Bikeon, "cassette drive" torque sensing motor

Pretty harsh judgement considering we collectively have zero experience with this drive short term and long term.
Mess around with machinery of all kinds for long enough, and you can recognize some issues before they manifest. Inside-out toothed belt is a tell.

Also, in the bike world when you see something unlike anything you've seen before, there's a reason for that. Everything has already been tried on bikes; stuff that works/lasts/is cost-effective will already be familiar to one degree or another.

I really do hope folks try out this thing in quantity. At worst, they learn a lesson about novelty; at best it develops into a product that's ready for prime time.
 
Remember, Chalo is a big fan of down tube and thumb shifters while the rest of us are wasting our $ on STI and such. ;)
I had car trouble at one of my workplaces today, and had to use a bike I built up for donation to a gigantic refugee, to go to my other job. It has 5 speed index stem shifters that are almost 40 years old, well-used derailleur and freewheel, etc. It shifts perfectly every time. Let me know how your stuff is doing at that age!

If you get bored wearing out regular old parts, maybe try these. I bet they'll entertain you with new ways to not work right.
 
Inside-out toothed belt is a tell.
I think that this is some sort of misunderstanding, and here is why.
The Capstan effect, which you mentioned, is related to regular belts (such as V-belts, for example), which rely on friction between the belt surface and the pulley (drive or driven). Timing belts use teeth that mesh with the teeth on the pulley (drive or driven), so friction is not a factor (at least, not a significant one).

I think when you say 'inside-out belt' and mention the Capstan effect, you are assuming that the timing belt teeth in the BikeOn application do not mesh with the teeth of the red wheel (we call it the rotor), but rather the flat side of the belt rubs against the rotor and relies on friction to deliver the torque from the driving pulley to the rotor.That is the only explanation I have for the 'inside-out belt' phrase.

To clarify, the BikeOn timing belt application is classical: there is an entrance point where the toothed side of the belt meshes with the rotor, then the teeth mesh with the rotor and exit the meshing area.The wrap angle might be smaller than what you have seen, but it is a typical timing belt application.To make things clear, here are the sequential steps that explain the timing belt application of BikeOn:


1714180862512.jpegAs you can see, there is nothing 'inside-out' or unusual about the BikeOn timing belt application. The teeth mesh with the teeth on the rotor, just as in any other application.

During the course of the design work, we have had multiple consultations with engineers from Gates Corporation, Continental Industries' belts divisions, and more. We have run multiple finite element analyses and other extensive calculations. We have devices out in the field in the hands of our users; we have conducted lifetime, vibration, and many other tests.

My team and I have put our hearts and souls into this product, hoping it will be useful for many.

We have older users who either don't want to or can't convert their bikes into electric ones for a variety of reasons (including a sentimental attachment to a bike, which was a gift from mom for an 18th birthday and has been with him ever since for over 50 years now—we have such cases as well). This device brings them the joy of riding their bikes again and having an active lifestyle.

Seeing that is a huge reward in itself for us. Probably one of the biggest rewards.
 
I think that this is some sort of misunderstanding, and here is why.
The Capstan effect, which you mentioned, is related to regular belts (such as V-belts, for example), which rely on friction between the belt surface and the pulley (drive or driven). Timing belts use teeth that mesh with the teeth on the pulley (drive or driven), so friction is not a factor (at least, not a significant one).

Rubber belt teeth do climb over belt sprocket teeth when static belt tension is insufficient or when they're pushed to the limit. Capstan effect constricts the belt onto the sprocket to reduce the incidence of slippage/skipping and the rate of wear. Without it, the belt's power transmission capability is derated. Hopefully there's enough surplus capacity that such derating doesn't result in premature failure or unreliable operation.
 
( a bunch of really well thought out stuff )

Damn dude, i wanna buy your motor now. This seems more well thought out than suspected. I just need a timing belt cover and a dyno curve before i feel good about the buy.
 
Volts and Amp hours of that bottle battery ? ( watt hours as well )
A display or two option in the future would be good , a small one and a mid size one like on the Befang Kits .
Once the price goes down I can really see a market for this for someone who has a good quality ( $$$$) Road Bike .
Casual riders with Hybrid bikes as well .
Wonder how it performs up the steep mountain roads Like Mount Hamilton and Hwy 9 from Saratoga to Hwy 35, etc. ?
or it better on more on flat areas and low rolling hills .
Thermal Roll Back ?
It is good to see new Ideas , For someone with a good quality Road Bike , and/or a bike with a press fit bottom bracket
and/or non standard and / or 130 mm dropouts , this could be a DIY solution that would finally work with their bikes .
 
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This does seem better thought out than some others... looking at you Lightest... and the form factor and interface are remarkably clever. I might be inclined to pop one of these on my Lynskey gravel bike... only problems are the cost (hopefully that will come down some) and that I only have 52v batteries. I wouldn't want to risk frying ~$1000.

Damn dude, i wanna buy your motor now. This seems more well thought out than suspected. I just need a timing belt cover and a dyno curve before i feel good about the buy.
 
I wonder whether it has any advantage (other than weight) compared to a mid-drive, especially in dusty socal. Probably I'll experiment when the price is more reasonable. Have you attempted to generate interest from OEM's?
 
Volts and Amp hours of that bottle battery ? ( watt hours as well )
36V 7Ah = 252 Wh nominal, about 280 Wh fully charged.
A display or two option in the future would be good , a small one and a mid size one like on the Befang Kits .
Noted, thanks. We will offer them at some point.
Wonder how it performs up the steep mountain roads
Here is some example (not really a mountain road, of course):

Thermal Roll Back ?
There is a sufficient cooling path for the motor and electronics. The device monitors the motor and electronics temperature as well and has thermal runaway protections.
More of the heat comes from the speed, not of the torque production. So slow climb with a lot of torque is better in that sense than very fast ride with low torque.
 
I wonder whether it has any advantage (other than weight) compared to a mid-drive
Mid drives have their own benefits. In my view we know how to build motor+transmission packages which are very lightweight and produce huge amount of toque, no problems there. The issue which I see is the torque delivery and management. Mid drives use chains for torque delivery, which is another system member prone to wear and tear and has its own limits of force it can deliver.

Have you attempted to generate interest from OEM's?
Not yet really. We are a small team, our focus at the moment is our customers.
 
I agree with the critique of mid drives and their chain interface issues. It feels like a compromised design without some thicker chain and less gears to accompany the motor.

Great to hear you have a cover coming on the way, that'd make it feasible for me, out here in dustville.

Any idea on the efficiency of the drivetrain? i'm betting the peak efficiency is in the mid 80% range.
 
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