Electric Bike for riding on beach on sand

Green Machine

100 kW
Joined
Jan 18, 2010
Messages
1,464
Location
it doesnt matter .... spark a revolution
I live in San Francisco near the beach, and am dreaming of riding with my dog running along the side about 7 miles away to the fort funston dog beach.

I remember reading somewhere of an electric german bike with big balloon tires made for this purpose...but it cost like 7 thousand dollars.

Does anyone know of a bike build or frame that could do this and would hold up to the rigors of riding near the salt water?

I am thinking of a bike that would ride along the wet packed sand by the water.

Thanks
 
It depends on the sand. My 2.5" hookworms float over the Texas coast sand with no trouble. But on the Florida sugar sand, they sink in like a plasma cutter in butter. IIRC, West coast sand is hard enough to drive a car on, so 2.5" to 3" should be fine, as long as it's Not knobby tread.

Salt spray in the air makes everything rust in hours. My last trip to florida, my brand new and well oiled chain rusted up over night the first night there just from being on the bike rack, 50 yards form the water.

On the Texas beach, I use around 10 times more power per mile on sand. My 20 mile range is cut to 2 miles. You need a huge battery.
 
Yeah, you'd have to be rich to afford the big surly and then afford another so soon. Good reason all those bikes I see when I visit Mission Bay are cheap single speed cruisers, now known as beach cruisers. The prime attribute is you get them for dirt cheap at garage sales, provided you drive about 10 miles inland to shop for em.

So find a nice cheap balloon tire bike, put some Phat tires on it, and figure out a fairly sealed battery and controller box for it. maybe controller in the open, but the wires and connectors in a sealed box. Open and wash out the hub motor fairly often. Figure the bike itself and the motor are disposable as often as yearly. The rims may not even last that long. Washing it when you get home will help I'd think.
 
I love riding on the beach when the tide is out. The spots I ride end up with a nice hard pack without getting close enough to the water to throw up spray. It's by far the most pleasant riding of all...dead smooth and no tire noise like on pavement, so it's just me in a cool breeze and the sound of the waves. The feeling is eve more peaceful than on a sailboat. Ballooning is probably more peaceful, but I don't think I'd like air that still.
 
Custom_Beach_Bike.jpg
:twisted:
 
I ride the washington coast with my push trailer (trailers get very poor traction compared to rear drive). I use Motorcycle tires, that were discovered here on the ES. 16" motorcycle tires fit 20" rims.
 
Eventually I have to build something like MadRhino's pic in ebike form. In the meantime here's the front end of my most focused project. I just love the look of the 20x3" Kenda's on this Cannondal SuperV freeride/downhill bike. Sorry about only showing the front, but I'm building 2 custom swingarms for it. They'll both lengthen the wheelbase a bit, and one will get a 3.5kw scooter hubbie with a 13x5" scooter tire. The other will be set up for another 20x3" Kenda on the rear with room for a mid-drive motor mounted directly on the swingarm. I'll have enough room a built in hardware to mount either the ventilated 9c that I have ready for running at 149V fresh off the charger or the RC motor system and 1st stage reduction that will be in my greedy mitts next week. It should be a great beach rider no matter which motor system I'm running.
 
http://www.greenspeed.us/hanebrink_all-terrain_bike.html
 
extremegreenmachine said:
I know i am pretty much going to need to hose off the bike after every sand ride because of the salt water.

I may be the worst guy on the planet about washing vehicles. I've had my bikes on the beach many times, and even the bike broadsided by the ocean wave has never been rinsed off, much less washed. In 25 months of daily riding the only related failure was a few drops of salt water getting into the hall plug when the wave hit it, and that was only because it wasn't protected by duct tape, and we dried it out and it worked fine. Sure the originally chrome looking steel rims look like hell because of rust, but a nice layer of road film protects much of the bike, especially the areas subjected to salt and sand. The sand eventually just blows off. Lubing the chain and freewheel along with brake maintenance has comprised the sum total of maintenance on that bike. :mrgreen:
 
Your new build might want a little more care. The dried salt deposit on suspension is abrasive and is a cause for premature wear of the oil seals. I've had this experience riding in the winter, that leaves deposit from calcium salt used as melting agent on the streets. It wears the brake pads twice faster, and the suspension oil seals in 3 month. Now I clean my suspension every day, I don't care about the brake pads, for they are easily replaced in 5 minutes, but they are often noizy in the winter.

If I had to build for riding on the beach, I'd go for the kind of custom frame that I posted a pic of, cause my 2.7in tires are very far from being wide enough on loose sand. I'd set a chain (or friction) drive motor, at the same place where this guy had set his gear reduction. Being mounted high, makes for lesser chances of being flooded.
 
MadRhino,

You're right that my new baby will deserve better treatment, though my out may be proper fenders. Thanks for reminding me to pay attention to those suspension parts. If I have to hose them off and wipe them down with a light lubricant, so be it. 8)
 
last summer i bought an A2B w/ kenda 20"x3" tires and it did quite well along the WA coast, except for the deep sugar sand. i also have another bike w/ a little geared bafang in a 20" wheel and compared to the A2B DD motor (which imo has more torque then my 9c 9x7) the bafang has noticably more torque (all at similar voltages). so the added tourqe of the much larger bmc would have been welcomed addition in the sand.

_
 
Whats your budget? You might be able to find a frame you like that accepts 24" wheels and also uses disc brakes front and rear, then...

Get heavy-duty disc BMX 20" rims to put on fat moped tires. Get a slow-winding BMC and use 48V. A 26"-wheeled frame (with tires that are roughly 24" size) would have the pedals sitting low enough to the ground that they might hit once in a while...

I don't know if anyone has tried this, but have seen fat moped tires on 20" rims.
 
Here is a bike that was made for sand riding. The rims are alloy 17" wheels from the motorcycle industry. The tires are modified motorcycle knobbies that had the knobs shaved of with an electric chainsaw, while spinning in a fixture, and the sidewalls relieved to make them more compliant when run at the low pressure desirable for riding on a soft surface.

But as indicated if you are riding on the tidal area a decent width mtb tire will do fine. Just bring along a pump so that you can lower the tire pressure while riding on the beach and raise the psi for the road home.
 

Attachments

  • GetAttachment-4.aspx.jpeg
    GetAttachment-4.aspx.jpeg
    60.3 KB · Views: 3,159
  • GetAttachment-5.aspx.jpeg
    GetAttachment-5.aspx.jpeg
    65.3 KB · Views: 3,159
  • GetAttachment-3.aspx.jpeg
    GetAttachment-3.aspx.jpeg
    32.6 KB · Views: 3,159
Question for anyone who has put MC wheels on a bike: Did you need to modify the axle to fit in the drop-outs? Or is the MC rim compatible with a bike's drop-outs?
 
Generally, you'd lace the MC rim to a wider bike hub, maybe one with spoke flanges that have enough meat to be drilled for bigger spokes. It takes more spoke tension to run a MC rim.

I got a Surly Large Marge rim with centered holes and had Holmes Bikes lace up a Montessa trials MC Hub. The Surly Larry 3.8 tire should LOVE the sand.
 
Thanks for all the tips guys..

I got a deal on a complete Surly Pugsley

http://surlybikes.com/bikes/pugsley_complete/

From all i gather here and from other places it will run on sand....

There is a really interesting thread on here where someone builds on with dual front and back hub motors: http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=23416&p=351322&hilit=pugsley#p351322

I will do a bmc torque 600 watt motor on back, and i am even considering running 2 bmc 600's , front and back. That way this thing would be like a tank that i could climb all kinds of trails around my house that are too steep and too sandy for my regular bmc powered mountain bike...

What convinced me to go with this (more expensive) bike and set up (bmc) is that i think i will be able to use it as a sand bike and a regular mtb, and the thing looks fun as hell, easier to balance etc.

I am getting a super small size (16 inch) so my wife can share the bike with me.

What do you guys think of a dual bmc set up for sand? Will it weigh down the front tire too much?
 
spinningmagnets said:
Whats your budget? You might be able to find a frame you like that accepts 24" wheels and also uses disc brakes front and rear, then...

Get heavy-duty disc BMX 20" rims to put on fat moped tires. Get a slow-winding BMC and use 48V. A 26"-wheeled frame (with tires that are roughly 24" size) would have the pedals sitting low enough to the ground that they might hit once in a while...

I don't know if anyone has tried this, but have seen fat moped tires on 20" rims.

This is a really interesting idea and i would love to do it.

But does anyone know if you can fit fat moped tires inbetween the forks and dropouts of a bmx bike?

I like 20" bikes.
 
If you lived near the beach, it would be worth having a third bike set up for sand all the time. If you only used it rarely, you could even have a second pair of wheels to swap in/out.

If you had rim brakes it would be very annoying to get it set-up, whether it was permanent or swappable back and forth with normal wheels. It would be worth the effort to get a dual disc frame whether you used the fat tires full-time/part-time.

fat moped tires fit in-between the forks and dropouts of a bmx bike?

If budget isn't a big issue, finding a frame that will accept wide tires is the only hurdle. I would find out what tire you want to use (or perhaps two different sizes (most-desired/slightly-smaller?) buy them, save the receipt, and then carry them to various bike shops to see if they will fit in any of their acceptable frames.

Moped tires are not only wider, they are taller. So, even on a 20" rim (that combo works because I have seen several) the tire will be about 24" in diameter. Thats why I suggested a 24"-wheel frame might be a good starting point for a search. "Might" be possible to find a 20" frame for extra tall/wide tires, I don't know of any...perhaps modify an existing frame, if you have a friend with a welding machine?

Smaller wheels have been put on a 26"-wheel frame, but with standard 24" wheels/tires an a 26" frame (or, the 24" moped-tire/20" wheel), they will lower the pedals one-inch closer to the ground.

You "could" use a full sus 26" frame by installing a longer-travel fork, and possibly adding a short custom/aluminum extension-block to the rear shock mount to pivot the rear sus arm down to the desired reach?
 
So i have already comitted myself to go with the Surley Pugsley by committing to buy on ebay.

Now i am having buyers remorse because it is a chrome moly frame which is susceptible to corrosion, and someone messaged me with a used titanium fat tire bike for sale..:(

As for motor options, i think 2 bmc's might be too much, so i am thinking of going with a single bmc....

If possible i would like to run the bmc in the front with the battery and controller in a topeak bag in bag to make the bike more balanced, and make it possible to run an internal hub shifter in the back for pedal power...this will make the bike easier to clean etc. without a rear cassette and derailer to deal with. I have heard that many who ride these bikes on the beach an internal 8 speed in the back (shimano affinity)....

The problem is having driven front wheel drives previously i know there is a traction trade off....i prefer to have the power in the rear where the weight is.

Has anyone ever tried running a front wheel drive bike in the sand?

I am wondering also if anyone has seen one of those expensive german sand ebikes in action...i am wondering how a bmc powered pugsley will compare to it...i would love to do a heads up review if i could find a demo of that german bike somewhere to ride.
 
Back
Top