125V 80mph e-recumbent by Paul McDonald

[dnmun]

i want a recumbent now, any negatives to one? Only thing i see is <5mph stability, and most have vbrakes

I think they are great for long commutes on open roads, or traveling. Not so hot for inner city stop n go / sidewalk cut-through, potholes, etc. The other main downsides is they take up more space to store or park at racks, possibly less visible in traffic, back sweat in the summer, not as good on poor pavement (can't unweight the bike). Not able to apply as much power to the pedals.

Overall, I like them, but it's not my everyday choice for an ebike setup.

Brent Bolton of Eco speed fame rides a recumbent. i see lots of recumbents with assist. i have even see the big cargo trike that look like milk wagons or bread trucks in china with assist. big curtis controller and chain from motor to rear axle under the load.

 

[Brother Paul]

A word of advice, if you do order the Lightning Phantom Midracer, and go 80 mph in it. Don't let Tim Brummer ( the owner of Lightning Cycle Dynamics ) know you did this on his deign.

He will reply with a terse e-mail back. Probably consulting with his lawyers, that the did not design or engineer that recumbent to do those kind of speeds.

Paul MacDonald

 

[Marc S.]

i want a recumbent now, any negatives to one? Only thing i see is <5mph stability, and most have vbrakes

I think they are great for long commutes on open roads, or traveling. Not so hot for inner city stop n go / sidewalk cut-through, potholes, etc. The other main downsides is they take up more space to store or park at racks, possibly less visible in traffic, back sweat in the summer, not as good on poor pavement (can't unweight the bike). Not able to apply as much power to the pedals.

Overall, I like them, but it's not my everyday choice for an ebike setup.

@1KW: You get recumbents with any flavor of brakes. V-brakes, drum brakes, disk brakes... Disk brakes are quite common.

@veloman: You can actually apply enough power to really hurt your knees on recumbents.
Most recumbent riders prefer 'spinning'. Faster pedalling between 80-100rpm at knee friendly power and possibly a bit shorter cranks. After changing from 170mm to 155mm cranks on my recumbent trike, my knees are much happier now.

I don't get a sweaty back in summer on my mesh seat. In winter I put a pice of evazote sleeping mat in the mesh seat to get a warm back.

Sure recumbents have downsides. Hopping up sidewalks don't work. I still think two wheeled recumbents look a bit dorky. Stop and go probably isn't great, but a motor will help.

On the upside, recumbents are really comfortable!
Imagine a 100 mile ride on your bike and the parts on your body that will be sore or just hurt. Now imagine the same 100 mile ride on a recumbent without any pain...

More about recumbents: http://www.bentrideronline.com (check out the manufacturers in the blue field on top)
Most friendly recumbent forum: http://www.bentrideronline.com/messageboard/index.php

 

[amberwolf]

Of course, if you don't like (or cant afford) any of hte existing offerings, you can also build your own easily enough. http://recycledrecumbent.com shows techniques for buidling at least one type, but can easily be adapted to a number of them.


Or you can go the route I did with CrazyBike2, which is bascially connecting two regular bike frames and putting a semi-'bent seat on it, though it's evolved a bit over the years.

But yes, the disadvantages listed above are all problematic depending on your style and situation; if you read thru my CB2 thread you'll see a number of my reports on such problems over the years.

 

[GiantEV]

For that speed run, I was running 125 volts 15 Ah LiPo batteries.

For the controller, Lyen 18 FET 4115 MOSFET

The motor was mounted in a 24" rim w/hookworm 24x 2.50 tire on the rear.

Temps on the motor stayed within perimeters.

However, on 3rd run down runway, the controller did blow smoke.

Next attempt will be :

HS 3548 Crystalyte motor … of course the motor will be properly ventilated with scoops.

Lyen 24 FET 4115 MOSFET controller

145 volts 15 Ah LiPo batteries

On paper, I should be able to exceed 100 mph with my recumbent bike frame's drag coefficient.

I'm using 0.07 CdA in the EBIKE Simulator.

It's a shame, they don't rate bicycles tires for 100 mph. I'm still looking.

I think I'll also be looking for a longer runway. I'm at the Cottonwood AZ airport.

Perhaps, Flagstaff Airport, less air molecules to run into at that elevation ( 7,000).

Paul MacDonald

What about a Cromotor in a 17" or 19" motorcycle rim so you can use moto tires?

 

[Brother Paul]

I don't believe the Cromotor can match the top speed of the Crystalyte HS3548.
Of all the motors listed in the bike simulator on ebikes.ca Crystalyte 3548 comes out on top.
Please correct me if I'm wrong. Or if you can find a motor that spins faster… and can take some heat. Let me Know.

Brother Paul

 

[fitek]

Veloman:
"Not able to apply as much power to the pedals."

How's that? You push with your legs against a seat back. On an upright, you push really hard and you lift out of your seat...

 

[cal3thousand]

I don't believe the Cromotor can match the top speed of the Crystalyte HS3548.
Of all the motors listed in the bike simulator on ebikes.ca Crystalyte 3548 comes out on top.
Please correct me if I'm wrong. Or if you can find a motor that spins faster… and can take some heat. Let me Know.

Brother Paul

The Cromotor is not even on the ebikes.ca simulator as far as I remember. They have more copper on a wider stator than the HS3548. I don't see how the Cromotor could lose to the XLyte.

The only issue with using one would be the ultra wide 150mm dropout spacing that your recumbent likely doesn't have.

 

[John in CR]

...Or if you can find a motor that spins faster… and can take some heat. Let me Know.
Brother Paul

How fast do you want to go? HubMonster laughs at Xlytes like they're a bad joke. With a Kv of over 16, more torque, better efficiency, and stator steel quality and low pole count they're unmatched in terms of speed. With voltage sagging to 103V I've had mine up to 172kph in less than 1km using a 19.25" OD wheel with no faring on an my upright bike pushing a total load of about 185kg. Your lighter load being more slippery through the air means you can run a significantly larger wheel if you can find a mag rim to convert. It runs cool enough that only under the most torturous riding do I bother to turn on the thermometer and temp alarm. It won't bolt directly on as a bike wheel replacement, but is well worth the trouble if you want performance and speed.

 

[burningwings]

Can I take out life insurance on you with me as the beneficiary ? What a sure fire investment ! Please be careful we don't want to lose such a fun guy.

 

[steveo]

that could be a x5 motor on the rear with some nice cooling side covers..

i know areo is important .. but unless i'm drag racing evey set of lights and wanting to win .. no fairing for me..

my MHM-602 hub on at 17" moped tire.. 24s-4p lipo gives me just under 100km/h .. i love it.. it tops out as fast as i'm comfortable with..

then again i could run a way bigger battery and higher voltage controller.. and try to race teslas like LFP.... however .. most likely won't win.. but i think i wouldn't be to far behind either.. i gotta post some stuff on my trike .. been super busy .. hmm maybe i'll pull her out tommorw from storage

-Steveo