Friction drive haters gather here: its been done
- Thread starter gogo
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Hillhater
100 TW
yep, , both the french (Solex, Peugot,) and italians produced motorised friction drives for many years.
And even the British Trojan company made these "mini motors" for use on regular bikes. ( i used to have one of these ! )
http://oldbike.wordpress.com/1950s-raleigh-superbe-with-trojan-mini-motor-gearless-cycle-outboard/
And even the British Trojan company made these "mini motors" for use on regular bikes. ( i used to have one of these ! )
http://oldbike.wordpress.com/1950s-raleigh-superbe-with-trojan-mini-motor-gearless-cycle-outboard/
The fingers
10 TW
Search Google images for EV Warrior. Friction drive electric sold at car dealerships in the 90's.
mvadventure
1 kW
- Joined
- May 2, 2007
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Friction drive is alive and well. Z.A.P. (zero air pollution) brand is still being made and sold and it works. http://www.ebay.com/itm/ZAP-SX-Electric-Bike-Kit-power-up-your-bike-and-go-green-/111089023346
About 18 years ago, or so, I bought one and installed it on my beach bike. Since it was my first foray into ebikes I enjoyed it immensely. It did not perform as advertised on the above ebay website but for all practical purposes it was a great inexpensive way to test the waters. It was great for assisting on hills and didn't really effect the wear on my front tire which is where it was mounted. The single 12 volt battery didn't weigh much and mounted conveniently and provided a great learning experience as to why amp hours were so important as regular small 12 volt lead acid batteries simply didn't have the power required to work anywhere near properly.
I don't remember how long I used it but when I found out about the Crystalyte 1000 watt hub motor kit with 48 volts the checkbook came out and that, with an eventual upgrade to LiPo4's, cemented my love affair with ebikes. The discovery of endless sphere allowed me to get the advice necessary to keep that system running for several years and thousands of miles. I will concede the bike looked a bit Rube Goldberg after awhile but it worked remarkably well.
That bike is now gone, sold to a happy new owner a couple of years ago and I'm enjoying my new Pedago Interceptor, a transition I would never have even considered without my initial foray into ebikes with the ZAP. Friction drive works, it's cheap and its fun.
About 18 years ago, or so, I bought one and installed it on my beach bike. Since it was my first foray into ebikes I enjoyed it immensely. It did not perform as advertised on the above ebay website but for all practical purposes it was a great inexpensive way to test the waters. It was great for assisting on hills and didn't really effect the wear on my front tire which is where it was mounted. The single 12 volt battery didn't weigh much and mounted conveniently and provided a great learning experience as to why amp hours were so important as regular small 12 volt lead acid batteries simply didn't have the power required to work anywhere near properly.
I don't remember how long I used it but when I found out about the Crystalyte 1000 watt hub motor kit with 48 volts the checkbook came out and that, with an eventual upgrade to LiPo4's, cemented my love affair with ebikes. The discovery of endless sphere allowed me to get the advice necessary to keep that system running for several years and thousands of miles. I will concede the bike looked a bit Rube Goldberg after awhile but it worked remarkably well.
That bike is now gone, sold to a happy new owner a couple of years ago and I'm enjoying my new Pedago Interceptor, a transition I would never have even considered without my initial foray into ebikes with the ZAP. Friction drive works, it's cheap and its fun.
mvadventure, I wasn't aware those Z.A.P. kits were still being sold. What was the claim upon which it came up short?
I've probably seen Mosquitos before without realizing they were rear friction drive. Its interesting to me to see the history of transportation both technical and market.
I've probably seen Mosquitos before without realizing they were rear friction drive. Its interesting to me to see the history of transportation both technical and market.
dogman dan
1 PW
Just guessing, but my bet would be an inflated claim for range. Based on calculations that don't take peukerts effect into account.
Nehmo
10 kW
gogo said:
Is there any merit to that kind of suspension on a bike?
I'm not exactly sure I understand the way the suspension works on BISCOTTI Messenger Bike.
A comparison and explanation of fork suspensions for motorcycles.
1899 would have allowed a few years for the pneumatic tire to evolve enough to handle the additional rigors imposed by friction drive. An exciting time in transportation history. I wonder how long it will take for something better than eBikes to appear.
doctorGONZO
100 W
Well, it's only been 115 years.
What's your specific definition of e-bike?
What's your specific definition of e-bike?
mvadventure
1 kW
- Joined
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- Messages
- 419
Hopefully the pic will download properly. Recently my Rolls Royce Club (Yes, Virginia, there are such things) visited a local auto museum where we viewed some fantastic and amazing automobiles. After we left the museum proper and visited the workshop I noticed two brand new old stock EV Warriors along a wall. The owner was a former new car dealer and he commented he was a dealer back in the '90's and this was the last of his initial order of fifty bikes. He then told me to look at a wall in the museum to see a neon EV Warrior sign that had hung in his showroom. He even had some "T" shirts.
It turned out during our conversation he is not married to these bikes, they are available for purchase but since I have NO room for storage we didn't get into prices. I feel confident they need batteries. I took some photos on my phone but haven't downloaded them yet. If interested I'll make them a priority. This one is from the old interweb.
It turned out during our conversation he is not married to these bikes, they are available for purchase but since I have NO room for storage we didn't get into prices. I feel confident they need batteries. I took some photos on my phone but haven't downloaded them yet. If interested I'll make them a priority. This one is from the old interweb.
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