Getting older and madder by the day!

[David Smith]

Hi to all

In my youth I was a keen cyclist as it was the only way for me to get around, my father never owned a car.

When I moved to London I got a car and never touched a bike much thereafter.

However, now approaching 60 and looking for something new to do my thoughts are once again on bikes, the one that you pedal, that is.

Not content to just sit on a normal bike, that would be no achievement, I want to build my own quadricycle with pedal assist using, wait for it, pvc drainage pipe! Told you I am getting madder by the day. But hold on, they do this in the US of A http://americanspeedster.com/ (not linked to them in any way).

Now I understand, that the UK law has recently changed regarding these machines and that they are now legal. So my question is, Can i design and build a quadricycle here in the UK and do I require to get it approved for road use?

Any help would be much appreciated.

thanks (from mad as a hatter)

 

[flecc]

Yes you can now David, as of 6th April 2015.

It can be bureaucracy free if you use a motor certified as 250 Watts or less and use a torque or pedelec sensor for control, fully acting throttles are no longer allowed. There is no weight limit now, so it doesn't have to be made with PVC pipe.

If you go above a 250 watts rating it becomes a motor vehicle, and as a quadricycle things get rather complicated, needing type approval etc.

Bear in mind that there's 250 watts and 250 watts, they are far from all being equal, some being at least twice as powerful as the least. However, the most powerful 250 watt rated ones are wheel hub motors, so for your application you'd probably need to rig one of those to chain drive in some way. Some forum members have already done this on solo e-bikes and e-trikes, so it's perfectly possible.
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[soundwave]

cant you make a mobility scooter go like 100mph

 

[David Smith]

Thanks flecc - The reason for PVC pipe (which I have used before to make other items) is it's very lightweight construction, easily bendable, filled with resin it becomes very strong when a proper frame is designed, constructed and ridged.

What 250 watt motor would you recommend, with the best torque?

Soundwave - I have little pistons (leggs) but they are now a bit rusty so while in my youth, which i can't remember much of, the crankshaft was newer and everything worked much better I recall. Maybe now i could get to about 8mph with a few blowing valves, most likely this will require a pit stop when I pass the nearest bench seat!

 

[flecc]

What 250 watt motor would you recommend, with the best torque?

The BPM which is a front hub motor and it's rear wheel equivalent the BPM-CST (accepts a standard cassette) are two of the most powerful and torquey. Both bought from China.

Another equivalent is the eZee motor which can be bought in kit form from Cyclezee in the UK.
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[David Smith]

thanks again flecc.

 

[Cyclezee]

The BPM which is a front hub motor and it's rear wheel equivalent the BPM-CST (accepts a standard cassette) are two of the most powerful and torquey. Both bought from China.

Another equivalent is the eZee motor which can be bought in kit form from Cyclezee in the UK.
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The eZee rear motor is available as a CST version or the screw on freewheel type.