I picked up this Pacific Dualie tandem for $95 tonight. I actually rode it 12 miles home as shown in the pic, and for a walmart bike, it's absolutely fine. The guy actually have the tires aired up and the gears lubed/adjusted. Brakes may need attention as a tandem ebike, but we'll see.
I got a 9c 2810 26" front wheel from methods, and I'll probably use one of cellmans EB312 controllers that I have. I plan to just use my normal ebike battery and swap it over when I want to take the tandem out with my girlfriend. It will likely end up being the 52v 9.2ah a123 (cellman), with a series 3s 10ah lipo booster to get it to around 27/28mph at 60ish volts nominal. Looking at 1200-1800watts. Any more than that and I'm going to worry too much about the front wheel danger. I do plan to make some decent torque plates of course. Yes, the forks on this bike are steel as well. I would like a suspension fork, but finding an affordable steel one would be crazy I think. At the moment I'm not thinking of regen (not even sure if I can on these controllers), since that will complicate the torque plate even more. These 9c axles are tiny at 12mm wide. They really should use 14mm like my Mac hubs.
My first idea was to use the 9c as a mid drive or similar, but at 6-7"wide (axle) it's going to get in the way of someones legs/feet. I still want to do this, for efficiency and no risk of fork failure, but I think modest use as a front wheel will be okay and good to see how it works. This motor may have plenty of torque since it's around 20mph top speed on 48v loaded in a 26" wheel.
I have a nice big CST Cyclops tire that I will use to help the ride and get more top speed. It is a slow wind. I may end up just getting a rear 9c wheel so I can run big power and be safe. 3000w on 28mph top speed would net some VERY good acceleration (for what I'm use to).
Range: I don't plan to peg it at full speed the whole way, and we would pedal a bit depending on how hot it is. I'm expecting 15-20wh/mile overall, so about the same range as I get in city riding. A tandem with two pedalers is significantly faster on a flat or downhill than one rider with the same effort. So I'm looking at about 20 mile range without carrying extra battery (which I could bring all the lipo).
This build is all about riding with my girl, being on the same bike for safety, communication ease, speed (she doesn't like to go too fast on her own), and having enough power with decent speed to ride around the city comfortably and safely. I had a ball with her on our first tandem ride (pedal only) around the dirt lake trail at 10mph. This should be much better and realistic as transportation.
We will be using unconventional noseless saddles, and possibly suspension seatposts for acceptable ride quality since it's a rigid bike (what tandem has rear suspension?).
This won't be complete for at least a few weeks, as I need to finish up my other ebike build for myself first. Lots to do.
I got a 9c 2810 26" front wheel from methods, and I'll probably use one of cellmans EB312 controllers that I have. I plan to just use my normal ebike battery and swap it over when I want to take the tandem out with my girlfriend. It will likely end up being the 52v 9.2ah a123 (cellman), with a series 3s 10ah lipo booster to get it to around 27/28mph at 60ish volts nominal. Looking at 1200-1800watts. Any more than that and I'm going to worry too much about the front wheel danger. I do plan to make some decent torque plates of course. Yes, the forks on this bike are steel as well. I would like a suspension fork, but finding an affordable steel one would be crazy I think. At the moment I'm not thinking of regen (not even sure if I can on these controllers), since that will complicate the torque plate even more. These 9c axles are tiny at 12mm wide. They really should use 14mm like my Mac hubs.
My first idea was to use the 9c as a mid drive or similar, but at 6-7"wide (axle) it's going to get in the way of someones legs/feet. I still want to do this, for efficiency and no risk of fork failure, but I think modest use as a front wheel will be okay and good to see how it works. This motor may have plenty of torque since it's around 20mph top speed on 48v loaded in a 26" wheel.
I have a nice big CST Cyclops tire that I will use to help the ride and get more top speed. It is a slow wind. I may end up just getting a rear 9c wheel so I can run big power and be safe. 3000w on 28mph top speed would net some VERY good acceleration (for what I'm use to).
Range: I don't plan to peg it at full speed the whole way, and we would pedal a bit depending on how hot it is. I'm expecting 15-20wh/mile overall, so about the same range as I get in city riding. A tandem with two pedalers is significantly faster on a flat or downhill than one rider with the same effort. So I'm looking at about 20 mile range without carrying extra battery (which I could bring all the lipo).
This build is all about riding with my girl, being on the same bike for safety, communication ease, speed (she doesn't like to go too fast on her own), and having enough power with decent speed to ride around the city comfortably and safely. I had a ball with her on our first tandem ride (pedal only) around the dirt lake trail at 10mph. This should be much better and realistic as transportation.
We will be using unconventional noseless saddles, and possibly suspension seatposts for acceptable ride quality since it's a rigid bike (what tandem has rear suspension?).
This won't be complete for at least a few weeks, as I need to finish up my other ebike build for myself first. Lots to do.
