Ebike motor for indoor training bike

[cts_casemod]

I recently moved from Arizona to the UK, and truth be said have rode as much in 6 months as I used to in a single day. Weather, roads, lets not even start it...

So to get a bit healthier, I'm planning on making a indoor training cycle using the motor of my, now dead, electric bicycle. This allows me to regulate torque and have very accurate readings of the actual work produced, rather than the 'dumb' friction plates

It seems that not only I have to lock the freewheel, but there also is a clutch on the motor itself... Is there a simple way to lock the internal clutch, or am I better just inverting the whole thing (so that it drives the motor on the opposite direction?)

These are some pictures of the setup. Its one of the small 250W motors.

 

[amberwolf]

It'd almost certainly be easier to flip it over so drive chain is on the left than to open everything up and lock the pawls in the freewheel and clutch.

The only catch is if you want to shift gears with it other than by hand moving the chain, you'd have to "invent" a left-sided derailer. (can be done if you had to).

 

[silence]

What amberwolf said.
It is possible, and is done many times to lock the clutch by welding, but it would be somewhat irreversible mod.
I'd flip the wheel and find one of Disc Cogs from VeloSolo.
The rear derailleur can be left in place and used as a chain tensioner/chainline adjuster.
A front derailleur along with triple chainring is probably enough if you need some "speeds".

 

[cts_casemod]

Cool, that's what I thought then. Invert everything and spin it backwards (or pedal backwards?)

Ill be replacing the derailleur/chain with a single gear. All the components on that bicycle are worn out.
The question is how to properly tension the chain without the derailleur. Will I have to keep the tensioner, fabricating a custom bracket or is there a better solution?

Thanks.

 

[amberwolf]

Just leave the derailer on and lock it into the right chainline with it's adjustment/limit screws. Or zipties. If it works on the road it'll work on this.

 

[dogman dan]

Sounds fun for its own sake.

But I find the trainer, virtually identical to yours works fine for me for indoor pedaling. I have severe CFS, and can barely sustain a 50w effort for long.

I did find that it took me six months to get the ideal set up of the trainer for me. The tire pressure and roller pressure tuned perfect, with the trainer set to the lowest possible resistance. Even with my illness, I have no need to regulate the resistance beyond a tuning of the bike and roller.

I also had to find the right bike,( so it fits better than some of my bikes) and rear tire to make the trainer less noisy, and less ass hurt to be on it very long.

For tracking improvement, I just use an odometer. As I start to ride in higher resistance gears longer each 15 min session, I achieve a longer distance. I start in a 12 mph gear, and end the ride going about 8 mph. I just cannot sustain any higher effort. But the flapping of the legs still keeps the veins in my legs working instead of throwing clots.