Matador
100 kW
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2016
- Messages
- 1,045
Hi folks. I've been on this forum since 2017, so I'm relatively familiar with how eBikes work (I own 2 myself).
But I need some advice, as I am not familiar with electric tricycles.
Here is the deal. I just found out that my older sister is looking for an electric tricycle.
Her budget is between 2500 and 5000 $ (canadian dollars).
The thing is, she has a disability (she suffers from ataxia, a degenerative disease that gets worst with age). Basically, it means that she does not have a good equilibrium and can easily fall and get hurt, hence why she is looking for a trike rather than a standard 2 wheel bicycle (she is not able to ride a normal bicycle). She also becomes tired quite easily after a relatively short period of physical effort. Anyhow, she enjoys being outside and sometimes ride on a tandem bicycle with here husband. She still wants to do as much physical exercise as she can within what is possible for her (she want to keep as much physical autonomy as possible).
So she asked me to look for a e-tricycle for her as she wants to be able to ride starting summer 2021.
She is 160 cm (5'3") and weights 120 lbs (55 kg).
Desired specifications are as follow:
Range : 1 hour ride (about 30 km).
Speed : 25-30 km/h (could be faster, but she does not care much about speed)
Type of ride: bicycle paths only, with a moderate amount of hills.
If possible, not too heavy of a trike to lift
Preferred colors for the frame : orange, pink or red.
Any suggestion for a e-trike frame ???? I'm thinking that installing a kit would be much more cost effective than buying a premade turn-key e-trike.
I need to find the right donor trike. Any suggestions ?
I was thinking of maybe installing a BBSHD, but I don't know if it's easy to do on a trike.
She told me that once she gets exhausted on PAS-mode, she would like to be able to just use throttle only mode to follow here husband.
I've seen pre-made trikes with a hub motor in the front wheel, but I think these would probably be a bit unstable for her as most of the trike's weight is distributed on the rear wheels, I think the front wheel would have a tendency to spin out or loose grip in certain situations. Is there any way to mount a hub on the rear wheels ? I'd guess you need 2 motors and 2 controllers (that option seems quite complicated).
Any things I should be aware about before trying to install a BBSHD on a trike frame ??
Any frame that's a good candidate and reasonable price (Thinking that 400-1000$ is a reasonable price for the trike frame). ???
For the battery, I would like to build it for her (Thinking I would do a 13S6P or 14S6P with LG HG2 or Sony VTC4) and put it in a battery box.
Any thought are welcome. I'm in the unknown with trikes, but I would love to see my sister be able to have fun like that. It was never possible for her to consider biking as a hobby before, because of her disability, so I want to help her with that.
PS: the trike is only for leisure (not for commuting to work or for groceries). Knowing her needs, 250W would not be enough for her. 350W would be the very bare minimum. 500W or more would be ideal. Otherwise, I know some hill would be very problematic for here. Trying to balance enough power and not having a trike that too heavy (within what's possible/reasonable for a trike).
Thanks to all of you,
Matador
But I need some advice, as I am not familiar with electric tricycles.
Here is the deal. I just found out that my older sister is looking for an electric tricycle.
Her budget is between 2500 and 5000 $ (canadian dollars).
The thing is, she has a disability (she suffers from ataxia, a degenerative disease that gets worst with age). Basically, it means that she does not have a good equilibrium and can easily fall and get hurt, hence why she is looking for a trike rather than a standard 2 wheel bicycle (she is not able to ride a normal bicycle). She also becomes tired quite easily after a relatively short period of physical effort. Anyhow, she enjoys being outside and sometimes ride on a tandem bicycle with here husband. She still wants to do as much physical exercise as she can within what is possible for her (she want to keep as much physical autonomy as possible).
So she asked me to look for a e-tricycle for her as she wants to be able to ride starting summer 2021.
She is 160 cm (5'3") and weights 120 lbs (55 kg).
Desired specifications are as follow:
Range : 1 hour ride (about 30 km).
Speed : 25-30 km/h (could be faster, but she does not care much about speed)
Type of ride: bicycle paths only, with a moderate amount of hills.
If possible, not too heavy of a trike to lift
Preferred colors for the frame : orange, pink or red.
Any suggestion for a e-trike frame ???? I'm thinking that installing a kit would be much more cost effective than buying a premade turn-key e-trike.
I need to find the right donor trike. Any suggestions ?
I was thinking of maybe installing a BBSHD, but I don't know if it's easy to do on a trike.
She told me that once she gets exhausted on PAS-mode, she would like to be able to just use throttle only mode to follow here husband.
I've seen pre-made trikes with a hub motor in the front wheel, but I think these would probably be a bit unstable for her as most of the trike's weight is distributed on the rear wheels, I think the front wheel would have a tendency to spin out or loose grip in certain situations. Is there any way to mount a hub on the rear wheels ? I'd guess you need 2 motors and 2 controllers (that option seems quite complicated).
Any things I should be aware about before trying to install a BBSHD on a trike frame ??
Any frame that's a good candidate and reasonable price (Thinking that 400-1000$ is a reasonable price for the trike frame). ???
For the battery, I would like to build it for her (Thinking I would do a 13S6P or 14S6P with LG HG2 or Sony VTC4) and put it in a battery box.
Any thought are welcome. I'm in the unknown with trikes, but I would love to see my sister be able to have fun like that. It was never possible for her to consider biking as a hobby before, because of her disability, so I want to help her with that.
PS: the trike is only for leisure (not for commuting to work or for groceries). Knowing her needs, 250W would not be enough for her. 350W would be the very bare minimum. 500W or more would be ideal. Otherwise, I know some hill would be very problematic for here. Trying to balance enough power and not having a trike that too heavy (within what's possible/reasonable for a trike).
Thanks to all of you,
Matador