Enter iTrike

After having Eli-Kart for a while, I began to think about new ideas for electric vehicles. The things I really liked about Eli-Kart were the large platform, good ground clearance, sensored control, and high top speed. But there were also some things I knew I could improve on. For one, Eli-Kart is very short, making it a little scary to drive next to cars. Secondly, it was unbalanced, and the turning radius was relatively large, making tight turns impossible. Also, the battery life was a little limited and the acceleration was a little slower than I'd like (both not helped by the fact that I'm 6'6"). Finally, it didn't have many standard features luxuries such as a seat and brakes (although I did add headlights).

I took all of these into consideration when designing what I'm calling "iTrike". Perhaps paralleling my recent move from Cambridge to Boston, iTrike is a much more legitimate form of transport. I flipped the three wheel configuration so that is has two wheels in the back and one in the front. The back wheels are driven by high torque brushless motors, which I plan to run sensorless to save a lot of headaches. It has big 12.5" wheels with brakes build into each of the back wheels. It even has a comfy seat and footrests for maximum leisure. Here's the rendering:

I haven't started making it yet, so I'm still trying to think about some cosmetic changes before waterjetting anything. I've been busy with my new job but I thought I would update here so it doesn't look like I've been up to nothing!