Welcome advice on 4 wheeled bike configuration.

I will be adding an electric motor to a 4 wheeled Rhodes Bike. http://www.bikeforest.com/rhoades_car.jpg

I would like to keep cost under 1k.

speed 10-20 mph

range 20 miles.

Will be ridden on flat ground in hot dessert. 2 people of roughly 200lbs each.

Based on the conversation here https://support.electricscooterparts.com/support/discussions/topics/1000088698
Which is the only specific thing i have run into, I am leaning towards purchasing the kit they reference with some minor differences. I would need a thumb throttle as it has more of a steering wheel than a handle bar. Kit is listed https://cart.electricscooterparts.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=KIT-481000G-25 at a cost of $406

Reading about the batteries has scared me a bit because of all the fakes. A 48v 17ah battery from EM3EV with charger will cost $525 https://em3ev.com/shop/em3ev-48v-13s5p-jumbo-shark-ebike-battery/

Buy kit and battery. Mount motor to frame and link to rear axel via chain, mount controller and battery, run wires and have fun. Am i missing something???? Does this combination seem accurate for my needs? I plan to have it completed for an event by the middle of august.

I am including pictures of the bike.

Looks like a fun project. I didn't know they made a kit specifically for the Rhoads. Is this going to burning man?

I think your setup will work as listed. Those lights for the battery monitor are near useless, however. you need a much better way to monitor the battery. Luckily that's cheap and easy enough. An RC Watt meter can be added between the battery and the controller to monitor how much power you're using, and how much you have already used. While they aren't nearly as capable as something like the Cycle Analyst, it's $15. well worth it.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071ZK3CKW/ref=twister_B0719TT39K?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1


If that was my bike, I'd find a way to feed the motor through the pedal chain, so you could shift gears. it shouldn't be hard to make it work, but probably not a job you'd want to tackle with only a month or so to work out all the inevitable kinks and bugs.

It will have a riding weight of 500+ lbs, in the sand. I’d say your budget is short, to build that cart properly for the task.

I've never been to Burning Man. How Sandy is this sand? You sure those wheels will work?

Yes this is going to burning man for the second year. The wheels work fine. It is not really sand as much as it is gypsum dust. Think of it like someone did a ton of drywall work for a few years in your home. That white stick to everything kind of dust. When you ride through it, it flows almost like water or a layer of dry powered snow around your tires, but it does get everywhere and is very alkaloid.


I Have ordered most of the parts i think i may need. I hope they do not come from to far away and make it to me in time. I did not account for shipping in my costs and have already gone a little over my 1k budget. Considering that the Rhoades company sells a kit for 1.8k without batteries, I think i am still ahead.

the_lost_wonderer said:

Yes this is going to burning man for the second year.

Click to expand...

Did you make it? How's it going?

https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/28/us/burning-man-red-flag-warning-trnd/index.html

Save money, weight and space w/ Lithium Polymer. It is, after all, for BURNING Man.

I did finish the project and get it to BM. I will speak a little to what I ended up doing and the issues I ran into for the next person to learn from.

I ended up getting the following parts kit minus a few parts that were out of stock. I think i used an 11 tooth sprocket instead of 14 but i think it made little difference. I used a different throttle for my needs also. I did not get the junction box thing. It was unnecessary. https://cart.electricscooterparts.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=KIT-481000G-25

That all said, the parts work well but the company I bought them from was kind of a mess. The people on the phone were very knowledgeable and great, but the shipping, inventory management, and communication were a mess. I placed three separate orders with them and NONE of them went well. If you order from them, you need to check in every couple of days to make sure it will be shipped. It was a real nightmare and almost sunk my project. If you wish to hear more about that i will be happy to expand.

For some reason I did not realize that i would need to remove the entire axle to install this. I am not sure why i did not think of this. It was the hardest part other than getting the parts. What i learned about this is to make sure to sand the axel. I had light surface rust and that stopped anything from sliding on it. I did not realize the tolerances were this tight. If i had to do it again, it would only take me a couple hours now.

I ended up buying a premade battery from EM3ev 48v 17ah with charger for $616 shipped. This one battery would easily last all day pulling 2 people with 4-5 full propane tanks on it.


I only had 2 major issues with it on the playa. The first was that i had to reposition the motor once to maintain proper chain tension. Not a big deal and i would have realized this if i had more than an hour to trouble shoot it before I left for BM. The second issue is that for some reason it did burn up a 40amp inline fuse once. It happened when the people on it pushed it hard to reach a bathroom very far away. I never had it happen again.

The speed is more than enough. The whole system is pretty light and i had no issues backing it up manually or lifting the back end. The motor hangs under the bike and was exposed to the dust. It had no issues.
I think my final cost was around 1200 all in. This is pretty good considering the electric kit RHOADES sells is 750 watt and costs between 1600-1900 WITHOUT a battery. The person i did it for was very happy with the end results.

I am happy to answer any other questions.

the_lost_wonderer said:

... gypsum dust. Think of it like someone did a ton of drywall work for a few years in your home. That white stick to everything kind of dust. When you ride through it, it flows almost like water or a layer of dry powered snow around your tires, but it does get everywhere and is very alkaloid.

Click to expand...

This sounds like my own personal hell. I need to take an Advil Cold and Sinus just thinking about it, yet people are willing to pay for such an experience. Drywall dust and sand lice, what fun! I'd probably torch myself too.

Congrats on the successful build and making it there. I love it when a plan comes together.