Electric Trike Conversion

[RobTrike]

Hi,
Im looking for some help, im looking to build an electric drift trike which will be front wheel driven using a wheel/hub, theres so many hubs available and i dont have much knowledge on them if any suggestions/recommendations as what would work best would be amazing. They need to be around 1000W motors in order to provide what i need. Thanks
Rob

 

[vfr400]

Show a photograph. What you gave us is too vague. We need wheel size, drop-out width, general layout, etc.

 

[RobTrike]

Show a photograph. What you gave us is too vague. We need wheel size, drop-out width, general layout, etc.

Wheel size will be 20", thats all the info i have atm as im building from scratch.
Thank you

 

[RobTrike]

Hiya, Its for these, hope the picture helps.
Thank you

 

[vfr400]

You'd be wasting your time with a motor much more than 500w because the wheel won't get enough traction. it'll just spin. How fast do you want? What is the width between the forks?

 

[RobTrike]

You'd be wasting your time with a motor much more than 500w because the wheel won't get enough traction. it'll just spin. How fast do you want? What is the width between the forks?

The width is 100mm (we will be using bmx forks), im looking at around 1500W with power control to adjust the power, the speed can be low as its more about the slide rather that the speed.
Thanks

 

[Woosh]

as vfr said, you don't have enough weight on the front wheel to keep a powerful motor on the ground, especially if the ground is loose sand or dirt.
Most electric trikes have motors on the rear wheels where not only there is more weight but also large wheels/tyres.
You waste your time fitting a front motor to a dirt trike.

 

[vfr400]

Don't bother with 1500w because the battery will be very expensive. How much do you want to spend on the elctrical kit? Can you build the motor into a wheel yourself or do you need a ready-made motor wheel?

 

[RobTrike]

Don't bother with 1500w because the battery will be very expensive. how much do you want to spend on the elctrical kit?

im not sure on the spend, as long as it does what i want it to do and wont need replaced after 5 minutes.

 

[vfr400]

im not sure on the spend, as long as it does what i want it to do and wont need replaced after 5 minutes.

I edited my post above after you replied.

 

[RobTrike]

as vfr said, you don't have enough weight on the front wheel to keep a powerful motor on the ground, especially if the ground is loose sand or dirt.
Most electric trikes have motors on the rear wheels where not only there is more weight but also large wheels/tyres.
You waste your time fitting a front motor to a dirt trike.

Completely understand, they will be driven on solid ground like a concrete floor so it will help with the traction, its more for the drift as rear wheels will be effectively useless as they are going to be a tough plastic (the least traction possible)

 

[RobTrike]

Don't bother with 1500w because the battery will be very expensive. How much do you want to spend on the elctrical kit? Can you build the motor into a wheel yourself or do you need a ready-made motor wheel?

id prefer one already built but if something is more reliable i dont mind having them built as long as they are right, if that makes any sense!

 

[Woosh]

what speed do people ride these trikes with rear plastic wheels at?
are there bumps on the tracks?

 

[vfr400]

You have to choose a motor with the correct rpm. The rpm depends on voltage. 320 rpm would give around 18 mph. 260 rpm would be around 15 mph. You have to choose the speed carefully because a fast motor doesn't run efficiently, so if you spend most of the time in the range of 10 mph, a 20 mph motor or faster is not efficient and it''l get hot, and so will the controller.

You can get 260 rpm by running a 201 rpm 36v motor at 48v or you can buy a 260 rpm 48v one. It makes no difference. they're essentially the same motor. The same with 320 rpm, you can buy a 260 rpm 36v one and run it at 48v or buy a 320 rpm 48v one.

At 36v, you can go as high as 22 amps - maybe a bit higher if you're heavy. At 48v, about 17A would be about right.

I'd use any of the middle-sized geared hub-motors at the speed use choose with 48v.

The problem with front wheel drive is that the torque lifts the weight off it, which is why you'd get no traction. It wouldn't help at all if your bum were low and towards the back of the vehicle because all your weight would be over the back wheels with none on the front. You'd be better off with rear wheel drive by using a keyed axle with a sprocket fixed to it, then you could have all the power and drifting you want.