So far I have bought 5 lithium-ion batteries for my e-motor trike. They are all the same size (48 volt 20aH) but they are not all the same brand. I think the first one I bought has been the best. It has held up the longest. I have had various motors thru the years so … Continue reading “E-MOTOR BATTERIES – HOW LONG WILL THEY LAST?”
By law many e-motors are restricted to certain speeds … usually 20 mph here in the United States. Some of us don’t agree to such laws. I readily admit I am among those who don’t think e-motors should have such restrictions. It makes no sense to restrict a motorized bike or trike to 20 mph … Continue reading “RESTRICTED VS UNRESTRICTED E-MOTOR SYSTEMS”
250 watts or 15,000 watts. Can one tell the difference? 250 watts is the maximum allowed by law in most of Europe. 750 watts is the maximum allowed by law for onroad use in the Untited States and Canada. Both are ridiculous in my opinion. I can’t imagine being limited to either, especially 250 watts. … Continue reading “MORE POWER TO YA … E-MOTOR WATTAGE”
It is no secret … a crank drive motor is hard on drive trains. And if the rider does not know how to properly use that extra power being applied to the pedals the drive train can be destroyed quickly. Here is a video sharing advice on how to operate a crank drive e-motor. Anyone … Continue reading “HOW TO OPERATE A CRANK DRIVE E-MOTOR”
Gary Solomon of Laidback Bike Report brings us another video offering information and help for those who would like to add e-assist to their trike. Here is the video description … If you want to add an electric motor to your existing trike David Hall offers some compelling and inexpensive solutions. David is the founder … Continue reading “LOW COST E-MOTOR OPTIONS”
E-motor systems on bikes and trikes have become so very popular. It seems like everybody and their cousins are manufacturing and selling them or components such as batteries. As with anything one could talk about … “they are not all created equal”. We all like a bargain … buying things at a low cost … … Continue reading “ARE E-MOTOR BATTERIES SAFE?”
Do you remember the RAHT RACER? It had a pedal powered generator system to use to power an electric motor to propel a bike. I like the concept. Finally a German company, Schaeffler, has developed it in a bottom bracket crankdrive known as the Schaeffler Free Drive. As you pedal the generator sends electricity to … Continue reading “A NEW INNOVATIVE E-MOTOR SYSTEM”
It has been some time since I first started having a serious problem with my e-motor system on my trike … about sic months now. Whenever I would apply power to the motor using the hand throttle the power would shut off just like I turned it off at the switch on the battery. Then … Continue reading “E-MOTOR PROBLEM RESOLVED”
The picture above is meant to be funny but it is all too real for some of us, myself included. If I ride without the aid of a motor trail walkers literally pass me by oftentimes. It is rather embarrassing. So I can truthfully say that I need and appreciate having e-motor assist. I just … Continue reading “WHO NEEDS E-MOTOR ASSIST?”
For over 4 years now I have been using a rear hub motor. Recently I bought and installed a Tongsheng crank drive motor and have been riding it now for about a week. I have found it interesting as well as challenging and somewhat disappointing making the switch from hub drive to crank drive. First … Continue reading “TONGSHENG E-MOTOR … MY 1ST IMPRESSIONS”
Although this posting is about the Tongsheng TSDZ2, mini 750W crankdrive(or as some call them middrive) e-motor it started out talking about what trike I would buy if I were to get a new trike today and led into what e-motor I would choose today. So it is mostly about this particular e-motor. I have … Continue reading “BEST CRANKDRIVE E-MOTOR?”
My first two lithium-ion batteries I bought for my trike after returning a BionX system for a refund were identical batteries which performed the same … about 60 miles on a full charge. I ruined my original battery riding thru flood water that got deeper than I anticipated (DUH!) That was a costly mistake. Consequently … Continue reading “NOT ALL E-MOTOR BATTERIES ARE CREATED EQUAL”
NOTE: Since I wrote this article I bought the Tongsheng crankdrive motor and installed it on my trike. It lasted less than 2 months so I was not impressed with it and therefore I can not recommend it. The motor quit working and while it was working it destroyed my drive train costing a small … Continue reading “BEST CRANKDRIVE E-MOTORS”
Some of you know I have had 3 different brands of e-motor conversion kits installed on my trike. I can only speak from my experience with these three motors. The first was a 350 watt BionX conversion kit. While it worked properly I loved it. Admittedly I didn’t love the price nor the replacement cost … Continue reading “MY EXPERIENCE WITH E-MOTORS THUS FAR”
TerraCycle makes some great products for our trikes. With the ever increasing popularity of electric motorized trikes having a way to mount the battery is crucial. It is not desirable to mount a heavy battery up high on a trike as it raises the trike’s center of gravity considerably and effects the handling and therefore … Continue reading “E-MOTOR BATTERY MOUNTS FROM TERRACYCLE”
I have been wanting to get a 72 volt battery for my current e-motor as that is what it is rated at. I only have 48 volt batteries. After quite a long period of time using the lower voltage I ordered a 72 volt 40 aH battery which they showed as being just slightly smaller … Continue reading “RIDICULOUSLY TOO BIG”
Forty Six degrees in mid February and it has been as high as the low 60s. I can handle that. All in all the last few winters have been pretty decent allowing for riding much of the winter months. Yep, I can handle that. I just got back home from a nice ride. I came … Continue reading “ANOTHER MILD WINTER”
Definitely e-assist has really caught on. Of course, there are those who still resist the idea and speak out against them. That is the way life is. People have resisted just about anything one can name in the early days of its introduction. In fact, I was not in favor of e-motors on trikes unless … Continue reading “WHY GET ELECTRIC MOTOR ASSIST”
Anybody who has followed me thru the years know that I have had several e-motors on my trike over the years. I started out with BionX and then gave GoldenMotors a try. Then I went to eZee which I really liked. Next I tried Tongsheng which I had heard (read) such good things about but … Continue reading “ADDING LOW COST E-ASSIST TO YOUR TRIKE”
Norway is working on bringing this velocar to market. They call it a velomobile which, of course, it is. I call it a velocar as technically that is what it is. It has some neat features. It has pedals but there is no mechanical connection of any sort to use them to propel this quadmobile … Continue reading “PODBIKE FRIKAR VELOCAR”
Tadpole Rider 