Putting together a starter e-handcycle, know nothing about bikes

a11yhacker

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Colorado, USA
I've been searching for a community that might be able to help me with this project, and I hope someone here can help.

I have a lifelong physical disability that prevents me from using any foot-pedaled bike - I can walk slowly, but can't move my legs in the correct motion to pedal a bike. When I was a kid I had a handcycle, but I am only able to pedal with one hand due to the same disability.

This was fine when I was 10 and weighed 60 lbs, but now I am older (40) and heavier (150lb) and have some RSI issues in my usable arm. A few years ago I tried a handbike, but found it very difficult to propel my adult body and adult-sized handcycle with one arm.

I'm interested in getting back into the handcycle game, and I'm hopeful that an e-bike setup with pedal assist could help. Unfortunately there's not much info about handcycles (ebikes or not) online, and most of the info on this site is way beyond my level of understanding.

I'm planning to buy a new handbike, probably the Top End Excelerator XLT https://www.spinlife.com/Top-End-Top-End-Excelerator-XLT-Handcycle/spec.cfm?productID=392. For now, this will be for short distance recreational rides around my mostly flat neighborhood and nearby bike trails. My main use for the ebike portion would be to have some kind of pedal assist, so I can pedal with one hand and get some exercise without straining too much.

I'd like to buy an ebike kit online and set it up myself if possible. I know there are many options here, and many tradeoffs to consider. I have a few strong priorities:

1. Weight. The bike itself is 35 lb, which is at a level where I can easily pick it up, move it, walk it, etc., and I'd like to keep it that way if possible. I know some components, like the battery, are necessarily heavy, but I'd like to reduce weight where possible.

2. Compatibility with my bike. It should be compatible with the same braking system (in this case, pedaling in reverse I guess?), and ideally with the gear shifting system too (unless this goes away with the installation of a hub motor? as I said, I don't really understand this stuff.) I've seen some discussion about front wheel motors vs. rear wheel motors, but I don't think it directly applies to the bike/trike that I have listed above, since all of the gears and whatnot are on the front wheel only.

3. Simplicity of setup. Ideally I'd like something I can easily swap in with tools that I have at home. From this perspective it seems like swapping in a hub motor for the front wheel makes sense, but I have no idea what I'd need to look for here (other than a wheel of the right size), or any idea what to do with the gears and stuff. I'm reasonably handy and technically competent, including working with electronics, but I have basically zero knowledge of how bikes and gear systems work.

That's it. Importantly, at this point, I *really* don't care about cost (up to $2k or so), power efficiency, speed, customizability, range, longevity, etc. Most of the discussions I have seen online about e-handcycles have been about the most efficient setup, ignoring weight and complexity, which is the opposite of what I am looking for at the moment. I would be happy to learn more about this stuff in the future, but right now my priority is to put something together that lets me pedal a handbike around my neighborhood without hurting my arm, so I can see whether I even enjoy doing it (after 30 years of not being able to).

I'd really appreciate any advice that you all might have. Even better if there are parts I can order online, knowing that they will work with my intended bike. I'm really looking for a simple setup that can get me going quickly, and that I can improve later. Thanks for your help.
 
What if you get just a regular bike with an E bike kit and just use the throttle. You could keep the pedals on the bike to keep it legal so it stays a bicycle and not a motorcycle. So basically you would ride the bicycle like a motorcycle with throttle only.
 
Good that you included the link, but your choice is not the easiest to convert. This is because you would not have brakes that apply by pedaling back on any hub motor kit I know of. Some modifications could be made to have the motor do some braking, but I would definitely still want mechanical brakes to back them up.

I'm not sure though, which handcycle would be better, especially if you are unable to use a regular brake handle, with either foot or hand.

Your best approach might be to forget pedaling entirely, and convert a regular tadpole trike to a motor, and just use the one good hand to steer, pull brakes, and work a throttle, if that is possible for you. Tadpole recumbent trikes have a single rear wheel, and there are devices that can allow one brake handle to work both front and rear brakes.

So what I'm meaning, is your bike would not have a chain, just a motor on the rear wheel, and whatever you need for adaptive controls.

BTW, there is a company in the USA that specializes in electric trike conversions, in PA. I'm not sure if they are still around, but another US company in the west, I think Utah? , was doing electric handcycles.
 
Cant find the Utah company, I remember them from about 5 years ago.

I did find this. http://www.freedomryder.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1dP1kdeR8AIVzuDICh1RJQK0EAMYASAAEgLRF_D_BwE

And you might consider the PA company. I used to actually work for them, before I retired. You don't have to pedal most regular electric trikes btw. https://www.libertytrike.com/
 
I saw a system at Interbike several years ago that was a handcycle with mid-drive; the organization was associated with a veteran's group (you could try to locate them, but that's all I remember). It would seem feasible to try to locate them or fabricate something with a BBS02 (10 pounds) and 52V, 6ah battery (3.5 pounds), but you get about two pounds back when you remove the existing crank system. Conceivably, you could use a front handbrake, but gears would make the left side of the handlebar "busy" (may need to go SS). This would also allow a throttle, but again further complication on the left side (cost < $1,000).
 
As you want to keep it simple, a hub motor in one of the rear wheels would skip many problems concerning the controls in the front wheel. Grin All-Axle motor is probably the only option for single sided drop-out, and even that is not guaranteed to work. I suggest you ask the company selling the handcycle details of the drop-out system in the back wheels and then contact Grin whether that will work or not.

Direct drive motor has limitations in slow-speed situations, but if you're not planning to do much hill climbing or heavy hauling, it might be enough to get you going. A full kit would be mechanically easy to install, but requires a considerable work setting up the software by yourself.
 
Any bike can be converted -- it's just a question of budget.

The standard advice for all these new potential cyclists adopting the hobby for health, especially those with ability/mobility concerns, and especially those looking at niche (difficult to resell) bikes, should be to first get the best bike for your needs. Don't worry about the e-conversion until you know you have a good bike that fits, that you can operate without e-assist at least for short duration (in case you run out of battery or have a failure).

In cases like these, the e-conversion is trivial compared to finding a bike that works for you. Solve that first, and then worry about converting -- as you can see, this community has the knowledge and ingenuity to help make the conversion easy.
 
I'd look for a Sport-on XCR instead, possibly used now that many people who want to do more hardcore off-road are buying Jeet-trikes (which I think are more bike than you need).
 
Thanks for the suggestions so far, everyone. I’m so glad I decided to post this question here.

It sounds like one of the bigger challenges is dealing with the brakes, since they work differently than other bike brakes and are presumably tied to the existing transmission. I think I could work around this by installing a traditional brake lever (and maybe would need to install a new brake also?). This is a less elegant solution but I think I could manage it - probably by actuating the brake lever with another part of my body.

Am I correct that adding a traditional brake makes this more like a “normal” bike, and thus more compatible with available options? And so for control I would need a throttle (twist or squeeze) plus a squeeze lever for the brake? Are there any controls that combine the throttle and brake control into a single movement? (for example twisting forward to accelerate and backward to brake)
 
Eastwood said:
What if you get just a regular bike with an E bike kit and just use the throttle. You could keep the pedals on the bike to keep it legal so it stays a bicycle and not a motorcycle. So basically you would ride the bicycle like a motorcycle with throttle only.

I think this could be a good partial solution, but I'd like to have the ability to do some pedaling - either with power assist so it's less physically demanding or on the easier parts of a ride.

Also, yes, a standard bike would be too tall for me, but this could work with a trike or recumbent.
 
dogman dan said:
Good that you included the link, but your choice is not the easiest to convert. This is because you would not have brakes that apply by pedaling back on any hub motor kit I know of. Some modifications could be made to have the motor do some braking, but I would definitely still want mechanical brakes to back them up.

I think I could use a standard mechanical brake and either jerry rig it near the hand pedals or control it with some other part of my body - I have decent mobility in my feet, legs, torso, head, etc., and both of my shoulders. I have access to decent tools and a 3D printer, and I'm used to 3D printing, sawing, and otherwise making adapters to make things that work for me.

I know that having a good braking system is important and could literally save my life, and I do want a mechanical brake, but also I may have to accept a tradeoff of a brake that is a little harder to reach or slower to react. Because of this I don't think I'll be riding on any steep hills or with traffic, at least until I figure out a good and safe solution.
 
2old said:
I saw a system at Interbike several years ago that was a handcycle with mid-drive; the organization was associated with a veteran's group (you could try to locate them, but that's all I remember). It would seem feasible to try to locate them or fabricate something with a BBS02 (10 pounds) and 52V, 6ah battery (3.5 pounds), but you get about two pounds back when you remove the existing crank system. Conceivably, you could use a front handbrake, but gears would make the left side of the handlebar "busy" (may need to go SS). This would also allow a throttle, but again further complication on the left side (cost < $1,000).

What's SS? Stainless steel?

I do think it will be busy on the left side. That's how my car is set up, and my computer, and a lot of my other things. It's annoying but I'll take what I can get. :)

FWIW on the bike that I listed, the gear shifter is attached to the side of the bike seat. Here are some photos. I'm still not sure how much of this system would be retained if I replace the front wheel with an electric one.

I would also be OK with essentially using this bike as a single gear bike, and either ignoring or even removing the existing gear shift. Again it's not ideal but if doing so allows me to get started, I can solve this problem in the future.
 
Sorry; SS = single speed

Take a look at ebikeling for a front wheel system. I purchased one and it was well worth the cost. Also, with the Grin system referenced above you could have regen braking. (read about at ebikesca; may learn from their tutorials too, plus they're really helpful if you have questions.
 
a11yhacker said:
I've been searching for a community that might be able to help me with this project, and I hope someone here can help.

I think a mid drive unit like a TSDZ2 with torque sensor would be ideal for you on that handbike:


TSDZ2 mid drive torque sensor.jpg


See this thread about the motor on the handbike:https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=79788&start=5500 (see post 6 by casainho the firmware guru for this drive system)

With a mid drive unit you can keep the gears and brake as is and because of the torque sensor and PAS (Pedal Assist) you don't need to use a throttle. This system will just add to your effort and you can choose the amount of assist.


v0-20-0-Handcycle-Coaster-Brk.jpg
 
SlowCo said:
I think a mid drive unit like a TSDZ2 with torque sensor would be ideal for you on that handbike:

This is a very interesting option, thanks. I'll have to do some more research about it.

EDIT: Actually, the TSDZ2 wiki along with Jeff Page's video seems to have answered my questions for now. Thanks!
 
Coming in a bit late here, but Utah Trikes has a number of models of handcycles available and their custom shop is able to create just about any variation you'd need with e-assist upgrades. Probably the best option would be like the mid-drive motor setup in the post above. Also, you should be able to have a single lever control of two brake calipers if you wish. There are a number of options available in the adaptive needs realm that will allow for 2-in-1 braking. I provided a link to Utah Trikes catalog page. Just scroll down and you'll see several options of handcycles - both the low variety like you originally posted and a more upright/higher seating version as well.

https://www.utahtrikes.com/cgi-bin/webdata_pro.pl
 
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