Drift trike Geared hub vs DD?

[Fistful o Volts]

Hi there,
i havent posted before but have been reading the forum for several years and gleaned an awful lot. Ive built a few DIY go-karts using re-worked alternators, but now need to buy a hub motor to complete a drift trike for my son (and me). As i havent been able to find the information im after i hope i can get some advice.

The Trike will be front driven with a 20" x 4.0" fat tyre wheel i have (Diametre is 560mm so not far off a 26" MTB)
Drop outs are 135mm so i assume a freewheel rear motor is best
It will be run on smooth mostly flat road surfaces
Weight of trike plus rider ranges from 70 - 110kg
speed up to 35km fine
i have a number of lipo and Li-ion packs that let me run from 36V to 54V but 48V seems a happy medium
I have several ebike controllers (350W, 800W, 1500W plus a VESC) that could be used
I will lace the hub motor myself

It seems to me that i should be looking for decent torque as this will be throttle only, so a geared hub seems best and the lacing easier, but most builds i see use a DD of 1000W plus, so I'm looking for advice on the better option to avoid buying twice. I realize the rear wheels wont last long and we will be changing them out after getting it running, as well as adjusting the seta position and getting some foot pegs on there..

Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks
FfoV

 

[amberwolf]

If it's for drifting, then as you already intend, I'd use a hubmotor in the front wheel, probably a geared hub that's made for about the speed you want the trike to be used at, at the voltage you'll be using.

A DD motor is simpler and has less to go wrong in it, and has a shorter heat path, but if you aren't putting heavy loads on the motor (running it slow but at high power levels), this won't matter much, and a geared hub would work fine.

A "rear" hubmotor, or a fatbike "front" hubmotor, that has the same OLD as your present front wheel, should fit.

I recommend one that also has disc rotor mounts, so you can continue to use the same front brake you already have--but you should also make sure that the motor housing will clear the brake caliper's inboard surface. If your caliper is too "deep", you can replace it with a shallower one--typically the better (but more expensive) calipers are narrower than the cheaper ones, in my limited experience.




BTW; why doesn't this trike, as it comes from the manufacturer, have any way for the rider to move it, other than the "flintstones" method of pushing on the ground with your feet? Most of the ones I've seen use "unicycle style" front wheels, with pedals on the axle, if they're not motorized. I can't imagine how on flat ground you could get moving fast enough to do a drift with this thing as it is. :?

 

[Fistful o Volts]

Hi Amberwolf, and thanks for the reply, I will go ahead and get a geared hub motor.
As standard this drift trike had a conventional 20" BMX wheel, rim brakes and pedals as you mentioned. That combo doesnt make it easy to add a hub motor as the front fork mounts have to be modified, plus rim brakes would be a bit scary with some more pace. Ive already done some surgery and swapped in the fork and front wheel from a Fat bike (it had the disk brake and caliper plus conventional fork), and an MTB handlebar . Your comment about the caliper thickness makes good sense, and as the ones on there are cable operated, it reminds me I have an old pair of hydraulic SRAM brakes and calipers in my box of bits, which would make another good swap.

Cheers and thanks
FfoV