My solar-assisted custom tricycle FOLLIES

[ddk]

...

 

[ddk]

Been to that Florence, Oregon restaurant with the Chevys sticking out. Cool place. Being a "Ford guy" I was pleased to find several '49-'51 Fords inside that had been converted to dinettes. Almost got into an argument with a guy sitting in a '49 that insisted it was a '50. There are a half dozen definite differences but I let him continue being ignorant of such an unimportant part of automotive history.

I heard an unfortunate rumor from an acquaintance who lives up in that area that the Florence restaurant closed.
I thought it was pretty cool use of old car body parts... besides making lowriders outta them.

 

[ddk]

apparently smoke particles from forest fires makes fog much denser... and locally the fog has been really dense.



I've probably been told about this type of chain before, but I 're'-discovered it for myself this time.
As I was ordering some more half-links I found chain, made exclusively of half-links.
-lil' pricy @ $20 for 96 links, but far cheaper than individual half-links @ $3-something each

-captain obvious chiming in- The advantage to half-links is to reduce the angle of (or need for) chain idlers, because the length of chain can be adjusted in 1/2" increments, rather than 1" increments - to the uninitiated in chainology, that is a HUGE difference

 

[ddk]

While it would be fun to ride a beach bike, I've determined it's not funenuff to warrant the exercise of building one. + Overcoming it's transportation to/from said beaches
Instead, I'm embarking on another trike build using DD motors in loo of geared hub motors, if only for the braking effects of the DD motors in regen.
-for fun- (?)

I also determined a convertible tadpole trike, easy enough to design, not so to easy to build, is beyond my personal needs or wants and it would be better to leave that idea to someone healthier and/or younger. My delta trikes work fine for me.
Take away the "bicycle' part of a tadpole trike and that whole need for adjusting the height of the seat and lowering the chain drive? -bogus-
-conclusion-
project requires political action, not mechanical action. I ain't doing neither-nor
(three lefts makes a k>not)

It figures that right after I removed the roof from MPPM the fog gets, uhm... wetter. -roof reapplied-

Pulled up to a storefront today and two gentleman (old guys) soliciting donations for some cause or another immediately described MPPM as MPM (Mini Pope Mobile) as in "dat's a real nice Mini Pope Mobile ya gots dare"
I was amused enough to donate a few bucks
...something I mostly NEVER do, because of Early Life Experiences while attending forced military duty, where the Powers Of Command with Their Powers of Persuasion persuaded me, along with the rest of the lowest ranking recruits, to 'donate' a substantial percentage of our so-called wages to unitedways -An organization with "indefensibly high administration costs"
Maybe that org's management style changed? I don't care because their 'volunteer collectors' continued to use strong-arm tactics against lower-ranked employees of Every Large Company I ever worked, or contracted with (which was a whole lot of companies)...
...so upper management can claim 'they give'
(they give -to their fellow board members pockets)

...but I digress (per usual)
No need to redesign (my)design that is already known to be a workable design for me, the gimp.
-why another trike?
-truth be told (sometimes) ...my hands have developed signs of weakness along with arthritic pain*

i.e -I need stronger brakes that require (far) less effort on my part.

I love the stability of MT trike and see no reason to change geometries at this point of my life.
I might change to three-column straight forks (stronger) on this build. MT trike is compromised towards the advantages of geared-hub motors ...the front fork (bent-springer fork) might likely self-destruct once regen braking forces are applied
-maybe-
I'll test this theory as I have several sets of bent-springer forks available to (destructively) test.
-and a little (destruction) is always good



*these 'golden' years keeps on giving piss-colored lead weights

 

[amberwolf]

Instead, I'm embarking on another trike build using DD motors in loo of geared hub motors, if only for the braking effects of the DD motors in regen.

What about simply replacing the front wheel with a DD motor in an existing trike? You'd get the benefits of regen braking without a whole new project.

-truth be told (sometimes) ...my hands have developed signs of weakness along with arthritic pain*

i.e -I need stronger brakes that require (far) less effort on my part.

How about adding a force-multiplier in the brake line? I've forgotten what they're called, but I've seen these pulleys that can be installed to convert low-force brake levers meant for one kind of brake into higher-force levers for a differnet kind of brake.

I tried to find the one I was thinking of but didn't, however I found these two:

Scroll down to "V-dapter" here:
http://phred.org/~alex/bikes/brakes.html

This one *might* be what I was thinking of as it sounds familiar:
"Travel Agent", same page as above

I don't know if either one would fix your problem, but they might help for now.


Another option is using a linear actuator or other type of servo to do your actual brake cable pulling, and having the brake lever simply be an electrical switch to turn it on and off, with a backup mechanical brake lever or something in case of power failure.

 

[The fingers]

By reversing polarity of a DD hub and sending a low voltage through it, could it function as an electromagnetic retarder to provide braking assistance, such as when descending steeper grades?

 

[ddk]

...another trike build using DD motors... for the braking effects of the DD motors in regen.

What about simply replacing the front wheel with a DD motor in an existing trike? You'd get the benefits of regen braking without a whole new project.

of course I'll be using the existing MT trike for the front fork tests! How'd ya know? :lol:

How about adding a force-multiplier in the brake line? I've forgotten what they're called, but I've seen these pulleys that can be installed to convert low-force brake levers meant for one kind of brake into higher-force levers for a differnet kind of brake....
Another option is using a linear actuator or other type of servo to do your actual brake cable pulling, and having the brake lever simply be an electrical switch to turn it on and off, with a backup mechanical brake lever or something in case of power failure.

YES!-I know what you're talking about. I used what you're thinking of previously on a bike.
Unfortunately I hesitate to think it would solve 'my' issue, which is exacerbated by how far I open and close my hands.
...on the other hand, servos might be an option, but I'm not setup to build electronics peripherals (nor does my eyesight support such endeavors).

On the existing MT
Adding a DD drive to the rear axle (15mm axle) involves adding an additional sprocket to the existing stuff, where there's not enough room to do so.
Previous attempts involved adding a sprocket at the wheel hub, which 'kind of' worked. It needed regular adjustment before every ride so I'd rather not try that again.
Hollow hub DD motors for a 15mm axle would be a solid win for this application- but they don't exist AFAIK
Back to the present MT- I can see replacing the NV hub with a geared hub that drives trough the sprocket of a dd that drives the axle. (cornfusing)
It should be easier to build up a whole new rear end.
...additionally, if the bent-springer fork can't survive the forces of a DD in regen (High Probability) I'll have to adjust the headset angle of the trike for greater rake to support a straight fork in your basic "easy rider" configuration (lol) to keep the wheelbase the same, or slightly longer (important stability/safety issue)
-hence-might as well build a new frame where I keep the existing trikes functional
-because they're my only means of transportation

-this wouldn't be an issue if I deemed the Justwin's rear motor to be trustworthy. (MPPM)
MPPM hasn't failed since I last rebuilt the motor's sprag clutch, but I've only traveled a bit over 50 miles on it. I can't trust it until I've gone well over 100 miles without failure.

By reversing polarity of a DD hub and sending a low voltage through it, could it function as an electromagnetic retarder to provide braking assistance, such as when descending steeper grades?

How e-brakes work is the motor becomes a generator, dumping power in reverse.
So it's kind of what you're thinking of except different

 

[amberwolf]

By reversing polarity of a DD hub and sending a low voltage through it, could it function as an electromagnetic retarder to provide braking assistance, such as when descending steeper grades?

You can do that, but I am not sure what it will do to the controller or motor.

This will waste power and create a lot of heat in both the motor and the controller, because if you don't provide a voltage to the motor higher than what will be self-generated by the motor at that speed, then current will want to flow in reverse of what you are trying to put thru it, so your electronics will actually be experiencing voltages higher than what you are applying to them. (I think)


Anyway, if you really wanted to do active braking besides the usual regen braking, which essentially just turns on banks of FETs in time with the halls as shorts across the motor to the battery, you'd want to do it like a "flyback" transformer, which I think is also called Synchronous Rectification (I'm not totally sure of the sequence/timing of events, but it works like this):

You'd apply a *higher* voltage across a phase, to get current flowing in the coil, then short it out, so the spike pulse of even higher voltage that comes back from that gets rectified across the FETs for that phase back into the battery. Doing this in sync with the rotation of the motor keeps braking forces high all the way down to a near-stop, which regular regen can't do (becuase regular regen depends on the motor's speed to create the voltage to be shorted out).


It's not as efficient because it actually uses up power, and creates heat (because you're cancelling the motion of the vehicle with this, just like regular brakes or plug braking), but it definitely provides better braking forces.


Plug braking, or shorting out the motor phases to each other without trying to save the power off of them, just dissipating it as heat, brakes very well, too, but if you do it frequently like in traffic, *and* use that motor for acceleration right afterward, is going to take a much bigger or better-cooled motor than normal regen would (which itself still creates a fair bit of heat).

 

[amberwolf]

What about simply replacing the front wheel with a DD motor in an existing trike? You'd get the benefits of regen braking without a whole new project.

of course I'll be using the existing MT trike for the front fork tests! How'd ya know? :lol:

Well, yeah, but I think that your existing fork (possibly with modifications to ensure no axle rotation at the dropouts) will work fine for regen.

It depends partly I guess on how it's springer action works, in that braking might uncompress the suspension (whatever it does from a motor axle during acceleration, it'll do the opposite during braking).

I thought it was here on ES that I'd seen a bent-springer fork with a DD hub using regen before, but I can't find it now. I did a broader google search but there were too many results to sort thru with teh limited wifi time I have ATM.


The biggest issue I've had with regen is ensuring the axle cant' wiggle back and forth from the opposing forces, meaning having thick dropouts for applying the clamping/support forces across the most axle-flat surface area, and then having axle nuts that fit well on the axle threads and aren't too soft a metal so they can't work loose, and making sure those nuts are tight to start with and have something like those special serrated locking washers (the ones that have serrated faces on facing sides, using a pair of them; I forget what they're called but they're in the for-sale section often enough) so the nuts shoudln't be able to work loose from vibration.

As long as the axle can't move in it's support there should be no rocking and the motor shouldn't be able to come loose. That leaves only how the springer fork actually does it's suspension act as a possible issue, I think.

Hollow hub DD motors for a 15mm axle would be a solid win for this application- but they don't exist AFAIK

Maybe you could get Farfle or someone else that's done a hollow-axle motor successfully to modify one for you?

Back to the present MT- I can see replacing the NV hub with a geared hub that drives trough the sprocket of a dd that drives the axle. (cornfusing)

[/quote][/quote]
Yeah, that's complicated, plus I don't trust any of the DD hub's drive side threads to actually not break off under power--I think they only design them to take a cassette or freewheel so they can still call them bikes--not so you can actually pedal or otherwise apply much power thru them, because I've seen too many instances of sheared-off threads or the entire threaded section breaking off the cover (sometimes including the axle bearing!).

 

[ddk]

Removed the roof in anticipation of viewing the meteor show tonight... maybe. Fog has been really consistent and really thick; although the sun broke through for a few hours later in the day yesterday.
Today the sun looks like this:

I suppose I'll ride the into town today if the fog lifts, if only to check on the Century plant's condition
(answer: condition after blooming = "dead")
--- but how fast does it decompose?
"we don't know" (we meaning "me")

By reversing polarity of a DD hub and sending a low voltage through it, could it function as an electromagnetic retarder to provide braking assistance, such as when descending steeper grades?

You can do that, but I am not sure what it will do to the controller or motor.

This will waste power and create a lot of heat in both the motor and the controller, because if you don't provide a voltage to the motor higher than what will be self-generated by the motor at that speed, then current will want to flow in reverse of what you are trying to put thru it, so your electronics will actually be experiencing voltages higher than what you are applying to them. (I think)

[Rod Serling]for your consideration, if you will[/Rod Serling] accidentally install your DD motor backward. Without using the motor you cruise down a 10% incline. as you reach the bottom you apply power to the motor.
result:
Instantly the motor locks up the wheel, but then starts skidding the tire in reverse to the dction the bicycle is traveling, which effectively reduces friction between the tire and the road surface. i.e reducing the braking force.
(don't bother asking me how I know)

...
Plug braking, or shorting out the motor phases to each other without trying to save the power off of them, just dissipating it as heat, brakes very well, too, but if you do it frequently like in traffic, *and* use that motor for acceleration right afterward, is going to take a much bigger or better-cooled motor than normal regen would (which itself still creates a fair bit of heat).

I attempted plug braking on a trailer with dual DD motors, one per wheel.
result:
Even with almost 100 pounds of sled batteries, the tires locked up
Synchronous Rectification braking might need a good spanking on, but as previously posted, I've grown too old to build electronics stuff. Nor will I bother researching the subject. Others should work on this if interested.
A good e-brake would be a [Paul Revere and the Raiders]"Good Thing"[/Paul Revere and the Raiders]
A single DD hub has to absorb 500W-5kW for 30 seconds for my application (downhill "drag braking") which is why I give credence for using two DD motors

Maybe you could get Farfle or someone else that's done a hollow-axle motor successfully to modify one for you?

(because I'm an idiot I forgot this part) Actually, since I'd have to build a stub axle anyways it might as well be 20mm in diameter [puts on thinking cap with burnt out propeller]

Back to the present MT- I can see replacing the NV hub with a geared hub that drives trough the sprocket of a dd that drives the axle. (cornfusing)

Yeah, that's complicated, plus I don't trust any of the DD hub's drive side threads to actually not break off under power--I think they only design them to take a cassette or freewheel so they can still call them bikes--not so you can actually pedal or otherwise apply much power thru them, because I've seen too many instances of sheared-off threads or the entire threaded section breaking off the cover (sometimes including the axle bearing!).

I did not consider this aspect.
I successfully use the freewheel threads as a drive sprocket holder-on-ner as attested by MT's current attire, which already has many thousands of miles on it. A Bafang geared-hub motor with a track sprocket threaded on the motor's freewheel threads drives the input of MT's NuVinci hub transmission (I'm nowadays fairly used to dealing with complicated drive trains and chains)
I consider using two motors, each geared for very different top speeds to be a replacement to the NuVinci, where I use single speed gearing for the pedals (since I'm no longer able to add appreciable energy to the trike's drive, why bother? )
I've discovered whilst using MT I only change the NuVinci's transmission settings going up greater-than 10% grades.
I resume my more normal 1:1 setting below a 10% grade. I rarely use the 1:5 overdrive. (mainly by accidentally twisting the worm control too far)
Gearing down a second motor (actually a third motor) to accomplish the same thing seems eminately cheaper (and more reliable) than continuing using the NV transmission. Which is known to fail when too much torque is applied to the drive-side (or, if you will, just enough torque is applied)
I was hoping to use both one flange and the freewheel threads of a DD motor to accomplish my chaining duties.
- I do have a 20-tooth sprocket drilled for the disc brake mounting holes and shall use that instead of a track sprocket.
Because of the 20-tooth sprocket I am forced to use the 350W geared-hub motor as the "hill-killler-motor".
But I know that application works just fine :wink:

 

[ddk]

...

I also determined a convertible tadpole trike, easy enough to design, not so to easy to build, is beyond my personal needs or wants and it would be better to leave that idea to someone healthier and/or younger. My delta trikes work fine for me.
Take away the "bicycle' part of a tadpole trike and that whole need for adjusting the height of the seat and lowering the chain drive? -bogus-

in case someone else would like to try:
my sketches are too rough to show the world so I won't but:
the idea starts with an a-frame where the trike's front and rear grow farther apart as you sit in the trike's seat.
-was calculating springs and such when I realized I ain't gonna build it.
-cause I'm a little slow most times, but I'm stupidly stubborn and single-minded. all. the. time.

 

[ddk]

The peak of the meteors came and went with foggy skies.
I had some hopes last night, which started with clear sky but as the night ground down, the fog rolled in.

My batteries are all charged 'just in case' any ways.
It takes about 30Ah (per motor) to climb my local peak, where a 5-mile climb @ 15% grades (and *much* steeper) await me, sucking all the lil' electrons out of my packs.

I know this display will never be as great as it was in 1993*, right after the comet Swift–Tuttle visited the hood.
In that year I gathered up the family members, loaded'em into the van and drove to a bluff that overlooked a lake some 30 miles north of the city lights.
While the family complained about all the stuff families complain about** I was treated to displays of the most amazing sights that looked as if the whole event was created by former SFX artists from "Commander Cody" -with the trailing (and rising) sparkler effects and puffs of smoke (also rising) emanating from some of the larger meteors.

* 1993 also included major flooding where we lived (we were spared- location, location, location). Speaking of hoods, new, totally creepy neighbors that caused us to sell the house so as to receive less antics from (a little) less creepy neighbors somewhere closer to my job.
-my kids hated this move.My spouse held a different, and far more persuasive position.

** "it's too dark outside" "I'm cold" (temps in the mid 80's) "I don't see anything" "when can we go home?" "A MOSQUITO BIT ME" etc etc etc

 

[ddk]

oh noes!
hightekbikes seems to have left this planet , hopefully for a better one.

rats- Terry (of hightekbikes) shared my disdain for all-things-paypal.
I haz to search for another e-bike-motor vendor that also shares this "feeling inside" -or at least just takes CC via the previous-to--pay-pal methods.

MT trike is making odd noises in the rear end.
So far, just looking at stuff (axle and other possible 'rub' points) I've not a clue... no abrasion, not even a little.
Hopefully it's not the motor. The motor-driven chain, which got somewhat damaged during initial assembly has always made noise. I like this as it calls attention to the trike when I'm approaching from the rear. (like a bell, only different than a bell)

 

[ddk]

View attachment 5View attachment 3

...and a couple of hours later and the noise is fixed.
Had a hub-bearing failure on the left-hand (undriven) wheel.
Lucky for me I have spare 20" hollow-hub wheels (not-so-lucky as to why I have spare 20" wheels)

 

[ddk]

wow- three posts today
on a roll!

My 1010B+ charger died and I'm not enthralled about it.
This was the replacement charger (replaced under warranty) for the original purchased 1010 that died within 6 months. The one-year mark ended this month and I want to try some other branded charger
I find it somewhat interesting my super cheapy R/C balance chargers have survived this long, but neither one is capable of charging 10S
Yes, I have other means of bulk-charging, but I used the 1010 specifically with solar power
My other bulk chargers run off +90V (household power)


-so I'm looking for suggestions for a mid-to-high power (200W +) r/c charger that can handle balance charging at least 10S of LiCo- just like a 1010B+ only more reliable.

in other less interesting news my fix is good. The trike is back to tolerable levels of chain noise. (and REALLY LOUD SQUEAKY BRAKES which provide instant warning to bystanders)

 

[amberwolf]

oh noes!
hightekbikes seems to have left this planet , hopefully for a better one.

What happened? (his site is still up)

 

[ddk]

oh noes!
hightekbikes seems to have left this planet , hopefully for a better one.

What happened? (his site is still up)

site's still up and "out of stock"
His original site went bogus last year
I've called a few times... no answer....no return calls
so, to answer your question:
I.Don't.Know.


ordered a Thunder 1220 to replace the iCharger 1010B+
-in wait mode-

 

[ddk]

"born to die"

 

[ddk]

today was an almost perfect day, marred by being slightly too hot.
No problem!
Rode MT south to Crissy fields where it was 10F cooler and cruised the trails for a several hours.
With dual motors Mt is excellent on trails and only bogs down a bit by deep, dry sand. Otherwise MT negotiates short rocky climbs, tree roots and wall-to-wall pine cones with relative ease. All-wheel drive FTW
While exploring I discovered new trails leading to the banks of the Winchuck River.

Afterwards I headed father south to Pelican State Park to watch the sea do it's very choppy thing.

Later into the evening I recharged today's battery packs a blood-red moon rose over the mountains.This is where I noticed that the coolpix camera really does a poor job of taking twilight shots or moon shots. My several-year-old Kodak queasyshare camera does a much better job of this type of photography.
well, beings lazy I think I'll look into a Canon camera with the presets for all things photo-worthy.

more random rides

 

[ddk]

waiting on the thunD-ARR 1220 (it's a pirate thang)
-ordered magic pie 2 w/external controller for MT's front wheel from GM.ca
Once The Magic pie arrives I will possess 4 spare motors/controllers*. dimmit









---stuff for un-started projects and never-finished modifications

 

[ddk]

All my previous bikes have had Shimano derailleurs, cepting a Raleigh which was stolen before I needed to adjust anything.
MPPM (Justwin) has SRAM components which is New2Me.
I musta bumped sumtin because the gear cage stopped shifting right (or left, for that matter)
So by using my ultimate power of levitation, or possibly MyBestBuyEver, the powered hoist, I readied MPPM for surgery.
I have to admit, the SRAM was the easiest derailleur I've ever adjusted

 

[ddk]

I like how this charger works.
Esp. the "bulk" mode which charges like I charge manually, turning off it's charge power for several seconds to check the resting voltage of the battery and then resuming the operation.
500W... 12S LiPo (along with the usual battery suspects)
~$90 + shipping

now we see how long it lasts.


I'm not a horticulturalist nor do I resemble one, so I have to believe what I read. This Century plant was supposed to have bloomed weeks ago.
Why does it look like it's just bloomed today?
-haven't a clue.

 

[docnjoj]

Wherz the flowers?
otherDoc

 

[ddk]

Wherz the flowers?
otherDoc

f you're asking about the flowers of the Century plant (Agave Americana- made me look) that's the yellow stuff on the lower bunches of, what apparently are tubers..
I finally looked up this plant in the wikipedia for information.
The info is from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agave_americana
It's a plant where edible worms are harvested (yum or yuck) along with a fiber used to work leather.
When I was a kid, I unknowingly used said fiber to decorate leather belts.
The tubers are filled with a high-fructose syrup, harvested and sold as such.
blah blah blah...
***************************
End of August and the rainy season instantly starts.
I ran out of propane last night.
5.6 gallons of propane every 75 days seems to be the schedule (80% capacity of a tank is all that's ever filled -a safety measure)
Today is a rain day. I can wait until tomorrow to take the tank to the fill station.

The two previous days where fairly warm and I found myself drawn to riding the trails once more.
This time I had my camera...View attachment 2

 

[docnjoj]

Wow those trails are gorgeous! The worms remind me of "meal worms" that we raised as kids to feed our pet lizards. I kept a terarium (sp?) for them and they were a load of fun and responsibiity cause the worms hatched into beetles which laid eggs in the meal.............etc. This in a New York City apartment.
otherDoc