bike pusher with basket

fleebell · #1 11-08-2009, 12:13 AM

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

**BarelyAWake** · #2 11-08-2009, 04:38 AM

Wow! It really does look like a factory build! Sweet job man, I like it

rkorson4209 · #3 11-08-2009, 07:15 AM

Wow Man I wanna be the first one to nominate this guy the Macguyver of Motorized Bicycles. This Is such a very creative inovative build. I can totally see this being marketed, an sold in mass. Simple to install, and uninstall, gEEZ i WOULD BUY ONE.

deacon · #4 11-08-2009, 07:38 AM

I built several pushers, without the basket, very similar idea, but I like yours much better congrats...

The final version I made before moving on, used a 16bike coaster wheel with a #25 55 tooth sprocket welding to the bike sprocket, and a 600 watt engine running 36v. It would hum.

I finally found a picture of it but with 24v battery pack.

fleebell · #5 11-08-2009, 10:11 AM

Yea, this one goes pretty well too. I had to slow him down just a bit when he was learning how to ride with it because it would spin the wheel from a stop and he seemed to have no idea what that could do for him going around a corner. I has enough power that if he hits it full throttle around a corner with sand on the road it will do a power slide around the corner. He almost busted his butt a couple of times before he got my point and just rolled around a 90 corner without full throttle.

He wants me to build his wife one now but I think if I do, her's will be about 350w maybe 500w max instead of the 750w.

deacon · #6 11-08-2009, 06:37 PM

If you live in a flat area the 350 will be fine. If you have any real grades the 500 will do better. My 600 at 36v is 900watt equivalent and it is the best I have built. It has lots of pull for the hills.

fleebell · #7 11-08-2009, 06:57 PM

That's more or less what I was thinking. The only actual hill around is about 10 miles away and most of bike riding they do is really only done around the neighborhood and to the local store - maybe 2-5 miles average trip. I want her's to be lighter too if I do build another one because she seems to have trouble handling his at a stop for some reason. She's a bit taller than him though so that might have something to do with it. His handlebars and seat is way too low for her.
Lee

fleebell · #8 11-08-2009, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deacon

I built several pushers, without the basket, very similar idea, but I like yours much better congrats...

The final version I made before moving on, used a 16bike coaster wheel with a #25 55 tooth sprocket welding to the bike sprocket, and a 600 watt engine running 36v. It would hum.

I finally found a picture of it but with 24v battery pack.

How did that small wheel hold up to that much wattage? I have a couple of those that I was considering for something and need to do somewhat the same thing to a rear one.
Lee

fleebell · #9 11-08-2009, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarelyAWake

Wow! It really does look like a factory build! Sweet job man, I like it

Thanks,
I have fun with bed rails and refrigerator shelves. With a little imagination you can make some very solid stuff from them. The shelves make some really strong baskets too and they don't rust very quickly either. Just can't drill holes in the bed rails for bolts so I weld or braze everything together.
Lee

trimguy247 · #10 11-08-2009, 08:06 PM

ya thats sweet need a gass motor on there tho