Electric Board Track Racer

[jaeconsult]

Hi
I am new to this forum and I am in the process of putting together an electric board track racer. At this time I have modified and existing frame and have put it together to the point that I have proved the motor chosen has the capability and the system at this point is good for 15 miles at 20mph on level ground including starts. Flat out distances should get close to 20 miles. The motor and speed control are capable of much higher speeds in the range of 40 to 45 mph(I have personally had it to 34mph on old tired batteries that could only put out 4 amps each) but I wanted to keep this considered a motorized bicycle and in Florida that means it has a speed limit of 20mph. In addition I wanted it to have usable range. I am working on regenerative capabilty for hilly areas on the electronics side. I am looking to go into production by the end of the year and will be utilizing a belt drive system, presently it is friction drive which is simple and proved the motor capability, but it is useless if there is any water around. I would like some feed back on the following:

Range- limited by battery technology, could get up to 40+ miles with lithium iron phosphate batteries,
but the cost is substantial. Presently using lead Acid batteries and could possibly increase
range to 30 miles however it would get pretty bulky. NiCad possible but costly also.

Speed - I know when is enough enough, but for the sake of producing something that is afforadable
and reliable there need to be limits. So current range is 15 miles is that acceptable or
would mileage somewhere in the range of 30 to 40 miles be desirable and would that
be worth adding about $500+ to the overall cost of the vehicle.

Side Car- I noticed there were side car board track racers and the side car would make a perfect
place for additional batteries as well as trip storage, any thoughts on that? Lead Acid then
could be utilized to get greater mileage

Drive - Gear, Belt, Friction or Hub Motor- presently I am not using a hub motor but that would make
for a clean installation, however from my research their efficiency is somewhat lacking and
the cost is pretty high for a 500+ watt machine. Keep in mind to climb a 6% grade will require
a long term output of around 900Watts for a 250lb total weight vehicle.

Thanks for any input I get

[weekend-fun]

Originally Posted by jaeconsult

Hi
I am new to this forum and I am in the process of putting together an electric board track racer. At this time I have modified and existing frame and have put it together to the point that I have proved the motor chosen has the capability and the system at this point is good for 15 miles at 20mph on level ground including starts. Flat out distances should get close to 20 miles. The motor and speed control are capable of much higher speeds in the range of 40 to 45 mph(I have personally had it to 34mph on old tired batteries that could only put out 4 amps each) but I wanted to keep this considered a motorized bicycle and in Florida that means it has a speed limit of 20mph. In addition I wanted it to have usable range. I am working on regenerative capabilty for hilly areas on the electronics side. I am looking to go into production by the end of the year and will be utilizing a belt drive system, presently it is friction drive which is simple and proved the motor capability, but it is useless if there is any water around. I would like some feed back on the following:

Range- limited by battery technology, could get up to 40+ miles with lithium iron phosphate batteries,
but the cost is substantial. Presently using lead Acid batteries and could possibly increase
range to 30 miles however it would get pretty bulky. NiCad possible but costly also.

Speed - I know when is enough enough, but for the sake of producing something that is afforadable
and reliable there need to be limits. So current range is 15 miles is that acceptable or
would mileage somewhere in the range of 30 to 40 miles be desirable and would that
be worth adding about $500+ to the overall cost of the vehicle.

Side Car- I noticed there were side car board track racers and the side car would make a perfect
place for additional batteries as well as trip storage, any thoughts on that? Lead Acid then
could be utilized to get greater mileage

Drive - Gear, Belt, Friction or Hub Motor- presently I am not using a hub motor but that would make
for a clean installation, however from my research their efficiency is somewhat lacking and
the cost is pretty high for a 500+ watt machine. Keep in mind to climb a 6% grade will require
a long term output of around 900Watts for a 250lb total weight vehicle.

Thanks for any input I get

Nevr seen a electric BT, You Will be a first!
Side car batterie idea Pros and cons:
Pros:
Carries more batteries
Could look Kewl
Carrie Lugage


Cons:

Wider than normal length,
Hard to store
More wait: slower u go (could get STRONGER motor)
Basicaly, you take up more space riding, more like a car.

Hope this helps!
SAM

[wheelbender6]

If you like electric propulsion, build it that way. There were plenty of electric cars around in the early 20th century.
Hub motors are trouble free, but a frame mounted DC motor with belt or chain drive may look more authentic.
At any rate, I look forward to your progress reports.

[wheelbender6]

Thought of you when I saw this pic on another site.
It is not quite complete.

[fasteddy]

jaeconsult, I'm getting into a build of a sidecar and an early 50s Monark bike. Not a board track racer but a street style set up.
If you look on the board track and vintage bike thread/sidecars you will see my photo bucket site. I have my sidecar and the bike I'm restoring on there.

We can only have electric bicycles here in British Columbia. Huge fines and jail time if you use a gas motor. It's 500w/20 mph limit. That said, here's my plans.

Sidecar has a hatch on the back and I'm going to bite the bullet and buy a high end Li Poly battery. Almost $900 here. The 500W hub motor is the max we can have. It will be 36V. I was told by the e-bike store that 48V would give me scooter type performance.
The hub/wheel is going on the sidecar.
I'm hoping that it will help with the turns. I don't like front wheel drive on a bike.

Hope that the short run of wire will help with current loss.
I'm getting ready to put the sidecar under carriage together over the next week.

Having looked electric over pretty closely I've learned that words that never appear in the same sentence are electric bike and cheap. A company called e-bikes.ca is about 35 miles away and I've talked to them about buying the whole set up as a package.

Have you seen the endless-sphere site? All electric and a real good e-bike sight. Look up the Aussie Jester, He is building up a killer bike using an RC motor with a belt drive and is great for answering question as they all are.

Best of luck with your bike. I think they are the up and coming bike.

Steve

[wheelbender6]

The kits on Cyclone-USA.com provide a very mechanical appearance for an electric kit, since they operate through the pedal chain. Those kits don't require any fab work either. I have not seen on on a boardie yet.