I bought a 3 wheel recumbent and the first thing I wanted to do was increase it's top speed above 20 MPH. Having ridden a bike all my life, I figured it was no big deal...
Once I got it, I rode it the next day AS-IS on my 15 mile rail-to-trail commute just to see how it rode, and I never rode it again. 20 MPH was scarry. THe turning radius was worse than my prius. My head was below the top of the wheels of massive cars next to me (on the 1 mile at the start it takes me to get to the trail). That same mile had no sidewalks or sholders. Plus with three wheels you can be guaranteed to hit EVRY pothole and bump which are impossible to miss. and Finally, I felt so vulnerable sitting just 1 foot off the pavement and no emergency escape capability whatsoever. On a vertical 2-wheel, I feel I can hit and roll, or avoid, or veer, or lay it down... all kinds of escape manevres. Absoolutely none with a recumbent. You are dead meat. Just a surprising awakening... Bob On Sun, May 28, 2017 at 4:04 PM, Michael Ross via EV <ev@lists.evdl.org> wrote: > In many states there is a limit to the speed a pedal assisted motorized > bicycle can legally achieve on level ground. 20mph is common. What you can > hit on a downhill is not considered. > > You will find it difficult to get gearing that will provide a 30mph top > speed and allow enough torque at a standstill to start off with even the > slightest incline. Since you are a fairly heavy pilot (and with the added > battery weight) this will be additionally difficult. You will have some > trouble finding hub motors (wherever you actually mount them, these are > your better choices) with useful gearing and that can take repeated > application of starting torque from you and the motor together. Starting > off is you worst condition structurally. > > I think you want to investigate RC controller electronics (Kelley has stuff > that works). You did not say what sort of range you wish. A reasonable > starting point might be 10 miles on a charge. I was commuting 25 miles each > way with an Organic Transit ELF for a year. Battery-ing up for that was > costly. The ELF is a lot heavier due to substantial body work. Remember not > to let fully charged Li-ion cells too get hot. Don't charge in the hot sun > and leave it all sitting out to broil. It will ruin the cells, LiFePo > particularly. 100F or less only when fully charged. > > As trike user, I always thought a trailer with a pusher motor would bee a > good arrangement. It allows you to dispense with the electric drive when > that makes sense. You will have an easier time creating an experimental > test chassis and battery mounting means if it is not stuck onto a severely > space constrained and less than heartily built compact tricycle. > > Also the system can be switch from trike to trike or bike. > > I say this with significant knowledge of recumbent trike design. I own a > Greenspeed touring trike (20003 vintage GTO) which is considerably larger > and stouter than a Terratrike. > > I would also advocate a streamlined tailbox of some sort to improve drag. A > front fairing provides less improvement for the cost and effort compared to > a tail box. Full streamlining is of course the best solution. People have > maintained 45mph hour speeds for an hour with a good full fairing (level > ground). > > I have been to SF where I believe you live. Respectfully and as one who > used to ride off weighing 250 pounds, I think will be disappointed with how > a recumbent trike functions with the steep grades you will encounter (until > you reduce your body weight below 200 pounds or less). Even then it will > be quite strenuous and at time daunting. > > > There a folks in CA that have done a lot of the ground work for this. You > would get ahead meeting and cultivating them. William Patterson at UC > Irvine or Davis, I forget, used to teach ME classes on single track > recumbent design. Those classes spawned a host of smart recumbent builders. > > Good luck. > > On Sun, May 28, 2017 at 3:19 PM, Russ Sciville via EV <ev@lists.evdl.org> > wrote: > > > I can vouch for the Lynch motor as I use one on my ride on mower.Using > > three 90Ah 12v Pb cells it easily cuts for 20 minutes or more at time. > > A brilliantly simple but powerful design and I have even met the guy who > > designed it. > > > > From: Lee Hart via EV <ev@lists.evdl.org> > > To: Lawrence Rhodes <primobass...@sbcglobal.net>; Electric Vehicle > > Discussion List <ev@lists.evdl.org> > > Sent: Sunday, 28 May 2017, 20:09 > > Subject: Re: [EVDL] Most efficient drive system for a bicycle/tricycle. > > > > Lawrence Rhodes via EV wrote: > > > I'm looking at options for my Terratrike. Mid vs hub seems to be the > > thing. > > > Seems bike systems are only 80% efficient. Has any one had good > success > > with > > > efficiency as well as speed. I'm looking to top out at 30mph with a 20 > > inch > > > wheel. Is voltage an issue? I'd like to keep it to 48vdc but I'm > > willing to > > > go higher or lower if it is an advantage(money or performance). I will > > > eventually have a shell with solar panels... > > > > Maybe a Lynch motor (Lynch, Lemco, Etek, AGNI, etc.)? They are over 90% > > efficient, and being a DC motor, can be switched straight to the battery > > for no > > controller losses. Rig a series/parallel setup with switches or relays to > > get > > 12v/24v/48v for speed control; that's also essentially 100% efficient. > > -- > > Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more > > violent. It takes a touch of genius, and a lot of courage, to move > > in the opposite direction. -- Albert Einstein > > -- > > Lee Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, www.sunrise-ev.com > > _______________________________________________ > > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > > Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ > > Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/ > > group/NEDRA) > > > > > > > > > > -------------- next part -------------- > > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > > URL: <http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/ > > attachments/20170528/26d5c35e/attachment.htm> > > _______________________________________________ > > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > > Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ > > Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/ > > group/NEDRA) > > > > > > > -- > To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. > Thomas A. Edison > <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasaed125362.html> > > A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought. > *Warren Buffet* > > Michael E. Ross > (919) 585-6737 Land > (919) 576-0824 <https://www.google.com/voice/b/0?pli=1#phones> Mobile and > Google Phone > > michael.e.r...@gmail.com > <michael.e.r...@gmail.com> > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: <http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/ > attachments/20170528/87d3188e/attachment.htm> > _______________________________________________ > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ > Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/ > group/NEDRA) > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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