Greenspeed GT3 Daily Driver - 1st Low Speed Conservative Bui

Joined
Oct 19, 2009
Messages
15
HI ES Non Hub Big Boys!

I lurked on the forum a few years ago and was inspired to get a Greenspeed Trike by some of the projects going on then! I fell in love with the trike and never got round to electrifying it! Have dropped on here infrequently over the last few years and have always been blown away by what was going on!

BTW absolutely love this forum and the amazing stuff that goes on! Such important innovation space! I can see the old masters haven't laid down their weapons and are still cutting away at the cutting edge! MINDBLOWING Recumpence, Aussie Jester, Thud, Ypedal thanks for leading the world electric Endless!!!

I'm still scared about this - really don't want to screw up my machine and really wanna know if you guys think it's going to be feasible and worth attempting by someone like be!

I live in Central Australia and can ride my trike to work everyday - is 10.8kms but it regularly gets up to 45C (113F)! The Greenspeed GT3 series 1 has 3 X 16in wheels for lower cornering and strength and is a blast to ride! Don't wanna overpower it or spoil it! Make sure I've researched things properly first!

PROJECT PROPOSAL:

Electric Assist, Light as possible, Low Power, High efficiency, reliable, easy enough for a total noob to put together (hopefully), single speed, 24V or ~6S LiPo (this makes it easier to set up a solar charger), Shumaker drive with small Astro if I can get a 16in wheel made up with a RHS freewheel. So much space on the GT3 frame behind the seat should be really straight forward and would look awesome!

I spin out at around 22MPH with the way it's geared at the moment. Would love a top speed of ~35MPH and just a little electric assist so I can still ride to work in the stinking heat!

Not sure if there is any Greenspeed related experience doing this kind of thing on the forum too?

1st Question!
I don't make the skills or knowledge how to fit a RHS freewheel on a wheel!
Are any members here willing/able to build a 16in (349mm) rear wheel with a freewheeling LHS cog and a 9 speed Capreo cassette? Would happily pay to have one made up with the 9 speed cassette on the other side anybody have the time/skills inclination?

The 16in Greenspeed wheels don't come with a Brake Adapter. (I'll post pics soon)!

The trike has a Shimano Capreo 9 speed cassette with a 9 tooth cog on the right hand side
http://sheldonbrown.com/capreo/index.html

Apparently Greenspeed modified them to their own needs:
http://www.bentrideronline.com/messageboard/showthread.php?s=4ee286685d9501cb92b40d95f7be699b&t=89200&page=2

The trike has a Shimano Capreo 9 speed cassette with a 9 tooth cog - I spin out at around 22MPH.

2nd Q!
The wheels are 349mm diameter.
Just going over the motor numbers - 6S or 7S max with 16in wheels means I need a fairly high kV motor and aim for a total reduction of 12.5-15. I was looking at a 3 turn Astro 3210 or 4 turn Astro 3205 to get to 30MPH? Wanna carry ~20000mah for a 40-50KM range with conservative throttle use and pedalling using 20Wh/km? Does this sound right feasible? Will the motors be in danger if they are only spinning at ~3000RPM at 10MPH?

I wanna find out how a light efficient RC setup handles the harsh Australian climate and dust?

Here's what I think I should be getting -pretty straight forward (I think!) but let me know what I've missed (nothing ordered yet):
Shumaker V4 Drive
Astro 3205 or 3210.
RC Servo throttle thingy
HPV110 or HV160?
4P6S LiPo with fairly insulating case to keep them out of the sun and heat!
Batt charger
Chain
16in Wheel made up with Special freewheel
RC Cycle Analyst with current limiting so I can turn the current right down and temp monitor the motor.

(have some electronics knowledge and can wire stuff and connect andersons but the metallic freewheel fab stuff is well beyond me guys!!)

Cheers all thanks for reading my longwinded post!

Rana
 
Just a few points that you may already be aware of..
35 mph needs about 4 times the power than 22 mph,..all things being equal for your trike about 1kw compared to 250W at 22mph.
So that alone will make a huge difference to your choice of motor and pack sizing, weight and cost...but still easily possible !
Note ,
If you plan on a 6s ( 25V) system, and a 20 Ahr pack...using your 20Whr/km estimate your range would only be 25 kms !
..and that is assuming using 100% battery capacity, which you would not want to do..so more like a 20 km range.
Of course , from my first comment re speed and power, you will realize that you can easily extend that range by keeping to a lower speed. Infact if you settled for 28- 30 mph you could reduce that power demand to 10Whr/km and hence get close to your 40 km range.
 
Thanks Hillhater!

I may well have miscalculated! Looking around the forum I was thinking more like 10-15wh/km riding conservatively with lots of pedalling but it's still cutting it really fine isn't it?

So at least 25Ah then - great stuff.

Really important the rest of the trike functions well without too much added weight - the trike weights around 20kg at the moment and I wanna go 7-8kgs if possible. Love the high power stuff on this forum but it's not for me - I'd probably kill myself! BTW easy to get 2.5A at 24V out of a couple of little solar panels too - normally we'll charge SLA batts at a tenth of C10 capacity - don't know what currents LiPo prefer! Pics next
 
Space under the seat and I don't know what this thing sticking out of the frame is called (a brake flange maybe?)
 

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No BCD adaptor on the rear wheel that I know of...Under seat.JPG

Looking down on the rear Capreo hub and 9 speed cassette - it's tight in there and maybe a larger cog will let hte chain avoid the brake thing?
 
Hi SolarTriker,
I'm curious as to how your V4 project is going mate. I am planning something similar for early 2014 for an old GTR 20/20. BTW the unknown 'bracket' on your chain stay is a dynamo bracket.
best wishes,
Savvas.
 
I have a similar trike though arguably lower Quality terratrike brand. Anyhow it's essentially the same layout though it uses 20" wheels not 16. At first I fitted a Shumaker drive though its the one with a gates carbon fiber toothed belt drive to the rear hub. I'm was using the larger 80/100 out runner motor and a 45A controller at 60v. It looks great but I'm not that impressed with the performance. Off the mark the torque wasn't that great and I find it's noisier than a bunch of electric drills in your ear. The drive its self is quiet but the motor is noisy as hell. The Astro motors are better quality and most likely quieter but from videos I have watched they still have the same kind of whine that's typical of this kind of high speed motor.

I purchased a the larger bafang 500w geared hum motor for my wife's folding bike. After lacing it into to strong 20 inch rim I tried it on my trike first. Lets just say she didn't get it back. The torque of the line is so much better than the other setup. It's much quieter, simpler, stealthier and just feels better all round. I run it from 15s lipo in a 10AH configuration. Tiny little battery that fits in the trunk bag. It free wheels nicly and is easy to ride as a normal peddle trike and I often just peddle it without the battery on board when going on rides with friends where I don't want to be unfair and the motor offers no resistance.

If you want simple, cheap and effective setup that's easy to fit for a commuter bike. A I high speed wind geared hub in a 16 or 20 inch wheel is the way to go on a trike. Get the voltage up to at leat 48v in a 16" wheel i would go 15s lipo it will be about perfect for 40kmh top speed with a ton of torque and good efficiency. The weight of mine is about the same as the reduction drive.
 
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