Electrificating trike, help please.

[Vikki]

I've got a KMX trike and I'm considering adding a motor to it. I've thought Bionx but the price is way too great.

The criteria is:

20" rear wheel.
36V, 250W motor.
Must accept disc brake rotor.
Must accept 8-speed SRAM cassette. 8-speed threaded is discontinued.
Must fit standard 135mm dropouts.

Naturally, I'd need a controller and thumb throttle. The battery I can share from my Wisper since I can't use both at the same time.

Any ideas anyone? My experience of available motors is extremely limited.

Many thanks in advance.

Best regards.

Vikki.

 

[flecc]

Can't be done with the usual Chinese hub motors Vikki, their 12 mm spindles are too large for the cassette core, they have to use multi-sprocket freewheels, 8 speed difficult to get and too wide usually.

I don't know what spindle the Heinzmann motor has or whether it can accept a cassette, but I doubt it. Likewise the BionX uses a freewheel and not a cassette.

I think your only rear hub option is to use a freewheel, some of the 8 speeds are still available in the USA I believe, someone mentioned this recently. The result with Chinese motors might be a bit too wide, but the Heinzmann is often used in trikes so is likely to be the best choice. It's expensive though, but powerful and also comes in high torque versions, good for climbing.

Otherwise its possible to use a Cyclone chain drive motor, Ballparkcy tried it on a KMX but had some problems
.

 

[Vikki]

Many thanks, Flecc. Just the kind of information I didn't know and needed to. You are a very useful mine of information

Best regards.

Vikki.

 

[trickletreat]

Hi Vikki, just a quick reply as I am setting off for Presteigne in 5 minutes.

I have used a heinzman high torque motor in a 26" wheel with a throttle on the left bar. Gives 15mph and 15% hillclimbing, sadly no longer available.

This weekend I am installing another heinzmann, but with a 20" wheel on the new trike. There are a few choices of heinzmann motor, steel or synthetic gears and trade offs between speeds/hillclimbing...you could give Steve at electricmountainbikes.com a call after the weekend, he built both my wheels.

I have lots of info so will return to this once I have tried the newly motorised trike.

Nigel

 

[Vikki]

Excellent! Thanks, Nigel. I look forward to your replies.

Enjoy Presteigne. I was interested in going but the 5.5 hour train journey squished the idea

I'll take a look ay Heinzmann. I will probably have to consider loosing the 8 speed and go for 7 speed threaded.

Best regards.

Vikki.

 

[Andrew harvey]

8 speed freewheels are still readily available, I have some 14/28 on the shelf, but most LBS could order one in from Moore Large.
The SWXH rear motor will accept a disc and the shaft if long enough to carry an 8 or 9 speed. The 8 speed needs about 5mm of widening, there's more than 5mm of varition in some dropout widths.

 

[Vikki]

Hi, Andrew. Many thanks for the info. The back end of a Typhoon is a pretty chunky beast and I don't know if it will push out to a 139mm. I'm going to look into it and see if it will.

I know KMX fit Bionx to their trikes but the cost is just a little more than eye-watering. I think I'd be crying and laughing all at the same time if I had one fitted

I do like the idea of the Bionx, though, in that the assistance can be 'dialled-in' so to speak. I'm open to assistance and not flat out help.

I'll be honest here and say that I got the KMX for exercise but I'm that unfit....

There's hope that I'll get fitter. I'm going to quite smoking Monday and see if, after a couple of weeks, it gets any easier. I'm so green to all this non-powered, shove it along yourself idea that I don't know how long it reasonably takes to develop the proper muscles to even cruise at, say, 14mph. I could of course wibble between 10 and 12mph. Maybe I should be happy with pootling along. I'm sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place on this.

Best regards.

Vikki.

 

[Geebee]

If you can find somewhere reasonabley flatish and just pootle along for a few months you will start to see some pretty amazing changes in your fitness level, been there done that.
Having said that an electric assist allows more usable terrain as long as you can make sure you are still doing a reasonable amount of work to get fitter, it also allows for a bail out if you over do it.

I look back an realise how far I have come, I had to over come a few major health issues so hang in there.
And in my opinion you have picked the perfect machine, a recumbent trike but one suggestion get clipless pedals and shoes if you have not already as it make riding more relaxed and a lot safer an a trike as it prevents foot/leg suck, having your foot drop in front of the cross bar and the trike ride over it (ouch).

 

[Vikki]

Thanks, Geebee, for the encouragement. That's pretty much what I needed. I have thought of clipless pedals and I'll try to get some today. It would be more relaxing having my feet attached firmly to the pedals. I don't mind pootling, if I can lose this desire to go faster I leave for work in plenty of time to just pootle.

I do like the trike, so pleasurable. It doesn't really need to be electric and my average speed has been moving up. I can happily pootle at 10-11mph and if the wind is behind me I can do 14mph. I need talking OUT of electricating it since I've now lost 4.5kg in 6 weeks of using it.

I'm using the trike every other work day to ease the strain. One day Wisper, one day KMX.

Best regards.

Vikki.

 

[Vikki]

Geebee, I took your advice and went and got some clipless pedals. By a stroke of luck they had last years Shimano SPD-SL shoes at £35. Got the pedals. They are, apparently, recommended for cyclists new to clipless as they are broader and longer and provide a bigger platform. I only wish they had the dual shoe/clipless. On the other hand, after riding it with clipped in tootsies I doubt I'd want to ride in normal shoes again.

I also got a Garmin 605 Edge GPS cycle computer. I actually want the data it provides. I want to see myself improving. It seems to do what I want that a normal trip computer doesn't. It's charging at the moment. It came with two clips so I can have it on SuperBikey or Trikey.

Many thanks for the excellent advice.

Vikki.

 

[piotrmacheta]

I have a trike with 20" wheels and will be fitting a rear eZee 300rpm hub to it. They have disc brake capability too.
I already have another recumbent bike to which I fitted a front ezee hub and this works great and gives 15 to 17mph at 37V. The only thing I would say is that it has a slight whine but very powerful.
Andy at On-bike sorted me out and is highly recommended.

 

[Vikki]

Ooo, thanks for that info, I shall keep that in mind. Certainly looks to be the business.

 

[trickletreat]

As promised a bit more info re fitting a motor to a trike. In this case it is one of the flat folding offerings from ICE. The trike itself is 12kg lighter than the Thorax it replaces, so without the motor there is an immediate difference in the handling and responsiveness.

I ordered a heinzmann rear hub in a 20" wheel. Fitting was very straight forward, and was carried out on the display stand for electricmountainbikes.com at the Tour de Presteigne.

firstly remove old wheel, turn trike or bike over...gravity helps when re fitting wheel with hub motor. Screw 9 speed freewheel onto hub, line it up in dropouts, and slot on washers to space. The forks had to be eased open slightly, and in popped the motor. Using a p clip attach torque arm to chain stay.

Attached cabling with velcro...easier to remove later. Rearranged the front twist grip, brake and throttle...as seen in pic.

I carry the controller in one bag and the battery in the other.

Switch on and go. Takes about 30-40mins, plus two hours chatting to onlookers!

Here are some photographs...the one that shows the screws in the hub casing is of interest as it is possible to mount a bespoke disc rotor kit for £80 to the screw positions.

Here in it's daily roll...

 

[Vikki]

Many thanks for that info and the excellent piccies. Very nice set up and lovely trike

Best regards.

Vikki.

 

[piotrmacheta]

Nice trike and great pics (I must learn how to post pics). Nearly got an ICE but went for a Velotechnik and will be doing same.
My question is what Heinzman motoer is it and what speed do you get out of it on a flat with a bit of pedalling?-I guess at 37V. I was hoping for over 20mph with mine but this is not easy with 20" wheels so was considering the ezee hub at 48V.

 

[trickletreat]

It's the 870-00-753-41xx...36v no load speed=329rpm, 33A, 33Nm, steel geared, 18.5mph/10.5% hill. My other motor in a 26" wheel has 53Nm giving 15/15, which for towing and general round town use was perfect.

I am not interested in speed with the assist, just the acceleration at junctions etc and this motor is fine for this in the 20". I have found that I like to do most of the work, so the motor helps out on windy days and for getting out into traffic when towing.

Re the speed on the flat, it will do 18.5 even with the trailer in tow with no pedalling. But I use it to get me up to 14/15mph and then sustain or increase speed by pedalling.