I Am Buying A Kit For My Trike

[EarlB]

This video really helped me see the dynamics of a torque arm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROB3OxRwLoQ I am getting everything lined up and ordering in a frenzy this after noon. grin doesn't have the torque arm I want in stock, but after watching a few videos, am going to just get a pair from Amazon and make adaptations. I am mechanical. I have a drill press, grinder, tools, and ready access to a welder. My torque arms will only fit my bike, and nothing is moving! I am a relatively insecure, but adventurous person.

Got a cloud 9 in theAmazon Basket. I am picking the most adaptable heaviest looking cheap torque arm on Amazon. I have a hose clamp and u-bolt setup in mind with welded adjustment points. It will only fit MY trike fork! I want NO movement in any direction! If I could, I would put two torque arms on each side.

Got the Cloud 9 in my basket.

 

[EarlB]

5 years from now I would be 79. My body is warning me not to try to make 80.

I can't order tires until I measure the interior width of the wheel they send me. Apparently 1.75 comes in three widths.

Honestly: The battery may last longer than I do.

That is what I thought some six years ago when I purchased my Golden Motor kit. Now that LiFePO4 battery pack will barely get me to the grocery store and back (about 5 miles round trip) ... on the other hand it is still getting me there and back but I top it off for a couple hours just prior to going to the store.

It is ready for tires. I am looking at the Tannus tire liner.

I am rebuilding my main bike (Grocery Getter). I run Schwalbe Big Apple Raceguard 28x2 which is the largest tire I can fit in the rear frame. Strangely enough I only seem to get flats on the rear wheel but those are inconvenient enough to add Tannus tire liners as well. All I can tell you about them at present is that they come packed in a small box folded up like pretzels. It takes three afternoons in the Texas Sun for stress relief for them to return to a circular form. LOL! GO TEXAS!

 

[EarlB]

I feel like I have learned enough in just the last couple weeks to become dangerous. I have everything lined up, but one critical question has question risen. Will a 500 watt 48/52 volt hub rated at 17 mph max and 17 amp max(no reverse) with a 52 volt 20 amp battery serve me just as well as a 1500 watt hub with the same battery? Will the 500 watt hub put less stress on my fork than the 1500 watt hub?

Miami Sun Trike. I want 20 mph, slightly plus. I may never ride it that fast, but I want it available.

I've worked on a whole lot of trikes, and believe me when I tell you-- you really don't want to go that fast, ever, on a granny trike. They get very treacherous and you will hurt yourself. Your Helix doesn't twist itself up like a granny trike and try to flip over, so it's not a good basis of comparison. You are at an age and state of health where you're no longer allowed to pile into the ground that hard.

15 mph is plenty on a granny trike. It's like the 30 mph of trikes. You'll still have to be very careful, because the trike still wants to put you on your head at that speed. The good news is that for any given amount of electric power, the trike will accelerate and climb harder the lower its top speed is. Also, your battery will take you a lot farther at a lower speed.

The Leaf 1500W is a great kit; I use a front one on my own 29" bike. One of its best features in your case is that you can get whatever winding you want at no extra cost, to give you the correct motor RPM per volt for what you're doing. Because RPM per volt and torque per amp trade off against each other directly, getting just enough RPM per volt will maximize the amount of torque you have available from the stock controller.

The unloaded motor speed needs to be about 1.25 times your desired top speed in a case like this where there's an abundance of power. So that means you're looking at an unloaded speed of about 260 RPM for a 24 inch wheel, or 240 RPM if you're using a 26 inch wheel. Leaf will set you up with the most appropriate winding if you tell them what unloaded RPM you want. It will probably be a 9 turn armature if you're using a 48 volt battery.

 

[markz]

Its best to get a battery that is 48V or 52V and 40A and get a controller that is 48V or 52V and 25A then if that is not enough you can always get another cheap controller that is 35 or 40A. It'd be not good to go the other way around, buy a 48/52V 20A battery and buy a 48/52V 30A controller even if the battery has a BMS. The battery is expensive but you can always get more power cheaply by changing the cheap controller.

I feel like I have learned enough in just the last couple weeks to become dangerous. I have everything lined up, but one critical question has question risen. Will a 500 watt 48/52 volt hub rated at 17 mph max and 17 amp max(no reverse) with a 52 volt 20 amp battery serve me just as well as a 1500 watt hub with the same battery? Will the 500 watt hub put less stress on my fork than the 1500 watt hub?

Miami Sun Trike. I want 20 mph, slightly plus. I may never ride it that fast, but I want it available.

I've worked on a whole lot of trikes, and believe me when I tell you-- you really don't want to go that fast, ever, on a granny trike. They get very treacherous and you will hurt yourself. Your Helix doesn't twist itself up like a granny trike and try to flip over, so it's not a good basis of comparison. You are at an age and state of health where you're no longer allowed to pile into the ground that hard.

15 mph is plenty on a granny trike. It's like the 30 mph of trikes. You'll still have to be very careful, because the trike still wants to put you on your head at that speed. The good news is that for any given amount of electric power, the trike will accelerate and climb harder the lower its top speed is. Also, your battery will take you a lot farther at a lower speed.

The Leaf 1500W is a great kit; I use a front one on my own 29" bike. One of its best features in your case is that you can get whatever winding you want at no extra cost, to give you the correct motor RPM per volt for what you're doing. Because RPM per volt and torque per amp trade off against each other directly, getting just enough RPM per volt will maximize the amount of torque you have available from the stock controller.

The unloaded motor speed needs to be about 1.25 times your desired top speed in a case like this where there's an abundance of power. So that means you're looking at an unloaded speed of about 260 RPM for a 24 inch wheel, or 240 RPM if you're using a 26 inch wheel. Leaf will set you up with the most appropriate winding if you tell them what unloaded RPM you want. It will probably be a 9 turn armature if you're using a 48 volt battery.

 

[EarlB]

This is the setup I am looking at:

This 24 inch 48V / 52V 500W front hub motor electric bike conversion kit combines the full E-bike technology: direct drive Brushless Geared high torque hub Motor to change almost every bicycle into a personal electric bike. Save energy, protect environment and save money with a lot of fun.

Main Features:
>. Rim: 24 inch double wall Alloy (Rim Fit For: 24 × 1.5" / 1.75" / 1.95" tire)
>. Spoke: 12 gauge / 156 mm Length × 36 pcs
>. Engine: Bldc hub motor -- Brushless Geared
>>. Voltage: 48V / 52V
>>. Power: 500W
>>. Efficiency: 78%
>>. Max speed: 28.9 kmh -- 17.8 mph
>>. Mechanical brake: Disk or V
>>. Cable location: shaft end , RIGHT
>>. Cable length:160cm / 63"
>>. Install: spacing of 100mm fork
>>. Noise: < 60 db
>>. Surface: Bright silver

>. Driver: brushless controller
>>. MOSFET: 6 PCS
>>. With LCD: YES
>>. Rated Voltage: DC 48 / 52 Volts
>>. Min. Voltage: DC 40 ± 0.5 V
>>. Rated power: 500 Watts
>>. Casing material: aluminium
>>. Maximum Current: 16 A ± 1 Amps
>>. Thermal: aluminum shell and the substrate
>>. 3 phase 120° brushless motor
>>. Operating Conditions: -20~45 °C
>>. Waterproof design
>>. Size: 95 mm L × 61 mm W × 35 mm H

LCD-003, More Function:
* Cruise
* Reverse (The motor does not support the reversal)
* Regen brake
* Kmh / mph
* Set Max speed ( 0 ~ 72 kmh / 45 mph )
* Pedal assist ( 1 - 5 )
* ...

Package Content:
1 x 24 inch 48V / 52V 500W front bldc hub motor wheel
1 x 48V / 52V 6-MOSFET motor controller
1 x LCD-003 ( display speed, mileage, battery gauge.. )
1 x Twist throttle
1 x Brake lever
1 x Three button switches
1 x Pedal assist

Net weight: 5.93 kg / 13 lbs
Package Size: 62cm L x 22cm W x 61cm H / 24.4" L x 8.7" W x 24" H
Package Type: Cardboard Box

Its best to get a battery that is 48V or 52V and 40A and get a controller that is 48V or 52V and 25A then if that is not enough you can always get another cheap controller that is 35 or 40A. It'd be not good to go the other way around, buy a 48/52V 20A battery and buy a 48/52V 30A controller even if the battery has a BMS. The battery is expensive but you can always get more power cheaply by changing the cheap controller.

I feel like I have learned enough in just the last couple weeks to become dangerous. I have everything lined up, but one critical question has question risen. Will a 500 watt 48/52 volt hub rated at 17 mph max and 17 amp max(no reverse) with a 52 volt 20 amp battery serve me just as well as a 1500 watt hub with the same battery? Will the 500 watt hub put less stress on my fork than the 1500 watt hub?

Miami Sun Trike. I want 20 mph, slightly plus. I may never ride it that fast, but I want it available.

I've worked on a whole lot of trikes, and believe me when I tell you-- you really don't want to go that fast, ever, on a granny trike. They get very treacherous and you will hurt yourself. Your Helix doesn't twist itself up like a granny trike and try to flip over, so it's not a good basis of comparison. You are at an age and state of health where you're no longer allowed to pile into the ground that hard.

15 mph is plenty on a granny trike. It's like the 30 mph of trikes. You'll still have to be very careful, because the trike still wants to put you on your head at that speed. The good news is that for any given amount of electric power, the trike will accelerate and climb harder the lower its top speed is. Also, your battery will take you a lot farther at a lower speed.

The Leaf 1500W is a great kit; I use a front one on my own 29" bike. One of its best features in your case is that you can get whatever winding you want at no extra cost, to give you the correct motor RPM per volt for what you're doing. Because RPM per volt and torque per amp trade off against each other directly, getting just enough RPM per volt will maximize the amount of torque you have available from the stock controller.

The unloaded motor speed needs to be about 1.25 times your desired top speed in a case like this where there's an abundance of power. So that means you're looking at an unloaded speed of about 260 RPM for a 24 inch wheel, or 240 RPM if you're using a 26 inch wheel. Leaf will set you up with the most appropriate winding if you tell them what unloaded RPM you want. It will probably be a 9 turn armature if you're using a 48 volt battery.

 

[motomech]

The recycled "Jump" motor deal is still going on.
It's a little fast for this app., but it could be run on 36V, or maybe even 24V.
https://jag35.com/collections/jehus-deals/products/26-bafang-36v-dc-electric-bike-wheel-tire-w-tektro-disk-break

 

[EarlB]

I used advice from many of you, and I got my trike set up. For less than $1,000 I got an Ebikling 1200 watt front hub, and a 52 volt 19.6 amp hour battery. My grandson helped me install it and I figured out how to set the computer up. It took me a couple weeks of riding, learning, and playing with the computer to get it where I want it for ME. So far I have only used the trike to run my dog three miles around my little town almost every morning. I've managed to train him to run off leash through the highway intersection. He ignores other animals, traffic, and usual noises and movements. I think I put a big block V/8 in a model T to go to the grocery store, but I am very pleased with what I have! You guys are right about speed. I have a five speed hub on my Miami Sun Trike. At 12-14 mph, my pedals become useless. No big thing, because I have little urge to go faster than 15 mph on that little death machine. On the last 150 yard stretch of our three mile run, if there are no cars, I let the dog open up. He can sprint 20 mph. In that safe stretch "I do go 18-20 mph. I have my speed limit set at 25 mph. I do not want to know how fast I can go. No sir. My grandson has a Radpower bike. I accelerate significantly faster than him when we do not peddle. LOL! I have only had to charge my battery 3-4 times in 120 miles. I've never let the battery go below 50%. My grandson put hard rubber tires on it Sunday, so I never have to worry about a flat. NOW! I am ready for a road trip without the dog. I am very happy with what I have! My dog is very happy! He won't even poop or pee when we ride and run.

 

[EarlB]

Those hard rubber tires are a hard ride. I think I need a shock absorbing seat post. Maybe.

 

[Chalo]

Those hard rubber tires are a hard ride. I think I need a shock absorbing seat post. Maybe.

Airless tires are hard on the machine, too. Wheels especially get beat to pieces in pretty short order.