Da question man

I just bought a hub kit and of course I know nothing about them. So I have a question. The first of many I'm sure.

Is the crank set sensor necessary to operate the motor. There is a setting that allows the motor to run without it being used, but is it necessary that it be hooked up for the circuit to be completed. I ask because the bike I currently plan to use has a one piece crank and the kit's advertisement says it wont work with a one piece crank. Does that mean that feature wont be usable or the whole kit won't work. I rebuild my bikes so the problem is minor but I really don't want to build another bike right now. I will of course, if necessary.

Deacon. deamon what's in a name anyway. I got an email from the seller he said i could just tie the thing up out of the way and it would work.

I think I might see if I can pick up a frame with the three piece crank/ Switching over the parts will be easy enough. All I really need to switch is the rear wheel since all the rest should work just fine.

Norman said:

Deacon
You still messing with the electrics?! When you get it all figured out I might try one I like the idea of no noise and solar rechargable. I'm gettin kind of tired of the engines but then I get off on a tangent and build another one. The ol Snake is griping about too many bikes so I need to sell a couple sometime I still haven't got the recumbent running its rusting quietly on the back porch.
Are you messing with a hub motor? Is it brushed or induction?
Norman

Click to expand...

I have my first hub motor on the way.... It is a 250 watt so I will have to pedal some. I wanted one for exercise so I bought it even though I could have gotten one twice the size for a hundred bucks more. I think all the hubs are brushless and THEY do have to have a controller. The kit comes with all that.

I think I figured out what I was doing wrong with the friction drive now so when I get this one paid for I will build a friction drive motor. I might just stick it on the new bike as well. Get a little extra kick in there.

I can smell those batteries cooking now.

Now I have a question that is probably the nuttiest one ever asked. Does anybody know what would happen if I added a friction drive to a hub motor wheel.

I don't think it would damage the wheel, but what if anything would it do to the motor.

I won't know if it helps till i give it a shot, but if I pedal and it helps then it should help with the friction drive on the long or steep hills. I wouldn't use it for anything else. I tried controllers with friction drive and they are pretty much unnecessary.

I was wondering about on the same wheel, but my thinking was pretty much like yours.

So I got this lightweight schwinn traveler 3 ten speed bike all converted and ready to go when it occurs to me, in my sleep actually, That I have to lug that twenty pounds of batteries somewhere.

my three options. I have done all three just looking for input.

strapped to the top bar with hose clamps. Good: the balance is good for moving the bike around the shop with the weight centered. Bad: It is a lightweight frame. I'm not sure that much weight on the top bar is a good idea.

On a luggage type carrier over the rear tire. Good: The weight is right over the wheel and would be almost no stress on the frame. Bad: the bike tends to be cumbersome to move around. It won't roll as well in the shop for some reason.

In a trailer pulled along behind... Good: zero stress on the bike frame. Bike is much easier to move around the shop. I can add more batteries easily for long run times. Battery pack would be easily interchangeable between bikes. Bad: more trouble to hook up every ride. Adds weight for the motor to pull.

Okay while I waited for someone to give me some ideas, I experimented with a battery rack. My hub kit is going to be 24v so I needed to mount two 12volt 12 amp hour batteries.

What I did was to cut two pieces of that steel channel with the pre drilled holes an inch or so longer than the batteries laid end to end. It came out to be 15 inches long. I attached the batteries to the channel or the channel to the battery depends on how you look at it, with hose clamps. You know those bands with the screw in it to tighten. You need at last six inch diameter to attach the channel. I left an inch or so of channel sticking out on each end.

On one end I ran a flat bar (the fabric stretcher bar from a chain link fence) from the last hole in the channel to the fender hanger hole down at the axle holder part of the bike frame. At the other end I attached it to the hole where the brake would have attached if I hadn't removed it. If you still have your brake a u bolt around the seat post would work probably better... It ain't real purdy but it is real solid or at least it seems so.

I'll use it a while then maybe try one of the other attachment methods.