Trying to think outside the box

[Chrishordley]

I have liked the idea of electric bike but not got one yet.I am looking for a trike as I want to exercise a dog alongside! As a driver of a donkey I am not a conventional road user and have seen an Aussie outrigger for dogs and bikes. As this is now a sport, it is not as bizarre as it sounds. There is a cheap six year old powabike with new batteries and tyres on gumtree but would I be better off spending £1000 more on a newer model?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

If it's the Powabyke Euro or shopper, they do what they're supposed to. They have a lot of torque, but are rather slow and heavy. They're a good low-cost way of starting ebiking. A modern bike costing £1000 more will be a lot lighter. Some have high-torque motors that can match the Powabyke, but not all of them. Their speed will be slightly higher.

Trikes are not very stable. There's a high risk of toppling. I'd stick with two wheels. I see loads of people exercising the dog that way. In fact one guy beat me along the Silkin Way with his one dog powered bike compared with my 0.5 horse power electric one.

 

[electric.mike]

Agree totally with the instability thing and three wheelers but if you still want to go down that road these people will convert for you.

http://www.bikecare.co.uk/tribike.html

 

[Chrishordley]

Thanks for info, my idea is to carry a spare dog behind me in the carrier, I found dog pulled me over on ordinary bike.

 

[flecc]

my idea is to carry a spare dog behind me in the carrier

In case you run over the first one?

Seriously, for a cyclist, trying an upright trike for the first time can be a truly weird experience. It goes against every cycling instinct and many find themselves unable to adapt and feel comfortable with the radically different steering behaviour. And as already said, the stability leaves much to be desired and that could be an even bigger issue with the unpredictable behaviour of a dog pulling in various directions.
.

 

[electric.mike]

Perhaps your needs could make a three wheeler viable,you cant get away from the handling characteristics but could possibly work within them.
If you mainly want it for dog walking and are happy to travel at 4-6 mph you may get on with it.
I have the powabyke Euro and it does the job but i think it would be too heavy for your intended use,at 38kg it would take a fair bit of correcting if your dog pulled you out of line while traveling slowly.

 

[Cyclezee]

Bringing it down to pure economics, I think electric assistance would be cheaper than dog power, food and vets bills can be expensive.

 

[funkylyn]

Bringing it down to pure economics, I think electric assistance would be cheaper than dog power, food and vets bills can be expensive.

.......however......if, like me, you already have three dogs on the payroll.......it could make sense......I can see this is going to keep my brain occupied during the next few weeks.
Golly and Mia as main 'pullers' and Rico shouting encouragement from his bike basket, yes....I can see it now, mind you, just one donkey could be much more efficient ..........

 

[Cyclezee]

.......however......if, like me, you already have three dogs on the payroll.......it could make sense......I can see this is going to keep my brain occupied during the next few weeks.
Golly and Mia as main 'pullers' and Rico shouting encouragement from his bike basket, yes....I can see it now, mind you, just one donkey could be much more efficient ..........

Hmm Lynda, wonder how many Pomeranians it would take to produce 1 donkey power and of course they would all have to pull in the same direction

I think Huskys would be a better choice and if things got really desperate you could eat them

 

[funkylyn]

Hmm Lynda, wonder how many Pomeranians it would take to produce 1 donkey power and of course they would all have to pull in the same direction

I think Huskys would be a better choice and if things got really desperate you could eat them

Ahh.....but what you dont seem to realise John is that Poms are the smallest of all the German Spitz (Nordic) breeds, who are only differentiated by height and weight and are bred to pull sledges....yes, even the smallest Pomeranians, are actually bred for the job and enjoy it.....they arent just pretty faces....
I accept, though, that there will be more meat on a husky.....

 

[Chrishordley]

I use to run a terrier alongside my donkey cart and carry one under seat and running over them was a serious risk with the wider axle. You have got me thinking on this issue but you will have to forgive me not being a cyclist. I had a boy racer motor scooter and passed my test but after moving to very rural Cornwall with hideously gravelly lanes and toppling over sideways I gave up. At sixty I am not going to be hurtling along tracks.

 

[Chrishordley]

Could I update the battery and connector on an older bike to the newer more efficient ones. I am worried about buying obsolete technology in terms of power more than in construction.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Yes. It's not difficult. You just have to find one that can fit in your battery compartment. You need one that can give 20 amps, which rules out the cheaper 10aH ones. You can take the insides out of aluminium-cased batteries to make them smaller and able to fit in your case.

 

[Cyclezee]

Ahh.....but what you dont seem to realise John is that Poms are the smallest of all the German Spitz (Nordic) breeds, who are only differentiated by height and weight and are bred to pull sledges....yes, even the smallest Pomeranians, are actually bred for the job and enjoy it.....they arent just pretty faces....
I accept, though, that there will be more meat on a husky.....

You will be telling me next that Santa's reindeer really can fly

 

[electric.mike]

Yes. It's not difficult. You just have to find one that can fit in your battery compartment. You need one that can give 20 amps, which rules out the cheaper 10aH ones. You can take the insides out of aluminium-cased batteries to make them smaller and able to fit in your case.

This statement has made me think,my wife has a ebike which she loves it runs on 36volt 7ah SLA,i was going to get a new set of batteries are you saying the whole set up would be happy and work with a modern battery,if so would i need to go to 20AH to replace the 7AH SLA.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

A 15aH would probably be sufficient or any high-discharge type. See if this one fits at 70x90x270mm

http://www.bmsbattery.com/battery-pack/664-36v-12ah-38140-lifepo4-battery-12-cells-ebike-battery-pack.html

 

[flecc]

You will be telling me next that Santa's reindeer really can fly

Don't know about Lynda, but I certainly can't say that.

I can say that they are definitely all female though, Rudolf is really Rebecca the red nosed reindeer.
.

 

[Croxden]

Don't know about Lynda, but I certainly can't say that.

I can say that they are definitely all female though, Rudolf is really Rebecca the red nosed reindeer.
.

If they are female, how come they are never late?

 

[flecc]

If they are female, how come they are never late?

Perhaps because they don't have makeup, but female they all definitely are.
.