First RC build Jamis Dakar 3220 w/Davinci drive

[GITech]

Man, look at that DaVinci drive! Nice!

BHM, uhhh, my ears are poppin!!! Why is it I get so pissed when I see such awesome stuff!?!

Nuvinci/DaVinche .. is it a typo or?..I haven't read'up these topics yet!?

Awesome,
GIJay

[Philistine]

Nuvinci/DaVinche .. is it a typo or?..I haven't read'up these topics yet!?

The Davinci is the name Matt S has given his latest reduction drive (the one pictured). A Nuvinci is the continuously variable transmission hub produced by Fallbrook. Totally different things.

The Davinci looks the business though doesn't it? I am a raving-rampant-frilly-collared-pink loving-flaming-Frocko, and even I get a stirring in my pants when I look at it.....

[GITech]

LOL! and I never type "LOL"!!!

RRFCPLFF'o ...OMG, that's a first!

Thanks, >.<
Jay

[biohazardman]

Well the build is on again. Found another frame not as nice as some but the motor fits and I can do a belt drive if I want to. I really want to go left hand drive as it just looks easier but having a hard time deciding and or finding parts. Looking for some that have done it to point me in the right direction. Advantages of right over left hand drive? Left over right hand? Places to get an ACS southpaw freewheel, is it the only one? Are there other parts that would make it easy? I have some posts that will helped marked after hours searching but I am sure there are more.

[MattyCiii]

I really want to go left hand drive as it just looks easier but having a hard time deciding and or finding parts. Looking for some that have done it to point me in the right direction.

With a few hundred miles on my drive, great performance and rock solid reliability (after the first few dummy mistakes I made), here's what I learned about left side RC drive from my folding bike build:
1) Advantage of left drive over right: I still pedal, and love to pedal. Left drive keeps the normal feel and reliability of the standard bike drive. By turning the throttle (on my left handlebar) and listening to the Recumpense V4 drive wind up, I can add the perfect amount of e-power to match my current speed. With a 3210 on 8s and 5:1 reduction, I have the torque to get up a hill, blast away from a standstill, or the finesse to add just a little umph to take the drag off a headwind. I can do this because I set the pedal power through the bike gears separately from the motor pull through the throttle. I can't imagine it being easy to precisely mix leg & e-power with the drive on the right.
2) Parts are not hard to find. The way you have the DaVinci installed, you need to put a standard freewheel on the DaVinci, and a chainring on the rear wheel. FFR Trikes sells a chainring mount that bolts to the disc brake mounts, has 130mm BCD for the chainring. Works out real nice, no need for south paw.

You'll of course need a chain tensioner, which needs a straight and solid mount. I had one mounted with a touch of play. It went a little off kilter on a bump, then got sucked into the chain, sized the rear wheel and took out a spoke. Lucky I was moving real slow at the time.

[recumpence]

Does the drive fit under the downtube? You will have far less chain growth if you can get the freewheel in front of the suspension pivot rather than above it.

Matt

[biohazardman]

Matty
Thanks for the info I was just searching 3220 instead of the 3210 and 3215 as well so now much more info as well as specifics from your build.

Matt
This is the way I had it planned out, in my head, and the frame had the same size downtube as the last so the brackets fit. I do see what you mean about the chain line but was not looking at it in that way. Actually was thinking more on the line of this for a bit more reduction. But I need lots of parts yet.

[recumpence]

Oh, Man, that is awesome!

Matt