Triride LifeBike Conversion Help

[cj2000]

I am a manual wheelchair user looking to purchase a power add on but they are extremely expensive. The Triride I'm looking at is almost £5,000 but they sell a Triride without a motor for £950.00. So I'm wondering if I purchased a hub motor from Leaf Drive can anybody foresee any problems or have any advice for doing this? Would the Leaf Drive conversion kit be suitable to this kind of project? I hope to use it, on pavements, grass fields and small inclines. This would be my first build.

 

[gromike]

I see no inherent problem, though you would want to limit the speed to what they do, and keep the weight as low as possible.
Like the rest of us, you assume the liability of your build.

 

[Chalo]

Leaf is a good choice for a direct drive motor, because you can get an 11 turn or 13 turn version to get close to maximum possible torque at suitably low RPM with an ordinary controller.

MAC or GMAC might be better at stomping out torque at low speeds. Maybe? They're not available in all the different winding options like Leaf. MAC won't run in reverse, but GMAC will.

 

[offGridDownUnder]

This would be my first build.

You list that you are living in the UK. Consider if you'll be riding on the public road, and whether there are any restrictions on the paths off-road you'll be riding on. I know there are restrictions on mountain bike riding in some places - something like that may be relevant.

When you've worked out the speed range you want, you might use the Grin simulator to explore what you need to provide that. I find one Leaf motor in the list, and if you want to explore further there is an option to enter motor parameters to match others:
Leaf motor in Grim Simulator

Apart from the motor, think about maximising the battery - assuming a Lithium-ion chemistry. The battery is often the most expensive component, and by sizing the battery so that you only need to use about 2/3 of the maximum capacity, it can last for at least 3 times the kilometers, while also staying in it's safest state. This comes from never letting the charge go below 20% and charging only to 80%-85% at the top. Also, only buy batteries made with new, name brand cells - Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, LG. The economics work out, and you'll minimize the chances of fire danger. You'll want to factor this into the economic decisions.

There are good components available that can handle rain. I think you want this - a failure could be very inconvenient.