Pillion rider on 500W e-bike

crossbreak

crossbreak

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Joined
Aug 2, 2011
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2,884
Location
Germany
Hi guys,

in Amsterdam (Netherlands) I saw many pillion drivers on unsuspended bikes which barely fell off. :D :D :D Also in hertogenbosch which is a real neat area to have holydays. I was there many times since I was in the 11th grade for a scholarship and can just recommend. You can lend a bike for free there if you give it back, even if you are alien :D

The pillion on my bike will also not pedal like on a tandem, he's just dead freight ;)

I'm planning a 500W e-bike based on my old front driving 190W Tongxin pedelec. It's a '77 Kalkhoff Weltmeister bike with 3-Speed gear hub and 80mm fork, steel diamond frame. I'd like to add:

-wheel cover made from clear PE
-good cushioned pillion seat on the carrier, it will be home made: A 10mm PE sheet fastened by 5mm screw on the carrier , 70mm PU foam and leather as coat.
-footrest on the frame between bottom bracket and rear wheel
-short pillion handle bar below the drivers seat

-500W Q128 36V 201rpm Front driving motor for good assistance at hills. I don't want to go faster than 25km/h
-500W 12 FET Controller, 1100W peak (measured)
-10s2p Lipo cells, 5ah each
-10s, 40amps max BMS for Lipo
-Pedal Torque Sensor 8-33 NewtonMeters; 0-5Volts from bmsbattery.com

has onyone ever tried anything like this?

Thanks in advice for your help.
Sorry for the bad pic, I got no better:
c23xhccr810nd4ses.jpg


the big challenge are the foot rests of the pillion. they have to be very stiff.maybe I should fasten them on the rear axle?? :?: :?: :?: :?:

or on the bottom bracket....

or maybe at the pipe between drivers saddle and bottom bracket?

or both... what do you think?
 
It took me a while to figure out that Pillion meant a passanger.

Somew universal Foot pegs for mopeds or motorcycles should work. they are meant to attach to the lower shock bolt, so usualy take a 10mm bolt, the same as a bike axle.

I'd recomend a bigger motor. Since you're doubling the bike's weight, you'll need to double the power for hills and acceleration
 
@ mabman: thx for the pics! This indeed gives me some ideas. The rear axle indeed is the best position. As is see, my idea of the plastic wheel cover isn't that good. I'll abandon it. Instead I will go for a smaller protection sheet around the passengers footrest, I don't like broken toes ;)

@ Drunkskunk: Sorry for my bad English, in German we use a special term for a bike passanger, so I assumed it would be similar in English. I don't want to pay to much for it, not more than €200 (thats not much on the german market, a really crappy 190W ebike cost about €1500 here) so i'll stay below 16mph, which will also be street legal. here it's legal to drive such a bike even if your a little drunken ( up to 1,5 per mil ) I know, we Germans have kind of strange laws here :D . That's why I go for the low rpm motor. I will install a 7-speed hub for compensation :D I won't climb hills with more than 10% acclivity. But maybe I should think of installing a 26" front wheel (orig. is 28") for better hill climbing abilities. I have got a fork, which is about 60mm or 2,4" longer than the stock one so this should be ok. The bike should be able to "eat" up to 150 altitude meters on one charge and get me and my girlfriend home from the pub or the supermarket.

The standart moped footrest isn't what I wanna go for. I don't wanna pay anything for it, so a homemade alu alloy bracket will do the job for me (one piece sheet, combined with the foot protector sheet). But anyway thx for the idea, i will orientate my bracket on these footrests.

I'll keep you update with pix, the hub gear arrived today. I hope the rest does arrive till next week. So I hope the bike will be ready for take off at 9th of april, which also is my brthday ;)
 
OK. good point. That looks really cute. I will use them.

edit: damn are they cheap :D thx a lot! I bought 4 of them, I will use 2 shortened for my sports bike for axle protection (and trix?? :D nice pieces). I hope I wont get many problems with my gear hub axle end:
c26yhoubevc1m0ua8.jpg


otherwise I will just use the sheet on this side.

Many thx!!!
 
Those foldable footrests look like just the trick. They don't have to support any real weight, correct? They're just a place to rest a foot.

A nitpick, those BMX pegs are not intended to be footrests. They're for performing tricks. A real BMX setup might have two pegs, one on the front wheel and one on the rear, both on the left side of the bike. Neighborhood hooligans, of course, will put them both on back or on all fours so they can take their friends for rides. In the bike shop we call them "homey haulers", and they're dangerous (mostly because when they're using them that way, they're doing other dumb things without helmets). :|

That said, structurally they're pretty darn strong. I'd trust my weight to them if I had to.
 
Pillion is more of a motorcycle term. That's the reason why it wasn't recognized right away here. Good luck with the mod, sounds interesting!
 
TonyReynolds said:
Pillion is more of a motorcycle term. That's the reason why it wasn't recognized right away here. Good luck with the mod, sounds interesting!
Click to expand...
It is a cavalry term, for the sheepskin pad that we tie behind the saddle to carry a passenger.
We also use it to ease the friction on the horse's back when carrying saddlebags.

In America, the motorcycle passenger pad is called a "bitch seat".
Thus, riding pillion on a bike is called: Bitch riding :lol:
 
The last calvary charge was in 1917...

The terminology for a tandem is different. The back seat is called the stoker, not a pillion. They're not steering, just adding input to the drivetrain.
 
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