bits for my homemade eleccy bike trailer

[stuvy]

I was looking on ebay and noticed a shop(coventry area) selling motors, controllers and batterys.

The motor i was looking at is an "Electric Motor 36 Volt 250 Watt 11T 6mm" priced at £24.49 there is a 300watt motor for one pound more! and motors upto 1000watts
The controller is "Speed Controller 300 watt 36 volt" priced at £15.49 will this work even though the watts are different?

As for batterys im open to suggestions but the same site has loads listed for around about £20 each.

If anyone wants to know the site i can pm you as im not linked to them and just looking for a cheap way of getting a push trailer together.

 

[hech]

Hi Stuvy, the prices you quote sound very reasonable, it would be interesting to check out the site if you could post a link.
The wattage discrepancy mentioned should not be a problem though not all controllers will suit every motor.

 

[the_killjoy]

Remember the trailer will need to be a single wheeler to be legal

 

[oigoi]

Think this is the one he is on about

Stuvy the motor and controller would work for a push trailer, have a think about how you want to control the motor, do you want to use a throttle on your handlebars and extend the cable back to the trailer?

The batteries they have on their site look to me to be too small a capacity the biggest one was only 7AH which isn't going to get you very far. Size of battery you need depends on how far and how fast you want the trailer to push you and how hilly

Also have a think about the gearing ratios you need - the rpm of the motor and the diameter of the trailer wheels and how fast the trailer wheel needs to turn to go at the speed you want.

I would suggest gearing it so that the maximum rpm of the motor would work out at about 20mph, then when you are riding and the motor is under load it will slow down a bit to about 15mph. Might be a bit of trial and error involved

 

[the_killjoy]

Throttle ....

 

[stuvy]

hech
here's the link Electric Motors + Parts - All Parts By Type - Spare Parts

the_killjoy
I didnt know that? i had seen two wheel kids trailers and thought they were legal?

As for the throttle id overlooked that part!!

oigoi
Thanks for the info what battery would you suggest im very new to electric power so still getting my head around the Ah bits

 

[oigoi]

Well if it was me stuvy I live in quite a hilly area and do round trips of about 20 miles so I would probably get 18ah batteries but for yourself if you dont have too many massive hills and want a range of about 15 miles I would go for 12ah ones like these:

LUCAS 12V 12ah ELECTRIC BIKE BATTERIES X 3 FAST DISPATCH! | eBay

 

[banbury frank]

Hi

These are the only proper battery's for electric bikes the others are meant for computer back up supply's At £25.50 each delivery FREE not expensive

Ritar RT12120EV 12v 12ah - EV series battery - Perfect cell for mobility scooter | eBay

They sell larger capacity as well

If you look at the company's web site below you will see they make 7 types off battery's for different applications


Ritar : Products

Ritar : Products

this is the brand we imported when we used gel battery's in the old days


Frank

 

[Old_Dave]

Any body want to think about the reduction required, maybe cheaper to buy a more expensive motor with reduction gears built in.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Alan Quay]

Last time I bought SLA's I noticed that VAT is not due on batteries for mobility scooters, but is due on batts for electric bikes. Same batts, different uses.
I managed to get some 14ah ones, specifically designed for EV's, and more tolerant to deep discharge.

They have been pretty good so far.

 

[the_killjoy]

My 2 wheel comment was somewhat tongue in cheek as surely with the motor on the trailer would it not be a four wheeled vehicle ?

 

[Jeremy]

My 2 wheel comment was somewhat tongue in cheek as surely with the motor on the trailer would it not be a four wheeled vehicle ?

Not as long as the trailer is detachable. Light trailers aren't considered to be part of the vehicle, so a two wheel one is fine. In fact, there is effectively a loophole in the law when it comes to bike trailers. AFAICS you could fit a powered "push trailer" to a bike without coming up against the limits set in the ebike law. It'd be a very grey area, but as it isn't specifically illegal, AFAICS, it might well be OK.

Could be useful for those who need to shift heavy loads around on a bike; I've often thought than a powered trailer could add a lot of versatility to a standard non-powered bike. Several times I've contemplated making a trailer with a hitch that senses when it's being pulled and uses that signal to drive the motor. This would automatically provide up hill assistance, or assistance when pulling off, but the trailer "shove" would stop if you applied the brakes or were going downhill.

 

[stuvy]

Not as long as the trailer is detachable. Light trailers aren't considered to be part of the vehicle, so a two wheel one is fine. In fact, there is effectively a loophole in the law when it comes to bike trailers. AFAICS you could fit a powered "push trailer" to a bike without coming up against the limits set in the ebike law. It'd be a very grey area, but as it isn't specifically illegal, AFAICS, it might well be OK.

Could be useful for those who need to shift heavy loads around on a bike; I've often thought than a powered trailer could add a lot of versatility to a standard non-powered bike. Several times I've contemplated making a trailer with a hitch that senses when it's being pulled and uses that signal to drive the motor. This would automatically provide up hill assistance, or assistance when pulling off, but the trailer "shove" would stop if you applied the brakes or were going downhill.

My initial idea was to build the push trailer as a ruck sack and rear panniers are not enough for the weekly shop. seeing as tescos is the same distance from my work but the other direction. As is always the way with life there is a monster hill on the way back which see's me down to my highest gearing and is a bit of a grind to peddal up when fully loaded with shopping!

Plus i like to take my bike off road with a mate every now and then and dont want the hassle of unstrapping the batterys and potential risk of damaging the motor as im still into my XC. After writing this i know it must sound odd but cycling to work at 5am especially when its piddling down with rain is certainly not fun, plus i typically end up sweating and dont feel too fresh before i get to work

Thanks for the battery suggestions

 

[Old_Dave]

Just a thought

Tescos do deliver

 

[Jeremy]

Just a thought

Tescos do deliver

Our local Waitrose have covered bike trailers you can borrow (or maybe hire) to take your shopping home in, I believe. Certainly there are always a few of them in the entrance that look as if they are available (green and branded, but still OK if all you want to do is shift your shopping).

 

[flecc]

Our local Waitrose have covered bike trailers you can borrow

Yes, they are BikeHod trailers:

 

[stuvy]

they look like they would buck and jump around like mad over bumps and kerbs!

 

[Old_Dave]

If it jumps then it means you have to put more shopping in it... Lol

Maybe go to Wicks for some paving slabs.....

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[flecc]

they look like they would buck and jump around like mad over bumps and kerbs!

They are actually very good to tow, and a long established and popular design. The one fault the design has is that they can tip over on fast corners if the weight of the load is even all the way up, so with a high load riding slowly around bumpy corners is advisable.

 

[Scimitar]

Yes, they are BikeHod trailers:

Looks like she's on her way to the allotments, so saving money by not shopping at Waitrose.