My RC Mid Drive with Single Stage Reduction

[FZBob]

Finally after a long time it’s rideable, first test went really well, it was just a short ride around the block since it is late

First thing that needs to change is the controls, right now it’s the same as my friction drive, 1 button press 25% torque, 2 50% and 3 100%. Right now it’s really easy to get hurt with that, a throttle will probably be the way to go, maybe slit in two, a button that you press to activate and deactivate the motor and a lever that controls the torque

Looking good!

I really like having a throttle for technical stuff and a cruise control switch for long steady climbs. I set the cruise control for 100 to 150 watts, (it varies depending on how fast I pedal). The throttle over-rides the cruise control in case I need a bit of extra power. I probably use the cruise control at least 90% of the time. Cruise control also gets better mileage...

 

[Pedrodemio]

Long overdue update but a new version, motor moved from the rear of the seat to under the frame so that the flexing of the spindle doesn't change chain length significantly, works flawlessly

I have enclosures printed and ready to the VESC but since I'm at the dry season I haven't bothered yet

And the best throttle is indeed a simple potentiometer glued to the gear shifter, it's at the perfect place to reach with a finger and I can set the motor torque to any value I want

 

[uhmwpolyethylene]

An

Long overdue update but a new version, motor moved from the rear of the seat to under the frame so that the flexing of the spindle doesn't change chain length significantly, works flawlessly

I have enclosures printed and ready to the VESC but since I'm at the dry season I haven't bothered yet

And the best throttle is indeed a simple potentiometer glued to the gear shifter, it's at the perfect place to reach with a finger and I can set the motor torque to any value I want

Any updates

 

[Pedrodemio]

An

Any updates

Nothing more yet, rock solid so far

Since it's starting to rain more frequently I will likely install the enclosures soon to make it water proof, else too many days I don't ride by fear of getting caught in a storm

I'm also considering doing a version that drives directly the rear wheel with the same gear ratio as the lowest gear, for that I took all the logs and simulated how much better or worse the battery usage would be

The goal is to be able to use regenerative brake

All rides it's an improvement, some rides lowered consumption by 20%, some by 75% and some by 100%

As in, the energy I get back is more than it takes to climb hill due to when climbing it's my legs energy plus motor

Still a work in progress, I want to see how much better it would be with a clutch so you don't have to overcome the core losses of the motor all the time

Still a work in progress