Nightmare on Rhino Drive part 1

deacon

deacon

minor bike philosopher
I thought long and hard about where to put this. It might should go in the tavern, but then again there is a little information that is useful. It isn't all pure facts though, so if someone wants to move it please feel free.

First of all, it was 42 degrees and cloudy here this morning. Those clouds were surely going to turn to rain. But my wife assured me that the weatherman had assured her, that it wouldn't be rain till afternoon, so off I went. Yes I took the bike out under a cloudy sky. I was off to the mall to walk, since the wind chill was 35 or so degrees the trail was out.

The rhino drive pushed the bike along great. I mean I was ready to write what a great bike builder I am. I even worked on the narrative in my head as I walked my two miles in the mall. After the walk I stopped to drink my thermos of coffee before I left the mall. I got to the glass door and my stomach sank.

The parking lot pavement was wet. Not a good thing for a friction drive bicycle. Not only that a cold drizzle was falling. It looked like a really bad at the black top. I bit the bullet and walked out the door as I zipped my old blue bomber jacket.

The bike seat had water standing on it, the batteries had water beads laying on them. I know, it's time for the battery shower cap, the one I talked about in earlier posts. I had two choices, call my wife to bring the car, or get the bike home on my own. The car is small and the bike and trailer would be a mess. There is also the grandbaby seat to contend with, so I decided if worse came to worse I could push it home. It is only a mile or so. I have done worse things in the rain. The monsoon season of 1966 comes to mind.

So off I went on the soaking wet bike. I was surprised to find that the batteries did not short out. The Rhino drive turned but of course it slipped over the bike wheel. Then I discovered that if I kept the throttle very low the drive helped with the pedaling. I could actually not pedal and creep along. Then of course, as I always do, I came to bike killer hill. The road up bike killer hill is two lanes each way, so I usually stay on the far left side of the left lane, since I do a left turn at the top of the hill. Today I went up the right side of the right lane figuring i would have to get off and push it somewhere along the way. To my surprise I managed to make it up the hill pedaling the bike. Yes it was a workout but I made it. I'm not in such good shape, so the Rhino drive helped a heck of a lot. I'm not sure it would have made it on it's own, but with a creeping throttle and some active pedaling it made it up the hill. The rest of the ride was a snap. It wasn't fast, but by adjusting the throttle I could do most of it with very light pedaling.

Now for my conclusions from the ride. DON'T ride in the rain. DON'T ride a friction drive in the rain. If you must ride on a damp road, the tire on tire drive works a little. I think what I should have had was a knobby tire on both the drive and the bike. I had a knobby on the bike, but a smooth tire on the drive. If I ever see a knobby tire for a 4inch center two part wheel, I think I will pick it up.

It was not a pleasant ride in the cold rain by any stretch of the imagination, but it could have been much worse. I could have had to push the bike home in a downpour. Which leaves me to a couple of areas I plan to improve.

1. If the Nimh batteries prove viable, I will for sure build a 36v 12ah for the bike to eliminate the need for a trailer to run out for my walks ect.

2. I will never leave home pulling a trailer, if there is even the hint of rain.

3. I will find a good collapsible bike rack for my wife's car. One I can store in the trunk until I need it. She can come get me and I can attach it to the car where ever I breakdown.

4 I will buy or design and build a cover for my battery pack on the bike. After I build the pack of course.

Things I will not do...

1. I will not build a chain drive since even if the bike had run well, I DO NOT want to be out in the rain on a bicycle.

2, I will never buy a $500 battery pack to get rained on. Maybe it wouldn't matter, but I just can't find it in my heart to take that chance.

3. Since i don't want to ride ANY bike in the rain, i will not go back to Gasoline bikes just because the Ebike has it's limits.

4. I will not attach the battery pack to the frame of the Rhino drive, since it will throw water onto the battery pack.
 
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Deacon, I really doubt water will hurt batteries at all. Especially rain water which has no minerals in it, ( the minerals are what transmit energy, like in shorting out).
I thought with that big contact area on your drive set-up, that it would be OK in the wet, would more down-pressure give more umph?
 
I think what happened is that the friction is decreased but not eliminated. I could move but once the drive's power curve climbed, the wheels slipped. You have a really good point, maybe what I need is variable pressure for the drive. Lesser pressure causes less drain on the batteries I think. Like going along on a flat doesn't need much pressure at all, but hill climbing does. I notice the wheels will slip on a hill if there is insufficient pressure.

I wonder, if a I change the lock down struts on the rear to a couple of heavy duty springs, with a lever lift to reduce the presser, I might be able to dial in the amount of pressure on the rear wheel. That might be an interesting change. I also think that knobby tires on both wheels would help, since it would give an edge to edge grip as well as a micro rubber to rubber grip.

More to think about on a rainy day lol... Thanks for the water tip. The batteries are sealed so they won't be hurt as long as the contacts don't short out I'll be fine. I have to get the shower cap for the cells im going to build since they are held together with duct tape.

Of course I did get home on top of the bike not walking along side it, so I guess the drive did work at least some what. I just couldn't get max speed or max torque by any means.
 
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Well , riding a bike in a cold rain is a ***** (also is in hi winds without the rain). But with cheap rain coat (long one , there are even some suited for the purpose of biking in the rain), half of your troubles will be gone. I'm not saying that you should drive a bike in a rain - rain coat is solution if rain surprises you on the road and it could be tucked under a seat or somewhere on a bike (doesn't take much space when it's folded) . Batteries (at least most of them) are not the problem with some moisture on them , the contacts could be. On your pusher trailer, some piece of nylon(plastic) and elastic rubber cord (don't know the right word for it) around it, will provide all the protection from rain that you need.
BTW , I have some friends that ride their bikes even on snow (chunky tires, full suspension and everything) , but they are "less experienced" than you and their bikes are monsters , comparing to yours ( 108 V , 80 A , capable of 120 kph/~70mph - lithium packs).
 
zabac70 said:
Well , riding a bike in a cold rain is a ***** (also is in hi winds without the rain). But with cheap rain coat (long one , there are even some suited for the purpose of biking in the rain), half of your troubles will be gone. I'm not saying that you should drive a bike in a rain - rain coat is solution if rain surprises you on the road and it could be tucked under a seat or somewhere on a bike (doesn't take much space when it's folded) . Batteries (at least most of them) are not the problem with some moisture on them , the contacts could be. On your pusher trailer, some piece of nylon(plastic) and elastic rubber cord (don't know the right word for it) around it, will provide all the protection from rain that you need.
BTW , I have some friends that ride their bikes even on snow (chunky tires, full suspension and everything) , but they are "less experienced" than you and their bikes are monsters , comparing to yours ( 108 V , 80 A , capable of 120 kph/~70mph - lithium packs).
Click to expand...


Lol less experienced = younger lol.. ah to be young and stupid... now 70mph is impressive. I haven't even heard gasoline bikes doing that yet. but 108v is a lot so i wouldn't be surprised. 80a is a monster no doubt. There are plenty of electric motors that would do that for sure.
 
YouTube - full loop part 1
That is the bike in question. This is one of the earlier versions , but bike suffers the constant changes from his builder/owner. He doesn't use said setup every day , just for some testing and thrills occasionally and his production bikes (customer specifies parts on the frame - hence the prices are different) are usually capable of 45 - 50 kph (28 - 31 mph) up hill (18 % slope) , depending on the components that are built in and the weight of the driver. I just couldn't find the footage of driving in the snow, sorry.
However it is a overkill , but it's a dependable ride also.
 
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