Think it will fly?(peddle by wire)

[Tommy]

My next project is going to be a DIY recumbent E-Bike(or trike), I'm planning to meet federal requirements
to be classed as a bike(750W or less, under 20Mph and has peddles), but I'm thinking of making it peddle
by wire(speed I'm peddling controls the speed of the motor controller)

crank turns an encoder not wheels.

My question: Would peddling by wire meet federal E-bike requirements in your opinion?

Tommy

 

[MadRhino]

I can't give an interpretation of the law, but presumably it could be argued that your pedals are not functionnal and act only as a control.

This creates another problem, your pedaling will not help the weak legal power of your bike, and if you have a failure you won't be able to pedal the bike home. A pedal assist pickup fitted on a fuctionnal crank is better IMO.

 

[neptronix]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_bicycle_laws#Federal_laws_and_regulations

No need to spend time designing anything, pedal assist is not a federal requirement in the USA, nor is any state i know of requiring it.

 

[dogman dan]

The requirement you need to meet is your state and local vehicle codes in any case. The fed law is for if you manufacture and or sell bikes. Operating stuff on the street is your state codes.

 

[Tommy]

Operating stuff on the street is your state codes

It seem my local requirements to be classed as an E-bike(no DMV involvement), lists a working peddle system.
I'm wondering because fly-by-wire, and drive-by-wire(wired gas peddles) systems are becoming common household terms,
can they be used in an e-bike application?, and while maybe not fulfilling the sprite of the requirement it may meet
the letter of it.

This creates another problem, your pedaling will not help the weak legal power of your bike, and if you have a failure you won't be able to pedal the bike home.

My application is a sunday morning ride up town(3 miles one way) to have breakfast, or a short ride to pick up some milk.
but because I could get stuck in the rain I'm thinking of enclosing it(and me), the drag and weight may make peddling impractical.

Tommy

 

[FMB42]

I'm in complete agreement with MadRhino on this.

You'd probably be much better off running a PAS (Peddle Assist System) rather than attempting to "go around" the motorized bicycle laws and regulations with a "peddle operated throttle" system. You, of course, might well "get away with" running a peddle operated throttle system". However, there would still be very slight chance that some LEO or DMV entity would would trip you up in some unforeseen event.

Keep in mind that there are armies of "rules and regulation enforcement people" for every private citizen who attempts to "go around" their vehicles laws. Also keep in mind that most of these "rule and regulation" people are paid to enforce the laws at their "discretion".

 

[Tommy]

You'd probably be much better off running a PAS (Peddle Assist System) rather than attempting to "go around"

I'm sure your right, but, the added complexities and costs of isolating the motor from the peddles(and my legs) gets me wondering
about a peddle-by-wire setup.

because my DIY projects are built with hand tools, keep it simple has a greater meaning.

last bike project pictured below.


Tommy

 

[theRealFury]

If you ask me, yes you would most likely get away with it, possibly for ever, probably for years but if your question is will this fulfill the requirement by law then the answer is no, an ebike or electrically assisted bycicle has to have fully working pedals, by fully working pedals it means that the bicycle has to be capable of being propelled using human pedal power alone, unfortunately your idea would not allow this so in the event of an inspection your build would fail the test.

 

[gogo]

In Iowa the requirement is for "fully operable pedals". I'd guess that means that rotating the pedals should propel the bike. I choose to interpret it as meaning that the pedals can power a generator that then feeds a motor, so that you do away with the need for a chain.

 

[John in CR]

The bigger question is why would you want to have to pedal a nice efficient recumbent at low speeds, but not have any pedal effort go to the wheels. At least put a little generator to put juice in the batteries while you're pedaling. You can still use a pedal assist sensor as the throttle control, and the charging rig would qualify as functional pedals with an electronic chain.

You could always say you way is that, and they'd never know the difference, but I just can't imagine any reason for pedaling for nothing.

 

[StudEbiker]

Other than the novelty, I cannot see any reason to do what you want to do. Like someone else said, you will probably get away with it for years, but it will likely not meet the spirit of the law. In the end you will have a quasi-legal bike that is far less practical than if you just built a legal bike, with far more labor involved to boot. What's the point?

 

[dogman dan]

True enough, flap your legs and they will never know it if there is no chain. Even not pedaling at all is not seen or noticed by the majority of people.

Cool landsailer. I keep wanting to build one since I haven't been strong enough to wind surf lately. My sails are pretty osolete, but I sure have a shitload of em. I used to train on a giant skateboard. Good for practicing starts, but if you got it going road rash was just about inevitable.

 

[Tommy]

Other than the novelty, I cannot see any reason to do what you want to do.

I get that a lot.(my current project is a robotic lawn tractor)

My current project has given me a deep respect for a DC motor's ability to generate torque and velocity in a very short time(measured in milliseconds)
,and if there's a way I can keep my feet out of the drive train of the DIY E-Bike forming in my mind, I would have that warm & fuzzy
feeling while riding it.

Tommy

 

[Tommy]

In the end you will have a quasi-legal bike that is far less practical than if you just built a legal bike, with far more labor involved to boot. What's the point?

I could be wrong but it seems with the peddle-by-wire system I don't need long chains(like seen on all recumbent E-Bike), also seems possible to do away with chain
derailleur(no mechanical gear changes) , and the part I'm digging is that I would then have unlimited ability to change how the drive responses to the way I'm peddling
on the fly(software gear shifting).

Tommy

 

[dogman dan]

Sounds like a ton of fun in the building. 8) For many of the folks here on ES, 75% of the fun is before the first test ride, and 24% of it in the modifications after the first test ride.

One thing I can see is a need to have something on that crank to provide resistance. Maybe a small generator that powers a battery for lights, tunes, etc?

 

[Tommy]

Maybe a small generator that powers a battery for lights, tunes, etc?

Not a bad idea, also. I was checking out the Veltop and got to thinking about a 75Watt solar panel I seen at Menards that
could be used as a canopy.

Going with a hardtop(solar panel) would allow me to mount displays and controls overhead out of the glare of the sun.

Tommy