Here's the Russian "endless-sphere"

[spinningmagnets]

Here's the link to the E-bike section of electrotransport.ru http://electrotransport.ru/ussr/index.php?board=2.0

If you look in Google Chrome, it will translate the pages. Of course, you don't need to speak Russian to see the pictures:

Here's a guy who owns a tube-bender and a welder...
http://electrotransport.ru/ussr/index.php?topic=19526.0


7-page "Photo Gallery"
http://electrotransport.ru/ussr/index.php?topic=15907.0

159 page thread on "boast about your bike" (with pics)
http://electrotransport.ru/ussr/index.php?topic=2128.0

18 pages of E-bikes, title doesn't translate well
http://electrotransport.ru/ussr/index.php?topic=14857.0

 

[LSBW]

Some more pics:

 

[Eskimo]

That was interesting. I think there were more E-bikes on that photo-section that we have in our whole country. Way more.
It"s funny, Russia is only 150 miles away, but for many it"s like a black hole, they don"t wanna know anything about what"s going on there.
During the new year"s eve they come here in masses to shop around. They use only cash, 500 euro notes are standard, like two inch thick rolls. It"s a filthy rich country nowdays compared to us.
In many things they more liberal now than we are. Traffic, booze, smoking, sex, construction, owning, flying, food. The Wild East.
I think no one gives a damn about what kind of bike you ride over there. I am amazed if their law even mentions electric bicycle. It"s a non-EU zone, as we call it :wink:
I think i"m gonna do a ride today. We have warmest winter in around hundred years.
Lenght of the day reached six hours today :wink: Bicycle shops are having it good because there"s no snow out there.

 

[t3sla]

The RU forum is very inspiring and shows some great mechanical ingenuity.
I remember Hyena saying he always gets traffic from their site.

Here are some other ebike(pedelec) related forums that follow a different route to ES/RU

http://www.cyclurba.fr
http://www.pedelecforum.de
http://www.pedelecs.co.uk

Understanding pedelec
http://www.gopedelec.eu/handbookEN

I think if you are into electric bicycles you should have both and ebike and a pedelec.
One's nice moderate power torque sensing bicycle for recreations and a the other is a high powered device for tinkering and fun.

 

[madin88]

some of these russia guys have built their own FOC sine wave controller unit (MAX-E, Mini-E).
The company is called Adaptto E-drive Lab

more infos here (google translate to english):

http://translate.google.com/transla...dbox=0&usg=ALkJrhiKVLvE6PnPPOt1nSGfQkJmZerGeQ

I have the Max-E controller on my bike and i very like it.

 

[liveforphysics]

Russia has been the homeland of many of the best engineers in human history, and often the feats they accomplish were done with 1/10th the budget of similar feats in the US.

Much love and respect to the Russian EV building scene! Thanks for sharing the pics of the great looking work!

 

[alsmith]

I just love the variety- so many different ways to add electric power.

 

[Ykick]

My experience learning about and building a Theremin synthesizer introduced a HUGE amount of respect for Russian ingenuity coupled with their amazing spirit of art in technology.

 

[spinningmagnets]

Russia has been the homeland of many of the best engineers in human history

I once read a thin book called "MIG pilot" (http://www.amazon.com/Mig-Pilot-Final-Escape-Belenko/dp/0380538687), and it was very interesting. The MIG-25 was a new aircraft at the time, and this guy defected with one to a US airbase in Japan. They normally only put enough fuel in it for a short exercise, but he bribed the fuel guy to put in extra to "just have some fun". He later lamented that the fuel guy was probably tortured and killed. Most certainly his entire family was deported to a secure (and miserable) outpost.

But getting to the plane. Russia simply didn't have the money that the NATO alliance could throw at engineering problems. The MIG-25 had skin-flush rivets on any part that was in the air-stream, but in any place that didn't affect the aerodynamics, they had common round-headed rivets. The landing gear was considered too large and heavy by NATO standards, but it also was capable of landing on rough-cut improvised runways that an F-15/F-16 would never even consider landing on.

The Radar was very crude and short-range. The MIG-25 had to be guided to a threat by ground control radar, but...once in firing range, the MIG radar was "un-jammable" (I wonder how many MIG pilots got brain cancer from that little feature). The -25 had brutal acceleration, but the lack of engine sophistication meant that it also had very bad fuel mileage.

In light of the Challenger disaster, it is interesting to note that the Russian space program developed (and actually used several times) an escape system on their manned rockets. A liftoff was starting to "go sideways" as the engineers say, and...the head Cosmonaut pulled the handle for a safe capsule ejection.

If you want to know what works on E-bikes in the cold...ask a Russian.

 

[Punx0r]

The MIG-25 had skin-flush rivets on any part that was in the air-stream, but in any place that didn't affect the aerodynamics, they had common round-headed rivets.

This was done on the Spitfire during WW2. The engineers glued split peas over the flush rivets to find out which areas mattered during flight tests.

 

[spinningmagnets]

Speaking of the Brits in WWII, the war dept was dragged very reluctantly into accepting some of the DeHavilland Mosquitos, because it didn't use as much of the critical materials that were in short supply (much of it was made from wood). Once the pilots got their hands on it, they loved it. Very fast. It was also manufactured in two lengthwise halves, then bonded at the end of the assembly line. This made installing all the parts much faster and MUCH easier.

I'm a big fan of practical engineering. When a department has historically been given a blank check, they often throw money at problems...when the budget is tight (like in Russia), they have to be very clever and innovative.

 

[Punx0r]

Very true Forgetting about national stereotypes there are clever individuals and teams all over the world whose genius we occasionally get to see.

 

[lotrwiz]

THey are Russians-they don't use tube benders, they use their hands!

 

[Lebowski]

I think it'd be fun to become a member of the Russian forum and just use Google translate for posting and reading... wonder whether I'd be accepted or burned on the stakes as a bl@#dy westerner...

 

[parabellum]

I was trying to register there, 2 years ago, was not able to do it successfully. Will try it again.
P.S. I speak Russian, if you need help to understand google translate.

 

[pff7]

Russia has been the homeland of many of the best engineers in human history, and often the feats they accomplish were done with 1/10th the budget of similar feats in the US.

Much love and respect to the Russian EV building scene! Thanks for sharing the pics of the great looking work!

You said it best and I'm amazed as well.....me thinks some east-west communication would benefit all.

 

[Lebowski]

Russia has been the homeland of many of the best engineers in human history, and often the feats they accomplish were done with 1/10th the budget of similar feats in the US.

Much love and respect to the Russian EV building scene! Thanks for sharing the pics of the great looking work!

You said it best and I'm amazed as well.....me thinks some east-west communication would benefit all.

this reminds me of a documentory I once saw... US rocket scientists were for a long time trying to build (if I remember correctly)
some sort of self-oscillating rocket booster. After many years they came to the conclusion that it was theoretically
not possible.
To their amazement, after the cold war, it turned out the Russians had exactly such a motor and basically went 'how many you want to buy'

This afternoon I was reading through the Russian forum where I found a link to Arlin's output stage and the comment about whether we ever heard of SMD's

 

[etard]

I think it's pretty cool that they let non-members see the pics, most forums require that you sign up in order to see any content worth seeing.

p.s. Just bought that book Spin, I hope it's a good read, it seems to have gotten good reviews.