I'm not sure if this goes under E-bike builds or somewhere else.
A guy that has bought several of my bikes builds brought me a Rhoades Car with some problems. Originally designed as a 4 wheel pedal only, side by side tandem, this model, came with a 24v brushed motor and heavy lead acid batteries.
The owner had bought it used for 10% of new, played with it a few days and managed to burn out the controller. It's motor/controller was a 1960's design industrial set normally used on floor sweepers and pallet lifts. The cost of a new controller was too high, not to mention the performance was terrible. 10 mph on the flat with hard pedaling. I didn't have enough power for even a moderate hill, and downhill was worse. A single mechanical disc on 1 wheel had very little stopping power for so much weight.
I had a new 26" Crystalyte 5303 front wheel/motor and 48v40a controller, bought for a standard tandem build. That combo is too powerful and fast for safety, IMO. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5sa6fC5Hig It's powered by 54v21AH; six, 18v10.5ah LiMnCo Makita mount tool batteries (3s2p). The controller limits the currents to 35amps (54vx35a~=2000watts).
It's about right to power this car/bike. 25mph on the flat with decent hill climbing. Mounting the motor was a bit of a challenge and the look of a 5th, pusher wheel is a bit unusual. Controlling the axle torque was very important on such a powerful motor. The left rear 20" wheel is actually 1/4" off the ground and is only for show. Probably the biggest performance improvement is braking. The 26" power wheel adds a 2nd brake (rim vbrake). More importantly, the controller's regen brake/charging circuit now does 90% of the braking. The 2 friction brakes are only need for the last few feet of a stop. Oh..... It has a power reverse too. I didn't implement the 3 speed power switch or cruise control. Too much stuff for this user.
The gearing makes pedaling possible only to about 12mph but it seems faster and feels safe and fun. The range at that speed is much better than I expected. It will go much faster, but without suspension and rather the loose steering, it's pretty exciting. Hopefully it won't be used at those speeds. Sorry, I couldn't post a video.
A guy that has bought several of my bikes builds brought me a Rhoades Car with some problems. Originally designed as a 4 wheel pedal only, side by side tandem, this model, came with a 24v brushed motor and heavy lead acid batteries.
The owner had bought it used for 10% of new, played with it a few days and managed to burn out the controller. It's motor/controller was a 1960's design industrial set normally used on floor sweepers and pallet lifts. The cost of a new controller was too high, not to mention the performance was terrible. 10 mph on the flat with hard pedaling. I didn't have enough power for even a moderate hill, and downhill was worse. A single mechanical disc on 1 wheel had very little stopping power for so much weight.
I had a new 26" Crystalyte 5303 front wheel/motor and 48v40a controller, bought for a standard tandem build. That combo is too powerful and fast for safety, IMO. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5sa6fC5Hig It's powered by 54v21AH; six, 18v10.5ah LiMnCo Makita mount tool batteries (3s2p). The controller limits the currents to 35amps (54vx35a~=2000watts).
It's about right to power this car/bike. 25mph on the flat with decent hill climbing. Mounting the motor was a bit of a challenge and the look of a 5th, pusher wheel is a bit unusual. Controlling the axle torque was very important on such a powerful motor. The left rear 20" wheel is actually 1/4" off the ground and is only for show. Probably the biggest performance improvement is braking. The 26" power wheel adds a 2nd brake (rim vbrake). More importantly, the controller's regen brake/charging circuit now does 90% of the braking. The 2 friction brakes are only need for the last few feet of a stop. Oh..... It has a power reverse too. I didn't implement the 3 speed power switch or cruise control. Too much stuff for this user.
The gearing makes pedaling possible only to about 12mph but it seems faster and feels safe and fun. The range at that speed is much better than I expected. It will go much faster, but without suspension and rather the loose steering, it's pretty exciting. Hopefully it won't be used at those speeds. Sorry, I couldn't post a video.