Giving a velomobile electric support

TimV

10 mW
Joined
Jun 2, 2013
Messages
32
Location
Antwerp in Belgium
Hi,

I recently bought a velomobile. And i want to give it ekectrical dupport.

I was thinking in the range of 24V with 350W continiues and around 500W piek. This should be enough to ride at 50km/h.

Hub motor is not possible because the velomobile has single sided support rims.
 
Congratulations. 24V is bit weak, i suggest 48V. My friend built two-sided rear fork for his Mango. It also uses 26" rear wheel now.
Give it 48V/500W.
 
Nice. If you already have one 24V battery, you need only another one anymore to get 48V :wink: 48V/18Ah would be pretty good pack for everyday riding.
24V will be better than nothing of course, but 18Ah is not that much with 24V.
 
I was thinking of adding an rc motor with an gear on it in the first drive line, from the pedals to the Rohloff hub. After the Rohloff is an second drive line to the rear wheel. Here it is not possible to add an motor.

The problem of this idea, is that the pedals will turn around when the motor is working.
So the controlls of the motor is a button with choosable fixed powerlevels, or a trothle.

Are there comparable builds of people who added rc motors to there bike?
 
This winter is the conversion happening. I have build an 48V (14series lithium) batterie and has 20Ah.

I aim going to buy an 48V controller and a motor with a sprocket with freewheel. But what motor should i buy?
I aim shooting for a 250 - 350W motor that i will push to piek 500W.

Its a motor with sprocket to ad to the chain before the rohloff 14speed gear. So lots of efficiency.

A brushed motor seems to be a cheap option. A brushless motor seems not to exist in motor with sprocket set up?
 
There's quite a few threads in the non-hub motor section of the forum about both of the ways you've asked about in the previous two posts.

However, there are also pre-built drive systems like the BBSxx series that are made to drive the chain from the pedal cranks; various poeple have added them to tadpole trike designs already.
 
An crankshaftmotor is unfortunately not going to fit. Here you can see that it will be to wide.

DSCN5447.JPG
 
Perhaps a friction drive ? ( although you will have to think about how much you will be riding your Velomobile in the Rain/On Wet Roads )

Look at Kepler's Friction Drive ... https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=86961
 
Hello did you find a motor for the versatile?
I am still searching for a good solution.
Regards Marco
 
Not yet. Currently i aim laying the last hand on renoveting my new home witch i will move to this summer. So it is going to be a project for the next winter.
 
05.jpg

bafang-bbshd-48v-1000w_mid_drive_motor_kit.jpg

I don't know how the crank/pedal area looks inside but it might be possible to redesign/rework the innards to incorporate a Bafang BBSHD.
 
Ebikes.ca (grin) used to sell single sided axle motors. Might be worth an Email to see if they still sell them.
otherDoc
 
SlowCo said:
05.jpg

bafang-bbshd-48v-1000w_mid_drive_motor_kit.jpg

I don't know how the crank/pedal area looks inside but it might be possible to redesign/rework the innards to incorporate a Bafang BBSHD.

I am afraid that the constuction does not fit the bafang motor.
 
dolbyman said:
SlowCo said:
05.jpg

bafang-bbshd-48v-1000w_mid_drive_motor_kit.jpg

I don't know how the crank/pedal area looks inside but it might be possible to redesign/rework the innards to incorporate a Bafang BBSHD.

I am afraid that the constuction does not fit the bafang motor.

Why not?
From the photo it looks as if the big aluminium plate around the cranks can be replaced by a new plate or structure that allows the BBSHD to be incorporated.
 
Yes. But the bafang construction makes the total with way to wide. The middle plate is only 4cm wide. And we cant go wider or we cant pedal at all
 
DSCN5447.JPG

Are you sure the crank axle is only 4cm wide? That seems very small and require a special axle. What is the width between the cranks? From the photo it looks like there might be room to put a BBSHD in there even if the cranks need to be 2-3 cm further apart.
 
Interested to read this thread as we have just completed an electrical conversion to a Quattrovelo 4-wheel velomobile (originally from the same Dutch company who make the Quest and Strada) I've been riding it unassisted for over a year including some long European tours but unfortunately I now have a long term health problem which randomly affects my lung function making hill climbing a problem. The setup was designed by a French friend who has been using a similar setup on his QV for the past year and a half with no problems. The motor is a Smart Pie (Chinese) hub motor mounted in a rigid frame in FRONT of the pedals and drives via short chain to a chainwheel on the LEFT side of a modified Schlumph Mountain drive bottom bracket with NO increase in Q factor. (we think this is the first time anyone has done this) I wanted to keep the MD in case any malfunction ever occurs requiring me to pedal slowly home via the many steep hills I regularly encounter. The QuattroVelo has TWO wheel drive to the rear wheels using a Trykit double freewheel (instead of a differential) and an SRAM 10 speed derailleur setup giving a total of 20 gears with a very large range of ratios. Electrically, the motor is driven by a GRIN 25A controller and Cycle Analyst ver 3. It has inputs from a right wheel speed sensor, handle bar throttle , and chain idler mounted cadence sensor. Initially I just setup a profile with a 300W power limit and no other restrictions for testing- it works extremely well (too well in fact!) but now I need to create a profile that comes closer to the UK ebike rules (in particular max assisted speed 15.5mph (25kph) and 250W max output). Even at the "illegal" initial settings the efficiency is amazing - on a ride with avg speed of 22mph over 36 miles and max (pedalled) speed of 56 mph the battery use was only about 90w/hr ! (The battery is a 48V 21 aH unit, so I could ride all day at those settings)
I have been playing about with the CA limitations to legalise matters- I set a power max of 270W and speed limit of 17 mph initially but using this setting I notice that the instantaneous power never seems to go above about 180W with max throttle-- not sure why? (Making hill climbing assist less than optimal) I haven't activated the cadence sensor yet. The max assisted speed seems to work fine with the assist tailing off around the legal max of 15.5mph. I don't really understand the various throttle gain adjustments so at present these are left at defaults. Any suggestions will be most welcome.
QVmotor_s.jpg
 
And here is a photo taken from underneath (with the floor panel removed for access) As I said above there has been no increase in Q-value (pedal width) at all. The Schlumph Mountain Drive gear change button works as normal enabling the motor and/or pedal power to climb the steepest grade in conjunction with the 10speed derailleur at the rear. Because all four wheels are 20" a huge 75T chainwheel is fitted to the right side of the "bottom bracket" whilst the Golden Motor Smart Pie drives a 52T chainwheel on the LH side pedal crank. (Some clever machining was required to install the 52T chainwheel on a freewheel!) 2018-03-27 17.27.49.jpg
 
Trying to fix the Velomobile. It looks like I aim going to make a pusher trailer. Double hub motor with throttle. And pedal sensor. So it is pedal assist with option to use throttle when wanted.

What hub motors are reliable?
Direct drive or geared hub motor?
And have specs to go 50km/h on an 20inch wheel?
Probably going to use 2 times 250W motors.
500W is more then enough to drive fast enough with the velomobile.
 
TimV ,

Since you will have to make a custom trailer hitch attachment point anyway, you will have to drill holes in the lower back side of the body and fiberglass some support at the attachment points .
the best trailer design to use in order to not jacknife the the velomobile is a B.O.B. style , one wheel trailer .
Here is an example ... http://synthetictransport.com/monocule.html
 
The Versatille has an trailer hitch already for a double wheel trailer with 1 single arm.

At the low powers I plan to use, I don't think jackknifing is a problem.

Most of the roads are straight. And the corners are sharp, I let the bike roll out. In fear of tipping over. If i use a cranck sensor. Then there is no pushing power when cornering.

Just make shure the rear wheel is loaded correctly. Also maybe put brakes on the trailer?
The combo gets a lot heavier and the brakes are just a little to weak for my liking. But when making an emergency stop, the rear wheel comes off the ground. So harder braking is not possible. Only with more weight on the rear.
 
I was also thinking about a BOB style of trailer for simplicity of just one wheel/motor and lighter weight .

Grin Technologies , I think is now selling a rear hub motor that can be used with a single swingarm.
( Although you might have to have a different axle than what is on your velomobile )
This would be the most simple way to get electric assist for your Velomobile .

If you do use a two wheel trailer and two hub motors then brakes on the trailer would be a good idea . However there is then the challenge of finding hoses long enough . Unless you went with cable disc brakes .
 
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