Bike2 Chainless Electric Bicycle

[shemozzle999]

Is it a Motorbike?

http://bike2.dk/wp02/

 

[trex]

that kit is without a mechanical transmission.
definitely a motorbike.

 

[flecc]

I'm not so sure. It has a programmable assist speed limit, the highest setting being 25 kph, so within pedelec law. If the software ensures that current from battery to motor can only pass when the pedals are turning, it's pedelec compliant.

Danish, where the EU law applies, so I'd think they'd have ensured compliance.
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[the_killjoy]

My understanding was that it has to be electric ASSIST therefore must be able to be propelled by pedals alone.

 

[dinger19]

Could it be dongled.

 

[shemozzle999]

Has to meet either of these definitions:

• the bike must have pedals that can be used to propel it
• the electric motor shouldn’t be able to propel the bike when it’s travelling more than 15.5mph
• the motor shouldn’t have a maximum power output of more than 250 watts

It must also display one item from each of the following:

• the power output or manufacturer of the motor
• the battery’s voltage or maximum speed of the bike

or

(h) pedal cycles with pedal assistance which are equipped with an auxiliary electric motor having a maximum continuous rated power of less than or equal to 250 W, where the output of the motor is cut off when the cyclist stops pedalling and is otherwise progressively reduced and finally cut off before the vehicle speed reaches 25 km/h
but may be questionable as an EPAC, if the pedal assistance is used to change the batteries rather than the wheel - no mention of a chain being required.

neither details what form the assistance must take - pedaling the system appears to charge the battery which in turn would assist in driving the wheel.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

How do you know it can't be propelled by pedals alone? Electric transmission is just another method of coupling an input to output the same as hydraulic coupling, chain, belt or anything else.

Take two small DC motors and join the two sets of power wires. Turn one, and see what happens too the other. Try and hold one still while you turn the other.

 

[Kudoscycles]

we have been here before...I thought the energy losses between the generator and hub motor were awful....we decided the good old chain is a very efficient transfer of power.
KudosDave

 

[flecc]

The web site emphasises that the pedal generator drives the motor and makes no mention of the pedalling charging the battery. Instead it clearly shows the battery as mains rechargeable with a charge time of six hours and a range.

The battery appears to be a support supply, probably under the control of the software. I can see nothing that prevents this being an entirely legal pedelec.
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[shemozzle999]

we have been here before...I thought the energy losses between the generator and hub motor were awful....we decided the good old chain is a very efficient transfer of power.
KudosDave

Yes, I forgot it is the same idea behind the Mando Footloose.

 

[danielrlee]

we have been here before...I thought the energy losses between the generator and hub motor were awful....we decided the good old chain is a very efficient transfer of power.
KudosDave

As far as I can see, this doesn't feature any DC-DC conversion or secondary energy storage as part of the generation, which tends to be the most inefficient parts of the traditional generator model.

EDIT: Flecc beat me to the point in a couple of posts above.

 

[flecc]

As far as I can see, this doesn't feature any DC-DC conversion or secondary energy storage as part of the generation, which tends to be the most inefficient parts of the traditional generator model.

Indeed, and the provision of selectable generation rates from pedal effort is much better than in the Mando implementation.

Could be ok in the flat territories of Denmark and The Netherlands. Not so sure about this type of system for steep hill climbing.
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[Deleted member 4366]

we have been here before...I thought the energy losses between the generator and hub motor were awful....we decided the good old chain is a very efficient transfer of power.
KudosDave

If you're just talking about a simple transmission system that's true, but when you look at a complete system with CVT, the system is viable.

How nice it is to ride depends on the electronics and software. I don't think the Mando Footloose got it quite right, but that doesn't mean that this one will be the same. I think that, in principle, electric coupling makes a lot of sense.

 

[the_killjoy]

And yet another take on the unconventional.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/lopifit-is-the-worlds-first-electric-walking-bicycle_uk_57331183e4b0e6da49a7249e?64xhle7xcp3w61or

 

[the_killjoy]

And another:

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/geoorbital-gives-any-bicycle-an-electric-motor-in-60-seconds_uk_57344ecee4b01359f68680ae?mh4moc6jw1lv26gv

 

[trex]

I'm not so sure. It has a programmable assist speed limit, the highest setting being 25 kph, so within pedelec law. If the software ensures that current from battery to motor can only pass when the pedals are turning, it's pedelec compliant.

Danish, where the EU law applies, so I'd think they'd have ensured compliance.
.

to be an EAPC, it has to cut assistance at 25kph. So it can't go over 25kph on flat roads however fit the cyclist is.

 

[flecc]

to be an EAPC, it has to cut assistance at 25kph. So it can't go over 25kph on flat roads however fit the cyclist is.

It certainly looks that way, but there may be a legal argument to dispute that.

The transmission is electrical so is not assistance, the battery input being assistance.

If the battery supply is cut at 25 kph by the software, the electric transmission can legally take the bike above 25 kph.
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