Novel design but I think I'd stick with a traditional conversion kit
this post was submitted on 01 Jun 2024
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micromobility - Ebikes, scooters, longboards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility
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"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.
micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"
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Yeah, I'm failing to see how this is preferable to just swapping your rear wheel with a hub motor and calling it a day. You can get a very nice conversion kit and battery from the Usual Scumbags for that kind of money, or if you're careful you can pay a lot less, and still wind up with a final product with significantly more range and performance.
And, you know, doesn't look nearly as stupid. Front wheel friction drives are a uniquely terrible solution to the bicycle propulsion problem, and they have been ever since their inception with those nasty two stroke things from the '50's. Their energy transfer is quite inefficient, and their failure mode when you encounter a hill too steep for the motor is to steadily fuck up your front tire.
The only possible benefit I could see from this is if you plan to regularly swap it between multiple bicycles or perhaps bikes you don't own, like beach rental bikes or something.
Is there any kits for recumbent trikes around? I've been googling a bit but can't find any good stores or reviews that doesn't reek of SEO
Like, ebike conversion kit? You can use whatever pretty much, but mid drives are popular. Hubs work fine too.
If you're looking for a brand of recumbent tadpoles, Terratrike, Sun, ICE, and CatTrike are all fairly well known brands.
Look around for dealers in your area if you're looking at buying one, they should be able to give you a test ride.
Not that I've seen specifically for recumbents, but there are front wheel motor hub kits you can get and just swap out the front rim. You'd then be front wheel drive.
A mid drive kit from any brand would also work, and in that case you'd drive the rear wheels with your existing chain and sprocket on the axle.
This looks like it would cause horrible driving dynamics due to additional load on the front wheel.
At $499 for the Commuter model
Its range is pegged at "up to 12 miles,"
And there's the deal breaker.
This seems like an interesting alternative to replacing your wheel and mounting a battery somewhere on your frame.
But without any range, it's not worth the sacrifices in handling and cost.
It's even worse, the 12 mile range is the explorer model for $599.
The Commuter model offers half the battery capacity, charge time, and range.
The commuter model is more like 6 miles max range.
What the hell is the point? 🤔🤔🤔😂😂😂
I believe they call this sort of thing a solution in search of a problem.
Even this looks like more efficient way.
This one seems better in that it’s contained in the front wheel https://electronwheel.com/
A lot of weight on the wheel isn't a good idea. Please don't make up anything. A conventional motor wheel and an external battery is the most successful solution for converting a bicycle.
I have one, I like it!
Can you share your experiences with it?
sure! I got the 12 mile one for 400 dollars. I kickstarted this years ago, and they let me pick which one I wanted when it was time to ship to me.
I think it works well for my use case. it gets me where I need to go, and using it to brake instead of the normal brakes on my bike charges my battery so I can go further.
i don't like how heavy it feels in the front. it feels like when I turn my front wheel too fast, it can fling off. the latches that grab onto the fork of my bike are very secure, and I always try to fling it off my bike before riding every time because I made a mistake the first time when using it; it came off while I was riding because I didn't latch it properly to my bike. it won't happen if you secure it properly, like I did not do the first time, but live and learn.
would I recommend this? I would only recommend the 12 mile range for the price it's listed if you are curious about ebikes and already have a bike that this works with. it's a great entry point price imo.
This looks kinda hazardous for pedestrians. Did they take a cue from modern SUVs?
Not in picture: chainsaw attachment front