Thanks guys!
Answering your question qwerkus, Ive been asking myself that throughout this build,.. so much of this could be Tig welded
much easier!
If it was a regular 'diamond' large-tube frame, brazing would be no big deal, but a small tube girder frame is best Tig
welded I think, or at the least a little of both. It's just that I've been brazing since 1976, so thats always my go to method.
So many tubes and brackets in one spot means re-heating bigger and bigger connections,.. well you have to build it to find
out I guess. Theres a lot of things I'm learning about this bike that will be reflected in the next version for sure.
Your right, it's time to get the Tig welder.
Thanks Lightbluemk2, she is a solid bike! A bit too solid actually, I figure this frame is about two times stronger and
heavier than it needs to be, and getting heavier all the time. Not too happy about that, but it doesn't hurt anything I guess,
and it's always better to overbuild at first, and work on getting things lighter later.
I'll be getting to the drive system pretty soon, but for starters, the motors going to drive a rear der and cluster, and the
front cranks will drive the motor via a single speed freewheel on the motor. The cranks are short for foot clearance to the
front wheel and ground, and the chainring will be just big enough to drive the bike in case of system failure.
This makes it legal as an electric bicycle in the USA, and I can ride the bike lanes and some bike paths. It's not intended
to be an exercise bike, like most e bikes, but rather just a form of clean transportation to keep the car in the driveway
a little more. The huge battery capacity should give it about a 60 mile range, but of course that remains to be seen.
In the end, I hope to solar charge it so it will be grid free.
That being said though, it also has the potential for huge power, and I don't know how long the der/cluster system is
going to last. So, I'm making plans to maybe go single speed drive with an 1/8" chain and a White Industries ultra heavy
duty freewheel in back.
The trouble with going single speed is finding the gear ratio that gives a good starting torque and the top speed I want,
28 - 30 mph. That would be about 1 to 1, and I lose the advantage of mid drive, and need to go with higher voltage to
gain more gear ratio.
Anyways, blah, blah, sorry to ramble on... this stuff goes through my head all day, and I'll get there soon enough. The
fact is, there are many options, so it will be interesting and fun to figure out.