How good are the BikeE recumbent bikes at high power / high speed?

[Cowardlyduck]

I missed this till now. To answer the original question about how good the BikeE is at higher power/speed...I think I'm qualified to answer this.
I converted my BikeE back in 2014 and have been riding it almost daily to commute to/from work ever since.
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=57751&start=275

It's been through a few variations in power/speed with the fastest being when I had it running on 16S LifeP04 and my (unbeknownst to me at the time) faulty 6Fet (Mini-monster) Infineon controller with no current limiting and 120% speed mode enabled. That let me push over 3KW and 65Kp/h through it. Also at that time, the battery was mounted over the rear tail leading to quite a few unintentional wheelies. :lol:


That was nuts, and since then I've toned it down a bit. In it's current form I fixed most of the original issues to running this thing at decent power/speed being:
-Internally mounted battery to fix the weight distribution/handeling
-Smooth tune-able, sine-wave controller to prevent steep throttle ramp
-Big volume tires to absorb big bumps and run lower pressure (35PSI Rear, 25PSI Front)
-Extra/additional padding on the seat. I used a neoprene cover and put padding between it and the original seat.
-Clipless pedals. A big help in preventing leg suck which thankfully I've only experienced once and is really bad.
-Adjust the seat as far forward as possible while still being comfortable/safe
-Ride very cautiously, especially on or around;
--Loose/wet surfaces
--Other people (especially children)
--Learn where big bumps are on your route and either avoid or slow right down for them
--Periodically 'reset' your sense of speed by taking it easy/slow for a day or two
-Adjust or limit your power/speed to something sensible. For my BikeE I've settled on around 1250W/50Kph.
-Use regen, but tune it properly. This is a massive help in stabilising the bike when it gets unsettled and you need to slow down quickly. Also saves on brake pads and gives a bit of extra range.

With all the above, in the 6 years I've been riding my BikeE around Canberra, I've never had a collision with another person or object. Only crashed 3 or 4 times and was able to ride away from all of them.
I am thinking about making a few changes to my BikeE to slightly reduce the speed a bit more in order to extend it's range, but not sure yet.

I'm also working towards converting a (non-electric version) Giant Revive. I'm thinking about making it more off-road capable, but it will still probably have a top speed of at least 40kph and at least 1000W.

Hope that helps. Happy high power/speed recumbenting.

Cheers

 

[Balmorhea]

-Clipless pedals. A big help in preventing leg suck which thankfully I've only experienced once and is really bad.

Ah yes, leg suck. One of recumbents' many different kinds of suck. I have sampled a few of them, but fortunately not that one.

 

[donn]

-Internally mounted battery to fix the weight distribution/handling

Interesting - made the pack yourself, or is there a battery that fits in there, off the shelf? I've never actually seen a BikeE, I assume you have to saw it open to get inside the frame member?

This looks like a model with no rear suspension.

I've managed to get away without any leg suck incidents, so I still have all my ankles. (I did have a little incident with a motorcycle that persuaded me of the importance of proper motorcycle boots.) I've never had clipless pedals either. I usually go down at very slow speed if any, and I don't push very hard on speed - the top speed meter sometimes reads 30mph afterwards, but that was going down a big hill, otherwise I hardly every break 20mph (32kph for you.)

Speaking of the meter, and of draining the battery going fast, do you have any readings on Wh/km? I'd say I run around 8, or 13 Wh/mile, sometimes less.

 

[Cowardlyduck]

Interesting - made the pack yourself, or is there a battery that fits in there, off the shelf? I've never actually seen a BikeE, I assume you have to saw it open to get inside the frame member?

Yes. 4 years ago now, but I recently dug up the original video for my new(er) channel:
[youtube]vVJX2giOrHE[/youtube]
Skip to 6:40 if your not interested in me rambling about other stuff first.

This looks like a model with no rear suspension.

Yes. Lighter and simpler frame internals at the expense of comfort, but I've done everything else to compensate for that with large tires and a heavily padded seat.

Speaking of the meter, and of draining the battery going fast, do you have any readings on Wh/km? I'd say I run around 8, or 13 Wh/mile, sometimes less.

Yes, it varies obviously with riding style though. When taking it really easy I can manage under 10Wh/km. When cruising at mid power (750W) I can manage 13-15Wh/Km. At full power (1250W) and not giving any sympathy to the battery/range, I can get as high as 18Wh/km.
Longest ride I've ever done was over 100km with a spare battery I swapped in during the ride. Had a sore butt after that one.

Cheers

 

[Warren]

The road is about 1/2 a mile long with a grade of about 16%. I weigh 175 lbs and the bike weighs about 35 lbs prior to being electrified.

Check out Mr. Bill's site for some great info.

https://mrbill.homeip.net/hybridBike.php#hubMotorHillsTesting