Friction drive Tidalforce project (Ghetto electric v4.0)

[EVTodd]

Wow, just wow. I was just joking around about people hating on friction drive stuff but it's good to see how serious some people are about it.

I decided a long time ago not to debate the friction drive issue anymore so I'm not going to try to defend it at this point. I guess my thing is if you dislike it so much you can clearly see this is a friction drive thread, just don't read it and let people who might be interested in a cheap easy way to power a bike read it without the clutter.

I'm hoping to keep this thread on the subject of the build. Thanks!

[EVTodd]

That frame triangle looks super strong.

Yup, I'm betting the frame itself it pretty strong. I've always been a fan of chromoly frames but this one is so beefy (and such a great price) that I thought I would give it a try. I was just a bit surprised at how weak the hanger was. I literally just bumped it a little and it bent (a lot).

I got a chance to ride it as a normal bike tonight, the frame really feels short to me compared to my dj frame but overall it feels nice and solid. We'll see what it feels like at full speed later this week.

[gtadmin]

Not everyone is sick of FD, I enjoy most (not all though) of these builds even if I were to never build one myself. Got a closeup piccie of your current setup?

Cheers,
GT

[EVTodd]

Not everyone is sick of FD, I enjoy most (not all though) of these builds even if I were to never build one myself. Got a closeup piccie of your current setup?

Cheers,
GT

I'm going to try to get some new pictures of it this coming weekend. If I didn't work second shift I would probably have this done by now. The good news is that I just got the batteries yesterday so it's just about go time.

[EVTodd]

I got the bike pretty much done this weekend:



After I realized I didn't care much for this frame we decided this was going to be a bike that my gf rode more than me (it's the perfect size for her ). Well... After getting it running at 12s she give it a spin. She came back and said "f#*$ this!", I'm not riding it (she hardly ever cusses btw)! I guess it was a bit too hairy for her! I tried it first and had a top speed of 38 mph. She's a lot lighter so I'm sure it felt REAL fast compared to her 5s Kona.

Anyway, long story short, she's now running at 6s2p on this one with a top speed of 23 mph. I'll switch it back from time to time just for fun but the fact is I think anything over 30 mph is really pushing it on a bike unless it's a full on downhill setup. The friction drive worked great at the higher power levels though. I'll get some video of it on 12s soon.

[adrian_sm]

[Whiplash]

I would like to do a build like this! My youngest brother needs better transportation and this would be great! Do you have any more close ups of the simple drive?? What was the diameter of the friction roller and KV of the motor?

[spinningmagnets]

I'm not going to say an FD is for everyone, but I am happy with the copy I made of your drive, Todd, and I'm not embarrassed to say it. I no longer live on the third floor of an apartment building, so I no longer need to pop off the seat post and carry the seat + drive upstairs (its in the garage now), but...while I did, I clearly saw how this would be a benefit to a college student/apartment-dweller.

Ever since I upgraded to a square-profile beach cruiser tread (as you suggested), roller-traction is great. I haven't been in a hurry to get another E-bike kit because...this one (your design) works fine. I'm running 37V on a one-inch roller (this bike pic is old).

edit: Castle Creations ESC logs 40A to accelerate, 10A for cruise, so...aH consumption is low (26:1 reduction, roller-to-tire)

[EVTodd]

Here's a quick picture of the drive:



I was using a Towerpro 5330 at 12s when I was riding it. My gf is running on 6s with a turnigy Turnigy 50-65.

I went with a simple seat post mount on this one. The roller is higher on the tire than I like but it still works perfect.

[Jehu]

Well!

If this is the getto, which one is the slick one

nice job

+1
jehu

Here's a quick picture of the drive

I was using a Towerpro 5330 at 12s when I was riding it. My gf is running on 6s with a turnigy Turnigy 50-65.

I went with a simple seat post mount on this one. The roller is higher on the tire than I like but it still works perfect.

[def215]

i havent realized that your mount for the drive looked like that todd.

38mph on a friction drive is impressive to me. what size spindle are you running? if i recall was it around a 1 inch spindle? i like it! it seems very stealth with it set up that way, but the rc motor whine probably give it away as being powered.

[EVTodd]

i havent realized that your mount for the drive looked like that todd.

38mph on a friction drive is impressive to me. what size spindle are you running? if i recall was it around a 1 inch spindle? i like it! it seems very stealth with it set up that way, but the rc motor whine probably give it away as being powered.

I've had around 4 different versions of the mount itself. The last one actually clamped on to the frame but wouldn't fit on this bike without changing it quite a bit. The sliding part that holds the motor has been the same since I switched to rc stuff. I keep saying I'm going to fancy it up a bit but once I get one put together I start riding it and it never happens. I did base/clear the cover on this one at least. lol

The roller is 1.25". 38 mph was fun and I'm positive you could pretty much go as fast as you want with friction drive but I'm just not comfortable at those speeds on a normal bike. It did climb the hills around here like a champ though.

Stealth was the original goal of this whole thing. You can't even see the one on my bike (panniers cover it completely). But yeah, the rc noise gives it away if I'm pushing it. Not bad at partial throttle though.

[adrian_sm]

That is the thing I have noticed the most since I have been running my friction drives with a power limit, they are so much quieter.

- Adrian