good lord it's a hub motor not a spaceship.
- Thread starter deacon
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Add enough unsprung weight to your wheel assemblies, and you too can own a car that crashes over bumps and handles like a farm truck! 
Yes that would be my concern too. 75lb added weight to each wheel hub does not make for optimum levels of unsprung weight in any suspension system.
I think this is only the beginning. battery technology I think will be amazing in the next few years and more and more ideas to make electric cars. the money and research going into it is a lot. this I think is just many of the thousands of ideas that people are trying to make a reality, it is possible this will be a flop but I am sure more will be learned for the next generation of electric vehicles. motorized bicycles included
I'm glad the author of that article is so excited about a technology that has been used in heavy contstruction equipment for several decades. I guess its because hub motors are heavy.
-My fear about automotive hub motors is that if the thugs steal your wheels from your car, they can steal the hub motors as well.
-My fear about automotive hub motors is that if the thugs steal your wheels from your car, they can steal the hub motors as well.
It is certainly possible that hub-motor weight might contribute to difficulties in handling, same as the Solex styled front mounted engine might.
A moped class actual dot rated tire would probably resolve most of the hub-motor weight problems, though. They are far superior to bicycle tires.
I don't know that possibility of theft should be a major design consideration, based upon what I have seen in MSM News headlines recently... there is apparently no protection from determined thieves. (google search 'carjacking, short hills' )
I am not an e-rider, yet do see it as a more predominant option in the near future.
Best
rc
A moped class actual dot rated tire would probably resolve most of the hub-motor weight problems, though. They are far superior to bicycle tires.
I don't know that possibility of theft should be a major design consideration, based upon what I have seen in MSM News headlines recently... there is apparently no protection from determined thieves. (google search 'carjacking, short hills' )
I am not an e-rider, yet do see it as a more predominant option in the near future.
Best
rc
I recently had a email discussion concerning contracting for a guy that's designing an electric tricycle with an egg-shaped fiberglass fairing (of death lol) and after a couple back and forths where I gave him advice on how to make a safe and appealing product to market, he decided to ignore me and find a greenie yesman to help him on his nearsighted venture. The problem I see again and again with electrics is that a lot of people looking to get involved in the industry don't know anything about automotive engineering, this guy was an architect!
16v, I wonder how a dacron envelope zippered and velcro'ed over a CF fishin' rod frame work would do, helping cut wind turbulence???
Best
rc
...yah, I've built homes designed by arkitex... whew!
It was fun.
Best
rc
...yah, I've built homes designed by arkitex... whew!
It was fun.
LOL, you shoulda seen the horrible "urbanization" projects this guy had dreamed up, looked a whole lot like concentration camps with pretty landscaping. :O
Normally I'd post up a link of this guys website for some 
, but I figure I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he'll pull his head out and change the basic design of his product or quit while he's ahead, rather not crap in another guy's punchbowl, even though I thought his ideas were questionable at best.
Normally I'd post up a link of this guys website for some
, but I figure I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he'll pull his head out and change the basic design of his product or quit while he's ahead, rather not crap in another guy's punchbowl, even though I thought his ideas were questionable at best.
Small town where I live hired a urban planning. His big plan included making main street a walking tour and Shipping container restaurants. Who knows maybe the homeless can use them if it fails.
No I didn't think was a spaceship they just acted like it was some great step ahead and it is basically what i have on my two trikes on steroids.
No I didn't think was a spaceship they just acted like it was some great step ahead and it is basically what i have on my two trikes on steroids.
Hub motors are great on bicycles, but not so much on cars like in the pic. I've been a SAE member for a decade, and their newsletters with hub motors always gave me a kick, and I noticed they don't promote the technology much now for automotive use, just for slow moving construction equipment where unsprung mass won't create traction, ride, and handling problems. They figured out that the transmission losses from a couple of halfshafts from a centrally located electric motor was negligible, and far outweighs trying to synch up the power transmission and wear of individual hub motors, originally they thought it would make a novel way for AWD until the realities of it all set in and the experienced engineers blew the time-out whistle and let them know they were reinventing the wheel, a square one! lol
Im going to through in my 2 cents worth. Not that it matters.
In the design in the link posted, they could save a lot of weight by using the wheel as the hub instead of bolting a wheel to a hub. Well, maybe not a lot, but probably 10 lbs or so.
Still a lot of un sprung weight like ya'll said.
In the design in the link posted, they could save a lot of weight by using the wheel as the hub instead of bolting a wheel to a hub. Well, maybe not a lot, but probably 10 lbs or so.
Still a lot of un sprung weight like ya'll said.
