Home made pedelec

[saneagle]

They contract out fabrication and maintenance to third party.
For one off, you can't buy their motors nor spares. Their RN111 weighs 5.1kgs and needs proprietary controllers and cabling plus to haul 500kgs, you will need twin motors. The TSDZ8 has similar helf, you can buy it and spares on the net and for a lot less. No comparison really.

You're living in a dream. Enjoy it while you can. Eventually, you'll wake up into a different reality.

 

[Woosh]

You're living in a dream. Enjoy it while you can. Eventually, you'll wake up into a different reality.

what does that have to do with Heinzmann or Tongsheng motors?

 

[guerney]

Hi, thanks for all the input , it's all helping my learning curve. What I have in mind is something very like an early cyclecar such as the GN or Grafton which were very simply put together using motorcycle components. In my case I will use ebike components. The body would be thin plywood, epoxy glued together. I've built a boat using this method and the epoxy never lets go if you fillet the joints. I don't tend to make detail drawings but work from sketches. I will post any drawings I do that are presentable. I don't do CAD designing but use a drawing board if I want scale drawings. I learnt this back in the 1960's and don't see me changing.

I hope you'll keep us updated on this thread with your interesting project.

If you can dispense with the bodywork and make it fold small enough to be carried on public transport and in car boots, you'd have a personal mobility revolution on your hands, or feet.

 

[Presterjohn]

Yes , I'm familiar with the video about the Grafton. You can't legally build one with a petrol engine to use on the road but you can do it as a pedelec. I like the other photo of the GN, have you more pics or drawings please?

 

[guerney]

Yes , I'm familiar with the video about the Grafton. You can't legally build one with a petrol engine to use on the road but you can do it as a pedelec. I like the other photo of the GN, have you more pics or drawings please?

I searched using Google for "Cyclecar Grafton" and "Cyclecar RN", clicking the image tab on PC. Here's a result from "Cyclecar Grafton drawing". You could try the other search engines: Bing, Duckduckgo etc.

 

[Presterjohn]

I'm not asking it to lug around much weight, I would like to keep the pedelec down to 60 kg. I'm only 5foot 6inches and weigh about 150lbs. I have a question about wheels. Are all bike wheel spindles only 3/8 th diameter? I think this would be liable to bend if it is only supported on one side . Are there bike wheels available that have larger diameter hubs and bearings and take bigger spindles? Sorry, I use imperial and metric dimensions all the time, just used to it.

 

[Presterjohn]

Thanks for the drawing, just seen it.

 

[guerney]

Thanks for the drawing, just seen it.

A group of "visually similar" drawings here, which may or not be relevant:

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/472666923374145674/visual-search/?x=16&y=16&w=532&h=348&surfaceType=flashlight

 

[guerney]

BTW if you're interested, sole UK distributor of Heinzmann motors:

https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/tandam-copilot-26-3.47774/post-724637

 

[saneagle]

Step One—Buying an Off-the-Shelf Quadricycle

To see this quadricycle in more detail, go to this address: After the long slog of building Moonbeam, my previous microcar (see and spending 6 months of 40 hour weeks building a car from scratch; I…

sunbeamcar.wordpress.com

Whatever you do, make sure that you get a rear axle with a differential if you don't want to keep crashing. You can get them from Aliexpress and places like that. Do a Google search.

This one comes with a standard 500w motor that might be legal in the UK by the time you've finished. The Government did a consultation thing on it because they need to legalise all the 500w scooters that you can hire in just about every major town, or you can ask the Chinese supplier if they can do this axle with a 250w label. I know someone that makes pedicab trikes professionally that uses a motor labelled 250, which can haul the rider and the two passengers up normal hills. If you have serious interest in that, I might be able to get you the motor axle assembly as a spare part, and anything else you want at the rear, like wheels to go with it.

30" Rear Differential Axle + 48V 500W Electric Motor Go Kart Tricycle Quad Trike | eBay

When your vehicle goes around a corner the wheel on the outside has to travel faster than the wheel on the inside. The differential allows this to happen. Two wheel drive vehicles have one axle and four wheel drive vehicles have two.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Ghost1951]

I wonder if the OP has seen this thread:

Mott Electric Pedal Car!!

www.pedelecs.co.uk

He is in NI and I think the Mott people are in Ireland.

I think they sell plans as well as built cars.

 

[thelarkbox]

I'm not asking it to lug around much weight, I would like to keep the pedelec down to 60 kg. I'm only 5foot 6inches and weigh about 150lbs. I have a question about wheels. Are all bike wheel spindles only 3/8 th diameter? I think this would be liable to bend if it is only supported on one side . Are there bike wheels available that have larger diameter hubs and bearings and take bigger spindles? Sorry, I use imperial and metric dimensions all the time, just used to it.

Thats a very move-able mass.. lighter than my expectations tbh.. the endless sphere EV forum
Might be worth a look see for build ideas and inspiration lots of custom 2, 3, and 4 wheel builds and a lot of experience with available materials and techniques..

Looking forward to regular progress reports

 

[Ghost1951]

 

[Presterjohn]

Thanks , I've watched all the videos on the Mott car. I have the plans too. I would really like a 4 wheeler though. Actually Tim Rowe started off in his videos with the idea of 4 wheels until the Irish Government told him it wouldn't be allowed on Irish roads.

 

[matthewslack]

Lots of bike wheel hubs with robust axles these days. Read up on mountain bikes and look at manufacturers like Hope to get and idea.

Up to 20mm front and at least 15mm rear.

 

[Presterjohn]

Thanks Matthew, that's really helpful.

 

[Presterjohn]

Hi, something that still isn't clear to me. Can I build this thing and use it on the road or do i have to get some approval done by someone?

 

[saneagle]

Hi, something that still isn't clear to me. Can I build this thing and use it on the road or do i have to get some approval done by someone?

If you use a motor that's rated at 250w and it only gives power while you pedal, you can use it on the road as if it's a bicycle.

 

[thelarkbox]

If the changes made to enable the Amazon vehicles was to include 4 wheelers within the pedelec classification, then no, But I would also expect the first copper to spot you to pull you over too. So i would have a laminated copy of the relevant regs and amendments at hand to show em.

The first reg to laminate or have linked on your phone, im old skool and have a laminator
Is the definition of EN15194,,

The second is the amendment or ruling that says 4 wheels is still a pedelec and covered by epac regs.
As to what that is specifically?? I dunno?? but if no one here can cite or signpost you ?? a locally relevant legal forum might be worth a visit?

 

[Presterjohn]

I've been thinking about this and have realised that the reason tadpole trikes have the pedals stuck out in front is to bring the centre of gravity just aft of the front wheels. As you move the rider further aft then the effective wheelbase decreases and the machine becomes unstable. A four wheeler doesn't have this problem. This is probably obvious to everyone else but it wasn't to me! A four wheeler has the problem of needing a differential which isn't easy or cheap. So I was wondering .....why not make a 5 wheeler with the motive power provided by a 5 th wheel between the two rear wheels? The outer wheels would just be on stub axles fixed to the chassis. There was an extra powered wheel made at one time for push bikes, it was hung on one side and the engine was in the hub.