Ebike conversion

nabsim

nabsim

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I am after a bit of advice from you ‘e’ cyclists.

I have a hand cycle that has one 16” wheel at the front and two 20 or 24” wheels at the back and it drives through various guides and pulleys to the rear via a Shimano 7 speed cluster then a short separate chain to the rear.

I am looking at options for adding an electric motor to this and I got rear drive with the intention of adding a 16” electric hub drive to the front if I needed it. Mid/crank drive is not an option as the crank is where the handlebars would be on a bike :)

So, am I better going fo front wheel electric drive or an electric drive to one of the rear wheels? Only one wheel is driven at the rear so it would be the non-pedal driven wheel.

Lastly, the rules concerning pedal assist and adding a twist grip do not apply if you have a 3 wheeler, only 2 wheelers. The hand crank has a gear selector on the right hand pedal along a with back brake and front brake on left.

I do not want the electric drive to be in use normally only on inclines or if I have trailer on the back with dogs or shopping in it so I presume some sort of on/off switch then either twist grip or thumb throttle on left but I would want it to cut drive when I brake.

Any ideas or on topic (that means you Del) suggestions?
 
I would think that a front wheel drive would be best, and much easier to fit and adapt. The balance, both for drive and weight distribution, of the vehicle would be much better. If you had rear wheel drive (to one side) this may cause steering problems in that the torque to the drive wheel would unbalance the rear.
I’m sure others will be along shortly to give their advice on this.
Edit. Just as a coincidence, Del are my initials!
 
dalspa said:
I would think that a front wheel drive would be best, and much easier to fit and adapt. The balance, both for drive and weight distribution, of the vehicle would be much better. If you had rear wheel drive (to one side) this may cause steering problems in that the torque to the drive wheel would unbalance the rear.
I’m sure others will be along shortly to give their advice on this.
Edit. Just as a coincidence, Del are my initials!
Click to expand...
No it wasn't a coincidence, he did mean you. He was leaving me alone for once.:cautious::censored:
 
Whilst I have little knowledge of trikes, I have found this forum very knowledgeable in all things e-bike : http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/forums/electric-bike-conversion-kits.42/

The simplest place must be the front wheel. However would there be a problem with traction ? (Perhaps mount the battery over the front wheel as Sue does.)

An arrangement with the motor driving the rear wheels and also having the benefit of the gears would be the ultimate engineering solution but perhaps over complicated ?

Bikes with motors on the wheels have brake levers with cut off switches. I assume these brake levers must be available to purchase on the internet somewhere or as part of a conversion kit.

Finally, I talked to these people at the Lincoln Show, very knowledgeable and helpful. https://www.asbikes.co.uk/ I believe they import the bikes from China, I seem to remember they had a trike on the stand. I do not know if they do kits or not.

Paul
 
Neil give these guy's a bell support@ebikebatteries.co.uk
020 8361 1792
They know evryfing about evryfing. The meaning of life, wot 'orse to back in the 2.30, wot Brexit's about, oh, and ebikes.:whistle:
 
There is no problem with traction driving the front wheel so long as I don’t try for silly power through it. The hand cycle I looked at first was front wheel drive as are a few others I have seen. It’s new to me but from speaking with Del at the weekend width of drive wheel will be a factor.

I am shying away from mid drive because crank is in place of handlebars but it may be it could be mounted roughly where a pedal crank would be as there are a couple of guide pulleys there. I suspect chain stretch may be a problem with that though as I would guess thwe chain is probably around 5 meters long. I should have taken some pics so people can see how it works and I will at weekend.

There is a place in York where I would have bought the handcycle from if they had them in stock, very knowledgeable and they have converted stuff so I can speak with them.

I won’t be wanting to pay shop prices for a conversion though hence me asking for ides :). All good so far though so thanks, I have been following up on what’s posted
 
05FA73E0-2F9C-4E4E-A415-5F05FC3C9D68.jpeg This is stock image that gives idea of chain runs ha ha
 
re the hub width. Have a measure, no not now, wait until it get's light. I'd be surprised if it isn't a standard width of 100mm. If smaller, a front hub kit might need the forks adjusting. Although, I've looked on t'web, and I've seen one at 80mm, so, it' pays yer money take's yer chance.

Although, it might be worth waiting for someone who knows about this stuff. Me? I'm just looking for 2 more credits.:cool:
 
Neil, have a word with the vodka twins, I think that Sue has a powered wheel assembly that's an independent unit that fits to the front of her chair. It may be of help
 
Just out of interest, are the rear wheels independent of each other ? I assume that the chain drives both wheels together ? but what about when coasting ?

Paul
 
paulhelenwilko said:
Just out of interest, are the rear wheels independent of each other ? I assume that the chain drives both wheels together ? but what about when coasting ?

Paul
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I can’t answer this one properly her, I haven’t figured out how it works, I know when you pedal forwards it drives in a straight line but if you lift the rear end and turn wheels they seem independent or did do on Monday when I had to replace the chain, turning crank didn’t drive the cluster.

It’s on the back of the van so can’t check anything now until Friday, will be dark when we stop on Thursday which is when I am out again.
 
oppy said:
Neil, have a word with the vodka twins, I think that Sue has a powered wheel assembly that's an independent unit that fits to the front of her chair. It may be of help
Click to expand...
That is a unit that clips on a wheelchair and everything it contained in that lump Peter. It isn’t possible to use these components on mine I am fairly sure although I will have a closer look at Sue’s if she has it with her next time I see her :)
 
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