Friction drive availability?

[GutiSteve]

Really curious about building a friction drive set up. nicest ones ive found are the kepler and commuter booster but neither seem to be in production. any other suggestions? being quiet, light/small, and easy to set up are my highest priorities (in that order) but i will sacrifice on those if its something of quality. i am a noob and cannot delve too deep into mechanics, a kit would be ideal. thanks!

[adrian_sm]

The Commuter Booster is in production, but I have sold out of the first batch which I am about to ship out. It will be 3-4 weeks before I am ready for the next batch.
Let me know if you are interested.

For Sale Threads:
viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34586
viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34587

Regards, Adrian

[spinningmagnets]

Two of Keplers customers have upgraded to the second gen drive, so he has a green and a black first-gen drive for sale. The motors, controllers, and other accessories have been swapped over to the new drives, so the used drives are bare.

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=32035

[adrian_sm]

Have you contacted John aka Kepler. I was pretty sure he was still selling eboost friction drives.

Drop him a line and he may be able to sort you out.

Website: http://www.eboo.st
PM: http://endless-sphere.com/forums/ucp.ph ... se&u=14534

[spinningmagnets]

What are the main reasons why you are interested in a friction-drive instead of a common hub-motor? There is no wrong answer, and if you explain your interest, several people here can advise you as to which type would work best for you...

[GutiSteve]

the commuter booster seems ideal, but im a little worried the set up may be over my head. going to research the tutorials and forums before i ask questions but i will likely be buying one of these, i can wait a month. i am looking at friction because its small, lightweight and makes minimal changes to my bike. hoping to find a quiet motor though!

[adrian_sm]

It is pretty straight forward to setup. Check out the website and videos.

https://sites.google.com/site/commuterbooster/
http://www.youtube.com/user/CommuterBooster

I would eventually like to make these good enough that it can walk people through the setup. So let me know what I need to change to make it that useful.

The main video I need to fix up in the installation one, to include nice close ups of the main bits.
Then another one on final tweaking/adjusment to get it dialed in.

- Adrian

[GutiSteve]

everything about the friction drive looks great, but my only concern is the noise, is there such thing as a quiet motor?

[adrian_sm]

The light weight means they don't internally dampen the sound much, as they just don't have the mass of material to soak up the vibrations.
The amount of noise mainly depends on the torque the motor is creating. So high power at low speed is noisy.

I have been pretty happy with the noise levels when accelerating at 500w, at 1000w I don't find it as stealth. Above that and you will draw attention.

At speed I just hear wind noise, and can only just hear the motor.

Here is an example of the sound a friction drive bike makes accelerating.
36sec to ~42 secs the bike is accelerating, then from then until about 45 seconds it is just cruising at speed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IotizzHKYdI#t=32

- Adrian

[ls7corvete]

I have been looking for one too, I have contacted Adian and keepler and hope to get a setup from one or both of them soon.

I do enjoying biking so having the ability to remove the motor at will is an advantage for me. I also hope to build a slightly cheaper setup than what the hub motor's can provide.

Just wanted to chime in on the discussion

[spinningmagnets]

I've tried Hobby-King Turnigy motors and also an Exceed RC motor. The Exceed was noticeably quieter. Sadly the lowest kV I've found from them is the 63mm diameter monster series in 245-kV. The drive I use has the motor separate from the roller, so this info may not apply to a motor-shell drive (Kepler/Adrian).

I copied a drive that was designed by EVTodd, and they are not for sale by anyone yet. Kepler/Adrian drives can be bought and are proven to work well. Covers can be made that would quiet these drives, and if the motor/controller started getting warm from lack of airflow, a cheap 24V/48V computer tower fan could be added to the housing.

Also, I'm fairly sure the shell-drives need a motor with a skirt bearing.