Finley

Hello!
Im working on converting my Schwinn Meridian trike into a fat tire electric trike. I’m disabled and looking to be able use the bike on different terrain.
Anyway I’m trying to replace the current 1” threaded fork to a suspension fat tire fork. I haven’t found a fork available yet, so I was wondering if I could adapt the bike to accept a 1 1/8” fork?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks

Andrew R Stewart 

Do know that the fork will see rather different forces on an adult trike then when on a common diamond framed upright bike. So the fork's "tuning" might be best if different then what's usually found. A simple test with a bathroom scale under the current trike's ft tire compared to the weight on a standard bike's ft tire might offer some idea about how the fork might perform.

At one time some suspension forks available in the aftermarket allowed the steerer to be swapped out for a different size one. So the crown and legs remained but the steerer could be either 1" or 1.125". I don't know if these are still out there. Andy

Finley

That’s a good idea!!! I really haven’t searched that solution yet, so I will dig into it. I really appreciate your time and information.
Thank you!!

squirtdad

I have ridden (and owned one 40 years ago) adult 3 wheelers like this, and there are pretty unstable in turns. I would be really careful about adding power. Also, even with adding some electric power, the rearwheel trike format would seem to be very limited for anything but paved or realativley smooth gravel type roads. and big side to side variation will be tippy

What are you expectations for where you are going to ride?

this thread may be of interest. the poster her started with a single rear wheel and double front wheel trike and added e-assist on the back....

https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-m...ur-system.html

Finley

I will be mostly on paved streets and bike paths. I figured by lowering the center of gravity, switching over to 20” rears and 24” front that it would improve the handling, plus wider tires. I’m disabled and can no longer ride a regular bike, this is why I bought the trike. Also I’m very limited on pedaling so that’s why I’m making it Electric. I have a very rare muscle disease and all my skeletal muscles are dying. The more I use them the faster they die. I’m only 58 and want to try and enjoy the outdoors as much as possible and to also go riding with my wife. The front suspension on the trike was extremely rough with the regular fork, so that’s why I wanted to get a suspension fork. I just bought this last year, so I figured it would be a good project to keep me occupied for a while.

beach_cycle

I ride a Schwinn Meridian; I assembled it in summer 2018, and logged over 3,800 miles (commuting to college.) Reliable transportation.

I want to add gears, but with my budget and limited resources... what I've heard most often from reliable sources (i.e. LBS) is to buy one with gears. They may say something similar about adding fat tires; I'll ask and report back if they say something else.

I don't know of any Schwinn aftermarket parts for the Meridian, and I've been looking periodically the past year. Converting one electric some people do. But the upkeep, replacing spokes/axles... Schwinn states not to convert. Sun makes a heavy duty adult trike; possibly it will handle electric power better. I test rode the standard Sun trike with gears. It is nice, but twice as much as the Meridian, and the heavy duty model is much more.

I can relate to wanting to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible. My disability is TBI (traumatic brain injury). I've had it almost 30 years; I was 23 when hit by the car, and now 51. I used to work construction, but had to switch to computer programming. Along the way, I rode a bicycle to get back on a motorcycle, then enjoyed motor biking for a few years. After over a decade of riding buses, I got back on a bike (adult trike). Now I'm peddling about 5,000/year, and love it.

Lowering the center of gravity will improve handling (and speed). I'd like to try a recumbent trike; they are already low, but I have trouble getting in and out of low seats.

Working on your bike is an excellent hobby, and this is a great resource for information...

Patrick