Trike!

I've been considering playing around a bit... I found this page and thought, although I'm sure many here have seen it, I'd share.
http://www.herts-ncc.com/herts-bikes/kevs-maxim-trike/

From what I've seen thus far... Doing a custom trike can be rough.... But I think it'll be worth it.

 

I was just wondering about these. trikes in general. How do these things handle? Especially around turns... its gotta be weird riding one of these..

I don't usually like trikes, but that maxim conversion looks pretty sweet.

 

Trikes have a tendency to push into a turn as you give up the ability to lean in. This is futher componded by the fact that they have a natural tendency to be light in the front with the added traction capabilities of the rear axle. It will always try to lift the front because of the torque transfer trying to make the axle turn on itself known as axle wrap.

Most DIY trike conversions use a modified swingarm with a solid axle out of a light duty vehicle like a chevette, or S10. While they can be made to work. A poorly engineered trike conversion can be somewhat limited in useable speed. It will never be a canyon carver.

That said. There are good reasons for building/riding a trike. Disabilities that limit being able to hold up, or balance a bike. The rider just has to understand the differences, and adjust to the riding style accordingly.

Ghost

 

As far as the trike in the link. I am not much impressed.

The builder appears to have chosen to go with a hardtail style mounting system along with excessive lowering of the rear of the bike further aggravating the above mentioned handling issues. The long axle while good for side to side stability will definitely affect the turning ability adversely.

Just my personal oppinion
Ghost

 

No idea how this one was done, but somebody in england turned a 700X into a trike (pics here). Then he sold it on ebay when he didn't have time to ride anymore.