Pictures of Electric Fixies

[solbike]

I am of the opinion that gears are just extra hassle if riding electric. Get rid of them and simplify the bicycle. Here's my design with a friend on it. The design of this electric fixie can be read here: http://www.solarbike.com.au/fixi story.php
and a review of it here: http://www.solarbike.com.au/testimonials.php

The gearing I find works really well with a direct drive 350W motor and a 9Ah 36V water tube style lithium ion battery. I can get a range of nearly 40km with easy going pedalling on it.

Matt - Solar Bike - www.solarbike.com.au

 

[torqueon]

Agreed If you got good batteries and a good motor, lose the multi gears and save low gear, incase you kill the batteries

 

[full-throttle]

I am of the opinion that gears are just extra hassle if riding electric. Get rid of them and simplify the bicycle.

+1

What's with front motors?

 

[neptronix]

Too bad the motor is not on the rear. Looks better that way.

But yeah, if you have a direct drive motor, enough battery, and relatively flat hills, fixie is a good option.

For high speeds / high amps, the bike becomes a problem though. But there are some downhill bikes with *tough* frames that only use one speed. OR.. you can use a conversion kit on a regular bike. Will save you about 1-3 pounds.

 

[gogo]

I am of the opinion that gears are just extra hassle if riding electric. Get rid of them and simplify the bicycle.

C'mon, not even a two speed kickback?

 

[maydaverave]

I am of the opinion that gears are just extra hassle if riding electric. Get rid of them and simplify the bicycle.

C'mon, not even a two speed kickback?

Great bike and I love single speeds but a fixed gear why not a free wheel so you have the option of not pedaling?

 

[beast775]

nice, but i like coasting with good brakes,cool lookin bike sans front wheel.i think i said that wrong .

 

[deecanio]

nice bike, although i have to say im failing to see where the hassle of gears is when you have a front wheel hub?
im with you that you dont need to many but it's so easy to setup 3 speed allowing you to assist at all speeds, as well as having a granny gear to get you home should the system fail?

D

 

[liveforphysics]

It's not a fixie if it can't shift..... its a fixie if you have no freewheel so that you must be pedaling if the bike is moving.

A fixie would be supremely stupid for an ebike.

You have a single speed. Like every electric bike I've ever built or ridden has been. Often easiest to still use a 8spd cassette gang on the back to get the sprocket offset needed to clear a wide tire.

 

[mabman]

LFP is right. A "fixie" would be stupid for electrifying, actually it even gheyer.

For those that don't plan on doing much pedaling a freewheeling single speed is fine. But for those that want to be able to pedal on top of the motor at all times gears are a necessity and not rocket science to setup or maintain. Schlumpf bb drives work well also.

 

[adrian_sm]

The design of this electric fixie can be read here: http://www.solarbike.com.au/fixi story.php

Matt - Solar Bike

Wow. I just read through your story of getting the fixie/single speed bikes made for you. Awesome effort to put up the money and chase your dream. Well done.

- Adrian

 

[knoxie]

:lol: dont let the authorities in the UK see this they will pass a law that all ebikes must be fixed with no freewheel to ensure you are peddling at all times :lol: but yes it makes no sense at all

 

[full-throttle]

I'm pretty sure he is confusing 'singlespeed' and 'fixie' - happens all the time

Electric singlespeed makes sense

Electrix fixie does not

 

[spinningmagnets]

I am not a fan of the fixie movement. The fashion trends don't annoy me at all, its two specific things: the occasional lack of brakes (look, I can stop by applying back pressure on the pedals!), and the fact that if you lean in a turn, the inside pedal will hit the ground with sudden and immediately negative effect. A single-speed freewheel with a front brake can still have the streamlined simplicity the fashionistas seem to like. If the single front brake is simply too cluttered-looking for you to be able to hang around with the group you want to fit in with, you could use a coaster brake on the back.

I realize the movement originated in flat cities where fixies ride fairly slow, but no brakes at all? If you get blood on my front bumper, I will not feel sorry for you at all. I am not a safety nazi, but...at least one working brake is required by law, so don't count on your insurance (or mine) to pay up.

I like the "lack of deraillers" look, and I plan to make an E-cargo-bike with a 3-speed Nexus on the back. As gogo stated, the kick-back 2-speed is back in production (no cables), so your fixie friends will think you just have a single-speed...so you can still hang out at the fixie bar.
http://hubstripping.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/sturmey-archer-shows-2-speed-kickback-hub-with-coaster-brake/
http://www.sturmey-archer.com/products/hubs/cid/7

As far as fixie fashion? anything that makes bikes fun and interesting gets my vote. Theres enough pie for everyone at my table...

 

[solbike]

It actually has a flip flop rear wheel. Fixed and single speed. It's kind of fun fixed but not so relaxing when you're travelling quite long distances, also a touch on the dangerous side with the extra weight of the front hub motor. I've also reverted mine to single speed.

Matt

 

[adrian_sm]

As gogo stated, the kick-back 2-speed is back in production (no cables)
http://www.sturmey-archer.com/products/hubs/cid/7

Awesome. Thanks for the links, I never knew they existed. So it gives 1:1 & 1:1.38, I like it.
That would be a great combo with my friction drive for a minimalist look and feel ebike.

 

[JennyB]

I'm pretty sure he is confusing 'singlespeed' and 'fixie' - happens all the time

Actually, this bike seems to have a 'flip-flop' rear hub - fixed one side, single speed the other. It's significant that this particular rider is using it as a single speed. In theory, a regen front hub and a fixed rear go well together. The worst thing about riding fixed is not so much the hills you can't ride up, but the hills you can't ride down without hauling on the brakes to stop your legs disappearing in a blur! :lol: You could just spin a track cog onto a rear hubbie, but eventually it would work itself loose. A proper fixed hub has a left-handed locking to hold it on against back-pressure

I rode fixed a lot in my young days (before it was hip) and loved it. Whenever I had two bikes it was the fixie that got most use - but it's definitely a young person's bike.

 

[solbike]

I am of the opinion that gears are just extra hassle if riding electric. Get rid of them and simplify the bicycle.

C'mon, not even a two speed kickback?

Yeah, that'd be pretty sweet actually. Though riding single speed is pretty fun too, no hassle, good speed and low maintenance. I've tested a few different motors and found that 350W works pretty well with the gearing with this bike, I even downgraded from 500W. You can really get the motor you like the best and then change the gearing around so that it suits you just fine. I'll look into getting a kick back 2 speed and see how it goes. Thanks for the idea!

 

[sico]

Often easiest to still use a 8spd cassette gang on the back to get the sprocket offset needed to clear a wide tire.

Does anyone know of an alternative to using a cassette to space out a single speed freewheel ? I've got allignment issues with mine but I reckon the cassette ruins the look of the single speed.

 

[full-throttle]

@ sico: you can get 2.5mm spacers, and move the front chainring inwards.

@ JennyB: good point on lack of the lock ring, hub motors also have 135mm instead of 120mm axles. Still makes less sense than a simple rear freewheeling setup. Far safer and better handling.

 

[sico]

@ sico: you can get 2.5mm spacers, and move the front chainring inwards.

Hey thanks mate, I guess any scrap with a hole would do to space it out a bit. I can't move the chain ring because the controller is in the way on my bike as it stands.

What I was thinking of was a female to male threaded spacer that just moves the freewheel out. Even better for my application is if it stepped down to the smaller freewheel style (is that the French one I'm not sure :? ), so I could put a lower tooth count freewheel on there. :wink:

 

[grindz145]

I like the idea because it has the promise of bringing ebikes to a bunch of hipsters, which could in turn bring ebikes to some more people...

Otherwise....why even bother with a chain? Just need a set of pegs and you can remove the chain too....

Maybe that's the next hipster trend, no brakes, no chain. It's the next thing to go...

 

[maydaverave]

Makes me wonder about an electric bike fixed gear (with brake of course) for rehabilitation for people with some sort of leg injury.

 

[liveforphysics]

I like the idea because it has the promise of bringing ebikes to a bunch of hipsters, which could in turn bring ebikes to some more people...

Otherwise....why even bother with a chain? Just need a set of pegs and you can remove the chain too....

Maybe that's the next hipster trend, no brakes, no chain. It's the next thing to go...

I only put working pedals/crank/sprocket/chain on my bikes so I can outwardly appear to be semi-conforming to the ebike laws.

Pegs would be a lot safer for the sort of riding I do.

It is fun to do some fake pedaling as you're passing cars at 65+mph though.

 

[full-throttle]

What I was thinking of was a female to male threaded spacer that just moves the freewheel out

In that case you could use an old bottom bracket (steel) cup as the male part and a bottom bracket shell from an old frame (pref turned in a lathe) as the female part - same thread as screw-on sprockets