http://motorbicycling.com The motorized electric bicycle is a quiet and efficient form of transportation for general commuting. en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:09:32 GMT vBulletin 60 http://motorbicycling.com/images/styles/silverblue/misc/rss.jpg http://motorbicycling.com http://motorbicycling.com/f9/its-time-again-science-fair-guess-13102.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:12:05 GMT This year i am deterimend to get a blue ribbon at the science fair So I am doing a electric bicycle powered in a green way (wind turbine: Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Wind Turbine (http://greenterrafirma.com/DIY_Wind_Turbine.html)) One problem.......I cant decide what model or plan for my bike i want to use???? Hopefully i can get some pics soon..... one is a completey kustom trike, the other a normal bike but with back hacked off and 2 wheels added I am a luanatic!!!! This year i am deterimend to get a blue ribbon at the science fair
So I am doing a electric bicycle powered in a green way (wind turbine: Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Wind Turbine)

One problem.......I cant decide what model or plan for my bike i want to use????

Hopefully i can get some pics soon.....
one is a completey kustom trike, the other a normal bike but with back hacked off and 2 wheels added

I am a luanatic!!!! ]]> Motorized Electric Bicycles weekend-fun http://motorbicycling.com/f9/its-time-again-science-fair-guess-13102.html http://motorbicycling.com/f9/ridin-ebike-fall-winter-edition-13046.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:27:51 GMT Since this part of the forum is less used, and since I do ride ebikes exclusively, I thought it might be a good time to start documenting how we use the bikes. No not some generalize summary but a day to day chronicle of what we ebikers do with them.

Today, I got my battery trailer unplugged from the charger hooked it to what used to be my faux trike, and took off for the mall. The mall is only a mile away, but it is on a heavily traveled road. The first half mile is through my neighborhood streets so I kept the speed down to a little over what a well conditioned bike rider might do, about ten miles an hour or so.

Since I intentionally didn't leave my house until ten a.m. the roads were pretty empty. When I turned onto one of the main drags in town, I had to go about a quarter mile. I did a right turn onto the road but swung into the left lane at the left edge of it. To give the cars a chance to pass me on the right. I turned left after that quarter mile and it was safer to get on over from the start than to try to cross two lanes of traffic while it flowed around me.

I made the left turn on a red light since my bike will not trip the leading green light. Another tenth of a mile or so and I was in the parking lot. It was about that far again to the entrance. I parked the bike beside the handicapped space. They always have enough room left over at the end of the row for a bike.

Inside I walked three complete laps (Up and down) of the mall for a 2.25 mile walk on hard concrete. I passed some early morning shoppers but not many. The local mall is dying. It started before the recession but the downturn has acerbated the situation.

I spoke to the lady from the salvation army who was selling Christmas card to raise funds. Then I rode the bike home. The ebike was a joy to ride compared to the gasoline bike I used to ride. At full throttle the bike is about 3/4 the power of the gas bike, but it is sooo much easier to start at a stoplight, especially going uphill. Seems like most of the stoplights in town have an uphill start. I know it can't be much more than half, but they all seemed to when I rode the gas bike.

I got home and found that I had lots of energy left. I should have, the total ride was about two miles. I was pulling a trailer with the equivalent of a 19ah battery pack. I think this might become part of my fall/winter routine.

So where did you go on your ebike today and in detail please. It helps me find more efficient ways to plan my ebike trip. I wish, instead of HIGH POINT NC, I lived in FLATVILLE. If I did the ebike would not be so challenging to use for real life things. ]]> Motorized Electric Bicycles deacon http://motorbicycling.com/f9/ridin-ebike-fall-winter-edition-13046.html http://motorbicycling.com/f9/taking-look-battery-systems-my-way-12889.html Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:11:17 GMT First of all I have to decide what is the real max range I need on a ebike. I am not riding the bike to the next town for lunch so lets get real. I want the bike to give me a certain level of independence. They don't let me drive cars anymore because of a medical condition. Ebikes require no license insurance or registration at the moment. So it is the ideal compromise. The bike I built is in all ways satisfactory see the avatar. I also have one with a battery trailer which I am completing now.

Which also is a part of the battery equation. If you haul around three 20ah sla batteries you need an acceptable way to carry them. On the bicycle is a lousy option for me because I have had balance. I need a small bike so I don't fall mounting or dismounting. The faux trike or bike with trailer is my only option for SLA batteries. The sheer weight of them would cause the bike to fall over while I mounted or dismounted. I know this for a fact, been there done that.

So for me at least there is the expense of building a trailer. I can build a low cost trailer using the wheels from a thrift store 12" kids bike. Bike cost under ten bucks, metal about ten more. So proportion a share of the trailer cost over the life of the ]]> Motorized Electric Bicycles deacon http://motorbicycling.com/f9/taking-look-battery-systems-my-way-12889.html http://motorbicycling.com/f9/solar-bike-12847.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:07:13 GMT Hey all for the science fair i am doing a e-bike, and i want to know if any of yall have any plans/ideas on a solar charging station or generator on the bike... maybe a solar trailer, or tire roller Ideas?comments? Hey all

for the science fair i am doing a e-bike, and i want to know if any of yall have any plans/ideas on a solar charging station or generator on the bike...
maybe a solar trailer, or tire roller

Ideas?comments? ]]> Motorized Electric Bicycles weekend-fun http://motorbicycling.com/f9/solar-bike-12847.html http://motorbicycling.com/f9/alas-poor-tesla-12840.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:36:10 GMT WEll I have built Gas kit bikes, I have built weed whacker bikes, I have built chainsaw bikes, I have built e bikes out the butt so I feel like I am qualified to say this. Pound for pound I love the ebike better BUT and you will note it is a big butt. There is the battery and everything associated with it problem/.

The good about the ebike for me. You turn the throttle and it goes, and with much less vibrations to beat itself apart. No clutch to worry about. If you have it wired right it is going to go. They have good torque when you pull away and good speed when the torque is no longer needed, if you have the right sized motor power setup. It's like gasoline bike engines, the bigger the motor the better the performance.. The better the performance the more energy it sucks up. In the case of the ebike, the amount of energy available is finite. You can't pull into the local power company and filler up, then dive away five minutes later. To sum it up I hate to do it but I'm going to bail on the ebikes.

Alas poor Tesler I knew him well, but he did not smile kindly on me.

So why after all this time you might ask. To be honest I have a terrific drive system. The Rhino friction drive is probably the best drive I have ever built. The problem is the batteries. Put them on the bike and it is a death trap balance and weight wise. The trailers I built were okay but they always left something to be desired. I love the faux trike, but even that doesn't have a sense of strength to me. I have to wind down the other pieces of junk I have been working on. Then I should sell some of these E scooter motors I have laying around. I have some controllers as well that I will never use.

I expect to be building something else real soon. Maybe I can find a small gasoline engine to power the Rhino drive system. Anyway there will be no new experiments from me for a while until I decide where to go next. ]]> Motorized Electric Bicycles deacon http://motorbicycling.com/f9/alas-poor-tesla-12840.html http://motorbicycling.com/f9/power-assist-trailer-smaller-versions-12809.html Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:10:09 GMT Although the big one I built worked ok, I also built a couple of lighter versions as my delta trike had a problem pulling the big one. Here are the two smaller versions. This one use a 2.5 ho harbor freight engine and 24v alternator. my delta trike runs on 24v versus 36v like the tadpole trike did. I had to make a reverse fan for these as the engines turn the wrong way. Image: http://www.packratworkshop.com/pics/pt2-1.jpg Image: http://www.packratworkshop.com/pics/pt2-2.jpg Here is the bigger one that uses a 6.5hp - it worked better! Image: http://www.packratworkshop.com/pics/pst3-01.jpg Image: http://www.packratworkshop.com/pics/pst3-02.jpg That aluminum foil on the muffler hides a second muffler I built an added on to quiet it down some more and was part of another project that used the engine for a emergency hot water supply. This engine was originally on my big assist trailer and gets swapped back and forth as needed until I can afford to buy a another one. Lee Although the big one I built worked ok, I also built a couple of lighter versions as my delta trike had a problem pulling the big one.

Here are the two smaller versions.

This one use a 2.5 ho harbor freight engine and 24v alternator. my delta trike runs on 24v versus 36v like the tadpole trike did.

I had to make a reverse fan for these as the engines turn the wrong way.





Here is the bigger one that uses a 6.5hp - it worked better!





That aluminum foil on the muffler hides a second muffler I built an added on to quiet it down some more and was part of another project that used the engine for a emergency hot water supply. This engine was originally on my big assist trailer and gets swapped back and forth as needed until I can afford to buy a another one.
Lee ]]> Motorized Electric Bicycles fleebell http://motorbicycling.com/f9/power-assist-trailer-smaller-versions-12809.html http://motorbicycling.com/f9/power-assist-trailer-big-one-mutiple-12807.html Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:57:23 GMT I've built a few power assist trailers with a gas engine and alternators to play the hybrid role. The big one supplied 12v,24,36v up to 50 amps. It also has a 1000w 12 to 110 inverter and a small aircompressor built in. The brakes on the trailer are inertia operated and even though the trailer was pretty heavy my trike would pull it without a problem and since the brakes are auto I can barely tell it's back there when braking. It has a 6.5hpharbor freight honda clone engine turning both a 12v and 24v alternator. The wheels are modified solid wheelchair tires with homemade stainless steel hubs. This thing is also my hurricane emergency power and here in NC you need some kind of backup as we get them every year as a rule. ( this year we got lucky though -NONE!)


Hear is a pic before the outside covers and the air compressor was installed



closeup of the aux power setup


finished with sides installed. They are held on with velcro and are removed before running it.


this is the brake layout


layout of wheel assembly Made the hard way!


It would power the 750w motor on my trike without a problem and would run for about 3 hours on a tank of gas (about 3/4 gal) ]]> Motorized Electric Bicycles fleebell http://motorbicycling.com/f9/power-assist-trailer-big-one-mutiple-12807.html http://motorbicycling.com/f9/bike-pusher-basket-12798.html Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:13:27 GMT This trailer was built for a friend of mine that kept commenting that he would like to have power assist on his bike. There was a slight problem though is he has a full suspension mountain type bike so the only motor setup I could think of that would be really available to him was to get a rear wheel with a built in motor.

Unfortunately he can't afford the prices that are asked for those so I decided I would try a different direction. I had a few motors around the shop and an old rear section of a scooter. I built the scooter section into a one wheel trailer that has a 36v 750w motor on it. The basket was pieced together from a few bits of wire refrigerator shelving.

The tow bar that connects to the front of the trailer was made from the rear triangle of an old 26" bike.
It pivots side to side at the front of the trailer and up and down where it mounts to the towing bikes rear axle with a couple of small plates that have nuts welded to them. The front of the tow bar also has 1/2" nuts welded to them and 1/2" bolts connect the bar to the bolts on the small plates with about 1/8" space between them. This allows the tow bar to swing up and down.

I used car trailer light cables to connect the motor controller on the trailer to the throttle control on the bike so it can be disconnected easily when the trailer is not in use.

It has more than enough power to push the bike at a good speed (15-18mph) and carry stuff like groceries in the trailer. He has been happy with it

Lee








]]> Motorized Electric Bicycles fleebell http://motorbicycling.com/f9/bike-pusher-basket-12798.html http://motorbicycling.com/f9/occ-e-bike-12762.html Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:19:00 GMT saw the build of the e chopper last night, i was hoping for a more high tech build, with lipos and all the goddies. 6 car batterys make a lot of juice but i doubt they would get the 55 miles claimed. saw the build of the e chopper last night, i was hoping for a more high tech build, with lipos and all the goddies. 6 car batterys make a lot of juice but i doubt they would get the 55 miles claimed. ]]> Motorized Electric Bicycles camlifter http://motorbicycling.com/f9/occ-e-bike-12762.html http://motorbicycling.com/f9/e-boardtracker-12722.html Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:53:45 GMT this is my 4th boardtracker, decided to go Electric with a spare 24v geared motor I had..

this is the test run I dod today!!

all is left to do is build a timber veneer rectangle fuel tank to house the 2x12v AGM 7ah batteries and the controller and I am away!!

been a real fun build!!

SPECS

Frame: custom stretched and lowered, BMX BB shell
Wheel, 3sp sturmey archer
Cranks, DK BMX race cranks, freewheel adaptor welded on
Motor: 24v 250W Oatley
Chains - YBN half link chain (no more chain tensioners, perfect chain length every time)


]]> Motorized Electric Bicycles damonjackson_spl http://motorbicycling.com/f9/e-boardtracker-12722.html http://motorbicycling.com/f9/faux-trike-12653.html Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:41:02 GMT I tested it today and it works better than a trike I think. I have not ridden one of the adult trikes but this one corners pretty well. I can even do U turns in the road just as well as with a simple one side hooked trailer. I am satisfied with it all things considered.




Oh yeah the bike itself cost under ten bucks.... the donor bike for the rear wheels was under ten as well. The metal probably was about twenty and assorted nuts and bold still left it under fifty bucks.

It has coaster brakes on the rear and a hand brake on the front. The motor is 24v 600 watts running at 36v with a 24v controller. It runs really nice. 24 volts just won't do it nearly as well. The one red wheel reminds me of a movie. ONE RED SHOE MAKES MURDER. I wonder what one red wheel on a bike makes it....JUNK ]]> Motorized Electric Bicycles deacon http://motorbicycling.com/f9/faux-trike-12653.html http://motorbicycling.com/f9/power-drill-batteries-12594.html Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:16:30 GMT I was working with a drill the other day and checked the battery. It's an 18v/18A NiCd battery. I was wondering how this could be applied to a hub motor.... two in series would make it around a 36v/18A system so I think the wattage would be 648. Is my math bad? The other thing is that I don't think that the Amps aren't Amp Hours. I thought I saw a bike on here or somewhere powered with these drill batteries. Just thinking out loud. ]]> Motorized Electric Bicycles sojudave http://motorbicycling.com/f9/power-drill-batteries-12594.html http://motorbicycling.com/f9/test-ev-global-w-dead-batteries-12590.html Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:52:21 GMT I am moving to a state where gas assisted bikes are illegal, so I'm trading my china girl for an ebike.
A fellow is interested in trading his 36v EV Clobal to me but the batteries are shot. Is there a way for me to verify that the controller and hub motor are sound? Could I jumper 12v current from my car through the bike to verify controiller and motor operation? The ebike appears to be in great shape otherwise. ]]> Motorized Electric Bicycles wheelbender6 http://motorbicycling.com/f9/test-ev-global-w-dead-batteries-12590.html http://motorbicycling.com/f9/why-bother-12521.html Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:49:31 GMT I saw something on a thread recently and thought I should respond. Then I gave it a second thought and decided not to because the author still wouldn't get it. So I thought one more time so let me just say this, if everyone was the same there would only be one type car and one size engine and in any color you wanted as long as the color you wanted was black. Oh we had that once. Then it was get a horse that was heard. Innovation like crap happens like it or not.

Yes ebikes are pretty slow for the most part, but you can make one as fast as a gas bike. It's expensive, and a lot of trouble, but you can do it. Yes, it would also be a moped in he eyes of the law but hey that's okay, because it can be done now.

Range, you can carry about half a gallon of gas in a typical gasoline bike. If you pay enough, you can get a few litho packs and do that fifty mile thing. Yes it would be a pain but that's today. The things Ebike people are doing will pave the way for that kind of thing to be common one day. Probably pretty soon if Ecars hit the road in any real numbers. Battery swap stations very well might spring up beside today's gasoline pumps at the corner convenience store.

So the innovators and experimenters of today are the early automobile owners of the 1900s. Yes all my bikes are black. ]]> Motorized Electric Bicycles deacon http://motorbicycling.com/f9/why-bother-12521.html http://motorbicycling.com/f9/lexus-hb-concept-2wd-12497.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:56:17 GMT I wonder how much it cost :) YouTube - Lexus HB Concept 2WD pedal-assist, carbon-fiber racing bike ]]> Motorized Electric Bicycles MaxPower http://motorbicycling.com/f9/lexus-hb-concept-2wd-12497.html