1175 How To Make A Dual Freewheel Differential For A Paper Trike
Robert Murray-Smith
347,485 views
If you want to have a look at those special videos become a member and join by clicking this link @thinkingandtinkering
Don't forget that you can buy my books and materials for your own experiments including our conductive inks at - and for the many who have asked, yes, you can also donate to further our work, again through the shop.
20 Comments
@badgamer7622 20 minutes ago
very informing the best i have seen so far and not some mumble jumble
@dscffsda7390 1 year ago
I thought I was the first person to imagine this, glad to know it is actually used
@Killianwsh 6 months ago
Thanks for so many great videos & sharing our genius with us! Miss you man. RIP.
@logik100.0 5 years ago
I made both types of trikes back in my youth (1970's) It was a baptism of fire when I figured out about the issues of not having a differential :O
@deviantlegion 1 year ago
I'm just in the planning stages of designing a Recumbent Cargo quad and was having real issues with working out how to create a differential. I think this just solved all my issues, thanks!!
@gordie8566 1 year ago
This is incredible, thank you for making this, making a custom reverse trike and this helped a lot👍
@flyingbeaver57 3 years ago (edited)
Hi Rob. I played with this idea to go onto a recumbent delta trike based on a design sold by a family design team here in Canada. Their build projects (and there did quite a few) used square tubing for many fabricated parts. I came up with another 'version' of the differential you describe there after getting my hands on two large "finger ratchet wrenches" - these are like a conventional square-drive socket ratchet wrench, but with no handle. They're meant to be used in tight spaces. I got a pair that took 1/2" drive sockets (I later revised the design to use 1" square drive socket wrenches) and after more than the usual messing around trying to do for 5 cents what any fool can do for $5, I had a differential real axle that worked quite well. At the time, I was planning to use 48-spoke 27" rimes for my rear wheels. A machinist in Australia very kindly made up a set of 48-spoke hubs, and (miracle of miracles) I found some high quality 48-spoke rims for sale by a British maker. At the time (2010-ish), the pair of rims cost just over CAD$110, plus 6 pounds 95p for postage. They arrived in three days - some kind of record in anyone's book.
Since we have ice and snow about 8 months of the year, one over-riding concern was/is cold-weather operation. I also hoped to have an "electric assist" system that could be activated for steep hills, etc. The rear end - axles, bearings, ratchet-based freewheel/differential(s) plus the necessary frame were pretty much complete by 2013, along with about 2/3 of the rest of the frame and front end. Then someone stole the whole works, plus all of my welding gear. In the same period, I became permanently disabled and so was retired from engineering (cold-weather methanol fuels among other things) and there were two deaths in the family, all in a very short amount of time.
My disability required quite a bit of revision to the basic recumbent delta trike, but I did get some plans drawn up. However, not being able to work (and therefore being without income), plus dealing with two separate family wills pretty much put the whole project on hold. Since then, because of an accident and new factors arising from disability, plans will be changing yet again.
It was suggested to me to consider using motorcycle wheels for the rear pair, rather than bicycle wheels and rims. This idea has some merit, but make a home-brew differential more difficult. Reason #1 was simply tire and wheel strength. The most frequent points of failure on bicycles and tricycles here are flat tires and damaged rims. Of people who commute using a bike or trike, 44% report at least one flat tire every 10 days. The other main reason for considering motorcycle wheels was better traction and (by using Aluminum) a lighter overall rear assembly. If an electric assist was still a possibility, weight is a major problem. Being poor (where I once was not) has really made this proposition difficult and unlikely. There are very few "free" or inexpensive sources of modern batteries to be had. The cost of material and welding equipment for at least part of the frame being changed from steel to aluminum tubing is a big obstacle to this idea as well.
Road conditions here are not ideal much of the year, but I mention that proposal in the interest of completeness. It seems unlikely and unaffordable at this stage. Anyhow, I love your design for this simple implementation of a working differential, and I have seen actual examples on hand-built trikes locally. Cheers from northwest Canada.
Since we have ice and snow about 8 months of the year, one over-riding concern was/is cold-weather operation. I also hoped to have an "electric assist" system that could be activated for steep hills, etc. The rear end - axles, bearings, ratchet-based freewheel/differential(s) plus the necessary frame were pretty much complete by 2013, along with about 2/3 of the rest of the frame and front end. Then someone stole the whole works, plus all of my welding gear. In the same period, I became permanently disabled and so was retired from engineering (cold-weather methanol fuels among other things) and there were two deaths in the family, all in a very short amount of time.
My disability required quite a bit of revision to the basic recumbent delta trike, but I did get some plans drawn up. However, not being able to work (and therefore being without income), plus dealing with two separate family wills pretty much put the whole project on hold. Since then, because of an accident and new factors arising from disability, plans will be changing yet again.
It was suggested to me to consider using motorcycle wheels for the rear pair, rather than bicycle wheels and rims. This idea has some merit, but make a home-brew differential more difficult. Reason #1 was simply tire and wheel strength. The most frequent points of failure on bicycles and tricycles here are flat tires and damaged rims. Of people who commute using a bike or trike, 44% report at least one flat tire every 10 days. The other main reason for considering motorcycle wheels was better traction and (by using Aluminum) a lighter overall rear assembly. If an electric assist was still a possibility, weight is a major problem. Being poor (where I once was not) has really made this proposition difficult and unlikely. There are very few "free" or inexpensive sources of modern batteries to be had. The cost of material and welding equipment for at least part of the frame being changed from steel to aluminum tubing is a big obstacle to this idea as well.
Road conditions here are not ideal much of the year, but I mention that proposal in the interest of completeness. It seems unlikely and unaffordable at this stage. Anyhow, I love your design for this simple implementation of a working differential, and I have seen actual examples on hand-built trikes locally. Cheers from northwest Canada.
@RavenBlood-bn5ux 3 years ago
This man has helped me so very much. I'm making a Delta trike camper and this made it a peace of cake, thank you!
@williamvan909 5 years ago
Thanks for the update on the wheel ideas 😊 out standing buddy 😄 thanks again.
@brysonwood8356 3 years ago
Great video. I’ve been thinking about building something similar for my grandsons. I was stuck on the rear axle. Pretty sure they are not ready for a drift trike lol
This video was as if I had ordered a sandwich and you were telling me what is on it
Thank you, kind sir
This video was as if I had ordered a sandwich and you were telling me what is on it
Thank you, kind sir
@itsprivate4360 2 years ago (edited)
Years ago I watched your channel for everything about batteries in EVs.
So I’m doing research on tricycle axles and voila!? Again you’ve popped up in my search…
We must have the same train of thought because I’ve subscribed again lol.
So I’m doing research on tricycle axles and voila!? Again you’ve popped up in my search…
We must have the same train of thought because I’ve subscribed again lol.
@sivodesilva9866 3 years ago
Thanknyou for this relaxt video..best wishes from the middle of the Netherlands
1175 How To Make A Dual Freewheel Differential For A Paper Trike
Robert Murray-Smith
347,485 views
If you want to have a look at those special videos become a member and join by clicking this link @thinkingandtinkering
Don't forget that you can buy my books and materials for your own experiments including our conductive inks at - and for the many who have asked, yes, you can also donate to further our work, again through the shop.