel that I found (along with a Bafang mid-drive and 2 new battery packs that were packed away in a crate that came from Johns old Engineering workplace and I had just dumped round at my son’s garage (I ran out of room here)).

Next, I will add a front changer post to the front boom’s BB-Shell so that a triple chain-ring can be fitted.

All of this work is rather detrimental to the existing paintwork, but it must be done and once it is completed I may disassemble the whole thing and send it off for a proper powder-coat finishing. In deference to John I think I would keep it as “Dyno-Rod” Orange because he loved the colour.

The one thing I will say about e-assist is that it is typically a rather heavy addition to a trike (especially the battery packs), so I want to see how easily (or not) the trike can be ridden without such additional items being present.
The great thing is that John made provision on the main frame for mounts for the separate carrier-frame that holds the battery packs, so adding e-assist and mounting the batteries to the LOKI frame will not be destructive or intrusive.

More later ...... as it occurs. :D
 

Twinkle

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Nicor and loki were both designed for a left hand drive back to the idler shaft , where as project "X " the third frame was designed for a conventional fold , a right hand side transmission and a rear q100 motor .

John only tacked up the final third frame and it was " orange" where it had sat in the corner of his storage unit for almost a year. When l inherited it.

Loki was originally going to be Tula's trike due to cicumstance , I believe John was going to install a bafang unit and a cvt hub gear prior to his untimely death in April and this was going to become john's new touring e-trike. I think you will have problems retaining the folding abilities will a right hand transmission.
Good luck with the project and he is probably looking down on it's progress.
 
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Nicor and loki were both designed for a left hand drive back to the idler shaft , where as project "X " the third frame was designed for a conventional fold , a right hand side transmission and a rear q100 motor .

John only tacked up the final third frame and it was " orange" where it had sat in the corner of his storage unit for almost a year. When l inherited it.

Loki was originally going to be Tula's trike due to cicumstance , I believe John was going to install a bafang unit and a cvt hub gear prior to his untimely death in April and this was going to become john's new touring e-trike. I think you will have problems retaining the folding abilities will a right hand transmission.
Good luck with the project and he is probably looking down on it's progress.
I know Emma. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy is it? ;-)
I'm sure I shall be critiqued from above. If I can overcome the RHD+FOLD issues then all will be well, the frame design is well proven already.
When I look at the demo's of the ICE-Trike's being folded it seems to me that they have the hinge in exactly the same orientation. So I am hopeful it will work out somehow.
 
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More….
Last week I cut some tube for a front-mech (derailleur) post. Nothing too fancy just a cut through a tube with a hole-saw to give me the notched fish-mouth to fit around the BB shell of the front boom. I put the hole-saw in the middle of the tube’s length so I get two mech-posts cut at once. One spare, just in case I screw up the first one.

I have ordered an MTB triple crank-set with 150mm cranks and 22/32/42 rings to go on Loki as a “first try” at gearing. The N380 has a 22T sprocket so that gives me a low G.I. of 10” and a high of 72.5”.

At my preferred cadence of 65, this would give a top speed possible on the flat of 14MPH. While this isn’t “stunning” and I know the Lycrati all tend to want to do 25MPH+ all the time, I think it is sufficient for a man of my years and general state of health. ;-)

More…
Today 10th September I put the bottom bracket into the shell and the chainset & cranks on. Next comes positioning the mech-post properly. Here it is just sitting on the front boom. The rear face will need to be cut away so that the post can rotate backwards to the required angle (c.67°)

Small baby steps lately as I have been a little unwell with a virus that has persisted into a full blown chest-infection. Much more of this and I shall be visiting a GP/MD.
Please ignore and excuse the shocking state of the workbench too. There is no room to do anything in this little space.






That's all for now.
 

SirJoey

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My cozy little nook in the corner!
That's kinda the way my little shop was getting toward the end.
It was such a mess, but I sure miss it now!
***
 
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More.....
Today 11th September I kept a minutes silence for all of the fallen in that terrible attack on the twin towers all those years ago. 😢

After a late-ish start (I slept badly, I feel awful and my throat is on fire) I spent a long and frustrating time welding the changer post to the boom.
It was made slightly more complicated by the inclusion of John's "hidden" boom adjusting mechanism and the bolts that secure it inside the front half of the boom.

However, I managed to get enough weld material around the post not to need to weld into the tight angle where the bolt head protrudes. After welding it all up and a "tidy-up" with a flap disk and a wire wheel I checked that the bolt can still be undone and removed if required.

For all the ingenuity of John's many unique features and his inventive way of overcoming problems and challenges, I would observe that every time you depart from standard bike/trike set-up and go a little bit more "off-piste" you run the risk of being just that little bit more unsupportable out in the field. Completing LOKI in a way that makes it as "standard" and supportable in the field is my goal.

Here is the end result of today's effort, I have set a chain on the middle ring of the chainset and routed it onto the diverter roller to check that all look OK.

All for now, more later.

 
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Dan

Getting there , where ever there is ;)

Paul
 
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14th Sept.

Today I reunited the halves of the frame and put the front wheels back on so that it is a rolling frame once more. :D
I removed all of the framework that was intended to hold a captive hub-motor in the rear triangle for e-assist (as I shan’t be using this method at all) and also the remote thumb-throttle mechanism as it is not needed at this time.
I then cut and flared some chain-tubes to run the chains through and mounted them in place ready for running the chain (maybe as early as tomorrow).
I am getting close to needing to add the cabling for the N380 gear-change system (it is a push-pull like Rohlhoff’s) and I need to make sure I allow for the folding, without messing up the action of the shifter. I am hoping that good quality and extra-stiff cable-outer tubing will facilitate the folding without messing things up (we shall see).
Once this is done it is really just front shifter and brakes to be done in order to get a ride-able trike.

15th Sept.
Today I managed to put a chain on it and of course the chain line is fine in the unfolded state.
So here it is all chained up.







I am quite pleased with the result, next will be a front mech shifter and the N380 shifter & cabling.
More later.......
 
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21st & 22nd September 2019
There has been very little progress since my last post as I have been busy doing other stuff. However, I have managed to mount a bar-end shifter for the front-mech and the rotary shifter for the N380 and its associated cabling.
The pliable silicone tubing for the area of the chain where the folding occurs has arrived and is a tight friction fit over the harder plastic chain tubes but I guess I will secure it with cable-ties or small stainless-steel jubilee clips.
One slightly annoying element of the chain tubing is that it seems a little “noisy”, it may be that I need to perform some further straightening of the tubing with some boiling water and a funnel.
But I have to say that it is starting to look quite good (to me at least).

23rd September 2019

I tried my hand at TIG Brazing again to place a cable-stop for the front shifter on the boom. It wasn’t a disaster, but I managed to accidentally move it in the last few seconds of heating it to get the bronze to flow so it is a tiny-bit out of perfect alignment. Of course I could cut it off and have another bash, but I want to see how bad it is/isn't when cabled up first.



 
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we were at COSTCO on Friday and they have an electric folding bike made by BOLT for $299
 
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we were at COSTCO on Friday and they have an electric folding bike made by BOLT for $299
Buy one! Worth having it just for the parts. Warranty would be worth a bit maybe?
 
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Nice Dan

I would probably just cut 1/2" around the cable stop hammer it flat and TIG-ged !
Real heathen ....
 
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Saturday 28th September 2019

I made a decision to “swap” the 2 trikes over, so NICOR has been folded and placed in my storage shed, and LOKI has been moved to the little space in my “workshop” so that I can complete it over the winter months. Unexpectedly, the rain-god slept and the sun-god smiled (just a little) and so I was able to get some small works done today.

Before putting NICOR away I took some measurements of where the flexible section of the chain tubes will need to be located in order to accommodate the folding while keeping the oily chains off of car upholstery/carpets etc.



Then away she (NICOR) went and LOKI was brought through the house and the front boom was re-attached and the chain threaded through the front derailleur.

I seem to have an issue with the exceptionally clever “hidden” clamp that John created for the front boom. The main keel is the outer tube (as usual) and the front boom extension is a smaller square tube with a 4-way “drawbar-operated” wedge on the inner-end. There is a 3mm difference between the ID of the main keel tube and the OD of the inserted front-boom. As the only anchoring point is at the end of the front boom extension that is buried deep inside the keel tube the other end “waggles” from side to side as pressure is applied to either pedal. :eek:
Here is view of the two tubes from above.


As you can probably see, I cut a plastic end-plug up to insert into the keel tube to limit/stop this waggling, but it is not a good resolution to the problem. There is a “fix” for this applied to NICOR where a thick acetal plate has been bolted to the top face of the boom tube and it rests flush against the end of the keel tube, preventing side-to side play.
I suspect John was well-aware of these minor issues as he had told me that he intended to set the boom length and weld the 2 tubes together for his rework of LOKI and the Bafang e-assist implementation.
Anyway, I will find my own resolution to the issue I am sure.

Here is LOKI with its front derailleur and N380 and with the seat from NICOR clamped onto the seat mountings. It almost looks ready to go.
Sitting on it, it is exactly the same "cockpit-feel" as NICOR (no surprise there really) but with the heavy hub-motor and the batteries not being present the trike is very much lighter than NICOR.

I know I am going to be very sad to eventually take it to bits again to have it powder-coated. Still, it will need some "running-in" rides first. :D


 
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Twinkle

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Another difference with project X is the main boom has the standard " AZ Streetfox" bottom bracket clamp , Unfortunately it will not support a front mounted middie drive.
I have used a similar mounting system for the basic seat with over boom USS steering.

Regards Emma
 
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A fine ride indeed! What is the final color?

Brad
Hi Brad,
In honour of John I will probably keep it Dyno-Rod Orange.

Another difference with project X is the main boom has the standard " AZ Streetfox" bottom bracket clamp , Unfortunately it will not support a front mounted middie drive.
I have used a similar mounting system for the basic seat with over boom USS steering.

Regards Emma
Hi Emma,
I will find a solution to the adjustable boom I am sure and that will permit the use of the Bafang (if required at some time in the future).
The boom extension on NICOR does the same "waggle", but in a minor way because of the block bolted to the top of the extension.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Regards,

Dan
 
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The boom extension on NICOR does the same "waggle", but in a minor way because of the block bolted to the top of the extension.
Regards, Dan
For a stop gap can the 'block ' be transferred between trikes ?

all the best Paul
 
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