Cargo Bike Build ...which motor/drive? My First build

[nunzio]

I Love to research !!!!! Ask my wife!!
I started reaching what components to use in my ecargo bike.
One problem...It appears to me.
Technology Marches On !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I read articles from 5 years ago and they seem like reading The Lost Tablets....Technology wise.
5 years ago a 500 Watt motor was plenty...5000 Watt motors are now starting showing up on builds
So....I am asking questions that have PLENTY of info on the internet...Is it current Technology is the question.
I hope you don't mind.

I am 6'3" 270lbs. 62YO.
I want to build a Cargo Bike with a trailer to ride on X-railroad trails and Nat'l park type riding with my wife.
We like to camp so the trailer will weight about 100 lbs.
I have ridden motorcycles all my life ,so, speed is not an issue. BTDT
Reliability is the number 1 issue.
Being able to pedal with a dead battery/motor.

What type of drive do I want?
What size?
With me being so FAT and wanting to pull a trailer...Am I asking too much?

Any Advice or Criticism is welcome.

Thanks...Alan

 

[amberwolf]

You might look at the builds in my signature. All of that stuff is built to carry cargo and big dogs, and while it's street riding you could adapt what you see to offroad easily enough.

If you look up the Raine Trike thread there is info on a variant of the SB Cruiser, which will use larger wheels for better ride/etc on the rear, vs the 20" that's on the SBC.


On long trips, charging your batteries could be an issue, so you might look thru the Solar Charging an Ebike thread, whcih discusses more than just solar. There are also various Guerilla CHarging threads about charging on the go.

 

[nunzio]

You might look at the builds in my signature. All of that stuff is built to carry cargo and big dogs, and while it's street riding you could adapt what you see to offroad easily enough.

If you look up the Raine Trike thread there is info on a variant of the SB Cruiser, which will use larger wheels for better ride/etc on the rear, vs the 20" that's on the SBC.


On long trips, charging your batteries could be an issue, so you might look thru the Solar Charging an Ebike thread, whcih discusses more than just solar. There are also various Guerilla CHarging threads about charging on the go.

Thanks for taking the time to reply!! amberwolf !!!!!!
I'll be stealing ideas from you... no doubt !!!

The trails we will use are more like roads...I'm through with off-road/single track stuff.We plan on staying at campgrounds,easy roads,etc....no real roughing it.maybe 20-30 miles a day.
I want to be able to read the historical markers and visit...no rush...that was in another life ....Alan

 

[dogman dan]

If you are looking for the best torque, at less than motorcycle speeds, then the choice is clear.

All the major players in the cargo bike market have now switched to mid drive motors. Some bosch, some bafang, some other motor brands. But 350-750w is plenty, even for uphill with two large people on the bike, if you don't want a lot of speed.

If you have the cargo bike or tow bike already, then just get a 750 BBso2 kit made by Bafang. It will grind up any hill, but slower and in lower and lower gears if the hill is very steep. Use some care, so you don't leave it in too high a gear on the steeper hills. The motor can be suffering without you realizing it when your weight is heavy. So gear down on those hills.

If charging up long steep mountains in the rockies at speeds more like 15-20mph is more your style, then the old school solution is still valid. This is a larger rear hub motor such as the leaf, muxus, or crystalyte. They will climb 8% grades loaded to 450 pounds on just 2000w, which is still a reasonable cost in terms of the battery requirements. More power, 3000w, 5000w,, that just gets dang expensive for the battery.

Here is my current version of the long bike and trailer. It's powered by an old large crystalyte, running a 48v 40 amps controller. so 2000w. The bike started as a cheap Schwinn beach cruiser, which I lengthened by 9 inches. It's built to be as long as it can be, and still carry on a swagman hitch mount bike rack on my Subaru. I still tend to ride a "tour" one segment at a time, or just want to start riding when I get to mountains. Plenty of cargo space with the trailer, for a real tour.

Note, this bike cannot use the BBs02 because it has the old style bottom bracket. But other good cruiser bikes like the electra townie can.

 

[Xray]

I use the 750w BBS02 on a tandem recumbent trike. With both of us, the trike and all our gear we are pushing 450 pounds or so. I have the Bafang geared down with a 36 tooth sprocket and it is turning a 20" wheel. So far we have about 1200 miles on this setup with no problems. We have plenty of power for climbing hills or accelerating across intersections. Our top speed is 24mph but we typically cruise at 16 mph. With a 20ah 48v battery we get around 40 miles, but that is with both of us pedaling most of the time and using the 3 or 4 setting (out of 9) on PAS.

 

[dogman dan]

Mid drive for the win. Two people pedaling helps of course, but I think your bike would do fine if your partner never really pushed on the pedals.

Maybe she is and you can't tell.