Search results

Date Relevance Most replies

  1. k2orbust

    Nazca Pioneer solar recumbent build

    Sorry to hear of your headset woes, @marka-ee! When I put the suspension fork in my frame I incorporated a Cane Creek headset with cartridge bearings, so I have not experienced that particular set of problems. The head tube is still very short of course, so we may yet see long term fatigue...
  2. k2orbust

    Power=Speed

    To add my data points, my recumbent with GMAC hub motor (slow winding, 26 inch wheel, 52V battery) cruises at 50 km/h using about 1200 watts from the battery. If I turn up field weakening in the BaseRunner controller it can sustain 60 km/h on the flat but pulls more like 1800 watts. In...
  3. k2orbust

    Rans Seavo Recumbent Tandem

    Looks like a great ride and a great install! Very envious of the Seavo's clean chain-lines.
  4. k2orbust

    Nazca Pioneer solar recumbent build

    Update: I commuted on the bike all summer and the solar worked great! I had a good place to lock it up outside, so after work each day it would be fully charged for the ride home and I never had to plug in. In October the sun angle changed so I wasn't getting a full charge at my parking spot...
  5. k2orbust

    Solar-powered recumbent build

    Go team solar recumbent! 🌞🚲 There are a few solar powered e-bike projects groups on Facebook but it's a far flung little community of tinkerers. I've been riding mine to work every day and it charges itself nicely at the bike rack.
  6. k2orbust

    Nazca Pioneer solar recumbent build

    You need to hear from Peterfr12, he's gone down that road. But I recall he went to a smaller sized rim even as he put on wider tires. My 26 x 2.15" tire (Schwalbe Pick-up 55-559) just barely fits in the rear fork and that's good enough for me.
  7. k2orbust

    Nazca Pioneer solar recumbent build

    At the beginning of the solar bike tour I gave this little overview of my ride to Ryan of Sol Mobil. zvk0YV7g37U
  8. k2orbust

    Your Creation's Before & After Pics

    I get two for the price of one! Build thread: https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=109786&p=1607805#p1607805
  9. k2orbust

    Your Creation's Before & After Pics

    Before: After:
  10. k2orbust

    Nazca Pioneer solar recumbent build

    I did indeed take the bike on the Sun Trip's four-day ride from Palo Alto to Monterey and back, which was as much mobile ebike workshop as bike tour. As in, our lovingly handcrufted vehicles kept breaking down! My bike had no problems while riding, but did manage to tip over a couple of times...
  11. k2orbust

    Nazca Pioneer solar recumbent build

    The solar panel tilting strut went on just like the CAD model, pretty tidy if I do say so! It deploys and stows with the same pins that hold the panel in place. This is for stationary charging and even then not if it's too windy! In ten days I head out on the Sun Trip California tour with...
  12. k2orbust

    Nazca Pioneer solar recumbent build

    And the more you need shade, the more power you are getting! Sometime I might try unplugging the battery and see what happens. The motor controller is set to back off if voltage drops below 45V, and the charge controller floats at 57 V if there is no load.
  13. k2orbust

    Nazca Pioneer solar recumbent build

    Yippee, got the second panel mounted and wired in. This is what I have been pushing for since the beginning! At present my land yacht weighs in at 100.2 lb (52% front/48% rear). All that's left is devising a kickstand, and fabricating the panel-tilting strut, and wiring in the taillight and...
  14. k2orbust

    Nazca Pioneer solar recumbent build

    More proof two wheels plus overhead solar plus wind isn't an instant deathtrap. Riding pea gravel in a crosswind did take concentration tho! Not a great feeling on a recumbent with your feet so far from the ground. This weekend I will slap on the second panel and we'll see how that changes things.
  15. k2orbust

    Nazca Pioneer solar recumbent build

    First full-sun power reading on my setup. 150 W nominal panel rating, 66° F clear day. Output dropped to 120 W as the panel warmed up. When the second (identical) panel is installed we can expect power to double, of course. Cruising to work at up to 30 mph the bike felt remarkably normal, no...
  16. k2orbust

    Nazca Pioneer solar recumbent build

    Each of these solar vehicles is so unique that the only way to learn their behavior is by trying it out! Hopefully in a careful and progressive way... With the panels on, implying I'm actually using the sun to recharge, there's not much reason to go above 20 mph. Higher speeds just reduce...
  17. k2orbust

    Nazca Pioneer solar recumbent build

    One day it's gonna tip over and I agree it will not be a pretty sight! I try to visualize what will break first and end up scratching my head. Probably the expensive and difficult to source solar panels 🙄 Just carrying more batteries is hands down a better solution as long as you're sure a...
  18. k2orbust

    Nazca Pioneer solar recumbent build

    A big moment, the solar mounting is complete and I took the bike out for a spin! The full plan is to mount two panels, but I'll ride it like this for a few days to get a feel on how the bike handles with all this new stuff bolted on. Just riding it for a couple miles, the added structure feels...
  19. k2orbust

    Nazca Pioneer solar recumbent build

    Putting on the suspension fork definitely raised the front end, but then I put a too-big air shock in the back and that lifted the rear end too.
  20. k2orbust

    Nazca Pioneer solar recumbent build

    All the mounts are now tapped and the struts are bolted on. From here the pace of progress should pick up. I could be cruising on solar power as soon as next weekend!
  21. k2orbust

    Nazca Pioneer solar recumbent build

    All the bits are machined and I have begun fit-up on the bike. The clamps will live on the bike permanently, but the "keystone" parts can lift off to turn the solar bike back into an ebike. The overall structure matches the CAD model pretty well, but there's not enough clearance from the...
  22. k2orbust

    Nazca Pioneer solar recumbent build

    Yes I'm acutely aware of the risk! Advice from people who have ridden this configuration has has been all over the place. One rode from France to China and said only two days were too windy to ride. Others have got knocked over under various circumstances. One maintains an overhead structure...
  23. k2orbust

    Nazca Pioneer solar recumbent build

    To my chagrin I'm only now finishing the parts for the solar panel mount, so I still have no watts measurements to share 🙄 The Sun Trip people from France are coming to California and we will do a five day solar tour! That's what it took to get me to finish the project! Details at...
  24. k2orbust

    Nazca Pioneer solar recumbent build

    I iterated the solar canopy design some more and wound up with something that should be light-ish, pretty stiff, and makeable without CNC. Time to get some metal and hack it up! The struts are mostly aluminum angle, with a few tubes where needed. FEA suggests the lowest vibration modes are...
  25. k2orbust

    Nazca Pioneer solar recumbent build

    The battery mount is holding up and I ride the bike in to work...sometimes. (31 miles round trip) I've been having fun learning a new FEA program and analyzing solar panel mounting structures. The solar canopy has some very contradictory requirements: Rigidity for safe handling in traffic...
Back
Top