Car replacement E-bike that fits me

[ZeroEm]

The battery between, more under my legs put more weight on the front wheels. Can not tip my trike, the front tires will slide first. Have skinny front tires that are ran at 100psi. For faster cornering (safety) will go to a wider front tire. I'm just below 300lbs a lot of
force making a corner at 20+ mph. Don't remember how fast I can go when cornering with cars before losing traction, could be between 25-30 mph. The traction does not just go away, can feel it start scrubbing and back off.

Still have all the parts for the 5T change over, life got in the way. Broke my ribs, then my mother broke her hip a few months after that. Then had to work on the house. Now the house needs more money again. Have not took out my trike in 6 months but need to get back into the saddle. Think after 'the new year' will get back to work on them putting the 5T on my trike and the 7T on my bike.

Get them running have another project wanting to work on the next few years. Some type of covered trike or pedal car not sure what

I wonder if the handling improved after moving the battery between your legs. Did you ever put the 5t motor on. I am with you though. 30 mph is plenty.

 

[torker]

I know how life can be. 4 back surgeries, 1 fusion. 1 stroke and surgery on my lung . Haha. Last couple years been "ok" . I have only ridden one reverse trike. Been putting together full suss ebikes, then got a fat bike. Himiway Cruiser. Big cloud 9 seats and raised bars on all.

 

[ZeroEm]

Can only ride for a few miles on an upright bike. My back will not let me sit up right very long, even in a chair. Have some discomfort on my trike but do not have direct pain like sitting up right. Have ridden my trike up to 4hrs and still walk the next day. Thing with me if pushed to sit or stand for 2hrs there is a good chance that walking would be impossible the next day.

Enjoy bikes, trikes. Just can not go all out working on them. Can spend 20 mins couple of times a day. Best thing my trike is dependable. Do the maintenance and it always gets me home. Crashed one morning, climbed back on and used the throttle to get me home.

Going to finish my e-bike and may just sell it if don't at least do a store run on it. My trike will stay until the frame gives out. Would like a covered trike for the winter and raining days. Would like a second seat or a second seat on a trailer. When I get something like this will consider getting rid of my car. Longer trips will be Uber or taxi like.

 

[FuzzyWuzzy]

Just read the whole thread. Keep providing updates please.

 

[ZeroEm]

by FuzzyWuzzy » Jan 20 2023 12:53pm

Just read the whole thread. Keep providing updates please.

It's not over, just not much to report. The trike is a performer and so far would recommend them. Don't think they would be good for trail riding and would like front suspension. I'm heavy and it not breaking. Have hit a few pot holes at 30mph as bigger than a plate and no bends or cracks. Hit a pile of limbs at +20mph and flipped the trike upside and it rolled over back to it wheels. Bent a spoke and had to adjust the fenders and replace my mirrors. Still solid.

Will start with my update soon. lace the 5T motor in the 24" wheel. Wanting a higher amp controller at least 60a. Thinking about building a bigger battery that would mount along the frame on both sides. 30-40ah of lifepo4. Warming up to A123 26650's little heavy. Best not to get to far ahead things change.

 

[The Toecutter]

You can't go wrong with a Phaserunner controller backed by a heat sink. 96A peak phase current, and can do 50A all day long. With my 4T motor, acceleration was more than adequate. 0-30 mph acceleration took me about 6 seconds when set for 3kW peak. This was a build made for 45-50 mph top end and the Phaserunner was able to handle it without too much issues(there were some, mainly relating to the XT60 connector it came with, but I also ran it without a heat sink.). You're only seeking 30 mph, which is easy to design for, and I'm certain the controller I mention could handle your needs, especially if it is attached to a small heat sink.

You should also build a body around it.

In the summer, as long as I'm moving, having a shell is actually cooler than without a shell, even on 90F+ days, and is a lot more comfortable in cold winter riding as well because I heat up pedaling and don't lose the built-up warmth. It is only in high temperature weather that when stopped or climbing a steep hill with no electric assist that I cook, and it is brutal when it happens. But with a motor, I can sustain speeds that provide excellent cooling with low effort because the motor is providing most of the thrust, even going up steep hills. My electric velo didn't have cooling anywhere near as good as my unmotorized Milan, either, and the Milan was actually more comfortable at 30 mph cruising than my electric corovelo as a result(again, stops and steep hill climbs are brutal in the Milan, and I cannot emphasize this enough, but a motor would have changed that). You could easily make that Performer have better cooling than the Milan because aero was the Milan's defining focus and its existing cooling is the result of seeking drag reduction. In your case you could probably cut the drag to about 1/4 of what the Performer currently is unfared and maybe have 3x the Milan's drag while having wonderful cooling for summer riding plus constant shade carried with you. Without suspension clearances to worry about, it would be much easier to design a shell for your Performer than it was to design a shell for my KMX with suspension. With the motor providing most of the thrust, even steep hillclimbs could have you holding 30 mph, which will keep you from overheating or having to exert yourself to where you build up so much heat that stops make the vehicle an oven.

Then it would also provide some rain protection. And increased visibility to any motorists actually looking at the road. And depending upon design, possibly some collision protection against heavier vehicles.

A body designed to CdA < 0.12 m^2 plus some Continental Contact Urban tires with a Crr ~0.005 at 75PSI, could have you only needing 5-6 Wh/mile @ 30 mph on flat ground with 100W pedaling effort. You could shrink your battery pack accordingly to improve acceleration and cut weight for riding unassisted, or enjoy greatly increased range. Plus the shell can increase your storage space well beyond the capabilities of panniers, making it a more practical vehicle on the whole, which is the idea behind replacing a car.

It doesn't have to be a complicated body to achieve this, either. The Australian Pedal Prix racers are a gold mine of ideas for a quick and dirty coroplast faring with aerodynamics comparable to what I described above.

As a bonus, the reduced drag from a body would allow your controller to cool off because your pedaling effort accounts for a greatly more significant portion of the motive force than it would unfared.

 

[ZeroEm]

by The Toecutter » Jan 22 2023 3:53pm

You can't go wrong with a Phaserunner controller backed by a heat sink. 96A peak phase current, and can do 50A all day long. With my 4T motor, acceleration was more than adequate. 0-30 mph acceleration took me about 6 seconds when set for 3kW peak. This was a build made for 45-50 mph top end and the Phaserunner was able to handle it without too much issues(there were some, mainly relating to the XT60 connector it came with, but I also ran it without a heat sink.). You're only seeking 30 mph, which is easy to design for, and I'm certain the controller I mention could handle your needs, especially if it is attached to a small heat sink.

Have had my eye on a Phaserunner for a while, it would be smaller than my 40a Grinfineon and offer (FOC) a torque throttle which would be nice. Would lost some low end torque.

Thinking about a more robust ESC 60a-100a FOC.

You should also build a body around it.

Thought a fairing would help my trike. Will build a shell on another project. Like this idea.

Like the GoOne look.

In the summer, as long as I'm moving, having a shell is actually cooler than without a shell, even on 90F+ days, and is a lot more comfortable in cold winter riding as well because I heat up pedaling and don't lose the built-up warmth. It is only in high temperature weather that when stopped or climbing a steep hill with no electric assist that I cook, and it is brutal when it happens. But with a motor, I can sustain speeds that provide excellent cooling with low effort because the motor is providing most of the thrust, even going up steep hills. My electric velo didn't have cooling anywhere near as good as my unmotorized Milan, either, and the Milan was actually more comfortable at 30 mph cruising than my electric corovelo as a result(again, stops and steep hill climbs are brutal in the Milan, and I cannot emphasize this enough, but a motor would have changed that). You could easily make that Performer have better cooling than the Milan because aero was the Milan's defining focus and its existing cooling is the result of seeking drag reduction. In your case you could probably cut the drag to about 1/4 of what the Performer currently is unfared and maybe have 3x the Milan's drag while having wonderful cooling for summer riding plus constant shade carried with you. Without suspension clearances to worry about, it would be much easier to design a shell for your Performer than it was to design a shell for my KMX with suspension. With the motor providing most of the thrust, even steep hillclimbs could have you holding 30 mph, which will keep you from overheating or having to exert yourself to where you build up so much heat that stops make the vehicle an oven.

Then it would also provide some rain protection. And increased visibility to any motorists actually looking at the road. And depending upon design, possibly some collision protection against heavier vehicles.

A body designed to CdA < 0.12 m^2 plus some Continental Contact Urban tires with a Crr ~0.005 at 75PSI, could have you only needing 5-6 Wh/mile @ 30 mph on flat ground with 100W pedaling effort. You could shrink your battery pack accordingly to improve acceleration and cut weight for riding unassisted, or enjoy greatly increased range. Plus the shell can increase your storage space well beyond the capabilities of panniers, making it a more practical vehicle on the whole, which is the idea behind replacing a car.

It doesn't have to be a complicated body to achieve this, either. The Australian Pedal Prix racers are a gold mine of ideas for a quick and dirty coroplast faring with aerodynamics comparable to what I described above.

Like there frame design but a little to flat for a store runner.

As a bonus, the reduced drag from a body would allow your controller to cool off because your pedaling effort accounts for a greatly more significant portion of the motive force than it would unfared.

 

[The Toecutter]

Do you have more info on that Go-One lookalike? I'm interested in studying it for ideas.

 

[ZeroEm]

by The Toecutter » Jan 23 2023 9:27am

Do you have more info on that Go-One lookalike? I'm interested in studying it for ideas.

Talking about this one?

Like this one, wanting a large viewing area that drops down low in the front.

Like this.
velocityvelos has the wind screen that would work for me. Don't like their kit. Not wide enough and to high in the front.

 

[The Toecutter]

I didn't recognize it as a Velocity Velos model. I had one for sale near me two years ago, but its aero is kind of crap and this one had no suspension.

Its aero might be comparable to my corovelo. Probably less Cd, but more area, than mine. Can't go wrong if you need a quick shell.

What threw me off was the aluminum space frame structure around it in the image. Interesting build technique.

 

[ZeroEm]

y The Toecutter » Jan 24 2023 3:08pm

I didn't recognize it as a Velocity Velos model. I had one for sale near me two years ago, but its aero is kind of crap and this one had no suspension.

Its aero might be comparable to my corovelo. Probably less Cd, but more area, than mine. Can't go wrong if you need a quick shell.

What threw me off was the aluminum space frame structure around it in the image. Interesting build technique.

That trike or the framing is not Velocity Velo, only the wind shield/wrap is. I could not find the site of the builder and have not seen the finished product. Have a few more pics if you like.

Don't really like the Velocity Velo's myself, outside of the clear screen they have. Would like a design that is widest at the front tires then tapers all the way to the end. Like some of the rockets or GM's EV1 car.

 

[E-HP]

So is the 5T Edge still in the works? Laced and awaiting the swap?

 

[Squilt]

I've been looking for a good car replacement. Or car surrogate more accurately as I don't have a car. I've gotten by up to now with my road bike and my diy ebike I recently got into good working order but I'm getting tired of asking for rides when it rains. My ebike would be a pain to waterproof so I thought about making a new one that better lends itself to waterproofing. I've always been peripherally aware of velomobiles and when I saw a used trike on facebook marketplace the gears started turning. The range, the speed, the protection from elements, the legal ambiguity. Everything about it seemed perfect. I'll even soon be moving from my 3rd floor apartment to a townhome with a garage. That listing fell through but I've just found another listing for the exact trike you've got with low miles. With any luck I'll get it for a good price and I can make a thread and get to work. I'm thinking I'll make it a left side drive to the rear hub with a 1.8Kw eboard motor I've got laying around. If I can swap my 350Wh battery between my ebike and the trike the only power component I should need is a controller. Though before that and the shell I want to give suspension to the front wheels. All the threads I've read tell me I'll want it.

I'll save the rest of the thinking until I actually have the trike. I'm glad to hear it's been serving you well!