ICE Recumbent Trike...the Not-So-Ugly

 Finishing up, here's the not-so-ugly portion of what I learned about ICE trikes and their response to what their findings were. ICE trike frames are not made in the U.K.. Their website never claims that they are. Rather, the trikes are designed, inspected, and assembled in the U.K.. The frames are made in the Republic of China (Taiwan) according to the June 7, 2019 issue of Recumbent News  https://www.recumbent.news/2019/06/07/how-are-recumbents-manufactured/  Well heck, I was under the silly assumption they were proudly made by the employee owned ICE trike company. Nope. The reason I bring this up is because this explains the rather disappointing email(s) I received from Patrick Selwood (who doesn't work there anymore) of ICE. I'll just copy and paste a couple of those emails. The first email is a response (to the dealer) to the video and images I took of the damage and how the company would proceed: 

I have never seen this type of damage before. We have been building the Sprint X Tour and its predecessors which had similar frame designs for around 20 years and this type of bending has never happened before. I have seen a very small number of bent frames but all of those have bent where the cross part attaches to the main frame, not out at the curve.

I will commit to replacing the frame part under warranty. Would you like to add any other parts to this or are you happy to get this on the way?
Could you please ask George whether there is anything else he can think of which may have caused this issue. I will provide the frame free of charge even if it was some kind of crash, abuse or incident which may have caused this, I just want to understand.

Sounds reasonable except something about those previous bent frames. Of course they would cover it under warranty. The frame was purchased only 4 months earlier. The video clearly shows the frame collapsed over a tiny bump in the road. Crash? Abuse? Incident? Did Mr. Selwood not see the time stamps on the video and images? For those of you who don't know me, I was in the aviation industry for over 22 years. I'm 64.5 years old and comfortably retired. I have experience with metal fatigue and knowledge of NDT for detecting metal fatigue. Please keep this in mind when you read the email discussing their findings:

We have done some further investigation into this frame and everything appears to be up to the specification and standard it should be. We cannot find any material or manufacturing reason for the frame to have failed. We have cut the frame to inspect the tube and run other tests.

The frame is bent not only at the area of the large bend in the middle of the tube but also on both sides of the main frame cross joint and there are the beginnings of bends showing around the same area where the bending is on the left side but on the right. This implies to us that there is not one weak area of the frame but instead that the trike was subject to a very large force coming up through the front wheels.

Thanks
Patrick Selwood
Customer Support and Marketing

Not sure how to interpret this, but it does sound like they don't think there is anything wrong with their frames. It also sounds like my video was somehow not an accurate depiction of what had happened. I guess that means I lied about the whole thing because...? Just curious how they inspected/ tested the defective frame? To do a proper analysis, the equipment would be quite expensive...  https://www.robsonforensic.com/articles/bicycle-frame-component-failures-expert-article

I never received a response to this question as it would not be to there best interests to delve deeper into the matter. What's the point? Sure they find the frame was defective...imagine that, a frame made in Taiwan being defective. What are the chances? And coming out and admitting it. HAH! Instead, chop the frame up and hide the evidence. Say we did some tests, blame the customer and get on with our lives.

Okay, I get it. This is how the corporate world works. What happens when this happens again? How do I prevent this from happening again? They replaced the frame with another frame. So? I suggested that maybe front suspension might have prevented the problem. Here's their response: 

As we have never seen this issue before and we don’t know the cause for sure I can’t say whether front suspension would have prevented it I am afraid.

From the gist of it, I should just go on my merry way and have complete trust in what they are saying. Would you? Imagine going down a 13 percent grade and the frame decides to take a vacation. You swerve into traffic and you're seriously hurt or killed. There, problem solved. Get another frame and repeat. I went ahead and had a very expensive front suspension installed. 

I had to do something. I can't sell this "thing" with a clear conscience. So, I'm throwing good money at a bad thing. My dealer gave me this advice:

I don't think the frame will bend again, but just to be safe, slow down or avoid bumps.

Really? I invested close to $14K for a trike that has to be handled with care? Like it's some kind of delicate instrument? This thing is supposed to be used for touring with heavy loads. I weigh a whopping 83kg. I bet ICE could sell all kinds of trikes using this advice...

Well, that's all I have to say about this for now. I guess it's up to you to decide if you would purchase from ICE. My next trike will be an AZUB. I just hope I live long enough to see it.

ICE Recumbent Trike...the Bad

 So, what happened? Long story short, the frame collapsed near the cross frame after going over a small bump. The bump is so small that the video camera barely shook. Fortunately, I take video of all my rides. Here's the last 5 minutes of the doomed trike before its demise. You won't see much. Just a small bump near the end of the video. 

https://youtu.be/Pm2UCpTNjpI         

Still awake? Doesn't look like much does it? I had to be rescued by Erika since I didn't feel like walking 15km to get home. I sent Yoshi at HC Works in Osaka an email along with this video as soon as I got home. After the shock abaded, I took some photos of the damage...this is the "bad" part.

Now come on...really? This happened because of that tiny bump in the road? I believe that bump was the straw that broke the camels back. This frame was defective out of the factory. It was just a matter of time. I was extremely lucky this didn't happen when I was on the road with cars flying by. I think ICE is lucky, too. In the last post, I will let you know what the ICE "inspection" revealed. Hint: We would never admit to having a frame defect. Why just think that would do for business?!

ICE Recumbent Trike...the Good

 As promised, a few posts about the trike. If you're interested in purchasing an ICE recumbent trike, then pull up a seat. You might learn something. To be fair, I'll first talk about the good news. The trike is in good running order. The frame and associated parts were replaced at no charge. I sent the trike to Osaka for repairs due to the severity of the damage. ICE covered everything under warranty. Luckily, I wasn't hurt. I couldn't ride for 34 days because of the repairs and replacement/ shipping time.

By now you are probably asking, "What happened?" I'll save that for the "next" post. Why did it happen? I'll save that for the "last" post. For now, here's some photos of the repaired/ replaced trike. Since the disasterous mishap, I have ridden about 700km. The trike rides well, but in the back of my mind, I've lost confidence in ICE. Over the course of the month the trike was in the shop, I learned some things about the company. I'll share those findings in my last post. 

Hint: Buy an AZUB instead. At least you know where the frame is made. 

Nishikigoi Lamp is complete

Koi lamp is complete. I'm dedicating this lamp to myself and the koi I once enjoyed having. Way back in 2001 or so, Erika and I set out to transform our backyard into a Japanese garden. The project took over two years to complete. The koi pond consisted of (2) 1hp water pumps and an air pump. Eductors were used to create a current for the fish to swim against. Diffusers were used to create a torrent of bubbles to sweep the detritus into the mechanical filters. The upper pond was filled with water lillies (vegetable filter). Two water falls fed the lower pond which contained 6000 gallons and 14 prized nishikigoi. I say prized because they were imported from Sakaisan in Japan. The pond had a vegetable filter, huge bead filter, and a huge bio filter that required daily cleaning. The water was pristine. Here's a link to just a few of the images of the nishikigoi pond at our previous home in Green Valley, CA. https://japanhomesweethome.blogspot.com/.../japanese... Sadly, we were only able to enjoy the pond for only about a year. My job required us to move to Seattle.

Up next: A long winded story about the trike. If you're interested in purchasing one, you might want to check this post out first...The Good, Bad, and Not So Ugly

 

Time to do some catching up

Erika has been busy in the kitchen. She often bakes bread. Here's some of her delicious creations. She even bakes sourdough sandwich bread. Heck yeah, it's good!

Pictured here are chocolate/ cranberry and apple/ cranberry. They just melt in your mouth!

The glass panels for the shade are ready for assembly...finally.

The panels for the base are ready to go too.

The lamp base is ready for glass and final assembly.

I'll have lots of time to do glass because the trike is being shipped off to Osaka for "modifications". I have a long story about what happened...the good, bad, and not so ugly

 

More E-Power!

After months of searching for a way to add another "Hailong" type battery to my ICE trike, I finally came to the conclusion...it doesn't exist or you have to carry the spare in a pannier. ICE sells their trikes with a Shimano battery system which only accepts, you guessed it, Shimano batteries. Since that system is not sold in Japan (regulations set by the government), I had to find another system. So, taking matters into my own hands and using some engineering skills I acquired over the years working on airplanes, I came up with this solution. First let me say, it works great!! Second, I'm not responsible if you decide to blow yourself up trying to copy what I did. Skills required: Basic electrical, soldering, patience, and a strong desire to do it right the first time. Seriously, these batteries have a heck of a current that will send you to the hospital/ morgue if wired improperly. Please read through the entire post before deciding to tackle this project. Let's begin.

Rather than post a list of parts required, read and decide what you need. This is what worked for me and I'm just showing that with a little imagination you can have a second or even more batteries. First, the mount. I use the brackets that ICE sells for there flag holders. Get rid of the holder and keep the bracket. Pay close attention to the seat I have. If you have a different seat, then you'll need a different bracket.

Okay, no rocket science here. Just find some nuts and bolts that won't stick up too high as to interfere with the battery when mounting. Zoom in on the photo to get an idea of what I used. I will not tolerate a nut coming loose while riding. Always use blue loctite and have at least one thread showing. Use good quality fasteners that won't rust. Cutting corners here will get you into trouble later. The battery is heavy and if you hit a bump, well, I warned you.

Just making sure the bolt holes on the battery bracket line up with the rails on the back of the seat. This is where the engineers at ICE mount their second battery. If it's good enough for them...

This is an option I chose not to use. I didn't see the sense in making both batteries drain at the same time. Sure it's automatic, but then I have two batteries to charge at the same time. I chose to use a switch and push a button when each battery is low on power. There are other more important reasons why I chose this method which I'll get into later. Moving right along...

This is a typical "type one" mount for hailong batteries. The bolts pictured were for testing purposes only. Longer bolts were finally used along with blue loctite. 

These are the connectors I used. No problem handling the current. I've never had one come loose when I used them on my RC airplanes.

I used 12 guage wire throughout. Probably 14 guage would have been sufficient.

Sorry for the upside down photo. This just shows the placement of the first battery. 

Here's one of the ICE clamps being used to hold the second battery to the seat back rails.

This is the lower ICE clamp holding the second battery to the lower seat back rail. This method is rock solid. 

Alrighty then, the mount for the second battery is complete. Time to do some creative wiring.

The weight distribution with both batteries makes sense. One on each side. I noticed those fast descents have improved in stability. That's a good thing.

Another benefit with this type of mount is that gravity is working to keep the battery firmly attached to the bladed connectors.

Ah yes, the key to making all this work if you choose to use the switch method. 

This switch can be purchased on Amazon in red, white or green for 20 bucks. The switch is marine grade and is rated at 30 amps. It's a DPDT. Remember, you'll need some basic electricl knowledge to wire this correctly. I chose this switch because I saw someone on Ebay selling a wiring harness for dual batteries. This is the switch they used. They wanted 100 bucks. Ummm, no thank you. The switch is only 20cm by 30cm. Just the right size for what I had in mind for it. Yes, the switch lights up when power is applied. The switch has an "OFF" position. This comes in handy especially if you suspect power is "leaking" from somewhere. More on that later...

Jumping ahead just a bit. Here's where I decided to mount the switch. It's on the right saddle bag rail which is sold by ICE. The bracket I fabricated (need to be creative) uses a spare bracket from the Ortlieb saddle bag mount. I chopped up a second mount to extend the arms so the switch would have full contact with the bracket. Screws and washers hold the whole thing together. The switch can be slid in and out of the bracket, but at the same time it fits snug. Other photos will show what I'm trying to explain.

The rubber shim holds the bracket at an angle and a tie wrap is used to adjust the tension so the switch fits snug. This really turned out well, but it took a couple of hours to figure it all out. Remember that desire to do it right the first time?

Time for some soldering. After testing the fit of the switch and measuring for wires, it was time to do some fun stuff. 

Here's the switch in place. Easy to access from the seat. 

The switch has three positions: Battery 1, OFF, Battery 2. When the trike is parked I leave the switch on OFF. Why? I learned that before I installed this modification, I was getting power leakage from the motor/ controller to the battery. I was totally unaware of this. I assumed that once I turned off the controller the system was off. No power was being used. Nope. I learned that the light on the new switch came on even when the controller was turned off. I checked with my volt meter and sure enough, power was still flowing even with the controller off. Here's another advantage of having a switch: when the switch is in "OFF" the system is completely off...no leakage. So, the light on the switch was a real eye opener. 

Please don't use this primative wiring diagram. It's drawn incorrectly and, well, the line that goes from the motor to the second battery shows a black dot. That's where the line should end, Don't continue the line to the first battery! I didn't have an eraser to fix my mistake. You can use the lower drawing which shows the blades on the switch. Essentially, the center blades are used for the motor/ controller and the outer blades are used for the batteries. Always check your switch with a continuity checker just to be sure. 

Here I have the switch in reference to the drawing. Maybe that makes more sense?

It's a good idea to use heat shrink on any solder joints.

Here's the wires cut to size, soldered, shrunk, continuity checked, and ready to be installed.

Slid the whole thing into the snug fit bracket. Ready to be attached and neatly tied with velcro. Make sure you have power off and disconnected before proceeding with connecting any batteries!

Damn, he does good work.

Please don't ask why I posted the same picture twice.

Since this trike has rear suspension, it's a good idea to leave a little slack in the wire run. Also, this trike folds which is the reason I used velcro straps instead of tie wraps. It's easy to remove and reinstall.

BOOM! Just kidding. It worked. Here's the reading on battery one

Here's the reading on Battery 2

Indicator light on for Battery 2

Indicator light off for the"OFF" position indicating no power 

This was a fun project. I learned a few things and I manage to accomplish what I set out to do...extend my range with two batteries by using a switch. As far as charging batteries, I use a Grin Satiator set for 80% charge. From my research, I have found that will extend the charging life of the battery. Since I don't trust any Lipo battery, I only charge in the daytime, outdoor, in an explosion proof military grade box. That's a subject for another day. Right now, it's time to plan my next ride.