* * * THE 60 MPH CLUB * * *
- Thread starter Lowell
- Start date
I think 'safe' would say that the challange is who can reach the highest speed on the least amount of watts. I have to agree with that, since almost any speed is possible if you just keep throwing money at it, up to physical weight constraints anyway.
xyster
10 MW
FWIW, I'm uncomfortable with these speeds that production bicycles are just not made for. It's not a law thing, it's a very high risk for very low gain thing. Potholes...road debris...blown controller locking the wheels...drop-outs crumpling -- any number of unexpected, unavoidable obstacles or mechanical failures could total a bicycle that wouldn't hurt a motorcycle, which are already very dangerous to ride in traffic.
Too, if somebody wipes out on their ebike at these speeds, it's going to make at least the local news, generating calls to de-legalize small, unregistered EV's except for use by people with proven disabilities. After a few of these accidents, higher-up governments may clamp down too. Or merchants will stop selling the equipment for fear of liability, just like merchants stopped selling 3-wheeled ATV's some years ago after a number of high profile accidents on what were, for 99.99% of riders, very safe, stable machines.
Since we're the pioneering guinea pigs of this field, we have an added duty to ride safely and sanely.
Unless I get my bike to the salt flats or local drag strip, I'll reside quite happily in the 30 MPH Club.
Too, if somebody wipes out on their ebike at these speeds, it's going to make at least the local news, generating calls to de-legalize small, unregistered EV's except for use by people with proven disabilities. After a few of these accidents, higher-up governments may clamp down too. Or merchants will stop selling the equipment for fear of liability, just like merchants stopped selling 3-wheeled ATV's some years ago after a number of high profile accidents on what were, for 99.99% of riders, very safe, stable machines.
Since we're the pioneering guinea pigs of this field, we have an added duty to ride safely and sanely.
Unless I get my bike to the salt flats or local drag strip, I'll reside quite happily in the 30 MPH Club.
Matt Gruber
1 MW
i agree with xy.
i don't ride a bike to go fast! LOL
i'm happy at 15-20, heck, on a nice day 12 is fine.
my 72 vette doesen't shift, in Drive, out of 2nd until 90 mph.
and it does that climbing the steepest overpass. does get windy with the top down.
who wants to get killed on a bike?
i don't ride a bike to go fast! LOL
i'm happy at 15-20, heck, on a nice day 12 is fine.
my 72 vette doesen't shift, in Drive, out of 2nd until 90 mph.
and it does that climbing the steepest overpass. does get windy with the top down.
who wants to get killed on a bike?
Well.. i just put in a request for 2 x 36v Limn 20 AH packs
and one 48v LiFePo4 20 ah...
I figure the 72v 20 ah on my chopper with a 5302 in a 20" wheel with 40 amps should be close...
and one 48v LiFePo4 20 ah...
I figure the 72v 20 ah on my chopper with a 5302 in a 20" wheel with 40 amps should be close...
As for the strength of mountain bikes, I think some people underestimate them. As long as you don't have a dollar store special bike that says 'not for offroad use', they're pretty tough. Living in Vancouver, I'm local to the North Shore and Whistler/Blackcomb, two of the hottest mountain biking spots in perhaps the world.
Big air isn't really my thing, but when you see these guys in person, it's pretty amazing what they can do on a mountain bike.
http://photos.nsmb.com/showimage.php?i=11985&c=7
http://photos.nsmb.com/showimage.php?i=11616&c=7
http://photos.nsmb.com/showimage.php?i=11567&c=7
I doubt any of these bikes would mind a hub motor and batteries running on city streets. Sounds like a lot easier life than 10 foot drop offs.
Big air isn't really my thing, but when you see these guys in person, it's pretty amazing what they can do on a mountain bike.
http://photos.nsmb.com/showimage.php?i=11985&c=7
http://photos.nsmb.com/showimage.php?i=11616&c=7
http://photos.nsmb.com/showimage.php?i=11567&c=7
I doubt any of these bikes would mind a hub motor and batteries running on city streets. Sounds like a lot easier life than 10 foot drop offs.
The people I see bike commuting on a day to day basis seem to go somewhere between 20-30km/h, with the vast majority around 25. I think of 32 km/h as a reasonable speed limit. Accelerating to 30-ish without effort allowed me to reach and hold 40's, catching my breath between red lights.
It's certainly not a bicycle anymore when there's essentially no rider input and it exceeds limits set up for mopeds / scooters. What you've got then is a scooter / motorcycle, probably not a very good one.
I may already have a winner for wh/km though: My Oryx has a battery powered rear blinkie light, the bike gets such awesome wh/km that the two 10+ year old AA NiCd's only need to be recharged about once per two weeks. But consumption is a non-issue for me. What I care about in an electric bike is how much it helps up hills, range, weight, looks & price. Speed is a non-issue so long as it reaches the limit.
Production bicycles designed to take a serious beating at high speeds exist, they're called downhill bikes and you won't find one in a department store. I have a vintage model, feels like it's following a rail at 40mph, potholes and sewer grills don't affect it much at all. It's not something that I'd like to do for more then several minutes at a time, though.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downhill_bike
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downhill_cycling
It's certainly not a bicycle anymore when there's essentially no rider input and it exceeds limits set up for mopeds / scooters. What you've got then is a scooter / motorcycle, probably not a very good one.
I may already have a winner for wh/km though: My Oryx has a battery powered rear blinkie light, the bike gets such awesome wh/km that the two 10+ year old AA NiCd's only need to be recharged about once per two weeks. But consumption is a non-issue for me. What I care about in an electric bike is how much it helps up hills, range, weight, looks & price. Speed is a non-issue so long as it reaches the limit.
Production bicycles designed to take a serious beating at high speeds exist, they're called downhill bikes and you won't find one in a department store. I have a vintage model, feels like it's following a rail at 40mph, potholes and sewer grills don't affect it much at all. It's not something that I'd like to do for more then several minutes at a time, though.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downhill_bike
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downhill_cycling
lemmiwinks
100 W
If any of you guys steps off at 50 or 60mph you're going to slide a loooooong way (unless you hit something). Hope you're wearing something more substantial than shorts and a t-shirt or you're comfortable with a lot of gravel rash 8)
Another issue is other road users. A typical car driver is going to look, and assuming they actually even see you, (since they fail to see the majorty of cyclists) they aren't going to be able to compensate for a bicycle travelling at 50+mph since that simply wont compute in their brain. T-boning a car at that kind of pace ain't going to be pretty. Just sayin'...
Part of me thinks it's insane to go 50+mph on a bicycle, but part of me thinks frock yeah!
I've actually been 50mph on a MTB many years ago down a long, steep winding road, it was a hoot and I was cackling like a maniac the whole way down.
Another issue is other road users. A typical car driver is going to look, and assuming they actually even see you, (since they fail to see the majorty of cyclists) they aren't going to be able to compensate for a bicycle travelling at 50+mph since that simply wont compute in their brain. T-boning a car at that kind of pace ain't going to be pretty. Just sayin'...
Part of me thinks it's insane to go 50+mph on a bicycle, but part of me thinks frock yeah!
I've actually been 50mph on a MTB many years ago down a long, steep winding road, it was a hoot and I was cackling like a maniac the whole way down.
CGameProgrammer
10 kW
Bicycle riders are often even higher up than motorcycle riders, and they (motorcyclists) go very fast. The biggest threats to motorcycle riders, as far as I'm aware, are cars changing lanes without looking behind them, and cars making left turns when a motorcycle is approaching from the other direction, so the car turns in front of the motorcycle.
Both of these situations are greatly alleviated if the motorcycle tries not to go too fast relative to typical cars on that road.
Both of these situations are greatly alleviated if the motorcycle tries not to go too fast relative to typical cars on that road.
Lowell said:
Yeah, you can go overboard on the aero end of things as well.
So how far should this be taken, 300mph? :?
lemmiwinks said:If any of you guys steps off at 50 or 60mph you're going to slide a loooooong way (unless you hit something). Hope you're wearing something more substantial than shorts and a t-shirt or you're comfortable with a lot of gravel rash 8)
Another issue is other road users. A typical car driver is going to look, and assuming they actually even see you, (since they fail to see the majorty of cyclists) they aren't going to be able to compensate for a bicycle travelling at 50+mph since that simply wont compute in their brain. T-boning a car at that kind of pace ain't going to be pretty. Just sayin'...
Part of me thinks it's insane to go 50+mph on a bicycle, but part of me thinks frock yeah!
I run my lights during the day so I'm very visible to oncoming traffic. The K2 LEDs put out an impressive amount of light for their size and really stand out even in bright sunlight.
xyster
10 MW
So daytime running lights on motor vehicles are an effective accident deterrent?
I've broken two spokes going over little tiny bumps with heavy X5. What do you think will happen if, in a cascade of mechanical failure, you break a bunch of spokes at 60mph and the wheel goes flying apart?
TylerDurden
100 GW
xyster said:
You might be the first member in a new "club"...
8)
Your friends can post pix of what's left of your bike in the failed components topic.
.
Lol....
Anyone building a custom bike able to reach 60 mph.. has invested a considerable amount of cash in doing so..
If you are stupid enough to do this on a cheap 99$ walmart bike.. or on busy back streets.. you deserve your outcome !
I can't imagine sustaining 60 mph for very long.. but hitting this top speed for a few seconds on a designated part of open road is an option i'd go for.
zoom zoom .. hehe..
Anyone building a custom bike able to reach 60 mph.. has invested a considerable amount of cash in doing so..
If you are stupid enough to do this on a cheap 99$ walmart bike.. or on busy back streets.. you deserve your outcome !
I can't imagine sustaining 60 mph for very long.. but hitting this top speed for a few seconds on a designated part of open road is an option i'd go for.
zoom zoom .. hehe..
TylerDurden said:
If you could post a video, even better.
Might win something on GooTube for your effort.
xyster said:
I replaced the stock spokes with DT's and washers at the hub. I noticed the stock spokes seemed to 'stretch' and require constant fiddling, but so far with the DTs I haven't needed to turn a spoke at all.
http://www.dtswiss.com/index.asp?fuseaction=spokes.bike
Also, I don't think the wheel could go flying apart from a broken spoke... does that happen?
xyster
10 MW
I'm imagining a spoke or two breaking, under heavy power quickly leading to a cascade of spoke failures, ending when there's too few left to secure the wheel to the hubmotor.
CGameProgrammer
10 kW
Are spokes likely to break even if they're tight? I mean, could you not simply using a threadlocking adhesive to [semi-]permanently hold the spokes tightly in the eyelets? Those are adhesives used for threaded metal bolts/screws which hold them very securely, and are vibration-resistant (they're slightly soft to absorb them). Some require heating to 500 degrees Fahrenheit to loosen the bond.
xyster
10 MW
Yes. There's been many cases detailed on the old forum. I've broken two just riding slowly over little bumps. Most of these breaks occur at the point where the spoke rests against the eyelet of the hubmotor flange. I haven't heard of a case of cascading total spoke failure as we're discussing here, but considering my experience with 13 gauge crystalyte spokes and the 25lb X5, I'd put it well within the realm of possibility.
Better 12 gauge spokes with washers on the flange to prevent them from rubbing side-to-side against the eyelets, like it sounds Lowell did, should help reduce the risk I'd think.
safe
1 GW
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2006
- Messages
- 5,681
At speeds above 60 mph you need to make some preparations for the higher stresses that occur. Hitting a bump at 60 mph requires suspension front and rear.
This is an area where those 25 lb hub motors become a real problem since all that weight is "unsprung weight" and cannot be suspended. If you hit a bump at 60 mph with a hub motor the spokes will likely break... it's possible that you could have a catastrophic failure of the entire rear wheel... which would be no fun.
I always wear my leathers and a full faced helmet... you should too...
This is an area where those 25 lb hub motors become a real problem since all that weight is "unsprung weight" and cannot be suspended. If you hit a bump at 60 mph with a hub motor the spokes will likely break... it's possible that you could have a catastrophic failure of the entire rear wheel... which would be no fun.
I always wear my leathers and a full faced helmet... you should too...
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