Ghetto EMB

I am trying to make a dirt cheap Electric Motor Bike, so far my choose of equipment is
Bicycle Frame: Junkyard - Free
Motor: Large Box Fan - $5.00(Used. Thrift Store)
Power: Two Rechargeable Car Batteries - $20.00 est.

I plan to use direct friction and use a lead stick with a clip attached to it as a speed controller, and a simple house light switch(stripped of course) for a kill switch. Both easily obtained for under a dollar. What do you think? Any suggestions?

Well now I have done those from using very basics to trying the whole controler throttle bit.

One was no better than the other. I used a house type switch as an on off switch and powered the bike full throttle or off and let it slow down by itself. It worked just as well as the throttle and controller for me. I did not find any significant improvement in battery life with the controller at all. I was expecting to but I didn't.

I have three of four scooter motors laying around as they were the best for for me. Friction drive is the easiest for sure. I have used sla batteries and lawn and garden tractor batteries. They both worked about the same except the wet cell lawn and garden batteries are very heavy and any extra energy in them goes to lugging them around. I made several trailers for that purpose.

I wired my switch directly to the battery and motor. Simple motor on motor off kind of thing.

Good luck.

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visit my blog for Riding in the hood,... The home brew bike journal....http://frictiondrivebicycles.blogspot.com/ The deacon's fiction

I'm not an engineer,but I really don't think you can get enough torque out of that fan motor.
Plus you need to boost 12v to 118v for power and 118v in the rain might make your hair stand up. But hey,prove me wrong,I'd like to see it. Maybe try an old electric trolling motor, torque and voltage would be solved. Just need to get enough cooling for the motor. If you build it ,I got to see it.Good luck.

If you have to buy a motor go for a scooter motor of at least 350 watts. I done been down that road. Anything less and the power to do hills is just not there. Unless of course you weigh 75 pounds.

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visit my blog for Riding in the hood,... The home brew bike journal....http://frictiondrivebicycles.blogspot.com/ The deacon's fiction

Yeah I doubt that fan will give you enough torque to get moving.

Starter motors from cars work wonders. There's a youtube video of some guys that used a starter and a car battery and had enough torque to pop wheelies from a dead stop. Just a thought

I have the starter video here post #7

Youtube Videos

A friend of mine had this old go cart with a fried engine given to him. It was a nice cart and anyone else would have put another motor on it. This guys dad was an industrial electrician and he modified a car starter of some kind and used a big pickup truck battery for the enegry cell. He rigged a rheosat to the throttle pedal and had a master disconnect in the circut such as in the case of emergency the power could be shut off completely.

It was fast and quiet. I still remember his grand dad lubing the motor bushings with Slick 50 as the starter motor wasn't really designed for constant use. Had the starter motor had bearings in it, then it could really have been a piece of work. I wish I knew how his dad wired it all up.

A box fan is AC, not DC.
A starter could be fun in bursts, but as stated it will not last when run continuously.

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If it ain't broke, and you mess with it long enough, it will be.

Look up bar stool racing, The old 6Volt starter motors is what they used to use for them. And they would get up and goooooooooo. There was a muffler shop here in Fresno that the guy would build them and they had races, This was in the 80's and I was only like 19 but still fun to watch now i'm OAS (old and slow).

You could use a drop cord but your range will be limited.
I couldn't help it I thought that was funny.

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