Building a 4 wheeled Cargo bike!

Nsmet1

1 µW
Joined
Jul 10, 2023
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1
Location
London
Hi guys,

Im after any information and support in building this 4 wheeled E cargo bike to carry my tools and bits and bobs around central London. Here is a design I would like to copy (the company wants £14k!!) Hoping to build it under £6k. Where would be a good place to start?

Any help would be much appreciated!
 

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I hate PDFs :mrgreen:

Are you capable of welding and light mechanics? Sounds like you are.

There have been a couple of newer threads about similar vehicles here lately. Curse around and you'll find them.

It helps if we have all the pertinent info.

Total weight. (see below)
Total round trip miles needed?
Fastest speed required? (those wheels in the pic make me cringe}
How much security needed?

2023-07-10 16_55_14-IMG_2631.pdf.png


Welcome to the forum.

I like your idea!
 
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First I would like to offer some thoughts. After considering them, if you can post as much detailed information as possible, we might be able to help more.

In the attached PDF, I just see a single image of part of what I presume you want to build. Not sure how closely you want to copy it, but for this post I'll assume you want an identical copy as you don't state otherwise.

To build it you'll need a design plan, and if you are copying an existing design you'll need much more detail and information about it than that image can tell you. You'll need to know how the frame is designed, and the panels made, and how it is assembled. You'll need the steering design, suspension (if any) design, drivetrain design, etc.

At a guess, to completely duplicate that design it's possible it could cost somewhere close to what they charge for it (or even more), between making the molds for all the parts and the materials to cast them and the waste from failed casts (or molds), and whatever the electrics cost (which will depend on exactly what you need it to do for you under what riding conditions for how long per charge). If you don't have design details about it, then trial and error development costs may inflate it well beyond their price for one.

If you don't want molded shapes for body panels and are willing to make them out of sheet materials instead, for a blockier / possibly cruder look, it could be far cheaper and simpler to build (but you will still need to mechanically design the entire thing first, if you don't have the detailed info to copy it from).

For the electrics...you should define the exact job you need it to do for you, estimate the worst case weight it must carry at what speed and the distance it must go, and the driving style you will use under what specific traffic, weather/wind, terrain, and road conditions.

This will let you use simulators and calculators like the ones at ebikes.ca to guesstimate the power and capacity requirements for various types of systems you might use to power it.


Before building it you may wish to look into the legality of the specific type of vehicle; in many places bicycle-like things with more than three wheels are no longer bicycles, and require either special licensing or are actually illegal on the roads. It would be a shame to spend time and money on something that cannot be used.

This also includes the power drivetrain, in that there may be power and/or speed limits or other specific limitations to the system you may have to constrain it to. If there isn't enough power in those limits to do what you want, the vehicle will not do the job you need it to.

If it turns out you can't build it as a quad, you might be able to build a trike (that is what I had to do here in Phoenix AZ, because a quad would be illegal but a trike is not). If there is insufficient power to do the job, you might have to lessen the job requirements; if that isn't possible you may not be able to use this type of vehicle to do it.

This is what I ended up building, that has served me for several years now:
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Hi guys,

Im after any information and support in building this 4 wheeled E cargo bike to carry my tools and bits and bobs around central London. Here is a design I would like to copy (the company wants £14k!!) Hoping to build it under £6k. Where would be a good place to start?

Any help would be much appreciated!
Hey, here's my 2 cents -

I'd personally go for a pedicab/rickshaw as the platform for a heavy haul ebike. A lot cheaper start and existing parts pool compared to a full custom fabricated solution. I have been using a cycles maximus rickshaw regularly for half a year, both in Scotland and over winter in the hilly french Alps. I'm very impressed with the capabilities - very simple, durable construction with 300kg payload and easily changeable gearing depending on your requirements. Pop a flat bed/box on the back and a removable set of seats if occasionally using for family transport.

Current UK legislation for 3+ wheeled bikes limits your maximum continuous power to 250w, unladen weight to 60kgs and speed to 25kms/hr if you want to operate such vehicle legally. Police have been known to seize non-compliant pedicabs in London. I can imagine there's been a plague of reckless riders on souped up rickshaws. I doubt careful slow riders get much bother.

The queen's last speech included a transport bill that should push new legislation for higher powered electric last mile transport options like e-scooters and delivery vehicles. Unfortunately it's been repeatedly shelved whilst politicians have been busy serving self-interest and clawing each other apart.

In the meantime one could in theory opt to gentle civil disobedience. 1.5k-3kw of peak power and low hill-friendly gearing that keeps the tops speed under 25km/h and 200mm hydraulic brakes for each wheel could enable such a vehicle to reach its full potential in a responsible manner and become an extremely useful bit of kit for your purposes.PXL_20230206_143821984.MP.jpg
 
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