Miles' Project 1 [eMoulton]

[deecanio]

Hi Miles,

beautiful work
cant wait to see this bike in action, instantly in my top 3 at the mo with recumbants and scotts.


Cheers


D

[Miles]

Less,

Yes, need to make some mudguards, for sure.

I'm quite happy having the batteries in a backpack, for now. It keeps the bike weight down to within the range of normal bikes, so I can easily carry it up the steps to my house. Also, it handles pretty much as it did before I converted it.

The obvious place for the battery, if you moved it to the bike, would be to hang it behind the rear seatpost. You could have an auxiliary battery on the steerer tube. Adding batteries to the central framing would kind of detract from the elegance.....

[Miles]

First class Miles - very very neat. Reckon you had as much fun as I with clearances!

The motor - you mention Randy - is that the troublesome fella from Hawaii? If so - has he commercialised his motor? This looks a lot bigger than the one he was using???

Scott

Hi Scott,

Yes they don't make bike frames with us in mind

Southwestern Windpower made a small batch of motors, supposedly to Randy's spec. It never got any further than that...

Maybe the motor looks bigger because my bike has smaller wheels

[Miles]

Thanks D

I'll see what I can do re. video.

Feel free to call in, if you're ever around SE London.

Wait until I've got a decent battery, though.....

[Miles]

Last shot of the session:

[docnjoj]

Wow Miles!!!!!That is simply gorgeous! The workmanship is superb! I'm speechless, especially after my bodging!
otherDoc

[tropmonky]

Wow Miles!!!!!That is simply gorgeous! The workmanship is superb! I'm speechless,

I second this! Wow, very very clean! I bet this will last a long time to!

Kyle

[Miles]

Thanks guys,

It just wouldn't look right to use "duct tape style" on a Moulton

[Miles]

Battery pack:

[deecanio]

Hi Miles,

yes, very very nice indeed - im with you to have the packs onboard would detract slightly from the bikes elegance.
If im in and around s London i'll give you a bell - likewise let me know if your in Loughton area and we'll hook up - to be honest with you in se london me in essex, knoxie in oxford and Joz in brighton i figure we could all meet before the season is out?
Im just waiting ( and not hassleing at all ) for Joz to make up my custom packs - he should be done soon but i will probably be away when it's ready so it's looking like i wont be able to go get it until the 2nd August.i dont know if we have missed the forest of dean meet but i'm sure we could all get together at some point?
Again, lovely job miles, she's a minter!!!!


Cheers


D

[knoxie]

Hi Miles

Wow that was so worth the wait!! has Randy seen it? hmm very nice indeed, how does it perform? what kind of top speed have you seen, I am guessing its a little less than Randys bike due to the wheel size, I bet its pretty quiet as well? love to see some video of it as well.

I was looking at getting a Strida for work! and was looking at ways to add a motor to one, useful that you can get the bits as spares as well! nice job on the clutch as well, did you use a one way bearing and press it inside the gear?

Dont see a problem carrying the batteries in a rucksack, doesnt look like you are after a huge battery capacity? a nice slim pack of A123 in there should give you enough juice.

Thanks for posting the pictures they are superb and I think detail about the cleanest build on an upright bike that I have seen to date, it looks like an off the shelf bike.

I think you could substitute Randys motor for another motor should folks wish to make their own rigs, so maybe a kit of parts might be a good idea, looks like a Kol or a BMC would fit in there nicely.

Thanks again and if you can get some video that would be great.

Knoxie

[Miles]

Hi D,

Yes, we must meet up while the weather's still fine. Greenwich seems to be a fairly central point There's a handy hill for testing in Greenwich Park

First, I need to get a decent battery..

[Miles]

Hi Knoxie. Thanks!

I geared it with the intention of going with 48 volts when I get a new battery. With the present 36 volt set-up, I'm getting a top speed of about 19mph (off-road:) so, with a more optimal 48 Volt set-up, about 26mph - which is all I need.

You can draw peaks of over 35 amps from the 4 Ah of Ni Cads but you certainly pay for it (energy wise).

Averaging 12 Wh per mile in a hilly area - should be able to improve on this, once everything is optimised.

The backpack, with batteries in, weighs 6.5 kg - I really don't notice the weight at all when I'm riding.

The good thing about Randy's motor is the form factor - the case is only 60mm deep. You might need a longer BB axle to fit a Koll or BMC in, perhaps?

Adding some power to the Strida sounds like a fun project

Yes, it's a one-way bearing but bonded into the adapter that I made. My first pulley build used the Strida 3 pulley which has a fixing for an 18t sprocket as its center - so it was easiest just to use an 18t freewheel, for that - but I got fed up with the clicking sound...

Miles

[knoxie]

Hi Miles

Yes really nice job indeed, speed sounds about right to me as well, dont see any reason to go over 26mph myself these days, any idea what you are going to do for a battery? nice bunch of life cells or maybe a pack of headways? you could build a nice A123 pack.

You will find the jump from 36 to 48V with decent batteries will make a remarkable difference in performance also, I would be up for a meet up some time in the summer, we can drag DC along and also see if we can rumble Richard Papa and his optibike, should make for a good video as well!!

Any chance of some close up shots of the rear wheel and the setup you have used on the strida crank, thats very interesting, belt drive must be a good deal quieter than chain.

Cheers

Knoxie

[Miles]

Knoxie,

Still haven't decided which batteries to go with. I was quite tempted by the BMI 12Ah LiFePo4 cells but I'm not sure if they're available again, yet.

Yes, we must definitely all meet up. I'm dying to have a go on the Optibike.....

Ok, I'll take a few close-ups. The belt drive is pretty quiet, as is the motor - noise is something I care about. You could approach someone from behind in a park and they wouldn't hear it. Might be a tad louder on 48 Volts, perhaps?

Anyway, I'm convinced that belt drives are the way to go...

[recumpence]

Matt

[Miles]

I'll take that as a compliment

Thanks Matt.

[knoxie]

HI Miles

Yes looking forward to the photos, Randy was always reluctant to show anything other than really blurry shots of his rig, the Belt drive is certainly the way to go I reckon, chain would also be fine but the belt must be a lot quieter, it will be interesting to see if it stretches at all? I bet its quiet too, is that the speed controller underneath the bottom bracket then? looks like you are using a Magura throttle as well? only the best!! I have been using one for 4 years and wouldn't use any other make on any of my rides! apart from the BMX!as he never gets wet..water and hall effect throttles often = bad news.

I think this may spawn quite a few copies though as I don't think you could have done it any better!! the fact is you could use a much less powerful motor with this set-up and still get good results, its good enough to even approach the makers of the bike? it could be made UK road legal with a nice light battery pack with an off road switch to up the power.

Sometimes the best things in life are worth waiting for!! now I know why you hung on before posting!! some very envious folks on here I would bet!!

Knoxie

[deecanio]

Hi All,

definately agreed on the belt drive, nice and quiet and looks just right i think for an ebike drive, i cant put my finger on exactly why. but when i think chain driven i think gas, but with belt drive i think e weird.
Things generally just got a LOT more interesting for me personally with miles/matts/scotts bikes, im already hoping to get a rc motor and belt drive on my bike when we know the best/trusted route.I really think a new breed of ebike is born, and more importantly it's doable to the home builder with small controllers, much smaller motors things are looking good
Agree with paul on the finish, like factory built
if anyone decides a firm day i'll be there it would be way cool to meet up and get to see all the bikes and meet you guys

*edit* great if anyone could get richard along so i can slobber on optis lines that would be sawesome (not typo), how about steve head too ? lol, i think of steve as the paul weller of ebikes - he's had cool bikes for years
cheers,

D (envious +1)

[Miles]

Knoxie, you're too kind....

I don't think these belts stretch very much at all - we'll see.

Yes, Magura throttles are great. Did you see that the new AstroFlight brushed controllers come with them as well?

Yes, I'm planning to get in touch with Moulton - not that they need any design help from me.... just to encourage them in this direction, again. After I'd started this project (inspired by Randy's build) I discovered this old patent , taken out by Alex Moulton in 1966... so, it seemed like I had his approval to do this

[Miles]

how about steve head too ? lol, i think of steve as the paul weller of ebikes - he's had cool bikes for years

[Miles]

D,

Yes, exciting times. This forum will get a lot busier, too....

Maybe we could have a UK seminar on ebike design.... like the velomobile one?

[jerryt]

I Just wanted to join the chorus of folks who admire your craftsmanship; excellent choice of components, professional and top notch. Thanks for sharing.

[knoxie]

Hi Miles

That old patent was spot on! apart from the gas engine bit, but at the time we didn't have the batteries or motors sorted! some say we still haven't I still think they will love it if you approach them with it, it really shows off their bikes well too, I had never heard of them before? interesting design, a really nice looking ride.

I don't think that Steve Head does much these days e-bike related, I think he still uses his bikes but hasn't developed them any more and doesn't read the forums much either, his little bikes have inspired so many builds now I have lost count.

I will be interested to hear what our old friend Randy thinks about it, bet he is pretty chuffed someone finally did it and made it a whole lot better looking to boot.

If you can get some video that would be great and yes I would be well up for a UK e-bike meet of some sort, need to meet Jozzer and Nick as well, I am sure we can all something out? need to set a date and stick to it I suppose!

More pics and video if you can!! thanks again what a superb machine

Knoxie

[Miles]

Knoxie,

Here's the Moulton website: http://www.alexmoulton.co.uk/

You might also be interested in this video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 6389552343