In the time of Covid 19, if you live in the state of Queensland, Australia as I do, there is only one place where you are allowed to cycle and that is in the state of Queensland, Australia. Our borders, state and national are shut tight. If you leave Queensland, you can't get back without paying for hotel quarantine accommodation for 2 weeks (AUD$2800) and currently, you are not allowed to leave the country at all (with some exceptions not including to go cycle touring - we have had 2 European cycle tours cancelled this year).
Fortunately, Queensland is a big state so a few weeks ago, my wife and I set out on our conventional touring bikes for a tour of the remote parts of the state (we call it the "outback"). There are large distances between towns when you leave the coastal regions of Australia (where most of the population lives). This is because the countryside west of the Great Divide (the mountain range which runs north south the length of the country only 100km from the east coast) is arid with poor soils. It sustains only small populations in towns increasingly distant from each other as you journey west.
The consequence is that there is usually only one main sealed road between towns separated by 100km or more and these roads carry all the traffic on these routes. There are no services or sources of potable water in between. In particular these roads carry a beast which may be peculiar to Australia called the road train which consists of a prime mover and up to 4 trailers strung out behind, These vehicles can be more than 60m long and travel at 100km/hr on roads hardly designed for them. Furthermore, having cycled in many countries in Europe and in the United States, I can safely say that Australian drivers are the worst in the world for looking out for cyclists.
However, starting our from our home on the coast just north of Brisbane, through a combination of unsealed roads, bicycle trails, a few tracks and some short sections on busy roads, my wife and managed to ride to a little town called Tambo, about 1100km from home before deciding to curtail our intended cycle tour of about 2000km. Up to that point we had felt reasonably safe but the last 50km into Tambo were a taste of what lay ahead. After Tambo the only feasible route to the north of the state is the main highway and on our last day, the combination of road trains, motorhomes coming too close and the smell of dead animals every few hundred metres made the cycling so fraught and unpleasant that we decided to pull the plug on the tour. We have a small motorhome which we have collected and in which we will complete our original bicycle route.
So where does this lead?
There are alternative routes on unsealed roads between the towns but they add many kilometres and several days between services and potable water, water of any kind, to the journey. For example, the distance on the highway between Tambo and adjacent Blackall is 107km, doable on our bikes in a day and easily in 2. The alternative route is 247km over unsealed roads, a journey of 4-5 days requiring the carting of at least 25 litres of water per person well as an EPIRB - no mobile coverage and almost no traffic out there. I would really like to be able to travel these routes in a fully independent way (my wife is not so keen) so I turned again to plans purchased a while back from AZ to find a solution.
I cannot imagine cycling 60 kilometres per day (I am 67) without some sort of assistance and the only feasible assistance is an electric motor. In order to power this motor, I will need 300-400W of solar generating capacity - 3 panels each independently charging a 12V 20ah lithium battery, the batteries connected in series to power an 800W 26V electric motor, and a capacity to carry a minimum of 30 litres of water. That's quite a lot of weight.
I like the visibilty and semi-recumbent position of the delta runner and I am thinking of adapting this frame to the purpose of carrying 2 panels above the rider on a frame with a trailer behind carrying the 3rd panel and luggage (water and camping gear). I also like the larger wheels as they roll better than smaller wheels over rough surfaces but I am concerned about the lateral stability of the larger wheel when cornering.
So that is the scenario. Most of the opinions I have read discussing the tadpole versus the delta configuration, opt for tadpole so I would be grateful for an insight into the ride characteristics and experience of those who have built some of Brad's delta designs. I would also be grateful for any advice on the other aspects of the project.
Cheers
Alex
Fortunately, Queensland is a big state so a few weeks ago, my wife and I set out on our conventional touring bikes for a tour of the remote parts of the state (we call it the "outback"). There are large distances between towns when you leave the coastal regions of Australia (where most of the population lives). This is because the countryside west of the Great Divide (the mountain range which runs north south the length of the country only 100km from the east coast) is arid with poor soils. It sustains only small populations in towns increasingly distant from each other as you journey west.
The consequence is that there is usually only one main sealed road between towns separated by 100km or more and these roads carry all the traffic on these routes. There are no services or sources of potable water in between. In particular these roads carry a beast which may be peculiar to Australia called the road train which consists of a prime mover and up to 4 trailers strung out behind, These vehicles can be more than 60m long and travel at 100km/hr on roads hardly designed for them. Furthermore, having cycled in many countries in Europe and in the United States, I can safely say that Australian drivers are the worst in the world for looking out for cyclists.
However, starting our from our home on the coast just north of Brisbane, through a combination of unsealed roads, bicycle trails, a few tracks and some short sections on busy roads, my wife and managed to ride to a little town called Tambo, about 1100km from home before deciding to curtail our intended cycle tour of about 2000km. Up to that point we had felt reasonably safe but the last 50km into Tambo were a taste of what lay ahead. After Tambo the only feasible route to the north of the state is the main highway and on our last day, the combination of road trains, motorhomes coming too close and the smell of dead animals every few hundred metres made the cycling so fraught and unpleasant that we decided to pull the plug on the tour. We have a small motorhome which we have collected and in which we will complete our original bicycle route.
So where does this lead?
There are alternative routes on unsealed roads between the towns but they add many kilometres and several days between services and potable water, water of any kind, to the journey. For example, the distance on the highway between Tambo and adjacent Blackall is 107km, doable on our bikes in a day and easily in 2. The alternative route is 247km over unsealed roads, a journey of 4-5 days requiring the carting of at least 25 litres of water per person well as an EPIRB - no mobile coverage and almost no traffic out there. I would really like to be able to travel these routes in a fully independent way (my wife is not so keen) so I turned again to plans purchased a while back from AZ to find a solution.
I cannot imagine cycling 60 kilometres per day (I am 67) without some sort of assistance and the only feasible assistance is an electric motor. In order to power this motor, I will need 300-400W of solar generating capacity - 3 panels each independently charging a 12V 20ah lithium battery, the batteries connected in series to power an 800W 26V electric motor, and a capacity to carry a minimum of 30 litres of water. That's quite a lot of weight.
I like the visibilty and semi-recumbent position of the delta runner and I am thinking of adapting this frame to the purpose of carrying 2 panels above the rider on a frame with a trailer behind carrying the 3rd panel and luggage (water and camping gear). I also like the larger wheels as they roll better than smaller wheels over rough surfaces but I am concerned about the lateral stability of the larger wheel when cornering.
So that is the scenario. Most of the opinions I have read discussing the tadpole versus the delta configuration, opt for tadpole so I would be grateful for an insight into the ride characteristics and experience of those who have built some of Brad's delta designs. I would also be grateful for any advice on the other aspects of the project.
Cheers
Alex