Catrike/Ecospeed build

Hello, long time lurker, first time poster. Here are a few pictures of my Catrike Expedition/Ecospeed build. This is the first kit that Brent has built for a Catrike, so it was a long 3 month wait for the kit. It was fairly easy to mount, the hardest part was locating and drilling the four motor mounting holes. The holes take "water bottle" inserts which are kind of like big rivets with thread inside, and are fixed in place with a special tool. Once that was done everything just bolted on, exept for a little modification to the catrike idler wheel to mount the front chain tube. Quality of the kit is top notch, and you pay for it! Performance is good, much faster than my wifes DF with 9 continent with the same Ping 36V 20 AH. Hill climbing is especially good, and you can actually feel the pull put you back in the seat a little from a standing start. I think the motor has more potential as well, as the built in BMC controller is limited to 19A on start up. Brent from Ecospeed is working on a new controller that will have a programmable amp limit among other features. Lots more info to come, including my fiberglass battery box build, but this is enough for a first post!

Thanks,

Ecat

Welcome ecat,

The Ecospeed is nicely engineered.

Those bottle mount rivet/nuts look useful

Search for "rivet nuts"
http://www.enfasco.com/Frame4.htm
http://www.rivetnuts.co.uk/index.asp

Welcome lurker,
It looks like you have spent alot of money on the build, but am I missing something? You have it up and running, but there are no pictures of the complete set up?

Miles,
That is an awesome find, I'm sure others will find that useful too. Especially if one is shy to drill into their frame, you can just call it an accessory mount if you sell it. :wink: The only setback would be if a special tool was required.

Alright!!! another catrike!

Sorry, I ran out of time to post the rest of the build pics, so here are some more. I don't have pics of the finished (for now...) trike yet. There is more of a learning curve to drive this machine well, and shifting kind of like a motorcycle I guess. With my wife's DF + nine continent I was reasonably competent in a few minutes, but this will take much longer. There is a lag in the throttle response which is built into the BMC controller, so when you shift you have to remember to allow a second for the motor to spool down, or risk a nasty crunch from the rear sprocket/derailleur. I threw the chain the other day, out in the middle of nowhere, and did not have any way of repairing it. Luckily another cyclist came by and he had a chain breaker, so I was able to take out the damaged link and get home.

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Looks great!! thanks for the pics.

Do you know what the total reduction of the drive is?

It appears that they are driving the ring gear, fixing the sun, and
using the planet carrier as the output?

http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=9604#p148570

Nice and compact way to do reduction!

Wow, nice looking and very compact unit. Great job on the install also. Expect with a bit of tuning you will get the chain noise down a bit and to your liking. Keep us posted.

I am not sure exactly how the planetary gear is configured, but it is spec'd at 4.79:1. The other small sprocket can be configured for 2.84:1 or 2.53:1 for an overall reduction of 13.6:1 or 12.1:1.
here are the other specs for the kit:

BMC brushless motor with external PWM controller
Rated output power @ 36V 600W (I have seen it draw over 1000 W)
Maximun power @ 39V 750 W
Motor operating voltage range: 21-44V
Maximum motor RPM 4000 @37V
Peak power RPM: 2500
Startup current limit 17A limited by controller
Running curent limit 30A
Motor efficiency 87% max

I would demand a controller with imeadiate throttle feedback. Anything with a delay is a hazard, and would be infuriating to try to use, and 20x infuriating to try to use on a bike that shifts. Totally unacceptable controller.

Other than that, the kit and the bike looks fantastic. I love the planetary gearing, but I'm a little puzzled as to why they still used a chain for the first stage reduction, rather than just using a nice compact double planetary reduction right off the motor. They could have easily got 10:1 clear up to 40:1 with a double planetary compact gear box. But, that would place the final shaft chain pull force upon the motor, so perhaps they took this method to avoid needing a motor with large bearings/shaft. Very compact and sleek package, I like it all except the controller. A delay is simply unacceptable.

That Ecospeed drive is the drive I researched when I first began my recumbent build. I am not familiar with the electronics, but I freaked out by the $1500 price for a 800 watt drive!

I must say, the quality looks very good, though.

Luke, I am thinking the chain drive is to reduce the width (Q factor) of the drive?

Matt